Track Sync and Tempo Problems

venquessa wrote on 2/4/2003, 7:34 AM
Hi all,

Started using Vegas a while back for doing studio style DJ mixes. At first I was very impressed as it allows me to directly use mp3s, allows pitch changes and can produce a very professional sounding CD length mix.

There are a number of problems, that I have come across that are VERY frustrating.

Symptom example:

Place 2 mp3 dance tracks on the first 2 tracks.
Set the start beats to match perfectly in sync
Adjust Propeties Pitch until beats are in time
Listen through and it sound fine.
Save, close and reload vegas, or go on and add another few tracks.
Go back to first mix, and beats have slipped by a few tenths of seconds.

As to why I am baffled.

The other really annoying problem, which is related, is that when rendering to wav, or mixing down to a track the track sync is completely broken, beats out by up to half a beat or more, the pitch of the tracks appear altered and so on.

Finally, while doing the same thing, I have encountered glitches being produced in the track by the software while I am editing the mix... track plays perfect once or twice, but then suddenly a glitch of maybe a tenth of a second appears from nowhere, almost like an mp3, or CD skip type glitch..

Am I placing too much demand on your software, or do I have some form of setup problem?

Thanks for you time.

Comments

momo wrote on 2/6/2003, 10:22 AM
You probably have a setup problem.

if you include your hardware setup, ie: processor, memory, soundcard (especially soundcard), and what version of Vegas you're using, you'll probably get a few more responses. The problems you're talking about are often caused by using project audio settings that are not optimum for your soundcard.

-mo
venquessa wrote on 2/8/2003, 2:09 AM
At the minute I am using my Laptop which is:
Celeron 1.5 GHz
384 Mb (DDR 256)
Sound card is an onboard AC97 compatible bottom of the line
Windows XP Pro

... but I had the same probs on my desktop which is:
Celeron 600 MHz
312 Mb (66Mhz)
Soundblaster PCI 128.

Vegas Version was Pro V1.0 but I patched it to 1.0b which made it worse, bringing in the new problem of it refusing to seek to a point in the track without crashing all playback until you reload the app. (Using mp3s from a network share doesn't help I know)

Besides... a friend lent me a copy of Acid that they no longer use, and it seems much more suited to the purpose, much more stable and the beats don't drift. It does crash quite often, but I can live with that saving all the time just. It's much better fun than Vegas more toys and the FX automation is seriously good fun.

Thanks for your time.
momo wrote on 2/12/2003, 9:07 AM

Thank you for providing your setup info – most Sound Blaster cards sample at 16 bit, 48,000 Hz only. I’m assuming your project default is 44,100 Hz – since your card cannot use this rate, Windows is re-sampling to 48,000 in order to be able to record the signal, which is taxing your OS and your system drive – the end result is usually track syncing problems, gaps in the audio, and other sorts of latency issues. This only gets worse as you add more tracks. To fix this, load your Vegas project, go to "properties," select the "Audio" tab and set your sample rate to 48,000 Hz (and 16 bit if not already set – most SB cards have only 16 bit-depth) – also, check the box that says something like "use these settings for all projects" so you don’t have to do this again. This should fix the syncing problems.

I also strongly recommend that you record all your media to a separate hard drive if you have one available. If you don’t, go buy one and use it only for your music projects (this will give you the added benefit of lots of space for your projects). This effectively eliminates gaps in the audio if you are experiencing them. SB cards will not work effectively with any version of Vegas if you don’t (or can’t) do any of the above.

Hope this helps,

momo