Subject:Acid crashing when recording a keyboard

Posted by: SPP

Date:5/29/2002 8:50:07 PM

Hi all,

I’m trying to figure out what the heck is going on with Acid and my computer, and am wondering if anyone else has had this happen. In a nutshell, about half the time I try to record my keyboard into an Acid project, Acid locks up and has to be restarted causing the loss of anything since the last save. This is not a 100% occurrence, but it happens often enough to be a pain in the butt. I have an obscene amount of RAM (768 megs) and at least 40 Gigs available on the HD. Also I’m running Windows XP Home, Acid Pro 3.0g, defrag very frequently and have a very well tuned computer. The sound card is a Creative Labs Live 5.1/MP3 and works fine for the most part. Anybody have any ideas or suggestions? I haven’t messed with any of my settings since this started. This also happened when I was using 3.0f. Prior to that I hadn’t done any recording into Acid. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Subject:RE: Acid crashing when recording a keyboard

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:5/30/2002 12:55:55 PM

Several things to try:

-Update your soundcard and/or video card drivers if possible.

-Select your soundcard specifically by going to Options>Preferences on the menu bar. Select the "Audio" tab. Select "Windows Classic Wave Driver" under "Audio device type" and your specific soundcard's input under "Default audio playback device".

-Try a different soundcard if possible. Soundblasters are relatively good cards but they're not spectacular, especially after experiencing solutions available from M-Audio, Echo or Terratec.

HTH,
Iacobus

Subject:RE: Acid crashing when recording a keyboard

Reply by: SPP

Date:6/3/2002 2:15:41 PM

Thanks for the response Iacobus. All your suggestions I have already tried. All except replacing the sound card. That seems a bit drastic, but if that's what's needed, I'll have to give it some serious consideration. The thing that seems so strange is that this is a transient problem, only once or twice in a while. BTW I don't have anything else running on the computer when I'm recording. HEY SONIC FONDRY...Do YOU have any suggestions?

Subject:RE: Acid crashing when recording a keyboard

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:6/4/2002 1:50:18 PM

There's a great Web site for those using Windows XP as a DAW. Might want to check it out.

Seriously think about getting a pro-quality soundcard. I can promise you'll be blown away at the quality. I used to use a SB Live! myself and picked up an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 not so long ago. I'm not ever going back.

The M-Audio Audiophile 2496 can be had for about $160-180 USD street.

The only issue with pro-quality cards is output. Since such cards have 1/4", RCA or S/PDIF outs, they're not going to match the 1/8" connector on most PC multimedia speakers. You can get around this by hooking, say, the RCA outs to your home stereo.

Just so you know, there are now pro-quality external USB solutions, like those from M-Audio. These solutions act just like external soundcards. The same issue applies with these solutions as the internal soundcards; you'll have to find an appropriate output.

In addition, they're rather pricey solutions (at around $250 or more) and there's an issue with USB audio and Windows XP (that can be fixed at Microsoft's Windows Update site). However, the added benefits are portability and they can usually act as standalone A/D converters independent of your computer.

HTH,
Iacobus

Subject:RE: Acid crashing when recording a keyboard

Reply by: SPP

Date:6/5/2002 12:22:25 PM

Iacobus,

Thanks for the generosity and thoroughness of your replies to me and everyone else you help along. I really appreciate it. When the finances allow, I'll probably upgrade my sound card. Any suggestions on a card to get that allows multiple inputs so that it can be used with an application such as Vegas Video as well? Thanks in advance!

Subject:RE: Acid crashing when recording a keyboard

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:6/5/2002 12:59:36 PM

You're welcome!

Check out M-Audio's other solutions, like the Delta series. Echo also has some great products as well. I'm sure others in the forum can make suggestions as well. The one great thing about pro-quality products is that you can never pick a turkey. It will all just depend on what you're looking for in an interface.

Be aware, though, you jack up the price considerably when looking for such a solution. The Layla24 can be had for about $800 or less street. The Delta 1010 is around $600 street.

HTH,
Iacobus