I bounced a Zeta+2 long evolving pad to track, and this is what I got. There are no effects or other plugins on the track. Any idea what's going on here?
 

 

That's pretty weird. Do you have DC offset correction engaged? If not, you might try turning it on and bouncing down again.

It looks like massive DC offset, lots of odd ordered harmonics, and some severe clipping on the output of the synth.
 
Does it sound like what you think it sounded like or is this a bounce gone bad?
 
best regards,
mike

DC offset was not checked, but I have checked it and re-bounced and am seeing the same result.
 
The resulting WAV does not sound like the source track (I'm bouncing 'raw track') but doesn't sound 'corrupted', it just sounds off, deader.
 
I tried a 'What You Hear' bounce with the track going straight to the sound card (no bus) and... same result.
I tried an export to desktop and imported it back in and... same result.
 
I will say this: I didn't experience this problem when bouncing a pad with FM8 the other day in another project.

another update: I replaced it with an FM9 patch (not very similar, admittedly, just something that would keep speaking as the other one does) and it's straight down the middle, no offset. Maybe the issue is internal to Z3ta+2? Or maybe the specific patch I was using? ["which was classic content/textures/constantly moving (hold"]
 

DC offset correction will probably only work on audio that is actually recorded through an Analog to Digital converter.
 
Synthesized DC offset rendered in a bounce, if that is what it is, is probably not routed through the same flow where SONAR's DC offset correction occurs.
 
If it sounds close to what you think it is sounding like when you play it back on the fly then it's probably just the characteristic of the patch you have chosen or set up. I wouldn't bother comparing to another patch to determine of something is wrong. It is a synthesizer and synthesizers can produce some very unique signals.
 
Good luck.
 
best regards,
mike
 
 

I just don't understand why, if it's just the patch, the results on 'live playback' (running the engine from the MIDI in real time) would have a different result than bouncing the audio at the same project bit depth/rate and without any other routing or processing.  Annoying. I guess I'll find a different patch to mess with and hope for the best.

Are you saying that there is a live waveform drawing on playback that visually appears different, or are you saying that there is a slight difference in sound, or both?
 
I think you can actually expect that a complex patch with oscillators, synthesis, and or delay lines will play back slightly different every time you run through the sequence. It is especially apparent when you compare the results of live performance with a complex patch (playing a keyboard or twisting parameter knobs etc.) and playing back as a sequence with automation. It is one reason people have asked for the simplicity of internal routing of outputs to other track so that performances can be recorded just as they are performed.
 
Having said that, I am just being optimistic that there's is nothing problematic happening... you could possibly have discovered some issue that can be improved.
 
Good luck.
 
best regards,
mike
 
 
edit grammar

It was an instrument track so I wasn't seeing waveform preview, I was just going by ear (they sounded slightly different)... I have split the instrument track and now am seeing the waveform preview, and it looks normal (i.e., no offset). I'm going to try bouncing from this setup and see if it's normal...
 
Nope... still offset. It's the bounce that's doing it, somehow. 

Interesting. Seems like it might be worth asking Cakewalk support to look at it.
 
best,
mike