Recording long ambient sounds from OT into DAW with clicks

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

I’m playing two samples in loop mode (flex machine), each pitched down in rate and played in pingpong mode. I’ve chosen zero-crossing points for start and end to avoid clicks. each track has a LFO assigned which is manipulating the depth of dark reverb as well as balance in triangle.

I’m recording a quite long piece of both samples playing back, but when listen back to it in DAW there are three clicks audible which kind of ruin the flow… but how do they appear?

is it most likely because of using flex instead of static?
I’m using the headphone out instead of main – difference?
could it be because of the cable or interface (tascam ur44)?
sth else?

thanks!

#2

If the clicks werent there during recording and you were monitoring the OT output from your soundcard then I guess it’s interface/daw related.

If they were there during recording then I guess it ‘could’ be down to anything in your chain/daw/OT (internal or outputs). OT is pretty good at dishing out clicks/pops (internally due to certain parameters with how you’re processing/mangling sounds) that can sometimes be hard to track down/solve. Sorry can’t be more help…

#3

once again I recorded a long sequence from OT into ableton. after the recording there are clicks audible in the file which weren’t there during recording.

do you think it has sth to do with my interface (steinberg ur44) or could it appear as a ram-related problem (but the ram % is quite low in ableton).

maximum time available within OT is sth about 5-6min so I have to get back to tape recorders, right? :smile:

#4

If it’s not the OT making the clicks then I think it must be the interface. Bit surprised you’re getting clicks with that interface, though USB is a bit more susceptible to that stuff than thunderbolt/firewire. I would check the following:

  • use a good quality USB cable
  • computer disconnected from the internet and all non-essential apps shut down (especially web browsers)
  • nothing else running in Ableton that might suddenly increase processor load
  • no other channels being used in the soundcard

As an aside, you’ll get a better sound from the main outs than the headphone out but that won’t be causing the clicks.

#5

the usb-cable is the one that came with the interface. the only advice I can follow is to shut down the browser… will check that later but would be surprised if that little change would make the difference.

thanks for your thoughts!

#6

No problem. Do you have any other USB devices connected to the computer? Are you using a USB hub? Those could also be factors.

#7

nope and no… just the interface with ot connected from main outs to line in. will check the browser-solution later today. thanks

#8

Worth a try. Any spike in processor or USB bus load can cause issues. USB is kind of designed to degrade… it sends data in packets and each packet has to be ‘confirmed’ by the receiver. If there’s a problem with a packet, the receiver ask for the packet to be sent again until it’s right. So you can see how that can cause problems with a high quality audio stream, especially if you want low latency (because the recording buffer has to be larger to cope with potential errors and allow the system to catch up). USB (as a Serial Bus) also has to contend with other devices on the bus being given data bandwidth as they request it. If the packet can’t be re-sent in time or the buffer runs out, you get glitching.

Firewire is/was a wonderful technology for streaming audio/video because it negotiates a connection between sender and receiver and then allows a non-stop stream of data to be sent, in the assumption that the connection is stable (the required standard for FW cables is much higher than USB).

That’s why despite the headline speeds for USB 2.0 and 3.0 being faster than FireWire, FW is a lot more reliable as it’s less affected by interference, less likely to have issues with cable quality, and less susceptible to issues of contention with other devices.

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#9

good news: today I recorded a 3 min sequence with browser closed, offline and no additional programs running and had no clicks in my recording. that’s a good sign – thanks for the info.

:rocket:

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#10

Cool - glad to hear it seems to have helped. Hope it continues to work.

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