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[Hop]

I have a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB audio interface connected to a Windows 7 PC running MilkyTracker v0.09.86 and I am experiencing regular playback issues and freezes.

The application regularly stops producing audio after a few minutes when using this device and I'm not sure if it is a software (MilkyTracker) or hardware/driver (audio interface) issue. When the sound stops working the GUI is usually still responsive - I can edit patterns and load in songs - but it won't make any sounds when pressing the virtual keyboard, and Play Sng (and Enter) stop working. At this point if I attempt to close the application the title displays "MilkyTracker - ... (Not Responding)" and eventually I have to end the process.

I have tried changing the driver in the Config -> I/O settings:

1 Waveout (old) - Causes the application to become unresponsive

2 Waveout (Vista) - Requires a 85.3ms 4k buffer to playback properly and then freezes after about 5 minutes

3 Unspecified (RtAudio4)  - "Sound driver initialization failed. Try different settings or driver."

4 ASIO  (RtAudio4) - "Sound driver initialization failed. Try different settings or driver." This is the one I expected to work.

5 DirectSound (RtAudio4)   - works but stops playing audio after several minutes


I use the audio interface with Ableton and it works just fine.

[Saga Musix]

Just a guess regarding ASIO, are you specifying the same playback rate (e.g. 44 KHz) as in Ableton? Some ASIO drivers might not like some playback rates.

[raina]

From my experience Milky has to be the first noise making application you start and the device and Milky mixing rates have to match if you want to get ASIO to work.

DirectSound is the nice compromise for a little more latency but better compatibility and usability. It's weird that one isn't working right for you. The Waveouts are of course unusable because of the high latency.

[Hop]

My settings in Ableton are:

Driver Type: ASIO
Audio Device: Focusrite USB ASIO Driver
Sample Rate: 44100
Buffer Size: 180 samples
Input Latency: 9.48 ms
Output Latency: 14.9ms

If I look at the actual Hardware Setup window available from the preferences, the settings are slightly different:

Global Settings: Buffer Length 4ms Size in Samples 178ms
ASIO Settings: Hardware Device: Saffire 6 USB. Input Latency 9.3. Output Latency 13.3. Sample Rate 44100. Sample Format 24 bit

I have changed the MilkyTracker Mixer Resolution to 44100, but selecting the ASIO driver still gives "Sound driver initialization failed. Try different settings or driver.". So I had to stick with DirectSound. I restarted my machine and started up MilkyTracker first, but the playback and audio still halted after about 5 minutes.

[Hop]

I just plugged the audio interface into another USB socket. Windows re-installed the drivers and I haven't had any freezes since. Not sure why Windows 7 does this, or how it might have helped.

I still cannot select ASIO, but at least I can use my MIDI keyboard with acceptable latency of 11.6ms.

If anyone knows what might be preventing me from selecting ASIO I'd love to hear. Thanks.