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Anyone using a Roland Octa-capture with Logic Pro X on El Capitan?

Looking for optimal buffer settings to avoid audio dropouts recording at 96/24.


I have a new MacBook Pro 15"; 16MB RAM, 2.5Ghz processor, 512G flash drive, OS 10.11.1 and Logic Pro X


I used my Roland Octa-capture very successfully with a prior, lesser hardware PC-based setup.

With my new MacBook, I'm getting intermittent audio dropouts during tracking (only one or two sub-second drops in a four minute song for example). I can see the dropout visually in the wave meter so I know it's not just playback.


I've been tweaking buffer settings but nothing is working.


I've already triple checked latest firmware for the Octa-capture and driver is most current and certified with the new OS.


Not much online for this. Apple Support points to the Octa-capture (since I don't get the dropouts using the Mac built-in mic). Roland says max out the buffer settings but I get weird latency issues in the recorded track when I do that.


Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Nov 24, 2015 3:59 PM

Reply
8 replies

Nov 25, 2015 2:18 PM in response to CharlieDandridge

OK, I think I've solved my own problem. For anyone interested, here's the deal:


  • Uninstalled Crash Plan Backup (realized this was running back ups during DAW use which is a resource killer even though it was set for 3 AM backup)
  • Turned off BlueTooth
  • Turned off some of the power save features
  • Be sure you aren't putting your USB through a USB Hub (this wasn't my issue but was an early learning)
  • Set the Octa-Capture Driver buffer to second to highest setting
  • Set the Logic Pro X buffer to one setting higher (256)


I made each of these changes in isolation in the order above and tested. So, it wasn't one of these changes that did the trick but all of them together.


By the way, I also bought the monthly subscription to ProTools 12.3 and tested with this. Had the same audio dropout issues until I made these adjustments. So, it wasn't DAW specific.


Since I made these changes, smooth sailing on a track or two. I'm hoping this will sustain as I build tracks and add plugins.


Cheers

Dec 5, 2015 12:23 PM in response to benbollinger

I did change the octal capture buffer via it's Control Panel software - updated the driver settings.


Here are the power saving features I turned off:

  • Set Screen Saver to never
  • Under Energy Saver:
    • Uncheck 'Prevent computer from automatically sleeping when the display is off'
    • Uncheck 'Put hard disk to sleep when possible'
  • I turned off BlueTooth
  • Confirmed AirDrop was off


I ended up uninstalling CrashPlan however I suspect just stopping it is sufficient. In my past experience with Crash Plan, it can chew up resources when it's backing up mid-day and I can't always figure out why it's churning when I have it set to backup at night. So, I'm going to try another solution. One other thing on Crash Plan, be sure it's not backing up another cloud folder (like a drop box, one drive or iCloud folder) - this will really cause the entire machine crawl.


Hope this helps.

Feb 22, 2016 1:05 PM in response to CharlieDandridge

I am having the exact same issue with my Roland Studio Capture and El Capitan on a brand new imac. Audio dropouts intermittently - proven by the waveform going flat for that split second. Latest drivers from Roland - for OSX 10.10/10.11 - maxed out buffer settings etc. This is disgraceful. The Roland works great on my Macbook Pro running Yosemite. Of course you can't downgrade to Yosemite on machines that shipped with El Capitan. Apple refuses to acknowledge this. The only reason I dropped $2700 on an iMac was for pro audio recording, and it's completely useless for this.


Is Apple just going to ignore this glaring issue? Do I have to start using a PC for a stable recording machine??

Mar 9, 2016 10:43 PM in response to CharlieDandridge

The problem is with the driver itself....it is optimized for os x 10.10 NOT 10.11. They just got lazy and added the "Now supports 10.11" to the driver name. The Roland capture worked PERFECTLY for me before I tried to fix something that didn't need fixing and I upgraded from Mountain Lion to El Capitan....now I get audio dropouts randomly no matter what application I'm using the studio capture with. I could only hope that the driver is updated soon....

Mar 10, 2016 6:37 AM in response to gio109

Yup - driver issue. Unbelievable - that's exactly what they did - just tagged on "it works with .11 too!" when it clearly does not.


I ended up trading my Studio Capture in for a Focusrite Scarlet 18i20 - works great. I took a nasty loss on the Roland but it was completely useless with the dropouts.


Horrible experience.

Mar 21, 2016 11:06 PM in response to CharlieDandridge

okay, so i came home and found that there was a new El Capitan update and i figured i had nothing to lose since my Roland Studio Capture was not working properly since the update to El Capitan from Mountain Lion. VOILA!!! The Roland Studio Capture works perfectly now! I used the interface for the last 5 hours without a single audio dropout, glitch or artifact. I guess i was wrong and it appeared to be an issue with El Capitan and its compatibility with usb audio devices all along. All i can say is that i am glad that i kept my studio capture. I love it once again!!! I will monitor the interface closely however and report any new updates or if it was just a fluke today....

Anyone using a Roland Octa-capture with Logic Pro X on El Capitan?

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