Has anyone ever heard of getting a subtle crackling noise in a final mix only when it is turned up to a louder level (Take in mind none of the tracks or plugins in the session are clipping at all, everything was gain staged and recorded at conservative volumes). Its kind of like if I play a song i mixed in my car at a conservative level everything sounds smooth but as soon as i start turning up the volume you then hear the crackling sound in the song. I know its my mixes because if I play a mainstream mix in my car i can pretty much max out the volume on those and I won't hear any crackling noise. If Anyone has heard of this or know what step I'm missing comment or give advice.
Need some tips guys (CRACKLING NOISE IN THE MIX)!!!!!
- Thread starter Jredd05
- Start date
Since you describe it as "crackling" (as apposed to just noise like "buzzing" or "humming" or white noise) some thoughts:
Digital clipping - produces a crackly sound if the signal intermittently hits digital zero. Though you said this isn't happening.
A Synth maxing out - some synths crackle when you hit their voice limit. This shouldn't happen in offline mode though, right?
Something at <16 bits - A processor or synth has less than 16 bit depth. This would produce a low level crackly and nasty sound. I have a virus snow that seems to work at about 12bits depth, you only have to amp it by 6 dB before that noise comes through.
Crap downsampler? DAW work at high resolution internally, then down-sample when you render. Maybe the down-sampling being used is crap?
Digital clipping - produces a crackly sound if the signal intermittently hits digital zero. Though you said this isn't happening.
A Synth maxing out - some synths crackle when you hit their voice limit. This shouldn't happen in offline mode though, right?
Something at <16 bits - A processor or synth has less than 16 bit depth. This would produce a low level crackly and nasty sound. I have a virus snow that seems to work at about 12bits depth, you only have to amp it by 6 dB before that noise comes through.
Crap downsampler? DAW work at high resolution internally, then down-sample when you render. Maybe the down-sampling being used is crap?
Last edited:
JustBeyond
New member
That's why I like having a laptop, my system in my car picks up things I'd never notice on my monitors. Mostly distortion or deep bottom end related things, but I just bring my laptop in my car and hook that shit up for a few minutes and tweak the things that stand out or sound bad. That's definitely not a place where you should mix obviously, but it's just a reference point. Reference with as many speakers as possible! It helps you diagnose and pinpoint the exact areas that need adjusting instead of just guessing at it.