Noise & Crackle while recording

Hello, I want to record a reverbed pad with my audio interface coming from my analog rytm.

The pad is filtered with relative amount of resonance so I guess there are a little bit peaks.
If I record at a good volume there is a lot of crackle during one or two specific notes, no problems with the other notes, or when there are silences. The volume meter doesnt go RED, not on my interface plugin, not in ableton.

I have to put down the volume on that track a lot lower to hear no crackle, but when I record at that gain, I need to boost the gain after words in my audio clip, so much that I have many many many noise. I can’t work with that much noise. I tried different cables (lenghts) and inputs but still the same. I tried to record via USB (overbridge) but here also the same!

Preset is BIO BUTTERFLY or something like that. It has to come from the A4. Help?

Is there a way to physically turn down the inputs on your interface? Just because the software doesnt show clipping doesnt mean you arent clipping the inputs? Not 100% but pretty sure.

Yes there is but I already tried that. The noise ratio problem is still there with that option

check if you have pLocked any FX? i had a similar issue with a reverb I had senselessly pLocked (without knowing)

Hi, your crackle can have more then one reason …

First I would check, wether it is the A4. Listen to the audio-out of the A4 only.

Reverbs may create unwanted noises, if we hit them with too much punch. If the reverb is set to shorter time and/or less feedback, this effect can be reduced. But you tell us about a problem with a pad-sound, which should not be supposed to be punchy :wink:

Sometimes a synth can develop peaks, which only occur for particular frequencies, like for single tones of a melody. If the structure of the VCO-sound and the filter resonance happen to fit in a particular way, a much more then usual energetic peak can be created by a very effective “resonance”. Reduction of resonance, using keyboard tracking of the cutoff frequency, or change of the filter-envelope can reduce this effect.

But it could also be a combination of the A4 generating short peaks and your A/D conversion, or the digital signal path after your audio interface. Even if such a peak is very short, it could overload the digital signal and create a crackling noise.

2 Likes

Sometimes it’s a matter of your DAW setup if everthing else failed. Check everthing on your PC for essential or not esential for music production, i.e. classics like WLAN, Bluetooth, programms in the backround, browser i.e.

In the DAW itself check the amount of neccessary VST’s. Bulid a new porject, add track after track and watch the crackling appear. Sometimes it could make sense to increase the audio buffer.

If nothing really helped double your RAM and switch to an SSD.

I was always looking into parameters of the sound and reverb and never checked the sequencer. In the sequence there was the exact same note with microtiming shifted to the other note, so 2 identical notes = double volume … fixed!

3 Likes

Hmmm it’s still not 100% ok.

https://benvanmassenhove.stackstorage.com/s/Qy0bgDWjwDJkFYa

This is recorded with overbridge at 24 bit. Low volume

sorry to revive this old thread but I’ve had the same issue…
I connected my headphones directly to the A4 headphones out and in some cases when I add a medium amount of reverb, chorus or delay I obtain some crackling noises, If i turn the effects all the way off they disappear.
I updated the laest firmware 1.35…
I’d like to know if my unit is defective or this is kind of normal…
again sorry for reviving the old thread but im a bit worried about my best synth
many thanks

1 Like

Try raising the verb’s output and lowering the track’s reverb send. Maybe you are getting in too hot.

I just experienced this same issue on my Analog Keys on a 4 note pad with a decent amount of reverb from the AK. The crackle went away if I turned the reverb way down or off. Then I noticed the track was turned all the way to the maximum volume. I dropped the track volume down to 60% and I was able to turn the reverb send all the way to max with no crackle. My Analog Keys has firmware 1.40A. It seems that if you hit the reverb with excessive volume it will start to crackle quite a lot.