Third Take

My tube amp, a late 90s Mesa/Boogie DC-3, developed a crackle. I searched the internet, but couldn’t find any information that directly corresponded to the problem I was experiencing. So, while this is not specifically home-recording related, I decided to add my experience to the internet in hopes it will help someone else.

The problem was a low-volume intermittent crackle coming through the speaker. It was not a hum, hiss, or pop – it sounded similar to a faulty cable or connection, but more subtle and less urgent. It would crackle for several seconds and then stop. As time progressed, over several months, it got worse. Interestingly, the crackle did not get louder if you turned up the volume. No matter how loud or quiet the amp volume was, the crackle was the same level.

I tried all the diagnostics I could, and nothing pointed toward the problem. I swapped pre-amp tubes one-by-one with known good ones. I tapped on the power tubes with a pencil. I checked the speaker connection. As a last resort, I replaced all four power tubes with new ones, and that finally fixed it. It was a $40 gamble, but it paid off.

So, internet, absorb my knowledge: if your tube amp gets the crackle, replace the power tubes.

I’m deep into the mixing of my band’s EP right now. I’m learning lots of new things, and putting lots of theories into practice. This is the biggest project I’ve ever mixed, in terms of both complexity and importance. Here are a few things I’ve learned:

• VC64 Vintage Channel sounds really good, and works magic on vocals.
• Boost11 is a must have. Classic Master Limiter doesn’t cut it.
• Console view for recording automation. Track view for cleaning it up.
• Mixing is more about subtraction than addition.
• You can compress acoustic guitars and have it sound good.. but it’s hard.

I wrote in June about my DAW developing a chronic BSOD problem out of nowhere, and figuring out the problem was caused by Microsoft’s “Software Distribution Service 3.0.” Well, last week the BSOD-reboot started happening again. The first few times, I made like an ostrich and pretended it didn’t happen. Tonight, however, it happened while I was mixing and I lost an hour’s work EQing guitar tracks and de-essing vocals. You can bet that I was angry. Read more

Every year about this time, when Cakewalk is poised to announce a new version of Sonar, they offer to give you the new version free if you buy the current version. This year’s announcement has come.

I’ve taken advantage of this offer in the past, and while I think it’s a great offer, my experience was that the “free” upgrade took several months after the software release to land on my doorstep. If you do this, don’t expect to get Sonar 9 the week it is released.

Update: As Joe D pointed out in the comments, this is not Sonar 9, but a paid point release of Sonar 8. Also, those who take advantage of this offer will be able to download the update, rather than having to wait on Cakewalk to ship you a DVD.

The dreaded BSOD – Blue Screen of Death – seemed to be only a myth, a thing of legend on my DAW. I’ve happily recorded on this computer for a couple years, and I’ve never had any problems with stability. Then, out of nowhere, the BSOD reared its ugly head. I hadn’t changed any hardware or software settings, but was consistently getting blue-screened and rebooted while playing audio from both Sonar and Windows Media Player.

I finally traced the problem to a recent Windows Update – something called Software Distribution Service 3.0. I used System Restore to go back to a restore point before the update, and the problem disappeared.

After you install EZDrummer, you have to tell Sonar where to find it before you can use EZDrummer. This tutorial explains how to set up EZDrummer as a VST Plugin in Sonar. Read more

My recent hard drive crashes gave me the “opportunity” to start over from scratch and reinstall everything. I chose not to use Windows XP x64.

x64 worked, it was stable, and I got a lot of work done on it. However, my list of complaints has grown long over the last couple years:

1. Cakewalk has dropped support for it in new versions of Sonar
2. Microsoft treats it like a stepchild
3. Waves doesn’t support it
4. Antares doesn’t support it
5. Toontrack doesn’t support it, and in the past few EZ Drummer updates, the groove audition tempo has been broken
6. M-Audio only kinda supports it
7. Bit-Bridge worked 98% of the time. The 2%, while rare, was frustrating

When I built this DAW, I went with x64 and 64-bit Sonar because I wanted to be on the cutting edge. I knew there would be some compatibility problems, but I believed that Microsoft and Cakewalk were standing behind this platform. While it did work very well, I’ve felt like both companies let me down in the last couple years. I paid a lot of money for x64, an OS that has been largely abandoned as a prototype or proof-of-concept OS.

So, now that circumstances have forced me to start over, I decided to go with good old 32-bit Windows XP Professional as my operating system. I am already enjoying updated M-Audio drivers, a working EZ Drummer, and a few plug-ins that wouldn’t work under Bit-Bridge. x64 is no more.

I had two hard drives in my computer – both Western Digital Caviar SATA drives. One was for programs, and the other was for Sonar audio data. The audio drive died around the first of the year, and I had a miserable time getting it replaced under warranty.

The other drive, with my programs on it, died this week.

It’s also under warranty, since I bought them at the same time. When the audio drive died, I could at least use my computer for other things while waiting on the warranty replacement. This time, the computer is dead until I get a new drive and reinstall Windows and all my software. I’m not sure I can wait a month for Western Digital to fulfill their warranty obligations.

I think I’m just going to buy something else. And it won’t be Western Digital.

EZ Drummer 1.1.6 available in the Toontrack User Area

Fixed in version 1.1.6:
- improved transmuting
- access rights to shared directory opened on Mac
- residual CC data at end of tracks no longer extend loop
- improved tolerance for non-ascii characters in home path on Mac
- additional fixes to copy protection