Suspicious Dropouts

Hey folks! First time poster here. Running into maybe the oddest issue I’ve encountered. Recently migrated to a Mac Studio M2 Ultra, and still getting over the initial new-computer oddities. OS 14.4 on Nuendo 13.0.41, Wondering if anyone has had a similar issue.

I keep getting an audio dropout on one particular track in a mastering session for a client. Bases are covered - no automation, and no demo plugins that are doing their ‘demo dropout’ deal. Happens in the exact same spot every time. Moved to a different spot on the timeline - dropout in the same place as before.

Oddest thing - if I export a small region around where the dropout happens, I get no dropout. I exported the larger mastered file and imported back into the project (dropout). I exported the smaller mastered region (no dropout), and I added the smaller export to the larger export to cover over the dropout. Moved to a different place on the timeline. Exported - dropout in the exact same place.

Anyone else experience this or something similar? Can’t wrap my head around this one. Thanks all!

Any fades or cross-fades around the concerned section?

I had a very similar case just days ago, on one specific spot in a mix. After lots of trial-and-error it finally turned out that Nuendo freaked-out due to two specific fades. I moved them by a millisecond or two, and everything was fine.

Thanks for the reply! Nope, no fade outs/ ins. I even dropped the mastered files into a brand new session and lined them up - so no plugins - same exact issue/ dropout in the same place. Wondering if the original WAV file has something embedded in it that is causing Nuendo to translate in an odd way. I might be completely wrong, but I think I remember having an odd issue years ago trying to upload files onto my Roland SPD-X, despite the file’s being formatted correctly. From what I remember, it was due to something embedded in the WAVs that made it goofy.

Talking about embedded data - any unintentional tempo-changes that try to process some (non-existent) TCE target in real time …? That’s a typical issue, too.

Nope - no tempo changes. Got it fixed, at least temporarily. Changed the export folder location from my external HD to a test folder on my desktop, and it seemed to export just fine. hmmm…

Maybe there is a bad sector on that drive. Seen this a handful of times over 25 years of working with audio drives, and different DAWs.

Can you do a base level check of that drive, with a good drive utility software?

Thanks! Will look further into it today. I use Lacie drives, and I did realize that I need to install updated drivers for them. I installed the software from their website, but it says that a ‘critical update is needed’ for the Lacie drivers. Running a big cloud backup right now, so will update those when it’s complete. I can drop functional files into the folder on the drive and they play back fine, so it seems there may be a miscommunication with nuendo exporting the files directly into the folder. Also as an edit, everything worked perfectly fine just last week before I switched to my new computer. There’s a chance I’m unlucky and the hard drive got cranky coincidentally as I swapped computers - but my hunch is that they’re just not talking too great yet.

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It can’t be the computer in my opinion. I have the same one as you and it’s perfect (my best purchase ever, and I’ve made many, including a dozen PCs and 2 or 3 iMac and Mac Pro MACs - before Silicon). But any change is risky when it comes to collaboration between devices.

Thanks for the reply! I don’t think it’s an issue with the computer (knock on wood). Hoping that updating the Lacie drivers gets everything talking friendly.

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