Ableton Forum

First of all, I'd like to hello to everybody since I'm new to this forum.

I own a Roland SH-201 and I'm using its soundcard in Ableton but the main problem is that it seems that the buffer size is running out all the time and I hear clicks when I play more than 2 clips (which sucks).

I think this is due to the fact that the SH-201 is only USB 1.0 but I know a professional producer who uses the same gear and his works perfectly (he has a Mac though).

What also sucks is that I can't use the SH-201's soundcard to play CD's since the latency is too high (which sucks even more).

It's a good synth but I'm looking for a soundcard better suited for my needs. Could you guys give me some advice?

I need a soundcard that:

- supports ASIO (ASIO4ALL should do the trick)
- has high data transfer speed (USB 2.0 preferred since Firewire can't be powered by the bus on PC)
- is relatively cheap (less than $100)
- has a good output sound (high bitrate, high sampling frequency)
- can comfortably be abused in Ableton =)

I don't need a sound card that:

- has plugs for MIDI, guitar jacks, etc.
- 15.000 outputs channels (2 are enough L and R)
- is light, portable or nice looking (it's staying home)

Please, no one has been able to answer me so far

jesus...you'll have a hard time finding a soundcard for less than $100
for outputting audio, just use your internal soundcard...wait a minute, are you using a laptop or desktop ?

you haven't specified just about anything of what you need for inputs or such.

euh if its for a desktop, take a soundblaster audigy something, its cheap and it comes with asio drivers no need for asio4all. I don't think you come much cheaper.

but you wrote such a long post without telling what you need really

thefool wrote:you haven't specified just about anything of what you need for inputs or such.

euh if its for a desktop, take a soundblaster audigy something, its cheap and it comes with asio drivers no need for asio4all. I don't think you come much cheaper.

but you wrote such a long post without telling what you need really

Now that you said it, yeah.

I have a laptop so it would have to be an external sound card that could be plugged in by USB 2.0.

And yes, it is just for ouputting audio I use Ableton with 20 midi and audio tracks when I finish my work and it's always a pain to mix/master and even produce sometimes.

I don't have a guitar or such things and my keyboard can be plugged in through USB.

So the souncard needs to be able to "take in a lot" only from Ableton

Thanks a lot for the quick replies.

you just need a stereo output, right ?

why don't you use internal soundcard ?

b0unce wrote:you just need a stereo output, right ?

why don't you use internal soundcard ?

Because it is utter crap. Five midi tracks and boom, you're up to 60% of CPU usage with clicking noises.

ponsshin wrote:

b0unce wrote:you just need a stereo output, right ?

why don't you use internal soundcard ?

Because it is utter crap. Five midi tracks and boom, you're up to 60% of CPU usage with clicking noises.

something sounds incorrect about your setup.

i cant imagine the sh201's soundcard giving up at 2 clips since the cpu load is on the computer and same goes for internal +asio4all..

what spec machine u got?

ponsshin wrote:

b0unce wrote:you just need a stereo output, right ?

why don't you use internal soundcard ?

Because it is utter crap. Five midi tracks and boom, you're up to 60% of CPU usage with clicking noises.

I don't think changing your soundcard will improve that (especially something less than $100), if anything using firewire/usb will use some more resources...

when you're not recording quick live input...such as playing keys for a melody, or playing a beat......you should crank your audio buffer to the max. go into preferences, audio device, and max the buffer. Now , when you affect the sound it will take a little longer to react, but you will have much more CPU headroom. change the buffer to something lower when you're doing live-ish stuff.


try that, and see if it helps the situation..

edit: after re-reading your initial post it seems you might have done this already...

I do not know the quality of these products but they are in your price range (and generally accepted brands i'd suppose):

http://www.behringer.com/UCA202/index.cfm?lang=eng

http://www.rolandus.com/products/produc ... rentId=114

i'd like to hear your machine specs though

emu 0404
http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?product=15185
150 dollars

emu 0202
http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp ... duct=15186
99 dollars

just look at any of the major online retailers....

sweetjesus wrote:

ponsshin wrote:

b0unce wrote:you just need a stereo output, right ?

why don't you use internal soundcard ?

Because it is utter crap. Five midi tracks and boom, you're up to 60% of CPU usage with clicking noises.

something sounds incorrect about your setup.

i cant imagine the sh201's soundcard giving up at 2 clips since the cpu load is on the computer and same goes for internal +asio4all..

what spec machine u got?

I don't have a warmachine.

Intel Pentium M Processor 1.60GHz (yea I know shame on me)
512 MB of RAM

I'll try increasing the buffer size to the max and I'll see. Maybe then I'll consider buying a new soundcard.

ponsshin wrote:Intel Pentium M Processor 1.60GHz (yea I know shame on me)
512 MB of RAM

good luck! if you just use audio, this might work, but if you are trying to run a bunch of instruments, it ain't gonna work, esp (imo) with the suite...

dcease nailed it with the emu 0202 as a USB 2.0 interface suggestion.

You really should bump up your RAM from 512 to at least a 1GB:

http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx?gclid ... ggodbsz0ya

The RAM upgrade will likely do more for you than the interface.