FabFilter

Hi Justin,

Very strange! Thanks for reporting this issue. We will look into it!

Hi Floris,

just an update for you. I rolled back to Fabfilter Pro Q2 version 2.00 and initially all was well, with the analyzer displaying the pre/post eq. But then it disappeared as well.

This has made me suspect that it might be a graphics issue.

What is strange is that I have used Pro Q2 - all versions - since basically it was released, and never had any issues with the analyzer eq disappearing. And I am using the same computer as always.

Is it possibly an issue with the GPU? Note I am using the intel onboard graphics with the 3rd gen i7 Quad core. But like I said, I've never had an issue until the past couple of days.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi Justin,

Could this be a problem specific to Studio One Pro? Maybe even specific to version 2.65? Could you for example try to open Pro-Q in another DAW, like Logic or Ableton, and see if the analyzer works there?

Hi Floris,

yes, I will try another DAW and see.

What I am finding is that sometimes the analyzer works (in various versions of ProQ2) and sometimes it doesn't. It appears to be graphics related. I am wondering if the GPU demands of ProQ2 is such that sometimes it won't display?

Anyway, will try with another DAW and report back when I can.

Thanks.

Just an update - sorry for the long delay between posts.

Haven't had the issue for quite a while now. I did upgrade my intel HD 4000 GPU drivers, I wonder if that fixed it perhaps?

It seemed to be a graphics issue with my machine or with studio one, as studio one at that time seemed also to be a bit glitchy with its scrolling cursor.

If I can ever reproduce it again, or in another DAW (which so far I have been unable to do - reproduce the issue in another DAW), I will report here.

Thanks
Justin

Hi,

an update - I had the problem again tonight, with the analyzer eq display stopping, and I noticed that the whole machine was becoming less responsive only when I opened the ProQ2 plugin, other plugins were not making my computer sluggish. So I checked CPU usage, and having the proQ2 plugin interface open was adding 10 to 20 percent more CPU usage. As an example, when I started playing my song, CPU usage was around 4-10%, even with ProQ2 running on a track (but not opened). As soon as I open the plugin as I normally do to look at the eq display, the analyzer display stops and the CPU usage jumped to around 25 to as high as 40%.

No wonder the display stops. At 40% CPU usage (it might not sound like a lot but it is) my machine is starting to get less responsive.

Please advise. Do you want me to submit a bug report / issue report? Also, I created a screen capture video of this happening.

Thanks for any help.
Justin

Final update,

the same problem is occurring with the Fabfilter ProDS as well..

If it is a host problem, then what do I do - change my DAW? Presonus I know will say contact the plugin maker.

Seems to be an analyzer/display issue that causes the CPU usage to jump considerably.

Hi again,

I do apologize - it appears to be a problem with Studio One I think.

I opened another plugin today (a waves plugin) and the same sorts of issues were occuring - high CPU spikes and sluggish computer..

Up until today the fabfilter plugins were the only plugins doing this, but it appears to be a problem not just with the fabfilter plugins..

I do apologize.. and if anyone here has any suggestions or things to try, I'm all ears.. and of course I will go to the Studio One forums and see if I can find out more there.

Thanks - Justin

Does sound mighty funky, however one thing you could try is disabling GPU acceleration in the FF plug-ins, just to see if that changes the sitaution any.

Did you upgrade to Studio One v3? It has a new graphics engine and that might be causing issues as well.
The on-board GPU isn't the most stellar thing to begin with either, and often a cause for issues compared to discrete GPU's.

You mentioned having updated the drivers - I assume you've checked if there's any newer ones out since then?

I'm running Studio One myself and haven't had issues with any of my FF plug-ins (both in version 2 and 3), but I also have a discrete GPU.
This is using Windows 8.1 64-bit, Studio One being that as well and the VST3 versions of the plug-ins.

Thanks Torben,

yes good ideas and good info thank you..

I actually suspect it is an issue due to me just running the Onboard GPU (Intel HD 4000).. I mean my CPU is powerful enough, and everything else as well, with 16GB of ram.. I also did upgrade to Studio One V3, but I was getting this issue with the FF plugins using Studio One version 2..

Can look again to update the onboard GPU drivers, although I suspect it is probably worth upgrading to a discrete GPU.. I am on Windows 7 as well, don't know if that makes any difference..

The only problem is that I built the computer for my music around a mini ITX form, and it only has one PCI-e slot on any miniITX motherboards, and I am using the one PCI-e slot for my UAD card.. So unfortunately in order to add a discrete GPU I have to upgrade the case and motherboard at the very least, but possibly more things as well..

Cheers.
Justin

The onboard 4000 is by no means a graphics powerhouse, but it should handle this task with relative ease. I suppose it's possible that it may be a graphics driver issue (developer would need to research that for you), but it's not a lack of GPU power.

That's what I thought Brian. However, I have had this problem with both Studio One Version 2 and also Version 3 (the latest). I also have had this problem with every HD4000 driver in the past year and half (3 driver versions I believe)..

What I get are CPU jumps of around 15% on top of what I already had (CPU jumps from say 12-15% up to 30-35%) and I think the CPU spikes is why the machine is sluggish, and the fabfilter display stops working..

No one in the forums has mentioned they have this problem with Studio One, so maybe I just have bad hardware? I don't know.

Looks like Studio One 3 has a free trial period, so i'll download it when I'm back at home tomorrow. My home computer has HD4000. I'll run Pro-Q 2 through it's paces and let you know how it goes

Thanks Brian!

I must let you know, on my machine, the issue doesn't appear all the time. In fact I can go weeks or more without a problem.

The strangest thing is that it can do it, then without making any changes I can re-open the same song, after a day (and a reboot) and the problem is no longer there - exact same song, same computer config etc..

Hi again,

Presonus have just released Studio One version 3.0.1 - this is an update to the software, just released.

In the release notes, I noticed the following line:

(the following issues have been fixed)
...
"Windows HiDPI issues with Fab Filter Pro-Q2"
...

Just wondering if Fabfilter staff are reading this, could this be the display/analyser issue cause, and the cause of the sluggishness?

Will report if it seems to have fixed this issue.
Thanks - Justin

Ok, thanks for the extra info. I let Pro-Q 2 run for a while on a project and had no issues with the analyzer display. I then made some EQ adjustments just to see if that could trigger some bug...nothing. Since it doesn't happen to you all the time my test isn't any sort of concrete confirmation that it's your system. Also, I'm on a mac so obviously our OS and drivers are completely different.

I'm kind of stumped on where to go from here as far as troubleshooting. Hopefully the new version release fixes everything for you. Are you using a high DPI monitor? I would think any issues related to HiDPI would only come up if you were using that type of display along with it's appropriate display settings in Windows, while running Studio One. I'll let the FabFilter guys answer that one though

Forgot to talk about the CPU usage, sorry. Pro-Q 2 in Logic Pro X was about a 2% CPU hit on my machine. In Studio One it was about 3%. A little more, but not any huge difference.

My machine specs are Intel Core i7 2.6 quad core (3720QM), 16GB ram, SSD

Thanks Brian..

I haven't tested the latest Studio One version as yet..

Hopefully the staff here can shed more light on this, at least the changelog from studio one indicates that Presonus (Studio One) people have noted an issue with ProQ2.. I am guessing that the problem is related, there certainly has been an issue with not only ProQ2 in Studio One but also with fabfilter's De-Esser, which appear to be a display type problem.

If any staff are reading this, can you shed any light on the issue listed as fixed by Studio One in their changelog?

Thanks.

The fix in Studio One 3.0.1 should only affect you if you're using a High DPI monitor. We still need to test this version though.

From what I gather the problem is CPU spikes and then the display stops working? Any way to reproduce this reliably?

Cheers,

Hi Frederik,

yes, the issue is when the ProQ2 display or plugin is open, the CPU jumps by about 15% or more and then the analyser display stops working.

The crazy thing is that I can have the exact same project, and the issue occurs, then after a reboot, opening the exact same project as before the issue can often disappear..

So I am at a loss as to how to reproduce it reliably.

But I had made video screen shots of the problem, if you are interested I can send you the video(s).

The headphone icon for me is not working. I am unable to go into solo mode. There is no headphone icon

Hi John,

If you go near a control point for a band, the parameter value display will appear, with the solo button.

If it doesn't appear, make sure the EQ Parameter Value Display option is checked in the Help menu.

Cheers,