Traktor question - help! What does this icon mean?

[sneakyp]

Hey guys

Might be a bit of a n00b question but recently I have noticed this red square that is constantly at the end of just one of the main status bar indicators, be it when I first start Traktor up or when music is playing (pics attached) - any idea what it means? A guy on the NI forums suggsted that it was that my gains had peaked...but I didn't think this seemed likely as it wasn't part of the actual blue/orange/red bar, rather a separate square just at the end of the meter.

It appeared some time back, disappeared for a while but has now surfaced again! It doesn't seem to affect my set up at all, but would like to know what it is that I'm overlooking!

http://i44.tinypic.com/2uzqq0k.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/34dprmv.jpg

Any info appreciated :)

[alazydj]

Your clipping bro. Turn it down.

[JohnXVI]

Show the mixer again, look at your master output and adjust it. I usually keep it at -10db, but it depends on your setup.

[B3NNY]

I never seen that before. It looks like a clip indicator, but judging by your pictures and what you said, it cant be that

[Phil Noize]

It's sure looks like the clip indicator to me too.

[sneakyp]

It's sure looks like the clip indicator to me too.

Even though it's always there? Instead of just when parts of the song may make it go in the red momentarily?

I've tried turning the gains all the way down but this doesn't seem to help!

Thanks for the responses guys, have repped all contributors

edit: sorry Phil "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Phil Noize again"

[DJNR]

It's always there? That's weird. Maybe it can detect than any of the songs you play will clip at that level?

Try turning the limiter off in settings, and turn the master gain down, not the individual channel gain.

[JohnXVI]

Which version are you running? Did you try re-installing?


***EDIT*** I went to the NI forums and it seems it is in fact a bug.

[KLH]

Show the mixer again, look at your master output and adjust it. I usually keep it at -10db, but it depends on your setup.
+1. That's what it is and the remedy... if you want to avoid clipping.

-KLH

[mostapha]

***EDIT*** I went to the NI forums and it seems it is in fact a bug.

A bug…that makes the clip lights useless.

That sounds like a pretty serious bug……well………it would………if NI gave a shit about sound quality and actually believed that maters give useful information.

But, yeah…those are the clip lights. If it's a bug, it's a bug. Play a sine wave, and if it's clipped, turn it down. If not, then it's a bug.

[sneakyp]

I've found a fix!

I switched the audio device from Audio 6 to my internal soundcard, then back to Audio 6 and voila!

Thanks for your help guys

EDIT: it worked once, but now it doesn't! Argh! Damn you NI

[JohnXVI]

Yeah I can see how that's annoying, but since you are using an external mixer, just keep your master output in the software at a good level and ignore it.

[JohnXVI]

Also don't forget to bother NI in their forums so they can address the bug.

[B3NNY]

Did you try a re-installation yet?

[sneakyp]

Did you try a re-installation yet?

I haven't no, will do when I've got some spare time and update the thread

[DJNR]

I haven't no, will do when I've got some spare time and update the thread

Is it affecting your performance much? I would think re-installing would be a little much for an issue that doesn't contribute to much of a problem. I would just wait for an update or something.

[B3NNY]

True.....but maybe you might remember the Traktor 3 layout glitch,where all the sudden the layout would keep changing really fast , to the point that it couldnt be used, and the only option was to re-install. I know it's only a small red dot, but dnt wait untill it's more than that. Chances are, you'll be at a gig when you find out that maybe you shoulda re-installed Traktor cause it's acting up now. Not like re-installation is that big of a task anyways

[DJNR]

True.....but maybe you might remember the Traktor 3 layout glitch,where all the sudden the layout would keep changing really fast , to the point that it couldnt be used, and the only option was to re-install. I know it's only a small red dot, but dnt wait untill it's more than that. Chances are, you'll be at a gig when you find out that maybe you shoulda re-installed Traktor cause it's acting up now. Not like re-installation is that big of a task anyways

I wasn't around for Traktor 3, at least for DJing at least. Good point, it's not really all that difficult to re-install, so might be worth the time.

[mostapha]

Is it affecting your performance much? I would think re-installing would be a little much for an issue that doesn't contribute to much of a problem. I would just wait for an update or something.

It's actually kinda funny what re-installation can fix. Computers are interesting in that they do things really fast and based on very small differences in voltages and currents. They do things fast enough that they actually suffer from weird quirks of quantum mechanics, solar/cosmic radiation, and a whole bunch of other crap that can (but >99.9999% of the time don't) affect things like this.

I'm not saying that's the problem (it would actually be impossible to prove), but it is at least theoretically possible that something completely beyond your control might have happened during the installation to screw it up.

I wish I still remembered how to find some articles discussing that idea……not that anyone here would actually give a crap. And, again, this isn't something to worry about……but when really weird quirks like that show up, rebooting or reinstalling a piece of software might actually make a difference.

[DJNR]

Hey now, I didn't know that. Seems like a pretty interesting read if you can find it.

[sneakyp]

I do get the odd time when Traktor freezes for about a second or so now you mention it - it stops responding completely, then when it goes back to normal the load bar will just for a brief millisecond shoot up and back down from red. Bit annoying since I've only just bought a new laptop to run this soley off of (i3 2.53Ghz 4GB Ram). No idea if that is related to this red dot!

Am not playing out at the moment so resolving it hasn't been that high on my list of priorities.

Will see what a re-install does.

[Phil Noize]

What type of laptop is it?

I ask because I run a ThinkPad (Windows 7 64bit). Lenovo's "ThinkVantage Toolbox" software (actually PC Doctor rebranded) kept doing little hardware checks whilst I was running Traktor, giving exactly these symptoms, despite this function being turned off in the settings ... so I uninstalled ThinkVantage Toolbox and the problem dissappeared. The wierd thing is that this only happens on 64bit versions. I've run it on several 32bit Lenovo systems with no glitches whatsoever.

[sneakyp]

What type of laptop is it?

I ask because I run a ThinkPad (Windows 7 64bit). Lenovo's "ThinkVantage Toolbox" software (actually PC Doctor rebranded) kept doing little hardware checks whilst I was running Traktor, giving exactly these symptoms, despite this function being turned off in the settings ... so I uninstalled ThinkVantage Toolbox and the problem dissappeared. The wierd thing is that this only happens on 64bit versions. I've run it on several 32bit Lenovo systems with no glitches whatsoever.

That's interesting, it's a Toshiba Satellite with Windows 7 64bit. It came with a lot of Toshiba branded software, some of which I've uninstalled, but there is still quite a bit on there. Maybe I should just get rid of it all?

Just got a response from NI about the red dot issue too - they say it's a known 'cosmetic' bug (TP-3386) so doesn't affect performance but will be resolved in a forthcoming update.