New Computer, New Balance Issues - Anyone Have Thoughts?

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SF007
Posts: 10
Joined: 31 May 2016

10 Jan 2019

Hey everyone! I just recently built a new computer for my studio, and I seem to be encountering some issues with my Balance audio interface. Once I got the system up and running and got the Balance drivers installed, things seemed to be ok. But once I actually tried to audition reason projects through my speakers connected to Balance, there were hiccups/glitches in the audio. I posted a while ago about issues that I was having wherein the problem ended up being the fact that I was connecting through a USB hub. But this time I'm straight-wired into the new computer still, and the issues are arising. Not sure if this points to a solution, but I'm using Balance to send all computer audio out to my speakers as well - not just Reason. And I did notice (which I didn't notice on my older computer) that when I open up a window like audio preferences or Spotify or what have you, there would be a little bit of noise played through my studio monitors, like the act of opening an app was causing some crosstalk with Balance or something. Not sure if that is indicative of anything per se, but thought I'd reference it here and see if it rang any bells for anyone.

Could it be that I just need to bite the bullet and get a new interface? I'm not sure what else I can try tweaking - So far I've:
  • Swapped around between all three types of USB ports (2.0, 3.0, 3.1)
  • Installed ASIO4All drivers and tried those (with some success but latency is an issue)
  • Tried finding non "Generic USB Driver" drivers for my mobo
I'm kind of at a loss here and want to start using this new rig for the reasons that I got it! If it is indeed an issue with Balance and I just need to move on, I think I might be finally in an emotional place where I'd be able to accept that and get something new, haha. I'm also trying to figure out if any of my local friends have an interface I can A/B test with as well, to confirm it's a Balance issue and not a different hardware/driver issue that I haven't yet diagnosed.

Thanks for reading through, and thanks in advance for any thoughts you can provide!

exxx
Posts: 154
Joined: 12 Sep 2016

10 Jan 2019

I am writing a translator because I can not speak English.

The balance was discarded at the propellerhead.

There is no driver update.

When the computer is turned on and booting is complete

If you reboot using Windows software, you will be able to use it reliably.

Or open the reason first, take the audio interface to something else, and balance it again.

I am using it like this.

It is not good to open Chrome with a reason.

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MrFigg
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Joined: 20 Apr 2018

11 Jan 2019

When i start up my PC in Windows 10 I almost always have to open Reason the first thing I do and reselect the Balance driver in preferences even though it’s already selected. I get the little click in my speakers when I select the driver. If I don’t do this first then I find that all video playback stutters, YouTube has no sound and all sound from Reason is distorted. Don’t know if it’s the same issue you have really but worth a try.
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Oquasec
Posts: 2849
Joined: 05 Mar 2017

11 Jan 2019

I think some interfaces are only gonna be keeping up via Asio4all.
Once a driver stops getting made that's curtains.
Producer/Programmer.
Reason, FLS and Cubase NFR user.

SF007
Posts: 10
Joined: 31 May 2016

11 Jan 2019

Ok, thank you for the responses. Does really sound like it might be curtains for me using Balance, which is a shame as I've loved using it (first audio interface I've ever owned).

Thanks again for the responses!

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jappe
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Posts: 2437
Joined: 19 Jan 2015

03 Feb 2019

On my win 10 laptop,l always get scrambled 4 bit 1KHz sampling rate-style audio with an epic amount of aliasing through Balance when starting Reason.
The remedy is to unplug/replug the Balance USB cable before Reason is started.
if I unplug it when Reason is running, Win 10 goes blue screen.

KGB
Posts: 87
Joined: 22 Nov 2016

13 Mar 2019

I just plugged in my Balance yesterday and I was able to get sound output but my input wasn't working. I could see the signal clip light flickering when I tested the microphone, but I didn't get any sound through Reason. I've been using this thing off and on for years. Is there anything special that I have to do with Mojave and Reason 10 to get the input to work? I tried the mic and the line inputs and got nothing.

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pushedbutton
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13 Mar 2019

I have a balance. Before starting Reason you need to 'Power Cycle' it by unplugging the usb and plugging it back in again.
That should get rid of your glitches and prevent bluescreens.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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artotaku
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Location: Munich, Germany
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13 Mar 2019

I also bought a new computer with Windows 10 and I have some minor issues with Balance. I had to write a little batch script to automatically reinitialize the Balance sound device after Windows has booted (others do it be replugging the USB cable). One strange thing that still happens is that when playing an audio file with e. g. Winamp the audio changes the pitch downwards after a certain amount of time. Restarting Winamp or stop/play helps.

It would actually be cool if Propellerhead would make the Balance driver code open source so others could fix it.

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ScuzzyEye
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13 Mar 2019

artotaku wrote:
13 Mar 2019
It would actually be cool if Propellerhead would make the Balance driver code open source so others could fix it.
Wouldn't help. Modern Windows will only load drivers signed by the Windows Hardware Dev Center Dashboard. So you'd have to become a licensed hardware developer, and buy an Extended Validation code signing certificate. Then submit the driver for signing.

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EnochLight
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13 Mar 2019

ScuzzyEye wrote:
13 Mar 2019
artotaku wrote:
13 Mar 2019
It would actually be cool if Propellerhead would make the Balance driver code open source so others could fix it.
Wouldn't help. Modern Windows will only load drivers signed by the Windows Hardware Dev Center Dashboard. So you'd have to become a licensed hardware developer, and buy an Extended Validation code signing certificate. Then submit the driver for signing.
Isn’t ASIO4ALL open source drivers? I don’t recall ever needing anything like that to install them and run them.
Win 10 | Ableton Live 11 Suite |  Reason 12 | i7 3770k @ 3.5 Ghz | 16 GB RAM | RME Babyface Pro | Akai MPC Live 2 & Akai Force | Roland System 8, MX1, TB3 | Dreadbox Typhon | Korg Minilogue XD

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artotaku
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13 Mar 2019

EnochLight wrote:
13 Mar 2019
ScuzzyEye wrote:
13 Mar 2019


Wouldn't help. Modern Windows will only load drivers signed by the Windows Hardware Dev Center Dashboard. So you'd have to become a licensed hardware developer, and buy an Extended Validation code signing certificate. Then submit the driver for signing.
Isn’t ASIO4ALL open source drivers? I don’t recall ever needing anything like that to install them and run them.
My experience with ASIO4ALL wasn´t that good, I tried various settings and at the end I switched back to the original driver from the Props. My batch script to reinitalize the Balance sound device works fine - so at least I don´t have to replug the USB cable anymore.

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ScuzzyEye
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13 Mar 2019

EnochLight wrote:
13 Mar 2019
Isn’t ASIO4ALL open source drivers? I don’t recall ever needing anything like that to install them and run them.
ASIO2All isn't actually a kernel driver. It talks to the kernel audio driver through a direct API, and presents a ASIO interface to audio software.

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EnochLight
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13 Mar 2019

ScuzzyEye wrote:
13 Mar 2019
EnochLight wrote:
13 Mar 2019
Isn’t ASIO4ALL open source drivers? I don’t recall ever needing anything like that to install them and run them.
ASIO2All isn't actually a kernel driver. It talks to the kernel audio driver through a direct API, and presents a ASIO interface to audio software.
Ah cool - good to know - thanks! Perhaps that’s how they get around the driver signing.
Win 10 | Ableton Live 11 Suite |  Reason 12 | i7 3770k @ 3.5 Ghz | 16 GB RAM | RME Babyface Pro | Akai MPC Live 2 & Akai Force | Roland System 8, MX1, TB3 | Dreadbox Typhon | Korg Minilogue XD

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anthropomorphous
Posts: 13
Joined: 16 Jan 2015

13 Mar 2019

pushedbutton wrote:
13 Mar 2019
I have a balance. Before starting Reason you need to 'Power Cycle' it by unplugging the usb and plugging it back in again.
That should get rid of your glitches and prevent bluescreens.
I second this. I use Windows 10 and a relatively new (2 years old) motherboard. As soon as windows is loaded there's a 50/50 chance that Balance has been recognised by windows so as a matter of habit now, I unplug the USB on the Balance unit and plug it back in, wait a few seconds and it's good to go. I'm using it for all my PC audio.

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MrFigg
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Posts: 9124
Joined: 20 Apr 2018

13 Mar 2019

anthropomorphous wrote:
13 Mar 2019
pushedbutton wrote:
13 Mar 2019
I have a balance. Before starting Reason you need to 'Power Cycle' it by unplugging the usb and plugging it back in again.
That should get rid of your glitches and prevent bluescreens.
I second this. I use Windows 10 and a relatively new (2 years old) motherboard. As soon as windows is loaded there's a 50/50 chance that Balance has been recognised by windows so as a matter of habit now, I unplug the USB on the Balance unit and plug it back in, wait a few seconds and it's good to go. I'm using it for all my PC audio.
I don’t have any problems with Balance other than that I often have to open Reason and reselect the Balance driver before I get any sound. My Line 6 KB37 on the other hand I need to pull out the usb every time I start up.
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pushedbutton
Posts: 1538
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13 Mar 2019

artotaku wrote:
13 Mar 2019
I also bought a new computer with Windows 10 and I have some minor issues with Balance. I had to write a little batch script to automatically reinitialize the Balance sound device after Windows has booted (others do it be replugging the USB cable). One strange thing that still happens is that when playing an audio file with e. g. Winamp the audio changes the pitch downwards after a certain amount of time. Restarting Winamp or stop/play helps.

It would actually be cool if Propellerhead would make the Balance driver code open source so others could fix it.
I'm too stupid to write batch script. Could you share it here? I'm sure I'm not the only one you'd be helping out?
Thanks.
@pushedbutton on twitter, add me, send me a message, but don't try to sell me stuff cos I'm skint.
Using Reason since version 3 and still never finished a song.

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artotaku
Posts: 652
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14 Mar 2019

pushedbutton wrote:
13 Mar 2019
I'm too stupid to write batch script. Could you share it here? I'm sure I'm not the only one you'd be helping out?
Thanks.
I did in another thread, see viewtopic.php?p=430460#p430460

Unfortunately it´s not so easy to setup up. You first need to install a tool called devcon.exe which you can found somewhere on the internets, described here:
https://superuser.com/questions/1002950 ... devcon-exe

Then two registry scripts and Windows batch file that calls these scripts as I posted in the other thread.
Also your Windows registry keys may vary so you need to look for the correct keys in the registry place them in all the script files.

To get you going:
restart-balance-sound-device.zip
(25.11 KiB) Downloaded 49 times
but you need to adjust it (registry keys)
Use at your own risk!

Last but not least I used the Windows task scheduler to execute the script at every start of Windows.

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