FabFilter User Forum
Pro-Q digital noise artifacts
I have been experiencing some digital errors on the Pro-Q when I use it in Pro Tools on High sampling rates. (88k and up) If I use the Pro-Q on an instrument with sub-frequency content like bass, kick, bass synth to roll of the excess low end, say 24db roll off at 18hz and I'm in linear phase mode I get this nasty crackle on the track. When I switch the eq to zero latency it works fine and no digital artifacts. But this eq sounds way better on linear phase and that's how I use the majority of the time. It's so bad that it makes it unusable at the higher sample rates and I have to use another eq that does not have the same result but sounds better than the Pro-Q in "zero latency". I hate having to do this. Has anyone had this problem before?
This has happened on many different PT systems: Ver 7, 8 & 9, in a LE and a HD system in four different computers with three different Mac OS's. I have switched between the different types of linear settings and it gets worse the higher I get until I get to Max where the crackling disappears. But by then I have +20k on latency and PT cannot compensate with out me moving regions around. Thanks in advance.
Hi Gandia,
The digital noise artifacts are unfortunately a downside of our current linear phase implementation. The combination of low frequency edits (like the 24 dB roll off at 18 Hz) and a medium latency can result into audible artifacts, especially at higher sample rates. We're looking to improve this in a future update.
For now, I would suggest to use either the zero latency mode for low-frequency edits, or one of the highest latency modes.
Note that low frequency edits in linear phase mode also easily result in a "pre-ring" effect which can smudge transients independent of any artifacts. Choosing a higher latency setting doesn't improve this.
Cheers,
Thank you for the explanation. So this is not a problem that occurs in PT only, right?
I understand about the pre-ring on the eq. I here it on all plug-in eqs with varying results. I still prefer the results I get out of the pro-Q. It really helps to clean unwanted low or sub frequencies with the least side effect. I tried a lot of plugins. Keep working on it. I look forward to using this eq more when this issue is fixed. Thanks!