diff --git a/src/engine/engine.h b/src/engine/engine.h
index 7c8c9097..1aa2b0c5 100644
--- a/src/engine/engine.h
+++ b/src/engine/engine.h
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ class DivEngine {
   bool forceMono;
   bool cmdStreamEnabled;
   bool softLocked;
+  int softLockCount;
   int ticks, curRow, curOrder, remainingLoops, nextSpeed;
   double divider;
   int cycles;
@@ -681,6 +682,8 @@ class DivEngine {
       halted(false),
       forceMono(false),
       cmdStreamEnabled(false),
+      softLocked(0),
+      softLockCount(0),
       ticks(0),
       curRow(0),
       curOrder(0),
diff --git a/src/engine/playback.cpp b/src/engine/playback.cpp
index 5443faa5..1d7f2417 100644
--- a/src/engine/playback.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/playback.cpp
@@ -1410,6 +1410,7 @@ void DivEngine::nextBuf(float** in, float** out, int inChans, int outChans, unsi
 
   if (softLocked) {
     if (!isBusy.try_lock()) {
+      logV("audio is soft-locked (%d)\n",softLockCount++);
       return;
     }
   } else {
diff --git a/src/log.cpp b/src/log.cpp
index c8dd030e..1f77925b 100644
--- a/src/log.cpp
+++ b/src/log.cpp
@@ -17,10 +17,28 @@
  * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
  */
 
+// TODO: improve these routines to allow logging to memory for eventual log window!
+
 #include "ta-log.h"
 
 int logLevel=LOGLEVEL_INFO;
 
+int logV(const char* format, ...) {
+  va_list va;
+  int ret;
+  if (logLevel<LOGLEVEL_TRACE) return 0;
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  printf("[trace] ");
+#else
+  printf("\x1b[1;37m[trace]\x1b[m ");
+#endif
+  va_start(va,format);
+  ret=vprintf(format,va);
+  va_end(va);
+  fflush(stdout);
+  return ret;
+}
+
 int logD(const char* format, ...) {
   va_list va;
   int ret;
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 076eba77..c1afe438 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -109,7 +109,9 @@ bool pConsole(String val) {
 }
 
 bool pLogLevel(String val) {
-  if (val=="debug") {
+  if (val=="trace") {
+    logLevel=LOGLEVEL_TRACE;
+  } else if (val=="debug") {
     logLevel=LOGLEVEL_DEBUG;
   } else if (val=="info") {
     logLevel=LOGLEVEL_INFO;
@@ -118,7 +120,7 @@ bool pLogLevel(String val) {
   } else if (val=="error") {
     logLevel=LOGLEVEL_ERROR;
   } else {
-    logE("invalid value for loglevel! valid values are: debug, info, warning, error.\n");
+    logE("invalid value for loglevel! valid values are: trace, debug, info, warning, error.\n");
     return false;
   }
   return true;
diff --git a/src/ta-log.h b/src/ta-log.h
index c7e8b803..e7867de5 100644
--- a/src/ta-log.h
+++ b/src/ta-log.h
@@ -26,9 +26,11 @@
 #define LOGLEVEL_WARN 1
 #define LOGLEVEL_INFO 2
 #define LOGLEVEL_DEBUG 3
+#define LOGLEVEL_TRACE 4
 
 extern int logLevel;
 
+int logV(const char* format, ...);
 int logD(const char* format, ...);
 int logI(const char* format, ...);
 int logW(const char* format, ...);