Lots of noisy crackling with Micro and mk2!!

[Paranormal Patroler]

Ok, this is worth a cross-post as I'm facing a similar issue and the Micro can't handle minimal pressure.
I'm on a 4ms Pod, I only have the Micro and a MIDI Sequencer (SDS Digital Melisma), I'm playing 3-4 note chords at the moment and the Micro freaks out at high octave notes. Crackles and digital clipping.

I'm sure this is not a polyphony issue. No other pads are firing, only using on-board samples, and the card that the module came with. Using MIDI, having set pad #1 to poly. playing the same chord progression at low octaves everything is fine, but as soon as I transpose there's unbearable crackling so the bug seems to be related to pitch and not polyphony.

Happy to test this further and bring more details if necessary (including MIDI map) but at this point I'm with mikeleebirds:I can't keep the module if this is how it works. Why is there a poly option if this is how it responds to anything more than two notes?

[Steve]

Please contact us directly at [email protected]

[Gonzow]

I've just chucked into a pod, and it's definitely an improvement. I wonder if the other digital modules are causing the issue. Guess I need to do some deeper investigating and experimentation.

[Gonzow]

does anyone have this without the poly issue?

I sold a bitbox 2.0 in the past because I wasn't keen on the noise.

I completely forgot and was blinded by the new features for the micro - however, I still think it's pretty damn noisy.

I picked up a A2 class 128GB SD card, in hopes it would help, but ultimately it hasn't.

Am I missing something?

I was recording some drums from a small case, mixture of analog and digital, all alternated on the bus chain. I'm getting a noise floor of -50dB - I understand that's part of the pain with hardware, but still seems a little high to me. And the hum from the bitbox doesn't help.

I want to love it, I really do - but its likely im being an idiot, too picky, or it's not for me.

Any advice would be saweet!

[mikeleebirds]

Note stealing would be nice, allowing the user to set a maximum number of voices in poly mode.

That‘s a very good idea. This way you‘d never accidentally overstrain the processor (as I seem to have done).

[erwincoumans]

Just to be clear, I am trying to understand the problem for possible resolution--not trying to get you to change your musical style. Please let us know.

Note stealing would be nice, allowing the user to set a maximum number of voices in poly mode.

[Aaron]

Just to be clear, I am trying to understand the problem for possible resolution--not trying to get you to change your musical style. Please let us know.

[mikeleebirds]

It sounds like you actually maxed out the streaming from the micro SD card. Try playing the notes slower and give the box a chance to cache the audio.

Hm.. from what I understood only long samples will be streamed from the SD card and shorter ones will be loaded into memory. I only used short samples from the factory presets and would assume the SD card is not involved other than while loading thr samples into a pad.

Your suggestion to play slower notes is surprising as that necessity would greatly inhibit musical ideas needing.. faster notes.

Well. I‘ll keep exploring the Micro and see what it‘s weak points are and adjust my usage accordingly. I had imagined Bitbox as being able to be the only (multi) sound module in a mini setup, with a sequencer and some modulation sources next to it.
Let‘s see if that is doable.

[mikeleebirds]

If this main culprit is overlapping notes, then I would prefer some kind of note stealing. Even being able within a single track to set a Poly number which sets how many notes a channel can be allocated before stealing starts. Eg: Poly (3) allows for up to three simultaneous notes.

As it currently stands, it's far to easy to get crackling audio from Bitbox and the rationale to 'let the user control the processor' feels like a cheap deflection. At least if you're going to do that, then let there be some clear signals in the UI to the current processor load so things can at least be monitored.

Great idea to be able to specifically set the number of voices that a pad can use simultaneously!

[KidYoshi]

If this main culprit is overlapping notes, then I would prefer some kind of note stealing. Even being able within a single track to set a Poly number which sets how many notes a channel can be allocated before stealing starts. Eg: Poly (3) allows for up to three simultaneous notes.

As it currently stands, it's far to easy to get crackling audio from Bitbox and the rationale to 'let the user control the processor' feels like a cheap deflection. At least if you're going to do that, then let there be some clear signals in the UI to the current processor load so things can at least be monitored.

[Aaron]

It sounds like you actually maxed out the streaming from the micro SD card. Try playing the notes slower and give the box a chance to cache the audio.

[mikeleebirds]

Both modules feature a 24-note polyphony pool that you can use however you like.

I read in the manual that each pad has an 8-voice maximum polyphony, so what do you mean with what you said (see quote above).
If there is actually a limit of 8 voices per pad I am wondering how I could have maxed out the processor when I used only two pads. There should never have been more than 16 overlapping notes, but still there were crackles all over the place.

[mikeleebirds]

Good to know that I might even use a better card than the one provided. Will do some research
Happiness has been enforced.

[Steve]

you are welcome. Keep in mind: our modules do not have a governer, so to speak. So you can overload them in various ways. This is by design. Primarily, to give each user the ability to find their own "sweet spot" in terms of performance and workflow. Definitely use the highest quality card as possible. We provide a card to get you started and deliver the factory content. You will - for sure - want to buy cards based on your needs. In my experience, 'A' rated cards give me the best performance.

Thanks again for reporting.

[mikeleebirds]

Ok, shortening release did the trick. I guess I did actually overload the processor with too many overlapping notes.
Good to know how easily that can happen and that one always needs to be aware of excessive polyphony.

Thank you for the quick support!!