My first post on the forum after coming here for answers numerous times over the years. So I really appreciate any help!
I am having a problem with bad distortion that sounds similar to clipping but my levels are all fine
I am trying to record my vinyl through a DJM 750 . Mac with OS 12.7.6 and audacity 3.7.4.
Recently moved house, set everything up the same, albeit with software and OS updates and now I have this problem.
I have changed turntables/channels even plugged in a cdj, changed usb cables etc . The sound I get in my headphones through the mixer is clean.
I have narrowed it down to an issue with the Mac or the settings on audacity. I have dropped my Mac and wondered could that cause these issues but seems like a long shot when it works fine otherwise.
I have tried changing sample rate/ format/ buffer length in audacity but has little effect.
Unfortunately don’t have another pc or Mac to hand to eliminate that. recorded using microphone and that is clean sound.
Close to giving up as I feel like I’ve tried everything! Really hope someone can help and I’ve missed something.
I would like to leave a clip of the sound if someone could kindly tell me how to embed it?
I agree with you. It’s not clipping but it sounds horrible after the first drum beat. I had a similar problem with another program caused by bad buffer settings. You could try experimenting with that by going to Edit> Preferences>Audio Settings. At the moment I have no other suggestions and I hope the forum moderators might have ideas - they are far more clued-up than me.
That’s a weird one and I’m on Windows so I can’t be of much help…
I assume it’s OK when you play a known-good file in Audacity or another application?
DJM 750… cdj…
Are those completely separate setups with nothing in common except the computer?
I am having a problem with bad distortion that sounds similar to clipping but my levels are all fine
I’m guessing that it’s not clipping. But it’s weird because digital problems usually don’t sound like clipping… They are usually “dropouts” where the audio data stream is interrupted and you can get clicks & pops and sometimes actual gaps or missing parts of the audio. …I don’t know how dropping the computer could cause this kind of problem.
If it was actually clipping it’s normally the ADC (analog-to-digital converter) which means it’s not the computer. The ADC clips at exactly 0dB. But clipping isn’t always related to the digital level. It’s possible to get analog clipping (like when you try to get 110W out of a 100W amplifier) and that can happen with lower digital levels, but that’s unlikely with your setup because the analog side normally has more headroom than the digital side, plus you aren’t hearing analog distortion out of your mixer.
… So the levels don’t “prove” clipping or not. You can have clipping and then if you lower the volume in Audacity that will make the levels “look better” but it doesn’t fix the wave shape. Or, Audacity can go over 0dB internally/temporarily, so you can boost the bass, or amplify the levels and Audacity will 'show red" for potential clipping, but it’s not actually clipped until you export, or if you play it at full digital volume and clip your DAC.
I have tested with ocenaudio and encountered the same problem.
I am now of the belief I have a fault, either with the usb out on my mixer, or my mac. Which is worst case scenario really as neither will be a cheap fix !
Not sure if theres any settings I can change on my mac that would possibly cause this issue.
Let me know if you have any ideas.
Have you tried GarageBand, for example? Have you successfully recorded anything else using the same setup since moving house? You could try a DAW like Reaper or Waveform Free, I guess.
I haven’t tried any of those yet I’ll look into it tomorrow.
I did go through my post moving recordings earlier and they all had distortion, I never noticed before as it was worse at the start and went away a little bit.
Do you think that noise could come from a loose connection in a usb port?
I listened to it… It’s strange. Maybe dropouts from something interrupting.
That can get tricky because the operating system is always multitasking and interrupting even if you’re only running one application. It seems to be
at least somewhat periodic and interrupts usually are…
The buffer allows the data to keep flowing-in smoothly while multitasking If the buffer is too small and something “hogs” the system for a few milliseconds too long, the buffer doesn’t get read in time and you get buffer overflow and a glitch in your audio.
Or, maybe try temporarily turning off your Wi-Fi or anti-virus.
Or, I’ve heard that cell phones can cause periodic noises. Try moving your cell phone to a different room.
I don’t think so. But if so, it should get noisier when you wiggle it. Usually if the USB connection comes loose things go bad and it quits recording. You can try unplugging it and plugging it back in to see what happens.
You can’t beat it can you? I bet the anticipation alone is a real buzz. I bet you’re glad you didn’t give up. I read somewhere that most people quit just before they find the solution.
Enjoy the new music.
Mark B
I’ll try to remember the solution. I’ve heard of that before but I didn’t think of it… And the operating system MUST have its own additional buffer (I’ve thought it did) because audio & video won’t work without a buffer with a multitasking system.
That shouldn’t change anything with what you’re doing. It’s latency compensation to time-align with a backing track later when they are mixed. …It adds latency (delay) to the backing track while it’s playing without affecting what’s being recorded.
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