Melodiefabriek

Here’s why I no longer use the Spider Audio device in Reason

Written by

Marco Raaphorst

in

Recently, when using a Spider Audio device in a Reason Combinator to split the signal, I found out that only the left channel was effected. WTF! Some users downloaded my example file and confirmed the bug. Propellerhead is aware of it (for a long time since several users have reported it) but has not yet solved it.

Check out the short video I made below. It shows you that even on a MUTED channel (!) the Spider affects the signal on playback! A rather super nasty bug, right?

You can download the Spider bug file HERE! And reproduce it as follows:

  • open the Reason song
  • press play
  • listen to the sound
  • now connect Spider Output 2 Left to Line Mixer 1 Channel 2 Left input
  • connect Spider Output 2 Right 1 to Line Mixer 1 Channel 2 Right input

The solution

However the solution is very simple and free: download the
Shelob Audio Bypass Splitter and the Mordred Audio Bypass Merger. Those Rack Extensions by Jiggery-Pokery are like the Spiders on steroids. So from now on I will be using these in all my Combinators and songs.

Comments

6 responses to “Here’s why I no longer use the Spider Audio device in Reason”

  1. challism Avatar
    challism

    Wow, that is REALLY (I can’t stress that word enough) DISAPPOINTING (also, can’t stress that word enough) that Props know about it and have done NOTHING!! Really? This is a pretty basic and important function, and to have it messing up like this. WTF, for real! I have reported bugs in some of the different Prop REs, and they have also done NOTHING about those. But those are REs, which are optional, and aren’t as crucial to the heart of the DAW as an audio splitter is. SMDH, this is messed up.

    Reply
  2. Patrick Avatar
    Patrick

    I assume the problem only arises if you do special patching like loopbacks in the signal flow. I experienced strange behaviour of the Spider Audio when doing experimental patching. However, when I use it to split audio in a “straight forward signal flow way” it seems to behave as intended, doesn’t it? I hope so – otherwise I’d have to rework many templates and Combinators.

    Reply
    1. Marco Raaphorst Avatar
      Marco Raaphorst

      Yes, this is a rare case. I am using the Spider in many Combinators for many years. Now the bug suddenly showed up. It is nasty though.

      Reply
  3. drno Avatar
    drno

    DId they fix this in Reason 10. Probably not. Hell I’d be happy with proper multicore support. Doubt they will get to something like this anytime soon.

    Reply
  4. A Cheffie Avatar
    A Cheffie

    Hi, I came across this post when googling a problem I’ve encountered, and Id be interested to know if you’ve come across this, which also feels like a bug. Ever since I upgraded to Reason 10.4.1d4 recently (running MacOS High Sierra), I’ve found that most (not all) songs where I have used several audio splitters to set up a kick drum to gently sidechain almost all other tracks, the kick drum plays slightly too late. If I solo the drum and play it out through no audio splitters at all, it is still in time.

    (Often when I mention this problem, people’s first well-meaning reaction is “Is there a pause at the start of the kick sample?” No, there is no gap, and until a couple of weeks ago everything was in time. Suddenly the audio splitters are the issue.)

    In some cases, replacing the big Blamsoft audio splitters with Spiders has fixed this and the kick is in time. However, in other cases even Spiders don’t fix the problem, and the kick can be up to quarter of a second behind where they should be – throwing the whole track out of whack. The fix doesn’t seem to be consistent.

    Have you come across any other reports of this? Do you have any reason to think these splitters and mergers you recommend might help to fix this, or does it sound like a more deep-rooted problem that any splitter might fall foul of? I’d be grateful for any thoughts you might have.

    I tried asking Reason about this, obviously, but they were clearly baffled and were asking things like whether I’d synced my subscription software (I had).

    Reply
    1. Marco Raaphorst Avatar
      Marco Raaphorst

      I’ve not experienced the problems you are describing. Keep asking ReasonStudios about it. Sounds like a bug either in the Blamsoft (ask them for support as well!) and/or Reason.

      Reply

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