MS 4 Audio is playing back distorted

• Dec 23, 2022 - 01:07

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qqDLqfLL6rLbmb9XA

See the video linked above. To clarify what's happening:
- First, I play the attached .mscz file in Musescore 3.6.2, and the playback works perfectly
- Then, I play the same file in Musescore 4. The playback sounds rather distorted, and is definitely not what it should sound like
- Then, I close Musescore 4 and play the file in Musescore 3.6.2 again. The playback has now become distorted, similarly to Musescore 4. (While not shown in the video, the playback issue resets in Musescore 3.6.2 if I close and reopen the app.) This isn't really part of the Musescore 4 issue, but I thought it may help to shed some light on the issue's cause
(Edit: I've realised that all audio on my computer becomes distorted while I have Musescore 4 open, not just the older Musescore app)

I've tested this with both MS Basic and the Muse Sounds across a range of instruments on Musescore 4. I'm having this issue with all sound fonts, not just a select handful. I've restarted my computer a number of times, and I've also tried bobjp's solution at https://musescore.org/en/node/334243 - neither of these have affected the issue at all. I did also see a suggestion about lowering the audio bitrate, but since I don't use an audio interface, I don't think I'm able to do this

Laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15 3000 running 64-bit Windows 11, in case that's relevant

Thanks in advance for providing help

EDIT: I have discovered a solution to the problem. While in MuseScore 4, go to Edit / Preferences / I/O, then increase the buffer size. My laptop runs on 2048, but some computers may need to increase this to 4096

Attachment Size
Greensleeves - Oboe Quartet.mscz 25.5 KB

Comments

I have exactly the same problem. I've noticed also that if you have the Mixer open then hit playback it plays properly! I've tried increasing buffer size to 4096 and it improves it a bit but not completely. I've also discovered that if you export the song as an MP3 file it plays back perfectly in Windows Player.

In reply to by josvella

This worked for me too, thanks for the tip!

Here are the steps for anyone (on Windows 10/11) wishing to try:
Control panel -> Sound -> select the Playback-tab -> select device, then click properties -> Advanced tab -> Default format to 24bit 48000Hz.

I've been having that problem as well! But it's getting worse. It seems to have spread everywhere to my computer. If I have Musecore 4 Open, and play a Youtube video on my Chrome browser, the audio effects the Youtube video, Spotify, and everything. The only way to stop it is by closing the Musecore 4 app. I also own an Inspiron 15 Dell Laptop.

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