With a lot of plug-ins obtainable, it’s straightforward to end up with loads of expired demos and tried-once-then-forgotten freebies cluttering up your hard drive. Apart from taking up space, these can slow down load times, trigger stability issues and typically get in the way. So, if you are carrying loads of dead weight, spring clean that plug-ins folder!
Doubled Up
If you are employing a hardware synth as a MIDI keyboard, you may run into a scenario exactly where your DAW records two MIDI notes on best of each other, rather of just one every single time you press a important. This may be because of the keyboard’s Neighborhood Off setting becoming disabled, so basically re-enable it.
Close up Shop
Even in a very simple track, you could speedily find that loads of plug-ins are obtaining in on the action. If you’re within the habit of leaving all your plug-in windows active – even when they’re hidden behind one another – you will discover that not merely does your workspace gets really cluttered very swiftly, but your DAW may start glitching if you switch among the windows. This really is quickly sidestepped by closing the windows of instruments and effects that you’re completed with for now.
Step Back
If points are going wrong and a problem’s presented itself that you’re getting trouble fixing, try not to get frustrated and shed control of the creative process. This can definitely mess up a music session. If it’s all just too much, get up and walk away for a minute. This may possibly seem obvious, but stepping back and doing something else for a though enables you to look at the problem in a fresh light when you return to it.
On The Chain Gang
Should you come across that a particular chain of effects plug-ins is not giving you the sound you believe it should, the order in which they’re inserted is most likely the cause. Effects don’t just all method the track onto which they’re inserted at the exact same time – they feed the signal from one to another. As an example, a compressor inserted just before a reverb will deliver a entirely diverse sound to when it’s inserted soon after the reverb. Inside the former case, you’ll be compressing a dry signal, then adding reverb; within the latter, you’ll be compressing a reverbed signal. Reorder your insert effects by dragging them to different slots inside your DAW’s mixer.
Lost in the Maze
When you’re working on a major session with a lot of tracks, it can be effortless to lose track of what’s going on and where everything is. You’ll forget which bit will be the bridge, which kick drum had that compressor plug-in loaded and exactly where the lead vocal is amongst the mass of audio files. Every DAW delivers a range of workflow tools – for instance markers, folders, color-coding and grouping – to help you make sense of the session. Make sure you use them! They’ll make your life easier, enabling you to invest more time producing music.
Under Construction…
Everyone’s been there – the dreaded hourglass or spinning wheel that clearly aint going anyplace, and that popped up out of nowhere when you seemingly weren’t performing something to warrant it. The very first factor to do is give it time. Press Alt+Tab and navigate to another program – your system may just have to have a minute. If the difficulty persists, you’ll need to force quit your DAW: Ctrl+Alt+Del on a PC, or Cmd+Alt+Esc on a Mac.
This is Far From Over
Once you bounce tracks down or export your mix, a progress bar appears on screen, indicating how long the process will take. But what if that bar’s progress appears to take forever, even when you are not processing that a great deal audio? The very first thing to do is take a close look at what you’re truly processing – you may have muted or hidden hefty pieces of audio which you don’t want included, which might be lengthening the process. If that’s not the problem, you’re most likely suffering from a lack of drive space or severe hard disk fragmentation, so have a clearout and run a defragging program.
Bed Time
Letting your laptop or computer go to sleep when you’re not working with it is actually all well and great, but when you leave your DAW running when It enters its slumber, you might find that when you return, issues are not as they really should be. Your DAW could possibly take a while to boot up or refuse to work at all. Fairly a couple of DAWs and plug-Ins demand USB authorization dongles, and if the computer goes to sleep, the dongle could lose communication using the DAW. Unplugging and replugging the dongle will solve this challenge, but in case you know you are going to be away from your laptop or computer for a even though, save and quit your project initial.
Noise Pollution
Low-level hum or hiss on microphone inputs can be a prevalent complaint in studios built on a budget, as mics can choose up interference and background noise quite effortlessly, especially if they’re hooked up with unbalanced cables. Enhancing your environment and cabling may be the definitive remedy to this, but you may be able to fix this predicament in your DAW. Insert a shelving EQ on the incoming signal to filter out the noise, possibly reducing the mic gain when you’re at it.
Still Got Problems?
In the event you come across a DAW predicament that isn’t covered here and you just can’t figure it out, check the manufacturer’s webpage for a list of recognized problems with the software program in question. If the developers have identified an issue and have publicized it, the chances are they’re working on a fix for it in their next update, cm