Clicking or popping noises occur when performing certain actions on the Tracker. Examples of actions that cause this issue are playing different samples on the same track lane (which I will refer to as “Sample Clipping”) and panning using Track FX or Panning LFO. This issue is distinct from attack/decay transients not lining up on a single sample.
“Work Arounds”
Use CUT with precise Micro-Move timing but this might only help if the cause is related to Sample Clipping.
Move every other sample to a separate lane (demonstrated in Pattern 2), allowing you more time to allow the sample to fully die out and attempt to use FAD’s and CUT’s before each new sample plays. However this does not solve the issues related to Panning.
Expanding the pattern resolution could potentially work by applying fades, but this was not successful in my testing.
Adjusting the attack and decay time of the samples might help, but this may affect the desired effect in the song.
For panning, no effective workarounds have been found. In the included project I have the sample it’s self panned left at -32 and control the panning via lane FX, this results in clicking. In Pattern 5 I expanded the resolution and tried panning incrementally from right to left but this results in clicking for every step.
These workarounds can drastically slow and limit the Tracker’s workflow, especially when expanding resolution, which limits patterns to at most 64 steps. In addition, longer songs with multiple 128 pattern lengths become difficult to program.
I’m including a project file that coincides with the patterns mentioned above, in case the clicks are not reproducible I’ve included the stem export from my tracker as well.
The patterns not mentioned are:
Pattern 1 - This is the default uncompensated pattern
Pattern 3 - 2 lane increased resolution test
Pattern 4 - This is a test of trying out each sample individually for clicks
Personal Aside
While I love using the Tracker to create songs, this issue is driving me and other users away from using it. It would be great to get insight into why this is happening and how it can be remedied.
Hi @liminaleris, thank you for the thorough bug report with such level of details. We are sorry you’re having problems. We had this issue on the radar and already announced improvements in this area with 1.7 update (please see in Announcements on Backstage). The update will bring considerable improvements in audio path in general as we are trying to resolve all of the issues of clicking and popping, so please check back when the next release is out. We’ll ping you when it’s ready. Thanks for your patience and we really appreciate your time put into reporting the bug.
Best regards
Hi,
Just to return on this topic of the crackle and this might be one for the team to know more but it could be that the samples are playing too loud and clipping? Im really not sure. I often find that auditioning the samples in the library they can be too loud and there is no way to turn them down to hear how they fit with the song being written. Might be one to post in the wishlist.
I would add that another thing you can do to avoid various clicks is, when, in the same track, all the steps are occupied by a sample (very often the samples played at continuous 1/16 tend to click on the cut tail) use the step FX micromove solves the problem, and sometimes (but this depends on the used sample) it can have the result of widening the stereophony perceived on that specific track
I had a clicking stuttering problem when i loaded longer samples on my tracker, but after i upgraded the card to one with a faster higher speed read write, it all went. not sure if this is related.
This crackling distortion is clipping, cuz preview goes directly into your ears without going through whole audio path. Only Master Volume affects preview of sounds. The only workaround that I found is to lower Master Volume to around-15db. load all needed samples, then work with them.
Nice one . i appreciate it.
i think if there could be a preview volume adjust in an update it would be useful. somehow a big number of my samples are in audible on preview because of this.
@here We’re pleased to let you know Tracker 1.7 firmware update is available and brings improvements in regards to the issues logged here. Please verify and let us know if you’re happy with the solution. I will leave the issue open for your comments and possible future improvements on this topic. Once again, thanks for helping us make the Tracker better for everyone.
still clicks here after update to v1.7
The same sample that is retriggered before it reaches the end causes clicks (whether in playback or when playing with the pads).
Shouldn’t “microfades” be used to avoid this kind of problem?
Hello, im trying to improve the clicking. I have tried it with volume 01, volume 02 / 03 / 00 … with “fad”, with “cut”, with a start/ end point in the editor … but most of these attempts do not completely solve the problem and sometimes the clips sounds randomly, but with the techniques that I show you now (at least me), I perceive a slight improvement . See here:
I have 5 tracks playing with quite long samples.
The tracker plays 4 of them without any clicks, but everytime I added a fifth
there was a click on the beat 1. I muted and unmuted the tracks to find out which
one was clicking. Actually it was not an individual track (or sample) that caused
it, it was the sum of the tracks that did it (all starting on the first beat).
So what did the trick:
I chose one of the sample on one track and moved it with Micro-move.
Just ‘m1’ as a value was enough to make the heavy click completely disappear. Just one of the five…
I recommend that procedure if you have trouble with clicks caused by to
many events happening on one beat.
EDIT:
I have to correct myself.
It still occasionally clicks, but definitely less than before.
Try out for yourself and share your experience, please!
Still have to experiment a bit more…
1,7 Here. I had the clicking problem sporadically before on earlier fw but nothing really like this video.
Have you tried to lower the sample amplitude in the editor ? I just use the limiter effect as the amplifier can’t go negative or I’m missing something.
Anyway for me lowering the instrument volume or adjusting the volume envelope would not help but once the actual waveform is lower in volume the clicks are gone.
Maybe not your exact same situation but try checking it out.
