Error message on my DM 4800

John Flynn

John Flynn

Veteran
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
123
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From
Shankill, Dublin Ireland
Website
www.jmrrecordingstudios.com
Gear owned
Tascam DM4800 IF-FW
Hi all

Just throwing this question out there.. Has anybody any Information regarding the error message that happened out of the blue a few days ago on my DM 4800.
I heard a brief high frequency sine wave type sound for a second and my audio stopped completely with an error message stating ' A serious error occurred. All audio stopped. Contact Tascam' I am curious to know if this is likely to be a 'one off' or if it is a sign that my console is on the 'way out' for want of a better expression. On reboot the machine worked perfectly and I have run it for maybe 6 hours since this occurrence and all has been well. I have asked TascMan for the latest drivers for mavericks as mine are out of date. A member drumstruck has stated that he has experienced this issue when his mac has not even been connected. Only one drum seemed to resolve this issue by changing his FireWire card. Can the error message relate to different issues rather than just one? Any information would be very much appreciated

Thanks in advance

John Flynn
 
Hey John,
I have run into this as well, but only a couple of times in the 5 years I've had the board, but never while recording. I just read in the "stickies" that you got the latest driver you needed, so, all good there. Hope it works for you.
 
Hi TascMan, thanks for that. Yes I have the drivers installed now. The only issues I had with the old drivers were distorted sound on QuickTime player 10 and soundcloud since i updated to mavericks but with this error message appearing I wanted to make sure everything was up to date. Did you ever discover why you got this error message the few times it happened? Do you feel it is something I should worry about or just no big deal? I only encountered it once so far but it came as quite a shock as the board never gave me any trouble in the years I had it before. I wonder is this an error message that could relate to a number of different errors. Perhaps if more users have experienced it they might reply here so I can get some sort of a handle on this?

John
 
I wouldn't worry about it unless it happened more frequently. If you can't duplicate it at this point then it will be even difficult for a Tascam technician to determine the problem. If it happens tomorrow, then maybe its something but for now think of it as a one off. I remember having problems when syncing to an external clock. If you have a setup where you are syncing to external equipment, maybe bypass that for now or look at your configurations. I don't think that error would have anything to do with drivers btw.
 
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Cheers for this cmaffia. I am very happy with this console and i tried many before it. It would be a shame to have to change it. I'l take your advice on this and just hope it will not be a common occurrence.

The only different thing i did was moving to recording at different sample rates. I always recored at 41,000 and began experimenting with 48 and 96. I set up protools projects at these 3 sample rates and was changing from one to the other rebooting the board (holding down alt stop and play) without turning it on and off between. (I don't know whether this would make a difference or not) it was running for many hours at 96 during a mix when the error appeared out of nowhere.When I say i was changing sample rates i don't mean one after the other btw. I mean during a 5 hour mixing session i might do an hour or twos work at 41000 on a project and then move to another at 96. The desk would have rebooted. The mac wouldn't have. I notice even with the new drivers if i boot up in 41000 i can play sound cloud songs perfect. if i then change sample rate to 96 sound cloud also plays perfect. If i then go back to 41000 and attempt to play sound cloud i get a choppy distorted sound, like i used to get with the old drivers. if i reboot the mac sound cloud again plays perfect at 41000. This is why i wonder if the error message could relate to various errors. other members have experienced this same message with different problems...
 
I have never really chased that rabbit. I have never had the problem while recording. Sample rate may or may not have had anything to do with it. I record at 88.2. As I recall (and its been a long time since I have had this issue) I would get that screen when the board was left on, untouched, for many hours. Almost like something would go to "sleep" or stop running and the board would sense this and display this message. I don't think you need to worry about it, as cmaffia said, unless it is happening often. Which could mean something else is causing the problem. That's the only error screen I have seen on the board, so it might be a catch all message.
 
Cheers for that TascMan. On the board now as I write. I so far haven't had it again. The board was running a long time when it happened with all control happening from my keyboard rather than the desk as I was editing an out of time acoustic guitar track for quite a while. Anyhow you guys have put my mind more at ease. At least I'm not the only person to experience this. Again I thank you both for taking the time out to chat to me re this issue.

All the best

John
 
I set up protools projects at these 3 sample rates and was changing from one to the other rebooting the board (holding down alt stop and play) without turning it on and off between. (I don't know whether this would make a difference or not) it was running for many hours at 96 during a mix when the error appeared out of nowhere

If you change sample rates, you should reboot your computer AND the DM. I've experienced some strange issues (not exactly like yours) when I don't perform a complete system reboot when changing S/Rs. Some programs (Adobe Audition) often lose USB communication, and drop FireWire connectivity as well.

Furthermore, ProTools 9/10/11 - the ASIO/Firewire-enabled versions - can be stubborn too; they'll drop the DM/FWire driver in a heartbeat if it's 'hung up' by another application, or the DAW is 'confused' by a previously resident sample rate setting. This doesn't mean you'll get an error message, but the 'crew is out to lunch,' so to speak. :)

CaptDan
 
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Cheers Capt. I am seeing your point. I had been changing sample rates on Tascam (Which of course had to reboot) but not rebooting the mac. This changing sample rate thing is new to me and may be related to the error. Until recently i had simply recorded at 41000. I wanted to try 96000 as the desk was capable of it and i wanted to see if i could notice a difference in quality. I will in future reboot the whole system (Including mac) if i change sample rates

John
 
I think it's generally a good practice to 'flush the system.' Also, if you study the instructions for the DM Firwire drivers (from V1.21.xx upwards), you'll find that there's a series of steps to be followed when sample rates are swapped out. These include both DM reboots, and PC/Mac audio driver menu settings changed as well. Otherwise, there's a good chance for communication problems, or applications not running with absolute stability.

As for audio quality differences between 44.1 and 96kz - well - that's been a well discussed topic. Best you study this for yourself in your own studio. I'd rather not prejudice you either way. :)

CaptDan
 
While it is always a good and preferred thing to boot the Mac and start from a fresh known good working state, you can often get around having to a boor the Mac by removing the FW cable and reconnecting after a few seconds. This forces a FW buss reset which is what is really needed and is accomplished by doing a Mac boot.

Keep in mind that running at 96k requires much more system resources and more demands from your computer and that can make things more unstable that can outweigh any possible benefit to running at 96k.
 
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A lot of points to consider here. The first thing I need to do is as capt dan suggested read up on the driver/changing sample rates recommended procedure. I didn't know there was one. Te the 41000. 96 debate I have read much about it. I will let my ears decide on that one. Thanks again all. Useful advice from experienced users.

Kindest regards.

John
 
TascMan said:
I have never really chased that rabbit. I have never had the problem while recording. Sample rate may or may not have had anything to do with it. I record at 88.2. As I recall (and its been a long time since I have had this issue) I would get that screen when the board was left on, untouched, for many hours. Almost like something would go to "sleep" or stop running and the board would sense this and display this message. I don't think you need to worry about it, as cmaffia said, unless it is happening often. Which could mean something else is causing the problem. That's the only error screen I have seen on the board, so it might be a catch all message.
Click to expand...

I think Mr TascMan is close to the money here.

By the sound of it I have had this message appear more than most - perhaps once every month since the DM was new. A reboot of the DM (correct shutdown process followed by cold boot is the method I use) has fixed the issue every time and it has never occurred twice in one day..... fwiw my setup has been constant for the last 3 years:
- DM runs from morning until night most days
- the issue only occurs after quite a few hours running (4+)
- occurs with or without Mac running
- TMC v1.70d3 build 13444
- Tascam Driver 1.22 b4 (136110)
- Firmware 1.10 (88685)
- 99% of the time using 96KHz
- firewire over thunderbolt into MacBookPro 8,3 with OSX 10.7
- running PT9, Reaper 64bit and Wavelab 7/8
 
Hi drumstruck

You may have a point here. Your desk is running for very long periods mostly at 96 kHz

I ran into the issue for the first time running the board for many hours at 96khz with little touching of the board as I was editing in protools 11. I have ran the board for many hours before but always at 41000khz.
That is the only difference in how I was using the board when the message appeared.
Again thanks to all for contributing to this discussion
.

John
 
On more research I reckon this error relates to DSP (Digital signal processing) failure on the console.
The reason why the DSP failed I have no idea but this issue has happened to other DM users.
It still hasn't reoccurred and i am keeping my fingers crossed but if it happens again this is most likely the area i would be looking into. I don't know if the DSP happens on the motherboard or elsewhere but as i say this has been an issue for some users. Tascam has apparently replaced boards during warranty when this message has appeared.

John
 
Are you using onboard effects? Were you using any onboard effect when it did happen to you? If so, it could very well be a bug in one of the patches that causes a memory leak.
 
No. No No inboard effects I was doing an edit in protools. Not even using the desk as such other then to play through the audio from my daw. I was at 96 kHz rather than 41000 which I would normally use. I have a description of the error at the top of this thread
 
I don't use internal effects either and have been recording at 88.2kHz for the last year without a problem. I can duplicate that error message by a quick on/off/on of the power switch which I stumbled upon when my fingers slipped powering it on. That's the only time I've seen it on my board.
 
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