Anyone running XP and C6.01 or 6.02?

Obviously a lot of problems with 6.01 and 6.02 have been described, but I’m wondering how many of them occurred on systems running Windows XP? I’ve got 6.00, and am getting ready to do some VariAudio … or not. If I have to I’ll look at using Melodyne. I’ll be staying away from 6.03!

If you wouldn’t mind, please post what kind of projects you run (zillions of audio tracks and plug-ins vs. small projects); also maybe what kind of computer set up you have; and if you use VariAudio on your XP C6.01 or 6.02 projects?

Thanks!

I’m running XP and 6.0.2.

Mainly softsynths about 10-30 tracks.
I don’t use variaudio. It’s mainly midi and instrument tracks.

I don’t get many problems but I wouldn’t say problem free either. Been a few access violations and a few poofs, but generally been acceptable - not much different from what cubase 5 was.
It is problem free enough to be able to work all week on projects and not feel I had system problems.

looking at my crash log and I’ve been using Cubase most days for many hours the last month.
13.8.2011 21:14
28.7.2011 11:22
23.7.2011 1:34

I’m running 6.0.3 (have ran 6.01 and 6.02) on Win XP with no real problems. I do use Vari-audio a lot, and all is well. I have had up to 75 tracks running.

There are no more issue than V5 had, though there are a few new features I think are worse, but it is not unreliable, in fact it probably has crashed less than V5 did (and that was not very often).

I run on XP

Biggish projects with masses of audio tracks and vstis.

6.02 was fantastically stable.

I am on 6.03 and am suffering from just a few problems. Notably VideoEngine process occasionally causing instability (can be stopped without killing Cubase) and the known click track bug, which will hopefully be resolved soon. This is just a nuisance for me. Halion SE is slow to initialise. Otherwise all OK.

I had some recent audio stuttering problems, but can now attribute that to a faulty S-ATA cable. I diagnosed the problem using a neat and free utility called HD Tune. It showed disc access to main audio drive to be unusually slow.

My OS is well optimised and kept clean. I use free Piriform utilities to keep on top of things

I use quite a few intensive VSTis such as BFD, VG2 etc. Most of my processing is CPU based, although the powercore is useful too. Control room is in use. I do prefer to run quite high latency, reducing when need arises.

I use variaudio a lot. I experienced a bit of lag, but found an easy workaround is to bounce the relevant audio, lead vocal etc into, say 3 sections through a typical song. Then it works really well. No lag at all.

I will move eventually to Win7 64, but it’s such a task to reload everything, I am not rushing! Here’s my spec…


XP Pro SP2 32bit
ASUS P5-KPL-AM
Intel Core 2 duo E8400
NVidia Ge-Force 9400-GT 1gbyte
4 Gbyte Kingston ram KVR800
TC Powercore PCI
Soundcard: Terratec EWS88mt (have three, but just one in use, as I mix everything ITB nowadays)

P.

ps. RIP Scribby (much loved cat and my harshest critic)

I run 6.02 now, 6.03 is not right. (And I say ‘not right’ because of the metronome glitch and the volume automation features. I tried 6.03 and reverted back to 6.02.)

Anyway, back to your situation, I have tried variaudio on a few tracks and thought it was best left to keyboard users perhaps. The good news is I don’t really need it for my work. The Melodyne plugin is supposed to be the best out there so this is interesting to me (for vocal application), but also processor heavy. Which is to say that your P4 is not going to be a help to you, IMO. My C2Q on the other hand might get a pass, but I’m doubtful because of the ram. FWIW, I did run a P4 (2 gig of ram) with C5 and it worked OK, but switching to the C2Q (4 gig of ram) was a dramatic improvement.

Eh, not sure if I have given you any help. I do think about the plus side of updating to Win7 for the added memory but so far, my setup is working well and doing what I need. If I did pick up the Melodyne plugin I would have to go to Win7 and add more ram - a no brainer. As to XP compared to Win7 with Cubase, well, all the buzz is that Win7 is a better OS.

Thank you for your replies, everyone!

andyjh and Parrotspain - I’m pleased to see you are running VariAudio intensively without any of the problems mentioned elsewhere in this forum. Do you have a sense of how you have been able to do that?

Mr. Roos - Can you say a little more please about your comment, “VariAudio … best left to keyboard users, perhaps”?

Thanks!

Sure. With the new Melodyne you can alter the vocal pitch beyond a whole step and typically it will still sound like the natural voice - (this is what I am reading in pro recording mags) . This is what you want, clearly, if you are trying to correct a vocal.

If you take a keyboard synth part and apply even a poor pitch correction tool, it may sound interesting. That’s my point. Correcting sustained keyboard parts (synths primarily, or maybe even quick staccato acoustic/electric piano?) may be ‘OK’ with what Steinberg offers, in other words, but not vocal work.

By the way, the last article on the Melodyne software that I read, the author was an engineer in the studio where Trisha Yearwood recorded her first hit single. He said he had one of the premier (1st) versions of Melodyne and he thought he would try it on a particular section of her vocal track - just one area. He confessed that he ultimately used it on her whole track. Wow, it went top 10, too. :open_mouth: I have since decided there is not much I am listening to on the radio that isn’t using it, FWIW. It’s a brave new world.

Thanks, mr. roos, I appreciate your insight and explanation. Funny how VA doesn’t work well on some people’s system, and it does on others. 100 cents isn’t a lot of pitch adjust.