Recording Vocals Has Crackle

J

Jeffrey Saltzgiver

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Joined
Apr 17, 2018
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Gear owned
DP 24SD, 464
Recently, when I record vocals I have been getting a weird "crackle" on, for lack of a better term, stronger notes.
I have been using the deck for a couple years and have never noticed this before.
I have just purchased, and started using, a Golden Age Pre-73, EQ-73 and Comp 54 MK II, along with a Shure SM-7B with the Cloud Lifter.
I thought maybe, since I was new to this equipment, maybe I had some settings that were causing this.
I removed all the GA pieces and tried both with the SM-7B alone, and with the Cloud Lifter... same result.
I then went back to my older gear - Audio-Technica AT 2050 - and have the problem with that, as well.
I have checked the input settings, playing around with the EQ.
Cutting the High's way down helped a little, but it cut the highs way down.
I've been playing with this for about 2 weeks now, and it's driving me crazy.

Any helpful ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff
 
You've ruled out the new mic, old mic, and all the new gear. Have you tried a different mic cable? Have you tried a different DP input? Is the DP grounded?

If you also rule out the mic cable, grounding, and the particular DP input, and the distortion occurs only on strong signals, it could be very rapid transients in your vocals that the meters aren't quick enough to display, or that the mics can't handle.

Solutions for that are first to lower the input signal by moving the mic further away; second to rotate the DP trim pad left until the distortion goes away. Make that test with just your mic (without the Cloud Lifter, and with all your outboard gear and internal EQ and effects settings turned off or not connected).

The next possibility is your gain staging / sequencing of your outboard gear is out of whack and on signal peaks that the DP alone could handle easily, the output from the Cloud Lifter or one of the other outboard units is over-amplifying the signal itself and overdriving the input of all the succeeding circuitry. Testing this requires working with only one set of gear combinations at a time (mic alone; mic/cloud lifter; mic/pre-amp; and so on); then adding one additional component (mic/cloud lifter/pre-amp; mic/cloud lifter, EQ; and so on); then mic/cloud lifter/pre-amp/EQ, and so on; until you've found the combination that introduces the distortion. From your post it sounds like you've already been down this road.

But improper gain staging is the most likely culprit if it isn't the mic cable; a mic technique issue; a grounding problem; or faulty DP input circuitry (unlikely).

If there's still no joy, the DP input's Dynamic Effects Noise Suppressor might be able to filter out the crackling without affecting the vocal audio.
 
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A complete longshot idea, but maybe worth mentioning for posterity.

Are you running into input "H" with it set for instrument? An impedance mismatch can create the symptom you are describing.
 
Thanks for your suggestions.

I tried everything suggested above.
Nothing seems to be making any changes, except for cutting the crap out of the highs, but the recordings are so dull and bassy, that's not the solution.
I unplugged everything from the deck and moved it to a new location, only plugging the mic in.
No difference.
Still working on it.
 
Two more thoughts:
Have you changed the firmware version on your DP-24?
Have you changed the type/brand of SD card?
 
OK, another thought. Is the crackle really in the input side of the signal? Could it be in the output/monitoring chain? Maybe you could export a recorded track and see how it sounds from a PC.
 
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I have tried everything that people have suggested above, I even bought an sE Reflexion Filter Pro... it didn't solve the problem, in fact, truthfully, I didn't notice any difference in the recorded sound. I am going to work with it a bit more, but based on initial results, I could put $200 to better use.

I'm at my wits end with this.
 
Your issue originates in the signal chain, not the room acoustics. The sE Reflexion Filter Pro has nothing to contribute toward solving your distortion problem. (Most of the manufacturer's literature for it is not relevant from a practical perspective for the typical home-studio in the living room/bed room environment. Hang some blankets or shag carpet; use that LazyBoy recliner as a baffle; or maybe make a real baffle or two using particle board and cardboard egg cartons. Typical room furnishings can be effective - e.g. a tall book case or two, or window curtains, or even the open door to a clothing closet can be pretty good on-the-fly helmholtz resonators. All just as, if not more, effective acoustic treatment in the home environment.) But I digress.

Since you've ruled out everything suggested so far in previous posts, the only other suggestion I have is to upgrade the firmware for all the components in the vocal chain, one at a time, starting with your DP-24SD, to the last versions known to be stable (e.g. some have had SD card issues after upgrading to the latest DP-24SD firmware, so use the next most current upgrade if not already installed. You can also retro-install a prior version of the firmware).

Upgrade first component...test
Upgrade next component...test
etc.

I feel for you.These kinds of issues are enough to drive you crazy if you let them.
 
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I knew the sE Reflexion Filter Pro wasn't going to have any relevance to the crackle issue, but it made absolutely no difference to the vocal sound at all. What a waste. It is going back tomorrow.

I upgraded the firmware a couple days ago. Everything is working fine, except for the problem.
 
Hmmm. Ok. Let me ask some basic questions (not in any particular order) to be sure only the unadorned mic signal is passing through the unit with absolutely nothing else active that could even remotely interfere. Sorry for asking the obvious, but there isn't anything else left to rule in or out.

  • What connector does the mic cable use (XLR or Phone plug)?
  • Is only the mic (and nothing else) in the connected signal path?
  • Are all the Dynamic Effects turned off for all Inputs?
  • Is phantom power off?
  • In what position is the Trim Pot for the mic's Input?
  • Are all the Send effects turned off / effects screen grayed out?
  • Are all the Guitar effects turned off / unassigned for all tracks?
  • Are all Send 1 & 2 controls set to zero?
  • Is the Equalizer off for all Inputs and Tracks and all EQ set to flat?
  • Does the Input overload light flash In real time when the problem presents as the vocal is being tracked?
  • At what position is the track fader set?
  • Are all other track faders at minimum?
  • At what position is the stereo fader set?
  • At what position is the monitor level set?
  • If you assign the mic Input to the stereo buss only but not a track, is the problem still there?
  • Does the problem present regardless of the Input to which you connect the mic?
  • Does the problem persist regardless of the mic used?
  • Does the problem persist regardless of the mic cable used?
  • How close is the vocalist to the mic?
  • Does the problem persist if the mic is placed 1 meter from the vocalist?
  • Is the problem heard using headphones plugged into the DP?
  • Is the problem heard using external speakers on the monitor out buss?
  • Is the problem heard using external speakers on the stereo out buss?
  • Does the external gear used to monitor work ok with sources other than the DP?
These Basic questions will help rule in / out:
1. The mic
2. The mic cable
3. The DP itself
4. The external monitor equipment.
 
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1. New Card - SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB
2. Full Format
3. Disconnected all outboard gear, so it's just the deck and a mic.

Is only the mic (and nothing else) in the connected signal path? - Yes
Are all the Dynamic Effects turned off for all Inputs? - Yes
Does the mic have an XLR or a phone plug connector? XLR and XLR to 1/4" adapter
Is phantom power off? - Yes
In what position is the Trim Pot for the mic's Input? To get a signal the Trim Pot is set at 2 o'clock and up to full mic
Are all the Send effects turned off / effects screen grayed out? - Yes
Are all the Guitar effects turned off / unassigned for all tracks? - Yes
Are all Send 1 & 2 controls set to zero? - Yes
Is the Equalizer off for all Inputs and Tracks and all EQ set to flat? - Yes
Does the Input overload light flash In real time when the problem presents? - No
At what position is the track fader set? - 0
Are all other track faders at minimum? - Yes
At what position is the stereo fader set? - 0
At what position is the monitor level set? 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock
If you assign the mic Input to the stereo buss only but not a track, is the problem still there? - Yes
Does the problem present regardless of the Input to which you connect the mic? - Yes
Does the problem persist regardless of the mic used? - Yes - Shure SM 7, SM 58, Beyer M400, Audio Technica AT2050 w/Phantom Power turned on
Does the problem persist regardless of the mic cable used? - Yes
How close is the vocalist to the mic? I've tried close and 12"
Does the problem persist if the mic is placed 1 meter from the vocalist? - Yes
Is the problem heard using headphones plugged into the DP? - Yes - AKG240 and Sennheiser HD280 Pro
Is the problem heard using external speakers on the monitor out buss? - Yes
Is the problem heard using external speakers on the stereo out buss? - Yes
Does the external gear used to monitor work ok with sources other than the DP? - Yes

I've also tried with myself - a male "singer" and a real female singer... same result
 
I spoke with Tech Support today.
The tech walked me through setting up a fresh song - I know how to do that
Set up a fresh song, no effects on the input or the track... total basic - 1 mic, one chord, into the deck... totally raw, and all of a sudden it was clean.
I hung up with him, tried a different input on the same new song... and it's back.
Went back to the first input, and it's there, as well.
Makes no sense.
I also spoke with an engineer friend about it, and he suggested adding a compressor, but even if that worked, it's merely a band-aid, not a solution.
This deck wasn't doing this before, so it shouldn't be doing it now.
I'll be taking it to a Tascam repair center on Monday.
 
Wow. A number of smart people looking at this closely and still no resolution.

Of course... sure hope you get it worked out - but regardless of the outcome it's good that you shared here to get this on the record. So thanks for that.:)
 
Old thread, but might as well:

I've been having the same problem. Tracks that i just got done recording play back with a lot of distortion/crackle, without reason... meaning I wasn't clipping or overloading the mic pres. However, I noticed that it only happens when I'm pushing the monitor output to my speakers VERY hard... (almost to 5 o'clock). Once i turn it down and turn up my headphone pre to compensate, the distortion stops.

Could this be related to your problem?
 
I'm just a couple weeks into using my DP24 and haven't experienced this problem, but oddly enough yesterday I was watching a youtube video on the 10 best multitrack recorders of 2019 and the 'crackling' problem was actually mentioned. Unfortunately they only pointed out the issue but didn't mention anything about a solution :(

It's been a year since the OP brought up this problem, has he or anyone else found a fix?

Anyway, the vid is at:


Here's a screenshot from the video and their summary of the DP32:


6911a59abffad2dbfb053ed554d177a8.jpg
 
In 7 years of use I've never had any issues at all.

I doubt that reviewer used the DP-32 long enough (if at all) to actually experience such a highly unusual anomaly. The reviewer most likely regurgitated something read elsewhere without vetting the cause.

If you're using the most current firmware and a TASCAM approved SD card, then the crackling issue in all likelyhood is external to the DP-24/32/SD in the reproduction system; or, even more extreme and rare, a marginal or defective internal DP-24/32/SD component. Both are beyond the scope of this forum...too many variables and unknowns involved. Which is why there was never a resolution here to the OP's issue.
 
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Good to hear. I agree the reviewer probably didn't spend any time with the DP and likely never experienced the problem first hand. Maybe he stumbled across this thread and it was the only negative thing he could find to say about the DP ;) Based on his other choices for the top 10 (which are puzzling to say the least) I'd bet the reviewer found and listed the top 10 in the order returned by a "top multi track recorders of 2019" google search :rolleyes:
 
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