MAxi-Patch AO crashing with Audio through Selected

djnelson · Post by **djnelson** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 2:05 pm

Hi,

Firstly my setup :

Laptop : Dell Latitute D820 (Not sure but off top of my head it's 1GB Ram and Core Duo 1.83 GHz)
OS : Windows XP (please don't mock me I can't afford a Mac)
Application : Maxi-Patch / VST (tested with both vst plugged into Arguru - http://www.aodix.com/)
Soundcard : Torq Connectiv
Cartridge(s) : Ortofon OM Scratch / Ortofon Concorde Pro S
Control Vinyl : Ms Pinky Gen 4 Vinyl

The issue :

I've been having problems with my system where Ms Pinky will stop after a while if I either don't have anything playing (say switch to playing off cds) or if change to using vinyl (audio through) it will stop working after about 2 vinyls.

Some trouble shooting and research :

I have researched a bit and I discovered there could be a problem with the Torq USB soundcard kept disconnecting. Solution to that is in XP to disabled the option for windows to shutdown the usb port to save power when not in use. Didn't really work for me...

Anyone have any other solutions please share, greatly appreciated. Also is there a way of debugging in Maxi-Patch? I see the max runtime screen shows when songs don't work or if my DAC is disconnected, just thought if there was more detailed info.

Thanks in advance.
Nelson

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:40 pm

Which version of Maxi-Patch are you testing with? I can't duplicate this problem at all with 3.7.1. But here are a few things to try:

1) Make sure to download and install the latest drivers for the Conectiv from m-audio.com

2) Make sure that you turn file play OFF when using audio-thru in Maxi-Patch.

3) Use the Windoze "Always On" power use profile.

djnelson · Post by **djnelson** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:56 pm

Hi,

I'm using 3.7.1. as well, I have XP Service Pack 3 and the latest M-Audio drivers installed.

However I do remember that I don't turn file play off when I selected the audio through. I'll test this properly later and confirm.

Thanks for the speedy reply.

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:11 pm

I'm mystified as to why you need to select "audio thru" in the software if you're using the M-Audio Conectiv soundcard and you want to mix in a normal vinyl music record to your digital DJ set. All you really need to do is turn one of those big round knobs on the front side of the Conectiv all the way to the left. That will pass the signal from your turntable directly to the outputs of the Conectiv.

djnelson · Post by **djnelson** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:28 pm

Yeah I know... I just thought that would be the correct way of doing it in Ms Pinky as it has the audio thru option. I had tried the other way as well.

I've found that Maxi Patch crashes if:
- I try play a record by using audio thru
- Play record with turning the dials on the connectiv
- If I stop using it (playing control vinyls) for a few minutes
- or don't start using it straight away after opening the application

It sems like it needs a constant flow of data to keep the application running or possibly the connectiv connected...

I had reloaded my Laptop when Ms Pinky arrived and I don't even have anti-virus software installed on the system. I feel it's very clean setup, so don't see what could be causing it to crash so randomly. I've checked that the usb and pc power settings are set to always on.

Are there any other system settings / tips you may have that I could check?

Thanks
Nelson

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:19 am

Hi Nelson,

What are your I/O Vector Size and Signal Vector Size settings in Maxi-Patch?
Please set these both to 64 if your machine is fast enough to do so without causing audio dropouts and hiccups. If audio hiccups occur, set them to 128, or even 256.

djnelson · Post by **djnelson** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:32 am

I was using :

I/O Vector Size : 128 / 256
Signal Vector Size: 1 or matched to 128 or 256

I'll mess around a little more with these tonight if I get a chance.

Thanks
Nelson

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 6:40 pm

You could also try powering the Conectiv with a DC adapter "wall-wart" power supply. It sounds to me like you might have a flaky USB connection with the Conectiv, or perhaps your "Conectiv is Defectiv"

Are you connecting the Conectiv to a USB hub shared with other devices?

djnelson · Post by **djnelson** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:03 pm

Hi,

Tested out some of your suggestions, the "wall wart" has seemed to have helped quite a bit. Also using 256 and 256 for the latency and vector size seems to be the most stable on my system.

I have my usb directly into the pc, no hub or other devices connected. The USB connection on the conectiv is a little wide so the cable is loose when plugged into it, but having the wall wart seems to make the connection to the pc not as sensitive to it being loose. I had experienced drop outs before from the conectiv to the pc.

Using the vst seems to be the most stable and doesn't jump as much. In the Maxi-Patch I experience some jumping at times and I've checked my needles and the error metric and its fluctuates between 0.1 and 0.3.

Should it be more constant and not fluctuate as much or is this a good reading?

Is there a way I can get the filter from Maxi Patch into the VST plugin? OR are there any VST effects you could recommend?

Also stopping the play back button and using conectiv to play normal vinyl in the VST seems to work very well. I need to test this again on Maxi-Patch as I only tested it with the wall wart and the VST and could not reproduce this error now after an hour playing around (YAY

).

Thanks
Nelson

djnelson · Post by **djnelson** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:39 am

Hi,

I would like to end this post on a positive note. Unfortunately the Maxi-Patch isn't as stable as the VST on my current set up.

However I'm very happy using the VST and it's working perfectly for me (no crashes since using the wall wart and 256 I/O latency setting).

Thanks Ms Pinky, I'm gaining confidence in DJing out with my laptop again

Cheers
Dj Nelson

Post by **dlpinkstah** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 5:15 pm

Thanks for the positive post, Nelson! Glad to hear you're happier now.