Crackling And Popping Problem

[TheConrad]

Hello friends,

I've been using Abeton Live 7 for about 13 years and have been very happy with it. You use it every day for that long and you know all the ins and outs, all the tips and tricks. My hard drive inevitably died though so I just spent a couple grand on a new computer and bought Ableton Live 10.
I'm finally posting here because I've been stubbornly troubleshooting for about 3 hours every day for about 3 weeks now and I'm about ready to pull my hair out..
I use Ableton with the POD HD 500x just like with my last rig. I have a top of the line computer with new everything, a ton of ram, hd space etc etc and yet when I try to record my guitar or vocals, it's unusable because there it sounds like a bowl of rice krispies cereal. It's snap crackle popping constantly.
Naturally the first thing I did was go into audio preferences and do the test tone, which indeed is also very crackly. I've adjusted every possible setting numerous times including buffer size and no effect. I downloaded LatencyMon to see what the hold up is, and it says everything is running fine. I ran diagnostics on memory.. fine.
So then I tried downloading Asio4All and adjusting the buffer size/quality in there but the same crackle issue. So then I reformatted my drive and reinstalled Ableton and same issue. I then made sure to update all drivers on my coputer including motherboard and the PODHD 500X and same issue.
Then I thought it might be a dirty power issue from the outlet so I moved my entire rig to another room.. same issue. Then I thought it might be an overheating issue so I put a huge fan right into the computer.. same issue. I then replugged in all the cables, turned everything on off nuerous times and that damn static popping is still there. Sounds fine during recording, but only during playback.
I'd love to offer my tiny little fan base some new videos but I havent produced anything in months cuz of this. Any help would be appreciated, thank you for reading my novel.

[fishmonkey]

have you followed one the many guides on optimising a Windows machine for audio production? (maybe you have since you've used LatencyMon). if not I'd do that next to rule out all the other main possibilities.

have you tried a different audio interface? maybe it's an issue with the Line 6 thing.

[miyaru]

I suspect the audio interface too, Line6 is not very well known for quality drivers, and ASIO4All ain't the best solution too.......

I would recommend at least the models of Focusrite or Presonus, as these are good from the basic models. Somewhat more expensive is the RME Babyface - even and yes far more better!

I run a i7-7700 rig with 16 GB ram with two M2 slot drives, and can run 60 tracks with ease. And yes I have a Focusrite interface, even an older firewire one still running at 32 samples if needed during recording. But mostly I run it at 128 samples to avoid cracks and pops.

[TheConrad]

Hey thanks for responding guys, appreciate the help. Yes Ive checked out the guide for optimizing Windows and nothing seems to help. I mean, its a good new computer without many other programs. I can post the specs if that would help.
Both of you are thinking its the PODHD 500x huh? Interesting.. I also just bought it brand new from Guitar Center, I wonder now if it could be defective. I did update all the software for it. Hmm.. it would be a real shame if its the interface because Ive been using it for years and I love the guitar tones.
Well, Ive been using the previous model for years anyway. I dropped $500 on the POD though and Id like to keep using it rather than switching interfaces. Any other thoughts?

[fishmonkey]

test the HD500X on another computer to rule out if it is faulty or not.
try another audio interface on your computer to see if the problem is specific to the HD500X.
you could also try different USB ports on your computer. is it a laptop or a desktop?

[TheConrad]

Hmm... yeah I'll try installing Ableton on a laptop I have. Its not a great laptop, and I dont know how Ableton licenses work, but its a good idea and worth a try. My computer is a desktop. I'll try it on the laptop and report back the findings, thanks

[TheConrad]

OK, so... I took a few shots and decided I was way too lazy to try installing Ableton on my crappy old laptop. What I did decide to do was google an Ableton 10 torrent even though I already paid for Ableton 10. I also put a huge fan on my PodHd 500x. I installed the new Ableton 10 and have been recording guitar and vocals for the past few hours with only minimal pops. The pops are still there but muted and few and far between.
As someone that has been working with these programs for 10 years, this should not work and doesnt make any sense. I would love to hear what you guys think. I normally would just continue to use the torrent version but I dont have a crack, so I cant export or save.
Also, the fan on the POD us the Ableton 10 version I paid for still results in crackles. Im willing to provide video and audio for any doubters... am thoroughly confused at this point.

[Tone Deft]

people are saying they don't like the Line 6 drivers but they don't seem to use them.

I've been running a Pod 500HDX for YEARS without issue using ASIO4ALL as my audio driver. my laptop and gear are in my signature.

did you check that everything is running at 48kHz? maybe a 44.1k to 48kHz conversion is going on.

if it helps I can run Live through my POD500HDX and see what I find, that is if you don't have a sound card and you're using the Pod as your USB to audio interface. hope that makes sense.

and to clarify, you know the difference between the 'amp noise' in the Pod's amp simulations vs pops and clicks due to audio buffers and whatnot screwing up.

hth, it's fun to help people get through this stuff.

[TheConrad]

Yeah, thats exactly why Im so reluctant to give up my PodHD500 or Ableton. When they work, its an unmistakable sound that I truly love. Theyre suggesting I simply try another audio interface but no.. Ive been using it successfully for 10 years and I dont want to give up.

No I havent checked to see if everything is running at 48kHz.. that matters? Is that a thi g? I'll check tomorrow when Im sober.

Oh yes I definitely can recognize the difference between amp noise and the pops lol. For amp noise on an electric guitar setting, I'll just put a noise gate on it. This is different. I'll record a guitar riff or vocal riff.. won't hear anything wrong when recording.. but when I play it back there are many pops and every clip is unusable.

[TheConrad]

Hey just to give an update on this issue because I learned something. I spent many more hours troubleshooting but I finally learned something useful. By the way, sample rates are all set to 48000 khz and that didnt solve anything. The thing I learned is this..
This morning, I recorded a minute guitar clip into Ableton and was surprised to only hear a couple pops throughout the clip. I was happy and saved the file "Only A Couple Pops!". I relistened to it a couple times and there indeed were only a couple small ones. I went about my day and in the evening, I listened to that same file and there were the usual pops and drop outs all over the place. Confused, I exported the clip and emailed it to myself and I listened to the file on my phone instead of my computer. There wasn't a single pop.
So for some reason, without changing or touching anything, sometimes my computer will play a sound file with a lot of staticky clicks and pops, and other times it wont. I dont know what this means, but maybe one of you does?

System Specs:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor
Memory: 32 gigs
Operating System: Windows 10 Home, 64 but
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
Purchased from CyberPower PC

Ableton Live 10 Intro

Electric Guitar: Hagstrom

[easynoise]

uninstall AMD graphics card driver and test it again.

[Mark Williams]

Have you ensured you have optimized Windows for Audio performance? Are you using the AMD Ryzen High Performance power management plan?

[easynoise]

Well, I have a solution (sort of) - in Bios the version of the PCI-E port should be changed to Gen3 (is set to AUTO, which should logically be Gen4 by AMD 5700 / 5700XT , I've tested also with set to Gen4 - crackling and popping all day long). I'm just wondering if it is the graphics card problem, motherboard/BIOS problem or driver/Windows problem?

[kc80]

Well, I have a solution (sort of) - in Bios the version of the PCI-E port should be changed to Gen3 (is set to AUTO, which should logically be Gen4 by AMD 5700 / 5700XT , I've tested also with set to Gen4 - crackling and popping all day long). I'm just wondering if it is the graphics card problem, motherboard/BIOS problem or driver/Windows problem?

Hey I ended up on this thread because I also am using an AMD 5700XT and experiencing Ableton crackles, but only when it is plugged in. If you searchthe web for 5700xt and ableton, you will find alot of confused people with the same issue, both on PC and MAC. Its the 5700XT. Let me know if you found a solution.

Im using a Mac Mini with an eGPU setup, so the 5700 XT is in a Razer Core X enclosure. I'm not sure if it's possible to change the PCI to Gen3 from Gen4 as you suggested on a Mac / eGPU setup. But I've seen another user mention that as solution for PC users as well.