FL Studio Crackling? How to Fix Pops, Clicks and CPU Overload

It always seems to happen at the worst moment. The beat is finally coming together, you hit play, and FL Studio stutters, pops and clicks like a scratched record. You haven’t broken anything, and you rarely need a new computer to fix it.

Below are all 11 fixes from Mix Elite’s CPU video, with the exact clicks and a screenshot for each, plus what to do on a laptop, when one plugin is the problem, and when FL Studio crackles while the CPU meter looks low.

Why is FL Studio crackling?

FL Studio’s pops and clicks are buffer underruns, as Image-Line calls them: tiny gaps where your computer couldn’t finish the next chunk of audio in time. The usual causes are a buffer that’s too short, the wrong audio driver, too many heavy plugins and power-saving settings.

When you press play, FL Studio doesn’t make sound one moment at a time. It builds the audio ahead in small chunks and keeps each one in a buffer, a short waiting room for sound, before it goes to your speakers. The buffer length sets how big each chunk is.

If your computer can’t fill the next chunk before the current one finishes, there’s a gap. That gap is the crackle. Image-Line’s manual names two main causes. Either the CPU is simply overloaded, or a system problem stops it from running at full speed. The first shows up on FL Studio’s CPU meter. The second can happen even when the meter looks low.

Here’s the good news. Crackles in live playback don’t end up in your exported song, because exporting takes as long as it needs, so there are no gaps. If you hear glitches in an export, a plugin is misbehaving, not your buffer.

Why does FL Studio crackle when you add more plugins?

Every plugin adds work that FL Studio has to finish inside each buffer. Stack enough synths and effects and the CPU runs out of time, so playback crackles. A long chain on one mixer track is the worst case, because each instrument and the effects on its mixer track run in order on the same CPU core.

That’s why a heavy project can crackle while the CPU meter still looks fine. One core is maxed out while the others still have room. The fixes that help most here are Smart disable (Fix 5), closing plugin windows (Fix 7) and consolidating your heaviest synth to audio (Fix 8). If one plugin crackles even in a light project, jump to the single-plugin fixes.

How to read the CPU meter in FL Studio

The CPU meter sits in the CPU & Memory panel at the top of FL Studio. The number next to the bar (1) is the CPU load. Beside it is the memory FL Studio is using, in MB, and under it is the number of voices playing.

That CPU load isn’t the same number you see in Windows Task Manager. It shows how much of each buffer’s time FL Studio needed to fill it. At 20%, it made the audio in a fifth of the time it had. At 90%, it only just made it. Near 100%, you’ll hear crackles.

Double-click the panel to open the Plugin performance monitor, which shows the plugins using the most CPU. The Audio settings page also has an Underruns counter that adds up every dropout. A few underruns while a project loads are normal. Only the ones you hear during playback matter.

How to fix FL Studio crackling, step by step

Work down this list in order. The first two matter most, and each one after that frees up a bit more of your computer’s power:

1. Choose an ASIO audio driver.
2. Raise the buffer length.
3. Set Priority to Highest and turn on multithreading.
4. Lower the Timebase (PPQ).
5. Turn on Smart disable for all plugins.
6. Delete unused channels and audio clips.
7. Close all plugin windows.
8. Find the heaviest plugin and consolidate it.
9. Mix with stock plugins.
10. Render finished tracks to audio.
11. Put your computer on high performance.

Before any of that, update FL Studio. Max, the founder of Mix Elite, opens the video with this tip, because a big CPU improvement arrived in FL Studio 20.0.4, and Image-Line says more improvements have come since.

The video was recorded in FL Studio 20, so a few windows look a little different today. The setting names are the same, and the names below match Image-Line’s current manual. If the Channel Rack, Playlist and Mixer are new to you, our beginner’s guide to FL Studio explains them first.

Fix 1: Choose an ASIO audio driver

1. Open Options > Audio settings, or press F10, and click the Device menu (1).
2. Under ASIO devices, pick FL Studio ASIO (2) or ASIO4ALL, which both come with FL Studio. If you have an audio interface, pick its own ASIO driver instead, like the Komplete Audio driver in this list (3).

ASIO is a kind of audio driver made for music software, and it handles small buffers far better than basic Windows drivers like Primary Sound Driver. Image-Line also recommends getting the newest driver from your interface’s maker and plugging the interface straight into your computer, never through a USB hub. If you’re still choosing gear, our home studio setup guide covers what you actually need.

Macs don’t use ASIO. Choose your interface as the input and output device instead. If the crackling won’t go away, especially while recording, Image-Line suggests combining your devices into an aggregate device in Audio MIDI Setup.

Fix 2: Raise the buffer length

Max’s rule: “The most important thing in saving CPU is actually the buffer length.” A longer buffer gives your computer more time to fill each chunk, so it crackles less. The price is latency, a small delay between pressing a key and hearing the sound.

On Windows, click Show ASIO panel under the buffer readout. In the video’s FL Studio ASIO panel, the buffer is set to 512 samples (1). If FL Studio crackles, step up to the next size (2) and play the song again. Keep it as short as your computer allows, and raise it as soon as the CPU starts to struggle.

What buffer size stops FL Studio crackling?

On Windows, 512 samples (about 12 ms) is a good place to start, and it’s the setting in the video. If it still crackles, step up toward 1024. Image-Line’s rule is never below 10 ms (441 samples), and 10 to 40 ms in general. On Apple Silicon Macs, start at 128 samples instead.

Here are Image-Line’s numbers in full:

• Windows PCs and Intel Macs: never below 10 ms, which is 441 samples. Image-Line recommends 10 to 40 ms and suggests adding about 5 ms at a time.
• Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2 and newer): start at 128 samples and only go up to 192, 256, 512 or 1024 if it still crackles. On these Macs, longer isn’t always better.
• Over 40 ms (1764 samples): playing live gets hard, and it rarely lowers the CPU load any further.

Next to the buffer you’ll also find Triple buffer. It can hide crackles when the CPU is close to 100%, but it doubles the delay. The video suggests trying these extra buttons to see if things get better. Image-Line adds one rule: if a setting doesn’t help, switch it off again.

Fix 3: Set Priority to Highest and turn on multithreading

Stay in Audio settings. Set Priority to Highest (1), which gives the audio more of your CPU’s attention. The Underruns counter (2) shows how many dropouts happened so far, so you can watch it while you test each fix.

In the CPU section, two boxes matter most: Multithreaded generator processing (3) and Multithreaded mixer processing (4). They spread your instruments and effects across all of your CPU’s cores instead of piling everything onto one. Leave Smart disable (5) ticked too. Fix 5 explains why.

Below that is Resampling quality. Leave it at 24-point sinc or lower. You probably won’t hear a difference anyway, and Image-Line recommends going no higher than 24-point sinc.

Image-Line’s checklist goes one step further and turns off Safe overloads. That gives the audio even more priority, though the screen can freeze for a moment during a heavy spike.

Fix 4: Lower the Timebase (PPQ)

PPQ, short for pulses per quarter note, sets how finely FL Studio slices time for notes, clips and automation. Higher numbers mean finer timing and more CPU.

1. Open Options > Project general settings and check that you’re on the Project tab (1).
2. Find Timebase (PPQ) (2). The default is 96.

The video calls this the second most important setting and drops heavy projects to 24. The only downside it mentions is that you can’t zoom in as far. Image-Line’s current advice is gentler: settings above 192 hit the CPU hard, and 96 suits most projects.

Fix 5: Turn on Smart disable for all plugins

Smart disable switches off any plugin that isn’t making sound at that moment, so it stops using CPU. Tick Smart disable in Audio settings, box 5 in the Fix 3 screenshot. Then open Tools > Macros and click Switch smart disable for all plugins (1).

You need both. The Audio settings box only works for plugins that already have Smart disable switched on, and the macro switches it on for every plugin in your project.

The one catch is effects with long tails. A reverb, for example, can cut off a few seconds after the sound stops. Your export is safe, though, because Smart disable only works during live playback. If a plugin misbehaves, turn Smart disable off for just that one in its plugin menu.

Fix 6: Delete unused channels and audio clips

Big projects collect channels and samples you no longer use. This trick is handy late in a project, when you can’t tell anymore what’s still in use. Open Tools > Macros and click Select unused channels (1). FL Studio selects every channel that has no notes in any pattern.

Delete the channels, then purge the clips

Click the small arrow at the top left of the Channel Rack (1) and choose Delete selected (2), or press Alt + Del. Look over what’s selected first, so you don’t delete a channel you still need.

Then do the same for samples. They sit in your computer’s memory, so clearing out unused ones helps too. Go back to Tools > Macros and click Purge unused audio clips, marked (2) in the first screenshot. FL Studio removes every audio clip that isn’t used anywhere in the project.

Fix 7: Close all plugin windows

Every open plugin window keeps using power, even when it’s hidden behind other windows. Max calls this one a trick he learned really late: “It will close up every plugin here and I promise it will increase the performance.”

Press F12, which is View > Close all windows (1). Or press Alt + F12 for Close all plugin windows (2), which leaves your other windows open. Either way, only the windows close. Every effect keeps working exactly as before.

The same View menu opens the Plugin performance monitor (3), which you’ll need in the next fix. For more time-savers like F12, see our list of FL Studio shortcuts.

Fix 8: Find the heaviest plugin and consolidate it

Open View > Plugin performance monitor, or double-click the CPU panel, and play the busiest part of your song. Click Total (1) to sort the list, so the plugin that used the most CPU jumps to the top (2). In the video’s project, that’s a Serum synth called Future Chords.

Consolidate the pattern to audio

Consolidating turns a pattern into an audio clip, a recording of what that plugin plays. Playing audio costs far less CPU than running a big synth live. Select the track in the Playlist and press Ctrl + Alt + C, or right-click the track’s name and choose to consolidate it.

FL Studio adds the new audio clip (1) and mutes the original pattern (2), so nothing is lost. In the video, the crackles stop as soon as the consolidated version plays. Need to change the part later? Unmute the pattern, edit it and consolidate again.

Fix 9: Mix with stock plugins

Third-party plugins are often heavier than FL Studio’s own. The template in the video is mixed and mastered with stock plugins only. As Max puts it, “There’s no need to use super fancy equalizers when you just need to boost the highs by 3 dB.” A simple high boost (1) in Fruity parametric EQ 2 does that job.

Keep your expensive plugins for the jobs only they can do, like mid-side EQ, where you treat the middle and the sides of a stereo sound separately. Stock instruments won’t always cut it, but stock effects can carry a whole mix.

Fix 10: Render finished tracks to audio

When a song is mixed but you still want small changes, turn every mixer track into an audio file. Go to File > Export > Wave file, make a new folder and save, then switch on Split mixer tracks (1) before you start the export.

FL Studio writes one file per mixer track. Drag them all into a new project, and you have the whole song as audio, which barely touches the CPU. Name your mixer tracks before you export, or you’ll get a folder of files with generic names.

Fix 11: Put your computer on high performance

Many computers slow the CPU down to save power, and those speed changes can cause crackles. On Windows, press Start, type power and open the power settings, then Additional power settings, and pick High performance (1). You’ll find the same page under Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options.

Set the processor state to 100%

You can go one step further.

1. Click Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings and open Processor power management (1).
2. Set both Minimum processor state (2) and Maximum processor state (3) to 100%.

On a laptop, Image-Line suggests 99% instead. That keeps the CPU out of turbo mode, which can overheat it and cause the very glitches you’re trying to stop. Keep laptops plugged in, too. FL Studio has a matching switch called Force high performance power plan in Options > General settings.

On a Mac, Image-Line’s tips are to stop the computer from sleeping, turn off Power Nap, keep laptops plugged in, and run plugins that support Apple Silicon natively rather than through Rosetta 2.

How do you stop FL Studio stuttering on a laptop?

Keep the laptop plugged in and on the High performance power plan, because laptop power plans keep slowing the CPU down to save battery. Set the processor state to 99%, so the CPU doesn’t jump into turbo mode, overheat and then slow itself down. Then raise the buffer to 512 samples or more while you mix.

Laptops have less power to spare, so a few more habits help:

• Unplug USB, HDMI and Bluetooth devices you aren’t using. Image-Line suggests it when glitches and CPU spikes seem to come from nowhere.
• Plug your audio interface straight into the laptop, never through a USB hub.
• Close the browser, video calls and downloads while you work.
• On a MacBook, make sure Low Power Mode is off in System Settings.
• Consolidate your heaviest synth to audio, as in Fix 8, so the laptop has less to work out live.

FL Studio crackling with low CPU usage? Check these

If FL Studio crackles while the CPU meter looks low, the cause is usually your system, not your project: mismatched sample rates, a USB hub, an old driver, background programs or one overloaded CPU core. Image-Line calls these system issues, and it’s usually one of these seven things:

• Mismatched sample rates. Set FL Studio, your computer and your interface to the same rate, 44,100 or 48,000 Hz. Rates like 96 or 192 kHz need far more CPU.
• A USB hub. Plug your audio interface straight into the computer.
• An old driver. Get the newest one from your interface’s maker.
• Programs in the background. Close browsers, video calls and downloads while you work. Scheduled backups and updates can cause random crackles too.
• 32-bit plugins. FL Studio has to bridge them, which costs extra CPU for each one. Install the 64-bit versions, as our guide on adding VSTs to FL Studio shows.
• One overloaded core. When lots of mixer tracks send into each other, FL Studio can’t split the work, so one core maxes out while the meter looks fine. Give your heaviest plugins their own mixer tracks without shared sends.
• Autosave during playback. In Options > File settings, avoid the Frequently and Very frequently autosave options, which can save while the song plays.

Fix these, then play your heaviest project with the Underruns counter in view. If it stays still, you’re done.

What if one plugin makes FL Studio crackle?

Open that plugin’s wrapper settings with the plugin options button at the top of its window, go to the Troubleshooting tab and tick Use fixed size buffers. Image-Line suggests this first when one plugin spikes the CPU meter or glitches. If it still crackles, untick Smart disable for just that plugin in its menu.

Still crackling? Image-Line’s next steps are:

• Swap the format. If the plugin comes as both VST2 and VST3, load the other one.
• Test multithreading. In Audio settings, try switching both Multithreaded options off, and try Align tick lengths on and off.
• Keep the fix to one plugin. If multithreading was the problem, untick Allow threaded processing in that plugin’s wrapper settings, save the wrapper state, and switch the global options back on for everything else.

Frequently asked questions