Synth is not the case since I come across the same cracking sound with another synth and another some presets.

When the preset has 7 voices, I hear the cracking sound a bit. The more it has voices, the louder I hear the cracking sound.

But when I simultaneously play 4-5 midi channels - each midi channel has 7 voices - with random , I hear the cracking sound.

I remember playing 20 midi channels simultaneously and I never heard the crackling sound.

I believe this BS has started to happen after reinstalling Windows,

How can I see how many voices each preset allows?

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2025 at 6:38 PM

I'm sorry to announce, but you're just clipping your outputs. The screenshot you posted doesn't even have the channels visible, only digital input channels.

The red lights are on, you're too hot. And that's pejorative in this case.

 

Please tell me how come I clip my outputs playing only one midi channel? Furthermore it is Retrologue VSTi.

 

It's very simple: by having the volume too high at some place in the routing. Why don't you show us the patch that crackles, the faders in your DAW and the entire ID mixer? If it's not real clipping, everything will be clean.

Maybe take a video or something. The red lights say everything.

 

Depends on the synth, in retrologue it should be the "poly" number at the top left, Vital has a box that says "vioces" in the bottom right. Also different plugins might handle voices differently, even if the numbers are the same.

You may want to select a preset that clips, then lower the oscillator volumes inside the plugin. If that solves it, then it's definetively coming from the synths.

Could be, but a hot output on the interface doesn't necessarily mean hot output on the DAW. If it was clipping on the interface's meter but not on the DAW, then the crackling wouldn't be recorded unless the clipping is somewhere else (or there's a loopback thing going on). He also mentioned he fiddled with the track faders and it didn't stop the crackling, so i doubt it's that.

 

Here's how, if my word wasn't enough:

If you can get so hot to the point you're clipping the interface output, I'm pretty sure you're hot enough for the DAW. I used to do the exact same mistake 15 years ago, and it's the reason why I got off Reaper. Thought it was the DAW, it was just me not knowing enough.

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2025 at 7:17 PM

This is why I said stick a limiter on the channel, and sure you could put one the master out, too. This even assumes the output side of the limiter is not being pushed back into the red again, by someone who does not know how to use a limiter for this purpose.

I would probably just try to sorta "work in reverse". Put the synth part on looping in the DAW, bring the synth plugins channel fader all the way down to zero play it, and begin bringing the fader back up until it crackles.

This is the kind of thing that takes 10 seconds to fix if you are in front of the computer; and way too much typing if you aren't.

 

Thank you for taking the time.

Here is the first video :

 

I'm not exactly sure how metering works on Cubase, but it looks to me it's going past zero even with the faders at unity. Something is wrong one step before that, so it's most likely the synth is too hot.

 

Yep, they are passing zero when the faders are at 0db

And the midi has 10 voices. I just added many voices to test.

You can see the red line on the stereo out channel.

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM

Instrument Track is Clipping +5.8db which is way too loud making the (Main) Stereo Out also clip +3.6. It shows you going into the Red (Yellow) so that is why you Audient also sounds like crap as that is into the red. Pull down the fader for the Retrologue VSTi instrument track
Retrologue does not have any meters inside the GUI so probably best to turn it down there at the source too

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2025 at 9:05 PM