Help: Tascam US-144 Cubase LE Problem

[Casey H]

HeyMaybe someone out there can help. I have a Tascam US-144 outboard recorder and the free Cubase LE software that came with it. I think I am having some sort of clock sync or sample rate problem. When I record tracks and play them back they sound OK, but when I do a mix down to a file on my PC and then play as a standard mp3, the song will sound speed-ed up... a bit "Alvin and the Chipmunks" like... The same will happen if I import a standard mp3 into Cubase and play it. It will come out speed-ed up. I've looked everywhere (I think) for the menu option that might resolve this, but no luck.Anyone know?Thanks!Casey

[billg]

I have a similiar but opposite problem. I like to use a software based DAW to record drums & import to a Fostex vf160 to add some "real" instruments, vocals etc. & then go back to the computer for keyboard parts or other virtual instruments. Sometimes in "in-between" steps I'll go into soundforge to clean something up or compress the drums etc. I use the VF160 optical in/out as a mixer. Everything sounds fine unless I try to record straight to the Fostex (digitally) . . . when I do this everything is slowed down! I gave up trying to figure it out. I have to burn a disc (wav or cd audio file) for each step & import the file, this makes everything ok. I know this doesn't help, I'm just blabbing, but I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread because I'll bet our problems are related. - billg

[aubreyz]

Quote:HeyMaybe someone out there can help. I have a Tascam US-144 outboard recorder and the free Cubase LE software that came with it. I think I am having some sort of clock sync or sample rate problem. When I record tracks and play them back they sound OK, but when I do a mix down to a file on my PC and then play as a standard mp3, the song will sound speed-ed up... a bit "Alvin and the Chipmunks" like... The same will happen if I import a standard mp3 into Cubase and play it. It will come out speed-ed up. I've looked everywhere (I think) for the menu option that might resolve this, but no luck.Anyone know?Thanks!Casey Sounds like a sample rate issue. There are some quirky things that happen with mp3's and sample rates depending on the encoder. I'm not sure about what encoder Cubase uses, but within Pro Tools, if you export an mp3 from a 48k session at 48k, it shows as a 48k file, but the actual sample rate built in to the encoder is 44.1 -- so it plays back at the wrong rate. For that reason, I always bounce mp3's at 44.1, or use iTunes if I need a 48k for broadcast--- (that's a seldom talked about Fraunhafer encoder bug in PT).Another thing that could be happening is that your interface is not switching sample rates for some reason --- maybe cubase is still open, or doesn't release the driver when closed. So you are in a 48k session, and play back a 44.1 file with quicktime or something, but the interface is at 48k or visa versa.If you'll give me some more info about your workflow, i bet we can nail this down. Like what sample rate you record at, etc.Aub

[Casey H]

AubThanks. I think you are right that it's some type of sample rate issue, but here is what's weird... Forget recording my own tracks for a moment. If all I do is import a commercial mp3 file as a track, it plays fast. As you said, it could be it has imported a file that was sampled at 44.1K and re-sampling at 48K, thereby playing 8.8% faster (48/44.1)?? This is driving me crazy. I got rid of my other self-contained recorder to get an outboard whereby I do the mixing on the PC. I hated the user interface on the BOSS. This was to make my life easier... Oh, and the Cubase manual is fairly worthless.Phustrated in Philadelphia

[aubreyz]

Quote:AubThanks. I think you are right that it's some type of sample rate issue, but here is what's weird... Forget recording my own tracks for a moment. If all I do is import a commercial mp3 file as a track, it plays fast. As you said, it could be it has imported a file that was sampled at 44.1K and re-sampling at 48K, thereby playing 8.8% faster (48/44.1)?? This is driving me crazy. I got rid of my other self-contained recorder to get an outboard whereby I do the mixing on the PC. I hated the user interface on the BOSS. This was to make my life easier... Oh, and the Cubase manual is fairly worthless.Phustrated in Philadelphia Does the mp3 you are importing play fine in iTunes? If so, try this to see if the problem is mp3 conversion within Cubase -- set the advanced settings in iTunes to convert to whatever format Cubase is set to record in -- wav, aiff, --- then convert the mp3 in iTunes to the other file format (if it's copy protected you will have to actually burn a cd to convert it to an aiff.)Then import that file. If it still plays back fast--- something else is the issue, but I'm going to bet it has something to do with mp3 conversion within Cubase.Aub

[Casey H]

AubEverything plays fine in iTunes. I'm not sure what you mean regarding the file format Cubase is set to record in since at the point I see the problem, all I have done is import an mp3 as one audio track and then play that track. There is no output format at that point. Am I making sense?

[aubreyz]

Quote:AubEverything plays fine in iTunes. I'm not sure what you mean regarding the file format Cubase is set to record in since at the point I see the problem, all I have done is import an mp3 as one audio track and then play that track. There is no output format at that point. Am I making sense?There is a native format that any DAW uses--- and it is usually not mp3. It should be some kind of option in Cubase, like record format or something like that. When you import an mp3 it doesn't just "play the track" it has to convert it to whatever native format the DAW is set to. That's not an absolute rule maybe, but I've never used any software that didn't have a native format either globally or for each session.So it's not an output format we're talking about, it's the format that Cubase both records in and imports other audio files to.Aub

[Casey H]

Quote:Quote:AubEverything plays fine in iTunes. I'm not sure what you mean regarding the file format Cubase is set to record in since at the point I see the problem, all I have done is import an mp3 as one audio track and then play that track. There is no output format at that point. Am I making sense?There is a native format that any DAW uses--- and it is usually not mp3. It should be some kind of option in Cubase, like record format or something like that. When you import an mp3 it doesn't just "play the track" it has to convert it to whatever native format the DAW is set to. That's not an absolute rule maybe, but I've never used any software that didn't have a native format either globally or for each session.So it's not an output format we're talking about, it's the format that Cubase both records in and imports other audio files to.AubGot ya... I see a choice in the project setup between .wav and .aiff. I will play with that and see if I import .aiff files if I can make it happen.This is bizarre... I can't reproduce the problem now... well, it changed... If I set the driver to play the song through my audio card it plays OK. But if I set the driver to play through the Tascam, it plays SLOW. So it's similar, but in reverse.Thanks... I'll play around... Casey

[triviul]

I agree with Aub -- this sounds very much like a sample-rate issue. However, it's a bit weird, because if Cubase were set to 48kHz, then that would make imported 44.1kHz MP3s play back fast, but would also make mixed files from Cubase play slow on the computer if anything. If you wanted to get to the sampling-rate setting in Cubase SX, you would go to the Project Setup dialogue (available from the Project manu). I think that Cubase LE is quite similar to SX in structure. It might also be, however, that the soundcard's internal clock is set to 48kHz as well, but you'll need to open the audio interface's own control software utility to check this.

[triviul]

Quote:If I set the driver to play the song through my audio card it plays OK. But if I set the driver to play through the Tascam, it plays SLOW. So it's similar, but in reverse.Now I'm definitely thinking that you've got to set up the correct sampling rate not just in Cubase, but also in the soundcard's control utility. From what you say, it sounds like the Tascam is operating at 44.1kHz while Cubase is operating at 48kHz.