Crackles while recording please help!

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Level 1

4 points

Crackles while recording please help!

I'm at my wits end please I need some real advice!

I'm using a macbook pro late 2008, running 10.6.8 8gb of memory. I record with Logic pro 9 but this problem has also shown its stupid little face in garage band so I'm assuming it's not a Logic problem.

I recently bought a new mixing console/audio interface the Midas venice f24 but I was getting crackles and the occasional click every now and then while recording and playing back. I went through lots of tests to see what the problem could be. I bought a new Lacie rugged external hard drive from which I record, set the buffer to 1020 samples, turned the airport off but in the end I concluded that it must be something wrong with the desk and I sent it back. The shop found the same problem but the factory claim to be unable to locate the problem. The shop sent me a new replacement desk yesterday and when I tested it I've found the same problem with the new one.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I really don't know what else to try. I've used various different firewire interfaces in the past without any problems at all.

I followed the instructions exactly whilst setting the desk up, i.e. mac off, desk off, plug in the desk, turn desk on, turn computer on.

My studio is in a wooden building in the garden so I was wandering if it could have anything to do with the electricity supply? Other wise there is an electric fence running fairly close to the studio but it runs off a battery. I'm cluching at straws here.

Is there any hardware in the computer that can go wrong and cause this kind of thing?

Hopefully I haven't missed any information out.

If anyone can solve this I'll be in your debt forever.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 20, 2014 1:46 AM

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Answer 1

g69wizz Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 12, 2014 5:38 AM in response to g69wizz

Ok. Things have moved on a lot since I last posted. I might have to make a new thread if I'm allowed.

So it has been crazy time of trying to figure out where they are coming from. Firstly the crackle and the click are two (maybe more) different things. The crackle seems to be a result of using my external hard drive daisy chained with the midas venice f24. I've resolved that issue. What I was left with was a click that happens very rarely, like once or twice an hour. So after hours and hours and days and days of testing I figured out if was only happening with 2 of my vintage neumanns that I recently bought. I've tried 3 different interfaces, an apogee duet 2 (usb), midas venice f24 and mackie onyx 1640 (both firewire). The clicks are the same on all of them. I've changed all the cables for brand new good quality ones. It seemed curious because the waveforms of the clicks were different on the u47 to the km84; the km84 always started with a vertical line where as the u47 was more mountainous. They never happened simultaneously but both happen with similar regularity. I have a mains conditioner (albeit a very cheap one) and have 2 different circuits at my house both produce the same result. I've also been to friends houses and tried with my computer and gotten the same clicks. I can even record using the km84 and the duet just from the battery of my laptop and therefor unattached to the mains altogether and I still get the same click. I've recorded using the internal hard drive and my brand new Lacie rugged 7200rpm firewire interface. oh and also an old lacie rugged. all produce the same click.

The other day I went to a different studio to test the mics and we recorded for about 2 hours with out any clicks so the problem must be something to do with my computer although It's very strange that it only happens with these 2 mics. My computer is a macbook pro late 2008 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 duo, 8gb memory.

Could this be a problem with logic not syncing properly with the clocks? Or something similar? Or can the computer create electrical interference somehow. I'm trying to locate my install disk 2 so I can run the apple hardware test.

It's such a weird problem and has given me something resembling a nervous breakdown. Any ideas would be great. Thanks.

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