Pops and clicks in synth

Questions and Support
#1

Hi there,

I’ve been having issues lately with pops and clicks being present in the presets I’m making using Vital. Things I’ve already tried:

  • increasing my buffer in DAW
  • increasing the attack in envelope/LFO
  • raising the smooth value in the LFO
  • Turned off all effects

I notice the pop seems to appear briefly in the visualizer waveform. Any suggestions?

Let me know what additional information you may need to assist. Thank you.

#2

If you upload the preset or catch it on video that would be the best way to find out the issue.

Sometimes if you have the multiband compressor on it will make some softer audio sound like a click if there isn’t other high end in your preset.

#3

Here is the preset- seems to persist even with the compressor off. Thank you

#4

There is a spike at the beginning of LFO 1. Try removing that. I moved the second segment down to show the spike:

Vital%20031522-1

You can also move Osc 3’s Wavetable frame up to get away from the sine wav as they tend to be clicky.

#5

Hey Teksonik - thanks for the reply. I found the solution, I turned off the legato function that and fixed it. Cheers all.

1 Like
#6

I had clicking sounds at the beginning of a reese bass, this trick resolved the issue. Thanks for sharing after you figured it out!

#7

Hi all,

I recently came across the clicks and pops issue while designing sounds that mainly involved sine waves.

The usual troubleshooting found in forums for this issue includes increasing the attack time, increasing the release time, turning the compressor off, etc. However, clicks still appear, and furthermore, manipulating the attack, release, or compressor this much can completely change the sound we are trying to create.

I tested several basic scenarios to arrive at a deeper conclusion, and I think I found the main reasons.
(Assume we are talking about a simple sine wave.)

  1. Wrong phase. As we all know, if the amplitude suddenly increases, that can cause a sharp rise in the signal, creating a sharp edge in the resulting wave. That sharp edge is what sounds like a click. There are two solutions for this: (1) reduce phase randomization to 0 so that we have full control over where the oscilloscope starts, and (2) set the phase so that the oscilloscope starts at a point in the wavetable where the amplitude is zero. Intuitively, that should solve the clicks, but you will notice that they still appear.

  2. Sharp enevelope. Even if we choose an initial phase position that makes our sine start at 0, a click can still appear.
    This is why most people advise increasing the attack time (and the release time as well, to avoid a sharp return to zero when the signal stops). However, and this is where the main issue lies, even if we increase the attack to create a longer ramp up to maximum amplitude, the point where the envelope changes from attack to hold/sustain is not continuous.
    To be fair, this is an issue that other synths also have, like Sylenth1, for instance. Having the envelope increase during the attack ramp and then suddenly become constant when reaching the sustain stage creates a small edge in the sine wave. One can further adjust the phase and envelope to make the clicks and pops almost inaudible while still maintaining the sound we wanted to create.

  3. Compressor high band. And this is where I cannot find a clear explanation or solution. Finding a zero initial phase position and softening the attack and release (to a point where the sound still resembles what we originally intended) will greatly reduce the clicks and pops, or even make them seem as if they have disappeared. However, when turning the Vital compressor ON, the clicks and pops appear again. If you use a third-party EQ or multiband compressor, the clicks are not exaggerated as much as with the Vital one. Inspecting the resulting waves, I see very strange artifacts appearing at the usual click spots (the transition points between attack and hold/sustain, and between sustain and release). This makes me think there is something unusual happening in the compressor bands that exaggerates sharp edges in the signal.

Partial solution for the compressor issue (appart from the usual phase, attack, release ones):

  • Use the “Single Band” mode of the Vital compressor. This prevents the clicks and pops from being isolated in a single band and exaggerated. Then, you can use a third-party multiband compressor or EQ to fine-tune the sound.

Keep in mind that this is mainly an issue if you are working with sounds that do not contain much high-frequency information. In sounds with a lot of high-end content, the clicks will simply blend with the rest of the high frequencies and be impossible to hear or distinguish.

I hope it is useful for all of you trying to reduce clicks and pops in your sounds, and I hope the developers come up with a solution like a smooth knob for envelopes or a rework of the multiband compressor.