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Mangled Sounds while Playing

Started by Cibercronico, April 26, 2018, 07:45:18 AM

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Cibercronico

I recently received my DI3 from Jobeky, and it is exactly what I wanted...in theory

I've been having a weird problem that I am hoping is a matter of settings, but I couldn't find any information about it from searching the archives.

What is happening is when I play, the output sounds like it is mangling the samples. It only happens for a brief moment, and I can't seem to induce it at will.

Some background detail:
I played it for four days just using a Goedrum, dual-zone mesh pad (setting:PadPP), with some 1/8" TRS cable (using adapters). I was essentially just practicing rudiments while I waited for my proper 1/4" TRS cables to arrive, and thought maybe the cable was causing the problem.

Yet, when I hooked up the rest of the Re6 kit (yes it all works, including the HHC!) and started playing, I managed to hear the same mangled sample sound again. It only happened once in 20-30 minutes of playing. I have the LXTR on LOW for both the HEAD and RIM of the snare. Everything else is OFF on the rest of the pads, as far as I know.

I tried prior with my Roland PDX8 pad (just on the snare) with similar results and in that case I had the LXTR OFF and the Thresholds were -47 (head) and -30 (rim). GAIN was 0 for both.

Now, I suspect it could be one of a few things:

1) Possibly a confused triggering when hitting the rim at approximately the same time as the head on the snare, which I recall is a common factor around the time it happens, but I am not certain on that;

2) An issue with the LXTR setting (I assume that means Local CrossTalk Reduction, or similar) both of which are turned to LOW on the snare's RIM and HEAD;

3) A firmware issue;

4) Lemon...

I'm hoping it is not #4...

Has anyone else experienced this?
I will try to make a recording of it happening, since that would certainly explain the symptom more clearly.
This isn't a "missing" sound situation, either. I can still hear the samples trying to trigger, but they get mangled in transmission, then return to normal by the next 16th note, approximately. :-\

Rmiller

#1
IMHO it could be rf bleed thru the cable due to not enough shielding. You may have some thresholds set too low between each zone or between pads. IAW the manual (drummit5 sure its the same for the 3) threshold control range is -48 to -18. The lower you set it the higher the risk you have of double trigger impulses or crosstalk. Your -47 may be causing it. Just a thought.

Jman

You need to setup the pad correctly for the Drumit Three. Once the new manual for the Drumit Three is out the new parameters will be explained. In the meantime you can use this as a guideline to setup your pad step by step. Since XRim is not a trigger type choice in the Drumit Three disregard the part referring to that setting. Instead you have LXTR with a Piezo/Piezo pad. LXTR is a setting that is for Xtalk only between the head and rim of the pad you are setting up. On the pads I have setup I am using VHigh for both head and rim, but dif. pads may vary. -47 is almost the lowest Threshold setting possible. I can't say for sure if that is too low since it depends on the specific pad, but that should be checked. The setup sheet I describe steps to setup all the parameters and it might help. J
https://files.secureserver.net/0swlzF9hPW6IC8
I could tell you where to stick that piezo! :D ;)
http://stealthdrums.com/

Cibercronico

#3
Quote from: Rmiller on April 26, 2018, 08:40:56 PM
IMHO it could be rf bleed thru the cable due to not enough shielding. You may have some thresholds set too low between each zone or between pads.
You may be right...but I do want the ability to play some soft notes, too. It seems like a tricky balance at this stage, for me. However, I'm still in the early part of the learning curve, so there are undoubtedly some other parameters I am completely ignorant about here.

Quote from: Jman on April 26, 2018, 10:24:40 PM
On the pads I have setup I am using VHigh for both head and rim, but dif. pads may vary. -47 is almost the lowest Threshold setting possible. I can't say for sure if that is too low since it depends on the specific pad, but that should be checked.

Thanks very much for that.
According to your settings, I am completely on the other side of the fence as far as my understanding is concerned. So maybe that is where I am going wrong. I'll give your ideas a shot.

Cibercronico

The GOOD NEWS:
I have my kit setup very nicely now. I am shocked at how little I needed to do to get it right. The GAIN really is vital, like they say in the quickstart guide. I did not intuitively sense how it functioned, thinking it would make it impossible to play softly. Quite to the contrary, it turns out. So I am happy there.

The BAD NEWS:
The "glitch" is still happening.

I turned on the metronome (at 188bpm) while playing, and watched the bar counter. Around bar 295 I heard the glitch happen, but this time--because the metronome is a constant background pattern--I was able to discern what seemed like a processor "hiccup", for lack of a better term.
That is, the sound (or the sum of the samples & metronome) literally seemed to have gaps being cut into it. The glitch happened again some time later (>1000 bars later...I had stopped the metronome when it got to 999). So I can't say it is an inherently cyclic phenomenon; it is seemingly random relative to my playing or pad choice. But when it happens, the effect is TOTAL, it is not isolated to certain pads/samples.

However, I am wondering if this means it is a Firmware issue. Would restoring it to factory default perhaps be worth trying?

I suppose I should rule out the power supply, too. Nevertheless, it seems less likely that it is a settings problem, at this point.

If it is a series of gaps being cut into the sample-stream, then it would show up in a recording when displayed as a WAV file (or similar), I imagine. So I really should get a recording of it...that may help with the diagnosis. ???

Cibercronico

Okay...Now I am not so sure  :o

I thought, "if the glitch affects the metronome, then playing the metronome by itself might trigger the glitch."

So I set the metronome to 252bpm and 4/4 time (netting 4000 metered beats to identify the position of the glitch).

Well...after listening for 16+ minutes (>1000bars) NADA.
It doesn't seem to happen by itself. At least I am not hearing anything like what I hear when it happens while playing along to the metronome.

Another oddity I noticed earlier; it seemed to happen more frequently (i.e. 3-4 times in 10 minutes) while I was doing some double-kick stuff. Now the kick pad (a 10" mesh head) is connected to the frame, and may be crosstalking with other pads. That would be consistent with why I heard the problem less frequently at other times while playing simpler stuff with only one pedal (and with less overall force, perhaps).

Assuming the kick is Xtalking (and causing this problem), how should I go about setting it? It would need to be turned on at the particular triggered pad, correct? That might be difficult to figure out if I can't hear it getting triggered.

PS 2000 bars (8000 beats) as of writing and still no glitch. Maybe it is Xtalk causing it afterall? ARGH!  :animal:

Cibercronico

Here is an image of the glitch.
As should be evident, it actually blanks out (i.e. no signal). But I don't believe it is chopping up the sample. It is just squashing it for those chunks of time.



I'm currently in contact with 2Box, though, and hopefully this will work out in the end.

Cibercronico

UPDATE
Here's a possibly useful list of potential causes of this kind of glitch, as relayed to me by 2Box.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~It’s hard to say what the problem might be. Usually the issue you described is happening because:
1.   There is a short circuit happening ( Between TIP, RING and Sleeve) while you are playing a cymbal
2.   There are too many voices triggered at the same time.
3.   There is an issue with the SD card inside your module
4.   Crosstalk is too hard set
5.   Something is wrong with the electric signal from the sensors as described in Number 1, that confuse the trigger detection.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As it turns out, they are suspicious of the SD card and are in the process of sending me a new one to install, after having eliminated the other possibilities.
(fingers crossed)

Cibercronico

Well...what an adventure.

The card that 2Box sent me from Sweden seemingly got lost (either Post Nord or Canada Post).

So the Canadian distributor (Efkay Music) sent me one, instead.

After removing the knobs, all of the plug-nuts, and screws (YOU NEED A T10 TORX!!!), I got in there and replaced the card.

BAM! Not a single glitch was heard after more than an hour of playing!

So, if anyone is having a similar problem, it is probably because the module has one of these older INTENSO SD-cards.
Needless to say, they are not the highest quality, and I am fairly certain 2Box is not using that brand in the newer modules, so it probably means others won't have to deal with this issue going forward!

And yes, I am in paradise now... no more interruptions wrecking my Zen.

:patbat2box:

StevieDrums

I have a similar problem - had it on my first module and now it has started happening on my replacement one!

Basically while playing, the sound goes distorted at random times, drops out momentarily and then comes back. This all happens in the space of around 1.5 - 2 seconds.

Does that sound similar to what happened to you? Maybe I need a replacement SD card too???

gorsepig007

i had this issue then upgraded sdcard to 32g brought off jman, no issues now its sweet as. The card is the issue, well it was for me and me thinks this is a problem for us first new buyers, i think 2box has addressed the issue but not sure, the card in mine was [Intenso] if thats in yours get rid of it, i fully recommend jmans sdcard mod from his online store he gives full instructions plus extra kits great stuff