Tripleplay - Sudden dropouts in stable set

Started by Cez Nov, September 14, 2021, 01:38:12 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Cez Nov

Hi!

I'm using FTP for years now, mostly playing live. My setup was always solid. But recently FTP started to act strange. It triggers audio dropouts in my DAW (Ableton Live). It was so annoying that I moved to different PC, which is much faster (i9, nvme PCIe ssd drives) and the dropouts are still there. The strangest thing is, all those crackles appear even if I don't touch the guitar but just changing the presets with my footswitch (I use midi controller to change them inside FTP VST plugin loaded with NI Kontakt instruments). Updating firmware and software doesn't help. What can it be?

kimyo

#1
i notice crackles in ableton when it's receiving a lot of midi data.  a midi monitor might help you narrow things down.  are you using any other hardware midi devices?

also changing the usb port the pedal is attached to is worth a try. (sorry, forgot you have the problem on an entirely new pc as well)

admin

#2
Still worthwhile to review the PC Motherboard manual , avoid USB ports on front (as these are the slowest, often behind an internal board mounted USB Hub IC, use the rear USB ports which have a shorter path to the CPU controller

But if its a Win10 computer, follow the latest guidelines to make it more efficient for Audio/DAW use

This one from Zoom still  applies to TriplePlay
HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WINDOWS 10 PC FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION

https://zoomcorp.com/en/jp/news/windows10/

Cez Nov

The problems started in the same PC i used for years. It wasnt upgraded, there was no Windows updates, nothing. FTP just started to fail without any reason. Im just afraid it is something internal in its hardware...

admin

#4
Quote from: Cez Nov on September 14, 2021, 03:21:44 PM
The problems started in the same PC i used for years. It wasnt upgraded, there was no Windows updates, nothing. FTP just started to fail without any reason. Im just afraid it is something internal in its hardware...

Its probably some new third party appliance /IOT device competing with the Tripleplay 2.4GHz spectrum

TRIPLEPLAY Connect with its USB  connection is preferred in the studio

shawnb

How old is the battery?

I recall general issues - not obviously battery related - when it was time to swap it out.
Address the process rather than the outcome.  Then, the outcome becomes more likely.   - Fripp

Cez Nov

I don't think it is a problem with the battery in the transmitter.

When I'm inside the DAW, the problem occurs. When I turn the transmitter off it doesn't help. But when I plug the receiver off the USB port, the dropout problem stops.

So my conclusion is that the receiver is failing.

Cez Nov

I was able to get my hands on different set of Triple Play. The problem still occurs. So I started looking into the software. I discovered something weird.
It looks like the dropouts dissapear when the Triple Play plugin is opened.... So I need to go the the specific track where the plugin is inserted, double click it
so the Triple Play window shows up and as long as the window is opened, the dropouts are not there. To be exact, the window doesn't have to be visible, it just has
to be opened (the DAW can cover it). If I click the cross in the upper right corner and close the plugin, dropouts are there again. It is super weird.

gumbo

....goes to show my theory ( that things started going to cr@p when we stopped plugging a Tele straight into a Big Tube Amp) has some mileage after all.....    ;D

Maybe there's a market for wall signs depicting that....    ....hmmm...    ::)
Read slower!!!   ....I'm typing as fast as I can...

kevorkian

Quote from: Cez Nov on September 21, 2021, 03:01:20 AM
I was able to get my hands on different set of Triple Play. The problem still occurs. So I started looking into the software. I discovered something weird.
It looks like the dropouts dissapear when the Triple Play plugin is opened.... So I need to go the the specific track where the plugin is inserted, double click it
so the Triple Play window shows up and as long as the window is opened, the dropouts are not there. To be exact, the window doesn't have to be visible, it just has
to be opened (the DAW can cover it). If I click the cross in the upper right corner and close the plugin, dropouts are there again. It is super weird.

A number of DAWs will allow plugins that are not currently in use to sleep while in the background (background meaning that the GUI is not open and the plugin is not currently processing/playing). I wonder if that's what's happening here where if not playing constantly, the plugin/track basically sleeps and since there is no MIDI track that is driving the playback, the DAW has no reason to assume there are more notes coming.

Many years ago I started running any virtual instruments that are being played live, outside of the DAW. This means they are also running in a separate process which is a benefit to your CPU resources. You may want to try routing the TriplePlay software into your DAW as standalone. I usually don't keep the TriplePlay software running at all. I save my config to the receiver and just play the TP into a hosted virtual instrument like a MIDI controller.

Cez Nov

Quote from: kevorkian on September 22, 2021, 02:52:47 PM
A number of DAWs will allow plugins that are not currently in use to sleep while in the background (background meaning that the GUI is not open and the plugin is not currently processing/playing). I wonder if that's what's happening here where if not playing constantly, the plugin/track basically sleeps and since there is no MIDI track that is driving the playback, the DAW has no reason to assume there are more notes coming.

Many years ago I started running any virtual instruments that are being played live, outside of the DAW. This means they are also running in a separate process which is a benefit to your CPU resources. You may want to try routing the TriplePlay software into your DAW as standalone. I usually don't keep the TriplePlay software running at all. I save my config to the receiver and just play the TP into a hosted virtual instrument like a MIDI controller.

Thanks. I did as you suggested and it seems to solve the problem. Still can't figure out why it started causing problems. Whatever.... My only issue now is that when I want to change something in Triple Play setting and I run the standalone version it forces different sample rate (48khz) than my card has (44khz). And because of that it also changes the sample rate inside the Ableton Live. Annoying, any solution to this?

FishmanSoftware

Quote from: Cez Nov on September 23, 2021, 04:01:50 AM
Thanks. I did as you suggested and it seems to solve the problem. Still can't figure out why it started causing problems. Whatever.... My only issue now is that when I want to change something in Triple Play setting and I run the standalone version it forces different sample rate (48khz) than my card has (44khz). And because of that it also changes the sample rate inside the Ableton Live. Annoying, any solution to this?

You should be able to select your desired sample rate in the standalone TriplePlay software.

Cez Nov

Yes, I am. But if I restart the app it always comes back to the same sample rate.

FishmanSoftware

Quote from: Cez Nov on September 23, 2021, 03:07:25 PM
Yes, I am. But if I restart the app it always comes back to the same sample rate.

I have spent some time looking into what you are reporting, and I'm not sure what is going wrong on your end. The TriplePlay standalone software stores the last selected sample rate in the settings file, and tries to restore that sample rate when it starts up. Depending on your selected audio device, it might not be possible for TriplePlay software to adjust the sample rate.
Maybe if you provide more detail I can try to reproduce the problem, such as, which audio interface are you using, which DAW, which version of Windows (I assume Windows 10?), etc. Maybe also give me a step-by-step walkthrough, and hopefully I can figure out what is going wrong.
-John