Maddening Master Fader Track phantom clips-8.05

[SmokeyJon]

I can't be the only person in the world experiencing this—or maybe I've been hexed, so I can be.

I've recorded, mixed and mastered tracks in DP for over a decade and I've never encountered this one before 8.05. I keep getting "phantom" clips on the Master Fader, and I say "phantom" because I can clear them, and with the exact same tracks playing, can back up and play the same bars again, and there's no clipping. Then I'll play a little more and the "red lights" will light up again on the Master Fader. So I'll stop the song, clear the clipping indicators, back it up and play the same bars—and there's no clipping! I even have a MasterWorks Limiter on it, and have even pulled the ceiling down to -2.00, but it's still showing clipping!

It's making it impossible to troubleshoot what might be overloading it, and I've never been through anything more maddening with DP in my life.

None of the individual channels are hitting anything over zero, or even coming close. This is the first song I've worked on in 8.05. I came here to ask about this because I can't find anything anywhere that could explain it and I don't know where to turn at this point.

If I'm being stupid somehow, I'd absolutely love to find out I'm stupid, if only it will stop this.

[Dan Worley]

You're not alone. I noticed those false clip indicators right after upgrading to DP 8.05. I haven't had time to check it since I upgraded to a newer Mac and Mavericks, which happened just a few days ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if the problem is still there. I'm pretty sure it's an 8.05 problem.

They are false clip indicators. I've checked and measured at least ten times. Sometimes I can get rid of them with a restart, but they eventually come back, even with a brickwall limiter in the last post-fader insert. I thought it was Slate plugs doing it, but I think the last time I noticed it I didn't have any Slate plugs inserted on the Master. Not sure though.

I've learned to ignore them and just pay attention to what my other meters are telling me, and what the final file is reading.

[SmokeyJon]

Thanks, Dan. I'm going to take this as at least an initial indicator that I don't need to find a witch doctor to get an unhexing potion—or go see a shrink, which was my next option (not that I'm suggesting that there's much of a difference, if any).

I'm still in Mountain Lion 10.8.5. Not making the jump to Mavericks yet for a variety of reasons.

I haven't used any Slate plug-ins, and although I'd had Ozone on the Master Fader at one point, I stripped everything off of it in my troubleshooting attempts, except for MOTU's own MW Limiter.

I'm having a little trouble understanding why there isn't more about this all over da interwebs if, as it appears, it is some bug in 8.05. I don't know how anybody can miss it—including MOTU.

[BKK-OZ]

I don't know how anybody can miss it—including MOTU.

If you haven't already, you should do a tech note to MOTU, they might not know about the problem.

[SmokeyJon]

I may have solved this—but don't quote me.

The song I had this phenomenon show up with had more virtual instruments going at one time than I had ever used before. I had kept it that way because there was a chance it was going to have to be transposed once the proposed singers' ranges were established, and there was a possible tempo change in the works, and I wanted as much MIDI-based flexibility as possible.

Having nailed down the variables, I started freezing VI tracks and deleting the VIs. When I had done a few, the whole "phantom clipping" problem disappeared entirely.

I think (but still don't quote me) that some processor load spiking was involved periodically, and that sometimes this manifested itself on the Master Fader as faux clipping. Why? I dunno. I don't program 'em; I just use 'em. I thought I ought to pass this along.

But don't quote me.

[Dan Worley]

I'm not going to quote you.

I've seen them when using no VIs and a light CPU load. That was with 10.6.8 and DP 8.05. I haven't experienced any since going to 10.9.1.

Don't quote me.

[James Steele]

Don't quote me.

Oops. Sorry!