Software Synths and sound quality

[michaelkatell]

I'm sort of new to using software synths, and I've been using Reason on a Mac G4, mixing and burning on the machine and monitoring through an MAudio Duo. When I use a pad sound or any sustained tone, I typically get what sounds like a phase or clock problem - the tone modulates in amplitude in a regular pattern - as if it were going through a Phaser. For a while I thought/hoped it was just an A/D issue that could be solved with $$ spent on a nicer converter/interface, but I get the same weirdness mixing down within the computer and burning to disk - which would imply that both the external converters (Duo) and the Mac's built in converters are doing the same thing.

This happens with any sample I use, so it's not the nature of the source and I figure I must not understand something about how to dial in my gear - anyone?

[ottokbre]

woe. got me on that one. i've never run into that.
try OSXaudio.com or macmusic.org
they might have an answer for you.

question: how else are you monitoring? is everything at the converter?
or are you using the output jack on the mac?

[michaelkatell]

I'm doing everything at the converter - not using the internal card at all - I alternate between using the headphone out of the Duo or running stereo through my external mixer. It might something as simple as oscillator weirdness - I've had similar prolbems on old "real" synths with a limited number of oscillators, but Reason shouldn't do that, which is why I think my cheap in/out gear is the culprit.

[ottokbre]

yeah, usb can be funky sometimes