HELP! 6.0 & 7.0 VU METERS KEEP TOPPING OUT! -Sound Forge - PC

Subject:HELP! 6.0 & 7.0 VU METERS KEEP TOPPING OUT! Posted by: Derek Partridge Date:6/8/2005 9:00:29 PM Help! I’m an Emmy-winning TV host and V/O talent... but as I didn’t grow up with computers... all I’d win in that field would be Dummy of the Year!! I have an hp Pavilion ze4402 notebook, about 18 months old; a new Studio Projects C1 mic and an M-Audio Mobile Pre USB for phantom power. I used to use Cakewalk (with an older, less sophisticated, Numark 600 ohm cardiod mic) for V/O recording and never had any problems. However, I found that Sound Forge 6.0 was more user- (dummy!) friendly. Problem with SF 6.0: with the mic and phantom power switched on (using one track only for mono recording) and no external sound sources at all... both VU meters would suddenly shoot up to the top... remain there for a while... and equally, without any apparent reason, drop down to normal again. This happened with a frequency (on average) of from 2 minute to 8 minute intervals. I tried turning off everything else in the pc, as two friends: a sound engineer and a computer programmer both figured it had to be a sound source within the pc, causing this interruption... which also resulted in very loud static, whenever it happened while I was making a recording. That made no difference. However, when I use the SP mic and Mobile Pre to submit audition recordings to Voice 123... the problem never occurs. Presumably, because their site incorporates their own sound recording system. So... hoping to eliminate the problem, I bought SF 7.0. The only difference is whereas with 6.0, the mystery VU meter surges would always come down again... with the 7.0, they go up... and stay up! I have upgraded 7.0 to 7.0b and downloaded the latest Mobile Pre drivers. Various suggestions have been made, from the most radical of “blowing up my pc”, getting another hard drive and re-building it (which seems a little drastic to me), to re-installing Windows and re-formatting the hard drive... which is only slightly less drastic. Both “solutions” seem as likely to create more problems than they solve! I’m hoping there may be a simpler solution, which is why I’m appealing for HELP from you experts out there! Thanks, Derek

Help! I’m an Emmy-winning TV host and V/O talent... but as I didn’t grow up with computers... all I’d win in that field would be Dummy of the Year!!

I have an hp Pavilion ze4402 notebook, about 18 months old; a new Studio Projects C1 mic and an M-Audio Mobile Pre USB for phantom power. I used to use Cakewalk (with an older, less sophisticated, Numark 600 ohm cardiod mic) for V/O recording and never had any problems. However, I found that Sound Forge 6.0 was more user- (dummy!) friendly.

Problem with SF 6.0: with the mic and phantom power switched on (using one track only for mono recording) and no external sound sources at all... both VU meters would suddenly shoot up to the top... remain there for a while... and equally, without any apparent reason, drop down to normal again. This happened with a frequency (on average) of from 2 minute to 8 minute intervals. I tried turning off everything else in the pc, as two friends: a sound engineer and a computer programmer both figured it had to be a sound source within the pc, causing this interruption... which also resulted in very loud static, whenever it happened while I was making a recording. That made no difference. However, when I use the SP mic and Mobile Pre to submit audition recordings to Voice 123... the problem never occurs. Presumably, because their site incorporates their own sound recording system.

So... hoping to eliminate the problem, I bought SF 7.0. The only difference is whereas with 6.0, the mystery VU meter surges would always come down again... with the 7.0, they go up... and stay up!

I have upgraded 7.0 to 7.0b and downloaded the latest Mobile Pre drivers.

Various suggestions have been made, from the most radical of “blowing up my pc”, getting another hard drive and re-building it (which seems a little drastic to me), to re-installing Windows and re-formatting the hard drive... which is only slightly less drastic. Both “solutions” seem as likely to create more problems than they solve! I’m hoping there may be a simpler solution, which is why I’m appealing for HELP from you experts out there! Thanks, Derek