Hi everyone! Im new here as well as with software..I  will start out out by telling you what I have to give you an idea of possibly some options to fix this issue.   I have a pc with windows 7 running Sonar X2 studio. The specs on the computer are as follows : duo core processor @ 2.33GHz with 6 gigs of ram. I am currently not using a console interface( Tascam us-224 is sitting in a corner collecting dust because IT IS JUNK). I am in the process of getting something when $$$ allows it. So I am running it with my M-Audio Keystation 88es. My problem is probably an easy fix yet overwhelming with limited knowledge( I have a little experience with Sonar 5). When I select a midi channel and insert ex. Roland TTS, the sound is bad. Speakers are crackling, distorted, even sounds a bit detuned.. When I look at the polyphony in TTS it shows up as 2 notes even though Im only playing one . Anyone that can shed some insight would be very appreciated. I have always been a hardware workstation person so I know the learning curve in this realm is going to be HUGE.. I welcome the challenge.  Its nice to meet all of you as well.  Respectfully yours, Bill Ricci Jr.

I am by no means an expert but when I use sonar on my laptop without an audio interface my sound becomes distorted until I increase the audio buffer size. (Preferences-audio-driver settings)

This gives latency but improves the sound quality. Also you could try the different driver modes (audio-playback and recording)

Thanks Mondaydave! Will definitely give that a try. What do you usually increase the audio buffer size to? Do you think an interface would help with latency issues? As a player most of my tracks will be layed down by playing so the attack is crucial for doing a performance that I would feel good about. Thank you for your time and response in this matter.

bluzeyonecat
When I look at the polyphony in TTS it shows up as 2 notes even though Im only playing one.

Polyphony refers to numbers of "voices" played as opposed to number of "notes" played.  One note may contain one or more voices. For example, a hardware synth with a 3-oscillator patch being played by one key will be 3 voices.  Now with the same patch, play a minor chord of 3 notes and now the total voices used is 9.  If you have a hardware synth capable of 20-voice polyphony, then in theory, you are only capable of playing a total of 6 keys at once with aforementioned patch, not considering other factors such as effects, release times (big polyphony-eater!), sub oscillators or note-stealing algorithms.
 
Roland TTS-1 should be fairly straightforward, but I don't think you have any control over its playback oscillators. The reason for 1+ polyphony could be caused by sample doubling or chorusing to make a better instrument; something done by Roland-Cakewalk to put smiles on our faces. Overall, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Worry about your latency issues () which I think is caused by the lack of an audio interface. Just to give you some numbers I use with my firewire interface, buffer is MEDIUM and 96 to give a reported latency of 6.5ms. I am in the process of perhaps improving this with a new PCIe firewire card, but still testing as I go on with more complex projects.
 
Laptops can cause some serious latency issues right off the bat, even without a DAW running.  I encourage you to find and download a program called DPC Latency Checker (dpclat.exe).  If when running you seed big red bars, you need to figure out what is polling the operating system and dragging it down. I've seen laptops that are horrible in terms of just stand-alone latency issues.

Why is the US-224 junk? Perhaps you didn't have it setup properly It certainly would be better than using the built-in sound chip on the motherboard. 

daveny5
Why is the US-224 junk? Perhaps you didn't have it setup properly It certainly would be better than using the built-in sound chip on the motherboard. 

im pretty sure they stopped updating drivers @ win XP.http://tascam.com/product/us-224/downloads/
so even if he did use it, with say...ASIO4ALL, he's using synths. not sure how the soundcard would benefit him ? 
unless he needed inputs.
 
the control surface on the other hand may be useful to use with ACT,

Bill - I didn't see a mention of an audio interface.

I know you're budgeting for what you'll need moving forward.

Under the Hardware section of this forum you'll see plenty of running threads about audio interfaces folks are considering. Getting one is important to get your sound right. Generally speaking they are affordable and easy to use.

chuckebaby

daveny5
Why is the US-224 junk? Perhaps you didn't have it setup properly It certainly would be better than using the built-in sound chip on the motherboard. 

im pretty sure they stopped updating drivers @ win XP.http://tascam.com/product/us-224/downloads/
so even if he did use it, with say...ASIO4ALL, he's using synths. not sure how the soundcard would benefit him ? 
unless he needed inputs.
 
the control surface on the other hand may be useful to use with ACT,

I see you're right. 2007 was the last driver. That is what I hate about hardware devices connected to computers. The hardware may last for 20+ years, but without drivers for the latest OS, it becomes a piece of junk. Shame on Tascam! Folks can say what they want about M-Audio, but my Delta44 that I bought at least 12 years ago and probably longer, is still working under Windows 8!
 
 
 

daveny5

chuckebaby

daveny5
Why is the US-224 junk? Perhaps you didn't have it setup properly It certainly would be better than using the built-in sound chip on the motherboard. 

im pretty sure they stopped updating drivers @ win XP.http://tascam.com/product/us-224/downloads/
so even if he did use it, with say...ASIO4ALL, he's using synths. not sure how the soundcard would benefit him ? 
unless he needed inputs.
 
the control surface on the other hand may be useful to use with ACT,

I see you're right. 2007 was the last driver. That is what I hate about hardware devices connected to computers. The hardware may last for 20+ years, but without drivers for the latest OS, it becomes a piece of junk. Shame on Tascam! Folks can say what they want about M-Audio, but my Delta44 that I bought at least 12 years ago and probably longer, is still working under Windows 8!
 
 
 

It appears to be a Frontier Designs produced Tascam product. Frontier Designs has been in a stasis for some time and has not put out drivers or new products for ages.