kingtubby.
GrahamWhiteheadHi,
I am a new user and am really enjoying using Podium 🙂 . However, I am having one small problem which is starting to become annoying 😕 .
It might just be my lack of knowledge or some setting I haven’t spotted but if anybody can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated please.
The problem is that if I click the Stop button during playback or during recording any notes that were playing at that point continue to play (i.e. if one of the plugins was playing a note the note will then stick and continue to play indefinately until I click the green power button to disable Podium and then click it again to enable it again – is this normal?). Also, if I am not quick in clicking the power button the CPU creeps up until it gets to 100% and then I get a dreadful noise through the headphones.
Is there a setting to fire out MIDI note off messages or something when playback is stopped?
I am mostly using the Zebra soft synth for my recording so I guess it could be a problem within the plugin? – this is my first and only DAW so cannot comment – I have hunted around but cannot really find anything nor have I found anybody else reporting this problem.
Apart from this I am really pleased with it and was very happy to upgrade from the free version to the commercial.
Thanks
LevendisWelcome GrahamWhitehead,
I couldn’t replicate the bug you’ve experienced. I loaded an instance of ZebraCM and stop/start playback worked as hoped. Stopping playback seems to trigger the release phase of the envelope. I switched presets and the release time differed, as expected.
An error message did spring up, however, when I attempted to load its interface. But only with imported presets. I could access the interface with a blank patch.
Testing the plugin in FL Studio I got the same outcome. An error message yet playback worked fine.
I have no idea what’s going on?! Nothing of the sort occurs with any other soft synth I’ve come across, including another of u-he’s synths, Diva. Though I only have a demo of that one.
I suggest that:
Sorry to not have a fix for you. At least you know it’s not just you 🙂
kim_otcjPerhaps it’s just that you’re using presets in Zebra that have very long release times set?
I have a few plugins that continuously pump out sound even when I’ve stopped the transport and no midi notes are being sent to them. It’s a pain in the neck, so what I usually do is bounce the track. That way, I’m not dealing directly with the plugin — just a .wav file recorded from it.
The TelenatorMe thinks it may have something large to do with your data files for those synths. Do you have them stored in write-able file locations — i.e., NOT in your Programme Files?
Reason I ask is that, although I haven’t bought any of Urs’ wonderfully thick-sounding synths yet and can’t seem to find a copy of the magazin that always carries said CM version on its included CD, I do happen to know he uses a rather unusual file setup. You have to put the DLL in the normal VSTPlugins location, then put data files in another write-able location and shortcut them back for the DLL’s use. Otherwise, you get warning messages at the very least or other, more unpleasant things happening.
I think it’s that PLUS using one of those long-playing envelopes on various preset(s).
Or it could be something else, of course. I can’t sus it out on my end, having no Zebras around.
LevendisThe Telenator has shone the light on something.
I just reinstalled ZebraCM and it created directories in *Program Files folder. I had neglected to run the installer and simply drag ‘n’ dropped the *.dll plugin file from a previous install of Windows.
The plugin works fine now that I have the following directories:
@The Telenator wrote:
… can’t seem to find a copy of the magazine that always carries said CM version on its included CD…
Navigate to (Disc Drive):The CM StudioPC SoftwarePlug-insZebra CM. The installer should be in a zipped file. At least this was the case on discs #12?-#170.
Note: This is version 1 of Zebra, not the cool modular synth of version 2.
GrahamWhiteheadThanks all for the replies.
I have since tried something I suppose I should have really tried before my original post 😳 … I have tried a different plugin.
I am still having the stuck note problem using Alchemy instead and therefore I have concluded that it was not a problem with Zebra.
I have also learnt about bouncing (as I said I am new to all this) and so therefore I have been bouncing my synth tracks once recorded. Once I render the track I don’t have the problem with stuck notes.
Therefore the problem has lessened but I must report is still a small issue on my system unfortunately.
I have all my plugins stored in c:vst plugins with Podium configured with this as an additional path.
I am using ASIO4ALL drivers and an MBox mini if that could have anything to do with it
The TelenatorThanks, levendis, but getting the actual mag (with disk) into my hands is the actual issue here. Lovely area of the Coast I’m in most of the year, but mostly rednecks and tourists. I’m sure I can find a copy next time I have to go to Chapel Hill. I’m informed that the CM version is a regular offering each month on the disk and, yes, I was aware that it is what might be termed Zebra1 now, the first version of that very cool synth.
To the OP here: Which version of Podium are you using? I have stopped at 3.1.0 for the time being, as I saw bugs suggested for 3.1.2 and I haven’t seen them fully addressed yet.
Two things — your ‘fix’ may not have solved your Zebra situation (if any), and the problem persists with the other instrument. Choose a preset that doesn’t have an extremely long delay or reverb tail to it. Notes then should not “stick”, as you referred to it, at all. I’d seriously like to know if this is a bug or not. Unfortunately, I’m unwiling to fool with 3.1.2 to find out. NO issues at all with the 3.1.0 I’m using. If problem still persists you can revert to a previous version. There should be none of this ‘sticking’ stuff going on
GrahamWhiteheadI am using 3.1.2 so might try an earlier build providing an older version can open my projects already in progress. Thanks for that suggestion.
Also using Alchemy cm and full version of zebra 2.
It’s not just with sounds with long delays.. an alchemy grand piano sound with only a small amount of reverb stuck mid sample today when I pressed stop. It seemed to just keep looping part of the sample gradually building up the cpu.
I am kind of getting used to clicking the power button twice now instead of using stop button! But would be nice to get to the bottom of it. 😯 😕
The Telenator3.1.0 should open anything you are up to now. I reverted from the betas of 3.12 as did one other.
Someone kindly chime in here if I am wrong!
PulseWell. I’m using 3.1.2 and this is definitely not a concerning issue here, or rather a low-priority concern factor.
Rarely things like that happen, but I’ve always attributed this problem to the vst, the notable “hang-ups”. Or the failing of reporting the Midi Off messages from the Vsts to the Host.
In my experience Charlatan, Noisemaker, Linplug Alpha Free, Voyager and some others are prone to such “nastiness”. And that is why some synths have the “Panic” or “Reset” buttons.
Anyways, we’ll not know for sure unless Frits clarifies the technical aspects of this issue.
PS: In the meantime Graham, did you try to deactivate the plugin itself (pressing the “x” button in the source selector) and then activate it from there? It should be faster than resetting the whole engine, with multiple synths and effects.
All the Best
CC
The TelenatorI want to offer that, aside from trying to get podium to accept virtual keyboard plugins or other related workarounds and oddball stuff, I have never had a plugin issue of any kind using Podium. I have used Podium to test well over a hundred new and old ones, too. It once placed a plugin into quarantine, but this was only because in initial setup of the database it had to scan the massive Proteus right beforehand. I removed the rejected plugin from the quarantine file and all was well.
This is part of why this thread caught my attention. Of my horror stories from long ago with Cubase 4 and 5 crashing on many plugins, I suppose I remain sensitised. I don’t want to learn some plugin bug has crept into what has been a truly clean and bug-free system. I reverted back from 3.1.2 because of an unrelated issue that I have most likely corrected now, but soon after I read of perhaps more minor issues. I jumped at the betas of 3.1.2, breaking one of my own rules and got stung in the process. I am leery about moving beyond what I have that’s working perfectly now, so I can’t be of much assistance with this one, but I’d really like to get to the bottom of this because it seems something is not quite right here.
kim_otcjI often problems with Antress Modern plugins, but I’m pretty sure the problem is not with Podium.
GrahamWhiteheadHi.
Unfortunately I have the same problem with an older version of podium.
The better news is that I can now narrow it down a bit. The problem happens when I stop playback whilst a note is playing on any soft synth plugin and the sustain pedal was down at that point. I must admit I use the sustain pedal a lot
I tried recording without using my sustain pedal and no problem stopping what so ever. It looks to me like perhaps clicking stop does not send a sustain release message to the plugins and so they just keep on holding the note?
Regards Graham
kingtubby@GrahamWhitehead wrote:
I tried recording without using my sustain pedal and no problem stopping what so ever. It looks to me like perhaps clicking stop does not send a sustain release message to the plugins and so they just keep on holding the note?
I’ve never used a sustain pedal myself, but it does sound like you’ve narrowed it down to a quite specific issue – I’m sure Frits will investigate.