core gate "Pops and crackles" in the Core Gate in Sonar?

[Edward Allen]

Hi there

I recently upgraded to the paid version of Sonar, and was really pleased to see the updated "Core plugins" replacing the Sonitus VST3 plugins. However when I uploaded a pretty standard set of drum tracks and had the Core Gate applied to the toms I heard all sorts of pops and crackles coming from the Gate plugins. 

The only way I was able to remove these sounds was to move the "Depth" dial from its initial far left (-40Db) to @ -30Db. So 2 questions if I may:

Is this normal? I don't recall having an issue like this in the Sonitus gate.

IF it's normal, could you please help clarify how the "depth" function works and why it might be causing this kind of issue?

Many thanks in advance

[mettelus]

I am not familiar with the new layout, but I assume the depth is the threshold (no idea, hopefully someone can chime in with the real answer)? That is simply what causes the gate to open and allow the signal to pass, so will vary depending on the level of the signal in. I am not sure what "pops and crackling" entails, as that seems more like a buffering issue (not sure), but what does stand out is the release time being so low for toms. I tom needs to ring out, or it will get chopped off (is that what you are hearing?). This is a nice "cheat sheet" I just found for gating drums, and without numbers on that "Release" knob I am assuming it is fairly low in value, which will make it chop off the tom unless the input gain is jacked up so it is basically always open.

[Edward Allen]

Thx for this! 
I’ve tested out various settings in the app but it does seem to just happen on the depth  function.  (Irregardless of where the other settings are) 

perhaps it is just a software glitch? Anyone from Sonar want to weigh in?!?

thx

[Starship Krupa]

On 10/24/2025 at 6:29 AM, Edward Allen said:

I recently upgraded to the paid version of Sonar, and was really pleased to see the updated "Core plugins" replacing the Sonitus VST3 plugins. However when I uploaded a pretty standard set of drum tracks and had the Core Gate applied to the toms I heard all sorts of pops and crackles coming from the Gate plugins.

Try using the legacy Sonitus Gate with the same settings you're using for Core Gate. See if the problem goes away. If it does, then the developers would definitely wish to know.

[Jonathan Sasor]

On 10/24/2025 at 9:29 AM, Edward Allen said:

Hi there

I recently upgraded to the paid version of Sonar, and was really pleased to see the updated "Core plugins" replacing the Sonitus VST3 plugins. However when I uploaded a pretty standard set of drum tracks and had the Core Gate applied to the toms I heard all sorts of pops and crackles coming from the Gate plugins. 

The only way I was able to remove these sounds was to move the "Depth" dial from its initial far left (-40Db) to @ -30Db. So 2 questions if I may:

Is this normal? I don't recall having an issue like this in the Sonitus gate.

IF it's normal, could you please help clarify how the "depth" function works and why it might be causing this kind of issue?

Many thanks in advance

 

I haven't been able to repro anything unusual with the gate. It's possible it might be related to the exact thing you're using it with. If there's a project where this is reproducible for you,  please send it. Thanks!

[Edward Allen]

2 hours ago, Jonathan Sasor said:

 

I haven't been able to repro anything unusual with the gate. It's possible it might be related to the exact thing you're using it with. If there's a project where this is reproducible for you,  please send it. Thanks!

Hi Jonathan. Gladly. whats the best way to send it all over please? Will a link to a Gdrive folder help you perhaps??

Many thanks

[57Gregy]

49 minutes ago, Edward Allen said:

Hi Jonathan. Gladly. whats the best way to send it all over please? Will a link to a Gdrive folder help you perhaps??

Many thanks

I'm not Jonathan, but the best way is to upload your project file to the cloud and message him here with the link. I think that's what you wrote.  😉

[Edward Allen]

Hi there

so here is the link to a GDrive folder with all the files in: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gXnlfooyh3ult9VPnifvTC_qAaREMIK9?usp=sharing 

Any problems accessing it, just shout.

The issue is on the 4 toms: when I turn off the FX for those tracks they sound OK, BUT when I engage the Gate for each one I hear the snaps and pops etc.

(Just for contest, this is a recording of one of my drum students playing to a "play along track")

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Bristol_Jonesey]

I've downloaded all your files and cannot a hear a single snap or pop on any of the tom tracks, with or without the gate switched on for each tom.

So the question is, what is your monitoring chain?

Edited October 30 by Bristol_Jonesey

[Edward Allen]

Hi Jonesey

How odd this is! Just to clarify did you leave the "depth" turned down (in the 7pm to 9pm range on the dial)? as this is where the crackles normally appear.

Apologies, could you break down what you mean by "monitoring chain" please?

thx.

[Bristol_Jonesey]

12 hours ago, Edward Allen said:

Hi Jonesey

How odd this is! Just to clarify did you leave the "depth" turned down (in the 7pm to 9pm range on the dial)? as this is where the crackles normally appear.

Apologies, could you break down what you mean by "monitoring chain" please?

thx.

I left the gate controls exactly who you had them set.

By monitoring chain, I mean how are your sounds getting from Sonar to the outside world?

• What are you using for an interface
• What driver mode are you using
• Are you using headphones or studio monitors
• What Fx are on your master buss

 

[Edward Allen]

Hi 

So I recreated the issue on this screen recording (And I added a longer version where I go over all the various permutations more fully into the GDrive link here:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gXnlfooyh3ult9VPnifvTC_qAaREMIK9?usp=sharing ) 

There are 2 VSTs involved here: Core Gate and TDR NOVA and I'm not exactly sure if its their interplay that triggers it OR just one alone. Its probably best to watch the full length clip that allows me explore more of the combinations of the 2 if you can)

I can recreate this on each of the 4 toms shown but the clip is limited to just the 16"Tom

Thoughts?!

Many thanks in advance

[Bristol_Jonesey]

I don't have the Nova on my system so naturally, these were disabled during playback.

[David Baay]

3 hours ago, Edward Allen said:

There are 2 VSTs involved here: Core Gate and TDR NOVA and I'm not exactly sure if its their interplay that triggers it OR just one alone.

I did the same as Jonesey and also had the free version of TDR Nova installed. Some softer tom hits were actually being gated out. In other places, bleeding snare hits were getting though the gate along with the tom. I got no unexpected noises in between the gates opening, but I do get 'spits' of sound when stopping the transport in between tom hits that go away when I disable the Novas. Don't have time to look into it further at the moment.

 

[Jonathan Sasor]

I'm actually able to reproduce the issue with the supplied project... I'm not sure it's the gate explicitly that's causing the problem. I don't have Nova, but I can bypass either the missing Nova racks or the Gate, and then the crackling goes away. We'll do some further investigation to try and nail down what's going on.

[Jonathan Sasor]

@Edward Allen, For the time being it seems that adding another plugin after the gate also seems to correct the issue. In my case I loaded Core Phase with zero adjustments, and dropped that across all those drum tracks and the problem went away. 

[mettelus]

8 hours ago, Edward Allen said:

Core Gate and TDR NOVA and I'm not exactly sure if its their interplay that triggers it OR just one alone

Have you tried changing the order of NOVA and the Gate in your FX chain? Traditionally a gate is almost always first in a chain as it simply controls what signal is allowed to pass. This would also satisfy "another plugin after the Gate" mentioned above, but NOVA also has compression functionality to it so that interaction may also be contributing. 

[Edward Allen]

3 hours ago, mettelus said:

Have you tried changing the order of NOVA and the Gate in your FX chain? Traditionally a gate is almost always first in a chain as it simply controls what signal is allowed to pass. This would also satisfy "another plugin after the Gate" mentioned above, but NOVA also has compression functionality to it so that interaction may also be contributing. 

It was worth a try, but sadly it didn't fix the issue.

Thanks though.