Please Help Recording Issues With Fast Track Ultra 8r

I need some help.  I recently purchase a Fast Track Ultra 8R to use with Sonar Producer 8.5 for tracking my band.   I am having a hard time getting the Fast Track to work with Sonar.   I record Audio and it speeds up at play back, pops and crackles.  I checked to make sure the sample rate was the same for both Sonar and the Fast Track Ultra under control panel (44.1).  I adjust the buffer size about a million times as well in Sonar…still stutters, speeds up, cracks during playback.
 
After 2 hours of this and my bandmates getting frustrating.   I pulled up FL Studio 10.0 and recorded without a hitch and perfectly.  No adjustments no anything just a perfect recording.  So the problem is not in the sound card drivers or my computer…its Sonar.  Any suggestion?  Anyone have experience with the Fast Track Ultra 8r and Sonar?  I have read the forums here and have found little help or insight yet.  I am hoping I don’t have to jump ship to Pro Tools M-Powered.
 
 
·         Windows 7
·         8 Gigs of Ram
·         Sonar Producer 8.5
·         M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8.5

Beagle


do you have win7x32bit or win7x64bit and do you have the latest drivers for the ultra?  (I know you said it wasn't the drivers, but make sure you have the latest because it's possible there's a problem in sonar with older drivers)

which driver mode are you using?  m-audio works better on some systems using ASIO and some better using WDM.  try the other.

if you're using WDM, make sure you do not have the ultra set up as the timing master for input but another device like your onboard soundcards for the output (or the UA-101 you have listed in your signature).  OPTIONS>AUDIO make sure the RECORDING and PLAYBACK DEVICES both say M-AUDIO ULTRA 8R.

I am running 64 Bit and I am sure that I have the correct drivers though I will download them again.
  When I switched it to ASIO mode it disconnected the Fast Track to where I could not see it anymore and I had to restart Sonar in order to reselect it in the Audio Options.  I am also sure I checked the Fast Tracks Input as NOT master.  But I will track again.


Updated my signature in Hardware.


Von

If you are using WDM and have an internal soundcard that can cause problems as your card will switch from low rez windows sounds or music and your recording.  ASIO only allows one set of drivers (the M-Audio) to be used by SONAR.

On the options audio be sure to look at each page and have the m-audio selected.  It should do it automatically, but if SONAR doesn't it can cause problems.

good luck getting it sorted out - let us know your progress.

@

digi2ns

Pg 1107
Enabling and disabling audio devices

Your computer may have several installed devices like FAX modems and software synthesizers that

Windows recognizes as sound cards containing audio drivers. You do not want to use these devices

for audio input or output. If they are listed as audio drivers in the Audio Options dialog box, you

need to disable them.

To enable or disable an audio device

1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Audio - Devices.

2. In the Input Drivers and Output Drivers fields, do one or both of the following:

• To enable an audio device, click the name of the device so that it is highlighted.

• To disable an audio device, click the name of the device so that it is not highlighted.

3. Click OK.

Disabling a device in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Devices usually prevents conflicts with other

audio devices. Occasionally you may need to disable a device in the Windows Control Panel.

SONAR also allows you to choose the sound card whose clock should be used to control recording

and playback timing (if you only have one sound card, SONAR automatically uses it). Every sound

card’s clock crystal is slightly different, which causes minor differences in the actual playback rate on

each card. These differences may lead to slight synchronization problems if you use one card for

recording and a different one for playback. Generally, you should choose your highest quality sound

card for both recording and playback timing. Note that while some multichannel sound cards have

multiple drivers, most sound cards have only a single audio driver.

To select playback and record timing masters

1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings.

2. In the Playback Timing Master and Record Timing Master fields, select which sound cards

you want to control playback and record timing, respectively.

3. Click OK.

While you must choose a playback timing master, you can route audio output through any number of

devices at once. For example, suppose your computer has both a high-end audio card and a basic

built-in sound card. You should choose the high-end sound card as the record and playback timing

master. However, using the buses in the Console or Track views, you could create a headphone or

monitor mix and route it through the built-in sound card.

Pg 1129

Your sound card may have a conflict with another device in your

computer

Try resolving this device conflict as follows:

• Ensure that your sound card is not sharing IRQs with any other device. Although some sound

cards claim that they work properly on a shared IRQ, this is usually not the case and it is

advisable to avoid such sharing. To do this, right click on My Computer and select Properties

from the pop-up menu. In the System Properties dialog, click on the Device Manager tab, then

double-click on the Computer icon at the top of the list. This allows you to look at all the devices

on your system and which IRQs they are using. Scroll through the list until you see your sound

card. Check the IRQ setting to the left of the icon. If there are other devices (such as a video card)

that are assigned to the same IRQ, you should try moving your sound card to a different slot in

your computer. Note that entries which say something like "IRQ Holder for PCI Steering" do not

indicate conflicting devices, and can be ignored.

• Go to Edit > Preferences > Audio - Devices and make sure that only your sound card's input

and output drivers are highlighted in both menus. (If you have more than one sound card installed

in your system, try using only a single sound card and deselecting the other(s). If you can get

audio to record/playback properly on a single sound card, but you encounter problems using two

sound cards simultaneously, there may be a conflict between the two sound cards. Contact

Cakewalk Technical Support for assistance in this event.)

• If problem(s) continue, another multimedia audio device on your system (like a built-in sound card

or voicemodem) could be interfering with your sound card's functionality. To see if this is the

cause of your problem(s), you'll have to temporarily disable these other devices. Note that this

may cause other programs which rely on these other devices to no longer work correctly.

To disable these other device(s), in Windows go to the Control Panel, and double-click the

Multimedia icon. Click the Advanced tab, and click the plus sign next to Audio Devices. Doubleclick

any audio devices listed there that AREN'T the sound card, and choose Do Not Use Audio

Features on This Device. Click OK, and repeat this step for any non-sound card device,

including voicemodems, 'virtual audio devices' or 'game-compatible devices'. Once the sound

card is the only device left, click OK, and restart the computer. After restarting, delete the file

cw9auddx.ini from your Cakewalk folder. Once you've deleted those files, launch Cakewalk,

and let it profile your audio hardware. When it's done, try playing your audio again.

• If problem(s) continue, try deselecting any MIDI devices which you might be using. In SONAR, go

to Edit > Preferences > MIDI - Devices and deselect every MIDI device in both Inputs and

Outputs, then when SONAR asks, select Continue with no MIDI input and Continue with no

MIDI output, and try re-test your audio recording/playback.

• If problem(s) persist, reselect your audio and MIDI devices, and continue with the next step.

You might also check out Pg 1133

Screen should be this one in Preferences Pic at top

Sorry for the cut and paste, just trying to help, kinda sounds like there is 2 different areas being discussed.  All inputs have been good so far. I ended up trading my 8R for a new Ultra just cause I got tired of probs.  Ultra has had no probs so far.

digi2ns



Thanks for your input, and the time you took to help me.  I noticed your image post is from X1 I have Prod 8.5 but I imagine its the same concept.  However your post got me thinking as I was reading the Fast Track Ultra 8R manual.  Its seems according to the documentation that the default bit rate (and only bit rate for the Fast Track seems to offer as far as I can tell, interesting) is 24 bit.  I am almost positive that Sonars default and what it is set to is 16 bit so that might be where the conflict is comming from, even though the sample rate for both is set to 44.1 weird Sonar would not auto detect that.... Anyways when I go to my warehouse for my next rehearsal I will check it out to see if that's the case.  I am thinking it is now!


Von

Set SONAR to 24 bits.