Choppy Tempo

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dag1224
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2014/08/18 22:26:39 (permalink)

Choppy Tempo

Two weeks ago I purchased a brand new Laptop that has far superior hardware than my two year old lap top. I immediately installed Cakewalk Music Creator 6 Touch.
 
When I play midi tracks on this new laptop, the tempo is really choppy. Like Eight 8th notes don't sound like eighth notes at all, but like a swing tempo.
 
I blamed the laptop for this problem, since it never occurred on my old laptop. So I took the thing back and got a new one.
 
The new one I got today is doing the exact same thing.
 
Why is this happening!
 
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
#1

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    Guitarhacker
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/08/19 08:20:59 (permalink)
    You are using the factory sound card. That is the problem.
     
    Factory cards generally use MME as the driver. It works ok, most of the time with AUDIO but not so much with MIDI.
     
    In midi, the softsynths need better processing than the factory card can offer. As a result, the card is trying hard to process the midi, send it to the synth, and get the audio output back to the speakers in a timely manner. The result is what you are hearing..... bad buffering that sounds like choppy tempo.  The more synths you have, the worse it gets.
     
    You can try changing the buffers and latency settings. Most often, with MME, when you fix one issue, something else becomes out of balance.  Another option is to try ASIO4ALL which sometimes works well enough to give some halfway decent performance to the playback.
     
    HOWEVER.... if you want to solve the problem and do it the right way.... buying a third party external USB based interface is the way to go. Everyone who takes up home recording as a serious hobby or more..... ends up with a nice interface at some point. One that uses the native ASIO drivers without need for wrappers like ASIO4ALL or special codecs.
     
    No matter how nice the computer, or how powerful it is, the factory sound card is simply NOT up to the task you are asking it to do when using Cakewalk software.
     
    Have a look at some of the users here (in the signatures most of the time) to see what soundcard/interface we are using. Look around and know what you are needing BEFORE you spend your money because all external interfaces are NOT the same. Some use proprietary codecs and are gimmicky, while others are rock solid workhorses that will do a fine job no matter what you throw at them.

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    #2
    dag1224
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/08/25 11:26:14 (permalink)
    Thanks for the advice Herb. I don't know if I described the problem accurately though... so I am not sure if your recommendations are applicable.
     
    I don't actually PLAY (as in me playing a keyboard/synth). I use a mouse and insert notes onto a staff in Cakewalk. I typically use Cakewalk Sound Center virtual instruments and assign them to each track (normally 6-7 midi tracks and 4-5 Cakewalk Sound Center Virtual Instrument tracks). After I have arranged all the music, I bounce the music into an audio track, then mix that down to MP3. On my old laptop, I would occassionally plug a synth into it via usb... but I am not a very metronomically accurate player, which is why I use a mouse to point and click notes onto the staff.
     
    My old HP Pavillion did a wonderful job with this way of composing music, and while I'm sure I could make it sound better, it works good enough, and people are generally impressed with the quality of the instruments. My HP Pavillion just got old, and it was time to upgrade computers, so I spent a LOT more on this new one.
     
    I am not sure if I can even upgrade the soundcard that is installed in this laptop. But I don't get how a more powerful faster laptop can't do what my older slower laptop can still do.
     
    Thanks
    Don
    #3
    57Gregy
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/08/25 12:32:27 (permalink)
    Welcome to the forum.
    Check out the Help file sections on Improving Audio Performance and Troubleshooting.
    Increase the MIDI Buffers. Increase the Latency, which will reduce the strain on the processor, and since you're not recording instruments live, there's no need for minimum latency.
    It's possible that your old laptop had a 7,200 rpm HD and your new computer has a 5,400 rpm drive. Plus, newer computers with Win 7 or 8 will probably have more bloatware than older machines, possibly reducing peformance.
    A dedicated audio interface connected via USB or FireWire will greatly improve your ability to work in MC or any DAW.

    Greg 
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    #4
    dag1224
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/08/25 14:00:51 (permalink)
    Greg,
     
    Would this be an adequate audio interface? I never plug any instruments into my laptop, so I am not sure if this is what I need or not.
     

    Turtle Beach - Audio Advantage Micro II USB External Sound Card

     
    Thanks for taking the time to help.
    post edited by dag1224 - 2014/08/25 14:36:54
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    Guitarhacker
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/08/26 07:52:14 (permalink)
    No.
     
    Please do yourself a favor and get a decent USB sound card.  Focusrite, M-Audio, Presonus, etc are more in line with the kind you should be looking at. Those "cord based" usb things generally use codecs and do not run native ASIO and as a result, do not work as well as you need them to do.
     
    If money is the issue for affording a decent interface, please take the time to save the money for the purchase or check on Ebay for a used one. You can often find good used gear at 50% less than the cost of a new one. I have several used pieces of gear in my studio....they work fine so who cares that I got them on the cheap side....?   As long as they work..... that's all that matters.

    My website & music: www.herbhartley.com

    MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW   
    Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface


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    "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer 
    #6
    Beagle
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/09/17 08:50:23 (permalink)
    Herb's right.  Turtle Beach is NOT a recording soundcard, it's a consumer card, so it is not designed for recording with programs like MC.
     
    here are some of the lowest cost options I would consider:
     
     
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/presonus-audiobox-usb-2x2-usb-recording-system
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/focusrite-itrack-solo-audio-interface-for-ipad-mac-and-pc 
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/lexicon-lambda-usb-desktop-studio
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/roland-tri-capture-usb-audio-interface
     
    these soundcards below are capable of 24bit recording and playback and while you don't need 24bit for recording if you're only recording/entering MIDI, you need it for playback during mixing.

    http://soundcloud.com/beaglesound/sets/featured-songs-1
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    #7
    dag1224
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    Re: Choppy Tempo 2014/09/17 20:48:00 (permalink)
    Thanks for your advice guys! I ended up getting a steinberg interface that costs about $100. It works great for what I do. I still have no idea what it does, or how it's doing it, but it works.
     
    I appreciate your time!
    Don
    #8
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