# Pops, Clicks, Distortion - Ve Pro and Cubase



## kunst91 (Sep 3, 2015)

Hey all,

I am setting up my first template with Cubase and VE Pro, and needless to say I am having some issues. Most paramount, however, is that I am getting severe pops, clicks, distortion and even some volume drops in all of my instruments (even synths). Percussion is the least problematic, while strings sound like they're being run through a broken tube amp.

I have tried several different things--ASIO guard on/off, various buffers (0-4), running kontakt purged/unpurged, coupled/decoupled, same problem. I am running this on a trashcan with 32 GB of RAM. At first I thought it might just be a memory issue, but I loaded up one instance of Sable and had the same problem.

The only clue I have is that the distortion gets *worse *as I lower the buffers.

Any idea what I might be doing wrong? Thanks!


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## NYC Composer (Sep 3, 2015)

what buffer are you trying to run at, and what does your ASIO meter look like?


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## kdm (Sep 3, 2015)

I ran into this 3-4 years ago with Vepro on a slave (over LAN to Nuendo), but unfortunately never found a solution. All audio from VEPro sounded like it was only 4 bits - distorted and low level. I think it is a data stream sync issue, and possibly caused by some networking problem (which I suppose could happen with local hosting as well). I would try turning off all unused network devices - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (if you don't need it for a keyboard or mouse)


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## jonathanwright (Sep 4, 2015)

Are you running a slave, or is VEP on the same computer as Cubase?

I had two issues with VEP, the first was that at first I was connecting to my slave via Wi-fi, rather than ethernet (doh!), the second was when I moved home. For some reason my new ISP/Router needed me to set up static IP addresses for both computers.

Do you still get the pops and clicks with a minimal template, just one VEP instance, with one loaded instrument?


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## doubleattack (Sep 4, 2015)

kdm said:


> I ran into this 3-4 years ago with Vepro on a slave (over LAN to Nuendo), but unfortunately never found a solution. All audio from VEPro sounded like it was only 4 bits - distorted and low level. I think it is a data stream sync issue, and possibly caused by some networking problem (which I suppose could happen with local hosting as well). I would try turning off all unused network devices - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (if you don't need it for a keyboard or mouse)



Quote from VE PRO 5 Manual:

_There was quite some change to the CUBASE threading model since Cubase 7. This causes issues with a variety of plugins. Audio Input behaves very badly due to this change.
For now, we do not recommend using Audio Input Channels with Cubase 7 or Cubase 7.5. 

In Cubase 8, you can deactivate ASIO GUARD 2 manually: 

[Menu] > Devices > Plug-in Manager > VST Instruments > Vienna Ensemble Pro > Click "i" for Plug-in information > Click to set ASIO Guard to Inactive. 

Please perform this operation on ALL VEPro Instrument and Fx plugins. Audio Input plugins will work properly thereafter. 
_
I suppose it's the same for Nuendo...


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## kunst91 (Sep 4, 2015)

doubleattack said:


> Quote from VE PRO 5 Manual:
> 
> _There was quite some change to the CUBASE threading model since Cubase 7. This causes issues with a variety of plugins. Audio Input behaves very badly due to this change.
> For now, we do not recommend using Audio Input Channels with Cubase 7 or Cubase 7.5.
> ...



If I remember correctly, I did try setting the ASIO guard to inactive, but perhaps I'll try again from scratch.



jonathanwright said:


> Do you still get the pops and clicks with a minimal template, just one VEP instance, with one loaded instrument?



At first I thought it was a big template thing. Then I loaded one instance with one instrument and had the same problems. 



kdm said:


> I ran into this 3-4 years ago with Vepro on a slave (over LAN to Nuendo), but unfortunately never found a solution. All audio from VEPro sounded like it was only 4 bits - distorted and low level. I think it is a data stream sync issue, and possibly caused by some networking problem (which I suppose could happen with local hosting as well). I would try turning off all unused network devices - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (if you don't need it for a keyboard or mouse)



I'm running everything on my Mac, getting a PC slave in a few months. Are the network issues still relevant with everything on the same computer?



NYC Composer said:


> what buffer are you trying to run at, and what does your ASIO meter look like?



I'll have to double check when I get home.

Additionally, perhaps importantly perhaps not, I had none of these issues with Logic. Everything worked great "out of the box." This could also very well be (and likely is) a lack of familiarity with Cubase on my part.


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## patrick76 (Sep 4, 2015)

What worked for me when I was having issues was to diconnect both computers from the internet and then turn off the firewalls on both computers. I wasn't thrilled with having to do that, but it works flawlessly for me so I put up with it.


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## kunst91 (Sep 4, 2015)

patrick76 said:


> What worked for me when I was having issues was to diconnect both computers from the internet and then turn off the firewalls on both computers. I wasn't thrilled with having to do that, but it works flawlessly for me so I put up with it.



But VE Pro and Cubase don't connect via wifi on a single computer, correct?


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## jonathanwright (Sep 4, 2015)

If you're on the same computer networking shouldn't really be the issue.

If you're using Kontakt, make sure its memory server is switched off.

Also, if you haven't already, adjust the number of threads each instance uses (in preferences), that can make quite a difference.


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## kunst91 (Sep 4, 2015)

jonathanwright said:


> If you're on the same computer networking shouldn't really be the issue.
> 
> If you're using Kontakt, make sure its memory server is switched off.
> 
> Also, if you haven't already, adjust the number of threads each instance uses (in preferences), that can make quite a difference.



I'll try that, thanks! Just out of curiosity, why do you suggest turning the memory server off? I always heard it increases performance.


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## jonathanwright (Sep 4, 2015)

kunst91 said:


> I'll try that, thanks! Just out of curiosity, why do you suggest turning the memory server off? I always heard it increases performance.



I _think_ it's because the way VEP handles the plugin, the memory server can conflict with its own.

I gather the memory server was most useful when working in a 32bit application.


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## NYC Composer (Sep 4, 2015)

I've tried it both ways and have never seen a consistent measurable difference. I think it's very system dependent.


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## Ryan (Sep 5, 2015)

Had the same problems. Update your graphics card and your network controllers. That worked out the problem for me.


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## Black Light Recordings (Sep 6, 2015)

I'm having the same issue with the audio drop outs. Tried everything.


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