your tricks for switching sample rates in your system without freaking out wavelab

WaveLab
1

since, sadly, that “bug” that i liked so much from 10.20 that allowed me to switch sample-rates in my system trouble-free is gone… i’m back to fighting it with every new project. and, really, it’s been a fight for many years, so matter what DAW i’ve been using. i was wondering what other engineer’s rituals were for starting a new project or switching sample rates from one project to another in their systems… maybe i can find a new way of doing it that doesn’t involved multiple error messages, crashing, loud pops and the like.

the units in my chain that rely on a particular clock/rate:

pro tools
wave lab
UA apollo 16mk 2 (master clock) (via the console app)
cranesong HEDD 192 (receives clock from apollo. i found a few years ago this was more reliable than the HEDD being the master)

so each of these things is fighting for control of my system sample rate.

pro tools and, for some reason, wavelab’s RECORD dialog box like to determine the overall system rate and those two tend to fight and cause the most problems.

typically i will start a new pro tools session and set the rate there. that will change the apollo rate, and thus the HEDD rate… but if i launch wavelab and the previous time WL was open it was recording at a different rate than the new session then, at best, pro tools stops and gives me an error message until i switch wavelab’s RECORD rate to match pro tools… this often involves one or both of the programs hanging for a bit… maybe some loud pops and such… before settling down… at worst, the rates never seem to lock and the files play back at the wrong speed… or wavelab just quits… until i do it all over again, let them all duke it out for the sample rate… until it works.

with wavelab 10.20 none of these problems were there, for the first time since using wavelab… wavelab happily locked on to whatever sample rate pro tools or the apollo was using and it was smooth sailing

what are your rituals for starting a new session? what program do you launch first? what’s your master clock? at which program/hardware do you tell your system what rate to be… and at what step in the process of creating a new project?

i know everyone’s setups are different and everyone’s workflows highly idiosyncratic… but maybe there’s some insight to help curb years of clock nightmares!

thanks…
taylor

2

Possibly related: I have a few different interfaces at home. When certain DAWs (REAPER, WaveLab) attempt to change sample rates, my Apollo Twin is quite unstable – I often have to shut down all apps and restart the interface. My Metric Halo unit, on the other hand, works flawlessly. (I now have a UAD Satellite for their plugins and use the Metric Halo as my interface.)

Do you have another interface you can borrow to test with? Perhaps an RME (also known for their excellent drivers)?

3

I think is going to be VERY system specific.

At my main studio use an RME AES card, or a MUTEC USB+ depending on what I’m doing, and I don’t have any issues with either. With the RME, my HEDD Quantum is the master clock and the RME drivers and WaveLab follow along OK. With the MUTEC, the MUTEC is the master clock and WaveLab forces sample rate changes just fine.

At my home setup I also have an RME AES card but it’s the master clock and again, changes just fine.

And, when I’m really mobile I use the Grace m900 interface and that can also handle sample rate changes from WaveLab just fine.

From my limited experience with a UA interface, I have a feeling there is something that doesn’t fully get along between the UA interface and WaveLab.

4

thanks for the insights, gentlemen. i may try moving the master clock back to the HEDD. it’s been quite a while since i had it that way… perhaps prior to using wavelab… just to see if that does anything… and then patiently await for PG to turn that last bug into an option… :slight_smile:

i used to have an RME fireface, way back in the day… i rememberer it being solid and reliable. not sure i’m ready to change interfaces at this point… though i don’t doubt that the UA could be one of the main causes of my troubles!

5

Hi!

i used to have an RME fireface, way back in the day… i rememberer it being solid and reliable.

I still use my Fireface 800 from 2004! and it works fine with my DAW (knock on wood)
and RME still support there older interface(s) with drivers for newer OS.

hope you find your way with audio device

regards S-EH