Submitted by gitlvr on Sat, 06/06/2015 - 22:28

Hi, new here.
I've been using Cakewalk Home Studio 2004 for a long time, but it is fairly old, so after reading a lot of reviews, downloaded Reaper for trial. I like it a lot, think it sounds great, easy to use, etc.
But I notice when playing back the tracks, there is a distinct "thump" as the audio begins. Will this disappear once the tracks are rendered to a stereo wave file? Does anyone know what I'm talking about here?
My Home Studio 2004 software does not do this, and I'm doing nothing different in Reaper. This is an artifact of the software, not a noise I am making at the beginning of the recording. I would really like to switch to Reaper, as I think it sounds much better. But not if every song begins with a thump, like someone dropped the arm on an LP.
Any help or answers appreciated.

Comments

gitlvr, post: 429638, member: 49114 wrote: Straight to soundcard that came with the computer. 16 bit/44.1.

Well, built-in sound card issues aside for the moment - and I'll get to that in a minute - what might be happening is that your DAW is trying to switch sampling rates at the start of the song, and especially with that cheap/crap built-in sound card (Realtek, Soundblaster, etc) you are using, it may also be dealing with a latency or RAM buffer issue, which can often present itself as bumps, clicks, pops, static... . I don't use Reaper or Cakewalk Home Studio... so I can't even begin to search for why one is doing this and the other isn't.

Now, onto the sound card...

The first thing you should do is dump the built-in sound card. Beyond latency issues, you have a "toy" - an audio device designed and intended for gaming, watching video, listening to on line music. It's not nearly the caliber of audio capture ( or playback)device for what you are trying to do with multi track production. Do yourself a favor and pick up an entry level Focusrite or Presonus 2 channel/USB preamp/audio i-o. ( And remember to disable the sound card in Control Panel).

Your recordings will thank you, your mixes will thank you, your computer will thank you, your DAW will most certainly thank you, and you will find that your sound quality - in comparison to what you are using now - will sound a whole lot better, as well as seeing a chnage in the efficiency of how your DAW runs. Basically, everything will be 999% better.

Oh - and I'm almost certain that "bump" you are hearing will be gone as well... (unless this is actual audio that you recorded on a track by accident, and that's maybe minimized or something that you aren't able to see...)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett2i2

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AudioBox22

"Thump" is no longer there. Clean as a whistle. Per the advice on this thread, Sweetwater got a little bit of my money today.
I have a Lexicon Alpha on it's way to me.
I know that's bottom of the barrel, pretty much. But I was using the internal sound card because I do not have the cash for a $100-$200 interface. Winter put me in a deep hole financially, and I'm still trying to dig my way out.
But it has got to be better than my internal sound card. I can upgrade at a later date.
I am in the middle of a project, but I think I'm going to scrap it and start over with the new interface. It will be a lot of work, but I think it will be well worth it.
Thanks to all who replied/advised. Much appreciated.