Playback Sounds Awful on New Computer
I have just upgraded my computer from an older I-5 PC to a later specification I-7 1200 PC operating Windows 11 Pro, as the old computer was struggling with Musescore. However, playback was beautiful. Playback on my new computer, however, is AWFUL. Brassy, harsh, clunky and no legato whatsoever. I notice that the blue playback cursor/line jumps to the next bar rather than moving smoothly, which I'm pretty sure it used to do on the old machine. I would be very grateful for any ideas on how to solve this, as it's kind of devastating.
Comments
How about the rest of the specs? SSD? 8-16 GB of ram? New or used?
In reply to How about the rest of the… by bobjp
Hi there. Thanks for your message. It's brand new. Gigabyte Z690I Aorus Ultra Lite DDR5 ITX Motherboard; INTEL Core I7 1200 Socket LGA-1700; Corsair Hydro Series H115I RGB Platinum 280MM Liquid CPU Cooler; GT730 2GB DDR5 PCIE Graphics card; 16GB DDR5 DIMM; Samsung 500GB SSD Drive NVMe. Windows 11 Pro.
In reply to Hi there. Thanks for your… by slburt
I also have a new computer similar to yours. I runs MU4 just fine. Here are some settings to try. Especially raising the Buffer Size and turning off Exclusive Mode
https://musescore.org/en/node/339915
In reply to I also have a new computer… by bobjp
Thank you for your assistance on this. I have raised the buffer size as suggested, but can't find the 'Exclusive Mode' you refer to under the Advanced tab. Here's what I'm looking at. Am I in the right place? Cheers!
In reply to Thank you for your… by slburt
In the task bar at the bottom of you screen ( not in Musescore) select the search icon ( magnifying glass) next to the start button ( looks like a window). Type "con" Select "Control panel" You may have to select large icons to get it to show the entire control panel. Select the speaker icon (Sound). Follow the instructions from there. It sounds more complicated than it really is. I use Control panel so often that I have it pinned to my taskbar.
Did you try leaving the mixer open? If that helps, you can resize it out of the way>
In reply to In the task bar at the… by bobjp
Thanks for those suggestions. I've tried them all, including unchecking the exclusive mode, but still no improvement unfortunately - still sounding tinny. I notice that the blue playback cursor is not moving smoothly and 'jumps' from bar to bar. Also, no dynamics are playing. I left the mixer open as you suggest but it made no difference. I appreciate your time and assistance.
In reply to Thanks for those suggestions… by slburt
I have just noticed something! None of the plugins are there - I had downloaded all from the Hub on my old computer but they did not move across. I am crossing my fingers that this will be the answer.
In reply to Thanks for those suggestions… by slburt
When you say no dynamics are playing, that seems unrelated, but it does suggest something might be wrong with your score. Please attach it here, and also a screen recording of the playback so we can see/hear what you do.
In reply to When you say no dynamics are… by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc. I have two samples ready for you: one from the original version, which I clipped from its WAV file; the other a screen recording of the same section as it now sounds on the new computer. Note around 1:50 it goes berserk. However, I've tried to attach them here but neither will upload. I'll post this and see what happens!
In reply to Hi Marc. Attached are two… by slburt
Files are too large.
In reply to Hi Marc. Attached are two… by slburt
For screen recordings, just upload to YouTube and paste the link here.
In reply to For screen recordings, just… by Marc Sabatella
https://youtu.be/msg27G3MnDo
AND
https://youtu.be/Mf0udI1wdk8
In reply to https://youtu.be/msg27G3MnDo… by slburt
I'm now testing to see if a new score on the new computer has these problems. If not, I will try the old 'copy and paste' method. Thanks again for everyone's assistance on this. It's been a steep learning curve so far.
In reply to https://youtu.be/msg27G3MnDo… by slburt
I'm not hearing a specific problem in either of those videos just kind of randomly skipping around - can you be more specific about what I should be listening for? Like, a particular point within one of those videos where a particular instrument isn't sounding as you expect? It does seem like you're using different sounds for them, so be sure to check in the Mixer that you have the same sounds selected.
In reply to I'm not hearing a specific… by Marc Sabatella
In the BAD snip each bar is 'attacked' - none of the legato lines smooth out the piece, whereas each phrase in the GOOD one is smooth. If you pick the same section on each video, you'll hear the difference - and that's why I included the 'good' version. Have a listen at 1:50 on the BAD one for something very terrible happening in the bassline. The instruments individually do not sound the same between the two pieces. The metal wind chimes and triangle are not true their name in the BAD version. All subtlety is lost. I'm not sure what you mean by 'using different sounds for them, so be sure to check in the Mixer that you have the same sounds selected'. Could you explain that statement for me please? In the meantime, I'm exhausted! This is all way beyond my skill level, but I will have another go tomorrow! Thanks again.
In reply to In the BAD snip each bar is … by slburt
I mean just what I said - MuseScore is capable of using different sounds - Muse Sounds, a variety of different soundfonts, different VTS instruments, etc. So you aren't limited to just one set of sample for each instrument. It seems the first recording was made with one set of sounds - perhaps Muse Sounds, perhaps a set of VST instruments - whereas the second was made with a different set - perhaps the MS Basic soundfont. So whatever sounds you selected in the Mixer when making the first recording, just be sure to select the same sounds again. To open the Mixer, just click the button on the toolbar. You'll then see the controls for selecting which sounds to use for each instrument. Justmake sure you're using the same sounds you used before if you want it to sound the same.
You mention that you had installed Msue Sounds on the other computer but not on this one, so change are very good that this is it right there - you original was probably done with those, the new one with the MS Basic soundfont instead. It's not bad to me, just not as realistic.
In reply to I mean just what I said -… by Marc Sabatella
That sounds good Marc. Thanks so much for your input!
Most common issue is sample rate confusion in your audio device. Find it's settings, and trying something else - often 44.1 kHz is good.
In reply to Most common issue is sample… by Marc Sabatella
Hi Marc. I presume you mean the Export settings? I changed the sample rates for WAV to see if that made a difference but it didn't. Thanks for your suggestion, but I seem to be at a dead end.
In reply to Hi Marc. I presume you mean… by slburt
No, I mean the audio device settings in your computer. Would likely be somewhere in control panel in Windows, or if it's a separate audio device and not just whatever is built-in to the computer, it may have come with separate software for controlling its settings.
In reply to No, I mean the audio device… by Marc Sabatella
Thanks - yes, checked those and changed one to your suggested level - no improvement.
In reply to Thanks - yes, checked those… by slburt
Hmm, you say “those” and “one”, but you shouldn’t have seen multiple options to change - just the audio device sample rate. Can you show a screen shot where you saw this and what other options were available?
In reply to Hmm, you say “those” and … by Marc Sabatella
Attached screenshot. There was only one other option there - 16-bit instead of 24.
In reply to Attached screenshot. There… by slburt
Are you sure that’s the right device? That looks like it is for an output Jack. Are you using external speakers connected the headphone jack? If not, find the settings for internal speakers instead.
In reply to Are you sure that’s the… by Marc Sabatella
We are using an external Behringer UMC204HD interface unit and we've checked that both input and output sample rates are at 44.1k
In reply to We are using an external… by slburt
You wrote: "- I had downloaded all from the Hub on my old computer but they did not move across."
Just how did you Install MU4 on your new computer? I don't think transferring anything having to do with MU4 works. I believe you must download and install everything from sctatch.
I am having the same issue on my new Windows 11 PC. Everything ran fine on the old Win 10 PC including playback sound quality. On the new box I chose to download a fresh install of the latest Musescore. Playback is awful, with hashy, staticky sound quality. I only have limited choices for configuring the audio outputs. I changed the sample rate from 24 bits to 16 bits and it did not help. ** I then turned off Audio Enhancements and Spatial Audio and things improved greatly.** The sound quality is much better, but still there are still glitches at bar lines and random clicks.
In reply to I am having the same issue… by phoeffner@msn.com
Number of bits isn't normally relevant - you need to change the actual sample rate - it may be at 48 kHz, so try changing that to 44.1. Or vice versa. If you audio device doesn't have controls for that (this would be very rare), see if you can access a different audio device. Also try increasng buffer size in Edit / Preferences / I/O.
Everyone who has been experiencing choppy / stuttering / laggy sound in MuseScore 4, please see Playback issues on audio devices set to high sample rates. The usual recommended fix is to set your audio device sample rate to 44.1 kHz. Whether that works or not for you, please respond in that thread and provide the requested info, to help us diagnose what might be happening. We'd very much like to figure out why this happens on some systems, so we need help from the people who experience this issue!