Buzzing Sound on KeyLab Mk3

Lab KeyLab
#1

Hi,

I recently bought a brand-new KeyLab Mk3 from a store, and this is my first MIDI controller. However, I’m experiencing an issue with the sound.

I have installed the necessary software and updates. When I connect the controller to my laptop, the sound starts buzzing when playing more complex sounds, such as strings combined with piano, while simple piano sounds seem fine.

I installed ASIO4ALL, but it didn’t help. I also tried adjusting the buffer size and sample rate, but the issue persists.

To improve the setup, I purchased a Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen audio interface, installed its software, and connected my speakers via 2x TRS 6.3mm cables. However, the buzzing sound remains. Even when I plug in headphones directly into the audio interface, I still hear the same issue.

My laptop is a Lenovo Legion 5 Pro with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor.

Could you please help me identify the cause of this issue and suggest a solution?

Best regards,

#2

HI @remakechannel and welcome to The Sound Explorers Forum!

I suspect i know what this is, but could you post some video or audio of the issue please?

It sounds like your interface is struggling to cope with what you’re asking it to do.

This could be down to a few reasons, a quick web search tells me your laptop should be up to the job, so the next thing to look at would be drivers for your 2i2 and its settings.

Let’s start simply and with a ‘stand alone’ version of Analog Lab V (ALV), any version will do.
Also, have a look at your 2i2 buffer and sample rate settings, set these to 128 samples buffer size and 44.1KHz to start with.
Then run ALV and click on the ‘hamburger’ icon in the top left corner and then ‘Audio Midi Settings’ and you’ll see a window very similar to below, bear in mind i have a different interface to your own.

ALV1
ALV11256×862 134 KB

You should select the ‘ASIO’ driver for your interface in the ‘Audio Driver’ box directly above the ‘Audio Device’ box, they should both be related to your 2i2 for this. Just click on them to show a drop down menu if they are not there by default.

The Buffer size and Sample rate fields should both mirror your 2i2 settings and are controlled by your 2i2 software.

Over in ‘midi settings’ you need to assign your KL MK3, you’ll see it in that list if it’s plugged in, turned on and you’ve installed The Arturia Midi Control Center app.

Once you’ve done all that, play a few notes and see if things have improved for you.
If not, post back here and we’ll see if we can help further, we’re ALL new to this at some point, many people forget this after years of doing it and how it can seem a little overwhelming when we’re just starting out.

HTH!

#3

Video with my problem

I’d like to add that I had ASIO4All installed before installing the Scarlett 2i2 software. After experiencing the issues shown in my video, I read that the ASIO4All drivers might conflict with the Scarlett software. So, I uninstalled ASIO4All using Revo Uninstaller, but the problem persisted.

I also have Midi Control Center installed, though I haven’t used it yet. I installed all the Arturia software from the manufacturer’s website, along with firmware 1.1.1 after launching Midi Control Center.

I would add that I hear the same buzzing and crackling in my headphones when I plug them into the Scarlett, as well as when I switch to my laptop speakers.

#4

Hi @remakechannel, Welcome to the community from me too.

That can sound like a latency issue. Meaning your CPU is being overloaded if so.

I would try to use a Buffer size at 256 samples - perhaps you even need to use a setting at 512 samples. I suggest you use 256 samples.
Samplerate 44100 or 48000 Hz.
I see in your video you use 128 samples. That can perhaps be quite demanding for your CPU.

I see it’s a Multiinstrument in Analog Lab you use. Multiinstruments can be very demanding.

In the beginning of your video you are in the settings page in the right panel of Analog Lab.
Try to enable the Multicore setting. That might help a lot.

If that do not help enough, then also be sure the computers power plan is set to High Performance mode.

If that also do not help, then things need to be investigated further.

FYI: For example the more voices playing including in their release phase the more CPU power you need.
And sounds can be using more or less demanding synthesis and effects.
It does look and sound like you have a quite demanding sound going on.

1 Like
#5

HI again @remakechannel

To add to @LBH ALWAYS sage advice there… a couple of other things to look at would be your internal USB hub settings and make sure they are not allowed to ‘sleep’. Windoze doesn’t always do this when using their own high power mode.
To do so, type ‘computer management’ in your windows search bar, open it and you’ll see something like this…

Win Computer Management console
Win Computer Management console986×708 61.8 KB

Select ‘device manager’, circled in yellow and you’ll see an expanded tree similar to below…
Win Hardware management USB Hubs
Win Hardware management USB Hubs986×708 108 KB

Lastly, right click on each of the entries for each entry under and between those two highlighted entries. Yours will likely look a little different as a also have a PCIe USB3 expansion card in my machine.
Right click and select ‘Properties’ and you’ll see this kind of popup…

Win hardware management USB hub sleep settings

Select the ‘power management’ tab at the top and make sure the ‘Allow the computer to turn off…’ is unchecked, as in the above pic.
As i said, you’ll need to do this for ALL of your USB hubs in Windows.
The recent 24H2 Windows update turned ALL of mine to ‘on’, as well as a load of other issues, which caused, from what i can hear over your phone mic, very similar issues.

If you have ‘CPU throttling’ switched on, then turn it off, again something the win power scheme setting doesn’t always seem to do.

It might also be useful if you could export some audio, rather than using your phone’s mic, so we can hear it properly.

HTH!

1 Like
AudioFuse Sound broken(crackling, hissing) after Winupdate (KB5050009)
#6

@LBH I followed your recommendations. I switched between 256 samples and 512 samples, as well as between 44100 and 48000 Hz, but I didn’t notice any difference in sound quality.
With multi-instruments, the sound crackles significantly more, but even with a regular piano, there’s an issue with the clarity of the sound.
I enabled Multicore, but there was no change there either.
I set the most efficient power plan on my Lenovo Legion, which is the Performance plan where the processor runs at 100%. I also checked the settings of this plan to make sure the processor isn’t limited and is set to run at 100%. Here, I noticed a slight difference, but it still didn’t resolve the issue.
I should add that when I open Task Manager and play on the Keylab at the same time, it shows that the CPU usage is around 5%, which makes me wonder why that is.

@matjones I checked the computer management settings, specifically the Universal Serial Bus controllers. For all USB entries, I had the option “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” enabled. I unchecked this option for every USB, but unfortunately, it didn’t improve the sound quality.
Could you tell me if the power settings I described above don’t necessarily unlock the processor to run at 100%? Where else can I find settings that might unlock the processor’s performance? Is there a way to check if my CPU usage is close to 100% when using Analog Lab and playing?

I’m waiting for your further advice. Honestly, I was convinced that the issue was the lack of an audio interface and my weak sound card in the Lenovo laptop, but I was surprised that the Scarlett didn’t change anything.

I’d be happy to send you a sample of the sound quality in better quality, but I didn’t have an idea of how to do it since I just bought this keyboard and haven’t had a chance to explore it fully yet.

#7

It’s needed to investigate then.

You say you only use 5% of your full CPU. But is that while you have the issue?
In the bottom panel of Analog Lab you have a performance meter. What does that show, when you have the issue?
In you computers task manager you can open to see the load on each core. What’d the highest load for a single core, when you have the issue? You have 16 threads so you should be able to read 16 cores i assume.

Have you tried another USB port for your soundcard? It look like it’s connected directly to the computer. That’s good. Especially unpowered hubs can give issues.

Do you have the issue with all presets in Analog Lab?
Does it helps, if you turn down Analog Labs Master volume.
Please try things out with factory presets. Then you also can name the preset to be checked.

1 Like
#8

HI again @remakechannel

I think @LBH and i are heading in the same direction with this one…
A long shot… try a different USB cable, check all your USB ports and ends of USB cables for dust/dirt etc…

CPU throttling is usually done in the BIOS of your computer. You usually access BIOS by turning on/restarting your machine and hitting the ‘Del’ key as fast as possible these days… in the past bootup tended to be much slower so you could take your time a little.
You should look for either ‘CPU Throttling’ or ‘speedstep’, and try turning it off if it’s enabled.

The worst case scenario is that it’s an incompatibility with your USB ‘Chipset’. Something that’s becoming increasingly rare these days, but it can and does happen.
For my own interface, an RME device, RME explicitly state to avoid certain chipsets.

:crossed_fingers::crossed_fingers:

#9

@LBH I recorded my laptop screen showing CPU usage during gameplay along with preset changes, and I also adjusted the performance levels of the laptop. The performance meter in Analog Lab showed the highest percentage when the laptop was set to a low-performance mode, whereas in performance mode, the meter dropped to around 10-15%.

My laptop has one USB 3.0 port and three USB 2.0 ports. I tested different connections and various combinations, but the issue remained the same. The sound quality was extremely poor and distorted, even for piano sounds.

Interesting observation: When I disconnected the Scarlett from my laptop and changed the audio settings in Analog Lab to Windows Audio (Exclusive Mode), the piano sounds were fairly clean. However, the strings sounded awful—worse than with the Scarlett. On the Scarlett, every preset plays with poor quality. Lowering the volume doesn’t help; it only makes the bad sound quieter but doesn’t eliminate it.

@matjones I also tried a different USB cable, but the issue persisted. I haven’t experimented with the BIOS yet. For now, I’ll send you a video recorded with OBS Studio showing the Analog Lab window and CPU usage. I wanted to record the audio as well, but despite multiple attempts, I couldn’t get it to work in OBS. Only after connecting a 6.3mm jack from the AUX In on the KeyLab to the instrument input on the Scarlett did the OBS volume mixer detect a signal.

Guys, I’m feeling pretty skeptical about finding a solution to this. Maybe buying such a keyboard without prior experience was a mistake. The worst part is that I probably can’t even return it to the store—the protective film on the keyboard and screen has been removed, and I’ve installed all the bundled software. Since these electronic licenses are non-refundable, I’m now stuck with a piece of gear that, for the time being, is unusable for playing.

Link to the video: Video Desktop
Sound mic smartphone: Sound

In the phone recording, the selected preset is a solo piano, where the buzzing noise is clearly audible, just as it sounds in real life, though not as pronounced as when heard live. However, when switching to strings or Multi presets, the sound quality gets even worse with the buzzing. The audio quality resembles that of a cheap children’s keyboard.

#10

Hi again @remakechannel

Ok, after watching your video, you NEED to go into your BIOS and disable CPU throttling, as i have suggested.

Unfortunately your audio doesn’t offer any clues as its quality is just too poor to be able to hear what i’m looking for, the ‘signature’ sound of ASIO ‘overs’.
If you watch your video and keep an eye on your CPU speed, you’ll notice it varies around 3.75-3.8 GHz or so, by 1:48 in the video it has dropped to 1.25GHz, demonstrating that you DO have CPU throttling enabled.

I believe there is some software that comes with your KeyLab? I think it might come with something called Ableton Live or something similar?
You can use this to record the audio, an external mic is a total waste of time i’m afraid, as the quality is just too poor as i’ve explained.

Once you’ve switched CPU throttling off, you might need to contact your laptop manufacturer, hit the web to see if they have a forum etc to find out how to do this, see how things are working then.
Unless this is a USB Chipset issues as i mentioned in my last post, you SHOULD notice a marked difference once you have done so.

Get back to us once you’ve done this and we’ll help you through the next steps.

I doubt very seriously that your KL MK3 has anything to do with this, ostensibly, it appears to be the way your laptop is set up that is the cause here.

HTH!

#11

What does this mean? The AUX in on Keylab has nothing to do with audio. Nothing on the keyboard controller has to do with audio. It’s all midi.
I assume your controller is connected directly to your Laptop too.

If your Laptop are on battery, then please connect it to a power socket.

Just in case:
Try to reinstall Analog Lab.
Do you have any other instruments to try out?

Do you have the issue, if you play Analog Lab with your computer keys starting on the key “A”?

Have you run computer hardware diagnostics to check the performance? I think Lenovo Vantage can do this, if you want to use that. Perhaps AMD have a diagnostic tool.

Is your computer hot?

I also think this issue is hard to pin point.
When you use the Piano sound there is fine readings and your CPU run at high frequency according to the readings in your task manager.
First when you start change presets with samples way to fast Analog Labs own meter run high but the task manager for some odd reason show low speed, which is not good.
But you apparently have the issue when the CPU run fast too.

Speedstep should not cause issues. Turboboost is also a speedstep technology. But certainly i would check it. It can’t be ruled out, that it give issues.
Also check Hyperthreading for that matter.

#12

HI @remakechannel
I think it would be a good idea to run DPC Latency Checker on your system to help narrow this one down.

HTH!

#13

Guys, I’m back after a long time with some progress on this issue. We can probably rule out the processor as the source of the problem.

First, I’ll refer to what you wrote. I did a Cinebench multi-core test. According to this test, the CPU was running at 100%. In Task Manager, it also showed 100% CPU usage. The cooling system was running at full speed. Here are the screenshots:

While playing in Analog Lab, my processor simply doesn’t need to work that hard—it runs quietly, which means the temperatures are low enough that the cooling system doesn’t have to speed up.

@matjones

At 1:48 in my previous video, I switched to low-performance mode, and at that moment, a “silent” icon appeared on the screen. That’s why the clock speed dropped to 1.25 GHz. Sorry for not mentioning that in my post.

I have Ableton Live Lite included in my setup, but I haven’t recorded anything in Ableton because its complexity overwhelmed me, and I don’t feel competent enough to use it yet. Instead, I tried recording audio in Audacity and OBS Studio, but I ran into a big problem. I couldn’t get the sound passing through Focusrite to be picked up in those programs. I tried every possible setting, consulted ChatGPT, but still couldn’t figure it out. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong or why those programs can’t detect my sound.

@LBH

Yes, my KeyLab is connected via USB-C directly to my laptop, and Focusrite is also connected directly via USB. The laptop is plugged in and set to maximum performance mode.

“Do you have this problem when playing in Analog Lab, and the computer keys start from the ‘A’ key?”

I don’t understand this sentence—what do you mean?

I ran Cinebench as I mentioned above to check if my processor had any limitations. My computer maintains stable temperatures while using Analog Lab, around 50-60°C on the CPU. The fans run quietly, and the CPU usage is low, which explains the low temperatures. However, during gaming or rendering, my laptop ramps up its performance.

Now, here’s what I tested recently.

I initially planned to check BIOS settings to look for processor limitations, even though Cinebench showed the CPU running at 100%. But then I had another idea.

I started wondering whether the problem was caused by speaker/headphone quality or incorrect connections to Focusrite, leading to the distorted sound I was hearing.

So, I decided to check how the sound coming through Focusrite would be heard using wireless headphones (I know there would be latency, but I just wanted to check sound clarity, not delay). ChatGPT suggested using VoiceMeeter. I installed it, launched it, and managed to set it up so that the sound from Analog Lab, passing through Focusrite, was detected in VoiceMeeter (which I couldn’t manage in Audacity or OBS).

After adjusting the dB volume sliders in VoiceMeeter, I noticed that the sound I hear in wireless headphones is clear—ignoring the latency, it sounds as it should.

I also recorded a clean audio sample using VoiceMeeter, so you can hear it yourselves:

Since the sound in real-time monitoring is clean, and the recorded audio is also clear, I think we can definitively rule out the processor as the culprit.

Now, regarding wired headphones connected to Focusrite, I haven’t been able to test them properly yet because I don’t have a stereo 6.3mm adapter. The one I have is mono, which is probably the issue, but I still need to verify that.

However, my speaker is connected using a 2x 6.3mm stereo jack cable to Focusrite, yet the sound quality is very poor. My speaker is a SoundBoks Gen 3, and I connect it to CH1 & CH2 on the Pro Panel.

What happens when I select different audio drivers in Analog Lab?

:one: If I choose “VoiceMeeter” as the audio driver in Analog Lab, the speaker produces Loud cracking sounds.

:two: If I switch to “Focusrite USB Audio” in Analog Lab, the worst distortion disappears, but the sound still has imperfections.

:three: If Analog Lab is set to “VoiceMeeter,” but in VoiceMeeter I select “Wireless Headphones” instead of “Focusrite Speaker”, the sound plays both in my headphones and the speaker simultaneously, but the major distortion disappears (only minor imperfections remain).

Here’s a video showing how I switch between Focusrite Speaker and Wireless Headphones in VoiceMeeter. You can hear that:

Summary of my tests:

:heavy_check_mark: Wireless headphones connected via VoiceMeeter → Clean playback and clean recording.
:x: Speaker connected to Focusrite → Heavy distortion, regardless of whether Analog Lab is set to Focusrite or VoiceMeeter.
:heavy_check_mark: If I select VoiceMeeter as the audio driver but switch the output to wireless headphones → The sound is much better.

Conclusion:

Since the sound in wireless headphones is clear, but the speaker connected to Focusrite has significant distortion, the issue is NOT the CPU. The problem lies in the speaker setup or connection to Focusrite.

Next Steps:

  • I need to properly test wired headphones with a stereo 6.3mm adapter.
  • I need to investigate why my speaker sounds bad when connected to Focusrite, despite using a stereo cable.

That’s all for now. If you have any suggestions on what might be wrong with my speaker connection to Focusrite, let me know! Thanks for your help! :headphones::control_knobs::loud_sound: