Hello All,
I’ve noticed on some of my audio tracks (vocal, electric guitar, dobro) that the volume will suddenly get quieter mid track and then return to the original volume. Watching the faders and the actual volume indicator, there isn’t any visual changes occurring. Just suddenly quite and then return to normal. I also made sure nothing appeared to be clipping, and the volume is set at a level that that really shouldn’t occur anyway. I’m using Windows 11 and a UR22MKII. Thanks in advance for any help!
Hi and welcome to the forum,
Do you use any (heavy) Compressor or Limiter on the tracks, Group or Output channel?
My apologies for the delayed feedback, Martin. I would have thought I would get email messages showing there had been a response to the post. Regarding your question, no, nothing that I’m aware of or consciously added. Some basic reverb and such, but that’s about it.
Does this happen in the same place(s) every time or does it vary?
I think there is a forum setting for when you get email notifications.
I don’t think it has been entirely consistent. But it is consistent among the tracks. Same time across the rhythm guitar and lead guitar tracks.
Are you saying that when the level drop occurs the signal on Stereo Out meter does not visually show the decrease?
Do you use Control Room and if so do you use any room correction software or have anything else in a CR Insert?
Any automation in the Project?
Correct. No indication on level measurements, but obvious decrease in volume for specific tracks. No CR in use.
That’s pretty puzzling. Not being able to see it on any meters kind of implies it is happening after the Audio leaves Cubase. But having it only impact some Tracks and not others suggests it is internal to Cubase.
What happens if you Export the Audio, both normally & real-time?
Do you have any Hidden Tracks?
Do you have demo versions of plugins anywhere in your project? They sometimes insert silence intermittently.
Turns out it isn’t an issue when exported. No volume changes. No hidden tracks either. This was the first song I’ve recorded since getting back into it. All new software and hardware since it had been so many years ago since I’d recorded. Let me see what happens with the next song. Maybe it was some sort of error only end at some point in the process this time around (very likely.) I don’t want to make poor use of your time, but many thanks for the support on this!
No, sir. All plugins are Cubase effects except for the paid for version of guitar rig. I’m going to see if anything similar happens with the next song since this was the first on all new SW and HW. Discovered no issues with the exported song, so it could have been some error on my end with the learning curve. Thanks for your consideration!
If you have a Track that’s doing this you could Disable (not Bypass) all the plug-ins on the Track and see if the issue persists. If not re-enable the plugs one by one until it returns.
Thank you. Yes, I did that earlier to try to rule those out. Did not have an effect. However, I’m still convinced it’s probably user error. Just need to start the next project to see if there is any consistency. At least I know what to watch for.
In Pro (not sure about other editions) you could use File>Import Tracks from Project… to pull the Tracks from the problem Project into a new empty Project and see if the problem follows. I’d probably import them one by one to help identify which Track(s) might be the cause.
I’m using the mid-tier Cubase, but I think I’ve seen that option. Worthwhile troubleshooting option if I experience it again. Thank you, sir!