Sonar Producer sync problems

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TGA

Post by TGA » Mon Feb 09, 2004 4:05 pm

I have a Shuttle PC w/USB win XP. I have been trying to slave Sonar to a Tascam DA-88 with an SY-88 card using SMPTE. Also using a Midiman Delta 10-10 sound card that is just for sound only. Using a Midiman 8X8 and have tried a MOTU PC-ATV. Both interfaces will lock with the DA-88 with no problems at all.

Sonar will start OK chasing to the DA-88, then if you stop and try to restart the DA-88 Sonar craps out, only to have to reboot the computer. YES I have all the latest drivers and have consulted with Cakewalk's tech support trying all setup options know to man, and it still craps out.

Anybody out there have any advise. I am ready to Scrap Sonar and try a competitor.

Thanks,

Jeff @ Sugarloaf Studios


firefox

Post by firefox » Thu Feb 19, 2004 8:01 pm

Jeff, i know this is going to sound stupid, but i read in the sonar manual that if you set sonar to slave, that "audio playback is not supported" just midi. now that does us a lot of good huh?

Guest

Post by Guest » Sun Feb 22, 2004 1:17 pm

I'm just going to throw this out to see what happens. I have no idea if it will work, as I've never used digital tape. Will the DA-88 sync to MMC (or similar), and does Sonar output it? If so, maybe Sonar could be master, and DA-88 could just follow?
I've got an old TASCAM 80-8 that I record as many as 7 tracks to (guitars, Hammond, etc) (#8 is SMPTE). Basically, the audio computer is out of the equation at this point, as I slave the MIDI computer via SMPTE to the 80-8. When those tracks are filled, I dump them all at once to the audio computer via the Delta 1010. Now the audio computer becomes master, with the MIDI computer slaved via MTC. Then I can add more audio tracks through the 1010, and wait until last to record MIDI computer tracks to the audio, seperately or in groups, depending on any outboard processing I would want to do.
I have tried syncing Sonar and Cubase via SMPTE from the tape, but once audio is in the computer, the audio doesn't seem to want to sync properly.
There may be a way to remedy this, (maybe Word Clock or something),but I think the computer digital audio wants to be master to play back properly. SO, I plan carefully to get the tape out of the way first, then I don't have to worry about it. Since the 80-8 has no method of syncing to be slave, this is how it must be done. If the 80-8 COULD be slave, it may be possible to use it more, but in reality, I rarely use more than 4 or 5 tracks of tape anyway.
That's what makes me wonder if you could slave the DA-88 to the computer, and will everything cooperate? And, how are you using the DA-88? Are you recording tracks to it first, then dumping them into the computer? Are you using it as a mixdown, to say, take 30 tracks from digital audio to mix them down to 8 according to groups you want?
I'm thinking that if there are no digital audio tracks on the computer, and you are going to dump the DA-88 tracks to the computer, then would the DA-88 be master for that procedure, so that Sonar follows? Then, from then on, maybe the DA-88 has to be slave, IF you need to record more tracks to it? If you record all the DA-88 tracks, then are trying to record into the computer more tracks, in sync with the DA-88, either dump the DA-88 tracks to the computer so you don't have to worry about sync, or WILL the DA-88 slave?
Just wondering....

Anyone?

HDB

tga

Post by tga » Tue Feb 24, 2004 3:43 pm

Firefox,

That confirms it. Cakewalk could not get it to work either!!!

tga

Post by tga » Tue Feb 24, 2004 3:46 pm

HDB,

Thanks for the input. I am in the process of trying what you suggested. I need to find out how to output and or record SMPTE or MTC on a audio and/or midi track within Sonar. God what a mess.

TGA - Jeff Burgener

firefox

Post by firefox » Sat Feb 28, 2004 5:23 pm

I've ben thinking about this. do you have silence at the beginning of your DA-88 tracks? you could arm all the tracks, record a click or blip at the beginning of of those tracks,record the tracks in sonar one by one, in real time and then line the click transients on each track in sonar. I've done this in the past and it works.

TGA

Post by TGA » Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:46 pm

Firefox,

Thanks. I will try it! However I bought a Tascam TRS-8. I am using it as the master and slaving the DA-88's to it. The DA-88 is a born slave.

Thanks again,
Jeff

gjohung
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Post by gjohung » Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:33 am

I have a Roland VS 880 EX and decided to rework an old tracks. With MTC and using VS 880 as slave.. (I don't think there is slave/master in MTC mode) and it works great. Surprised to find that 20 bit VS 880 still sounds good. Just to be safe I always add few "pre-roll" measure so that Sonar and VS 880 can chase and synch..

I was able to transfer all 8 tracks and few V-tracks to Sonar to get 10+ tracks. VS 880 tecnnically has only 2 outs so I had to transfer 2 tracks at the time. In the end all synched perfectly.

My next project is transfering old 1/4 inch Reel Fostex 8 track to Sonar. I have M-Audio Quattro, so I can transfer 4 track at a time. But the remaining 4 track is a challenge. I might use Adobe Audition which has better control over stretching and nudging wave files.

I am an old timer and we used an old Roland 626 Drum Machine to lay down drum tracks on to Fostex A8. I have seen people synching 2 reel to reel multi track machines or synching Fostex with MC-500 sequencer using SMPTE. Here is my thought and hope if someone has experience in this.

If I transfer 4 tracks from Fostex R-R to Sonar. and then record a SMPTE signal to one of the tracks on Fostex (thus erasing one track) will it synch with the rest of th 4 track? Does Sonar have ability to generate SMPTE signals.

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