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No sound? Common fixes

Most silences have a simple cause. Work down this page, from the top.

1Start the audio

Your browser plays nothing until you click or press a key in the page. Click a key once. If the line by the transport says Sorry, this browser couldn't start the engine, reload the page, or try Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.

  1. Step 1: Not started yet. Timing details: Audio reads Not started, and the first row, Press play or a key to start the engine. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Audio: Running. Timing details after a key: Audio reads Running. (larger)

2Turn it up

A sound can be quiet on purpose. Look at the Master's Volume and the VCA's Level on the cards. In a song, check the track: M mutes it, S plays only the soloed tracks, and its slider is its volume.

  1. Step 1: Master Volume. The Master card with its Volume knob. (larger)
  2. Step 2: VCA Level. The VCA card with its Level knob turned all the way down. (larger)
  3. Step 3: M and S. The song’s tracks: Kick muted (M lit), Bass soloed (S lit). (larger)
  4. Step 4: Track volume. A track’s slider pulled to the left. (larger)

3The keys don't play

The computer keys don't play while you're typing in a box, such as a name or the code: click outside it first. While you edit the wiring, letters in the Patch type a module's name instead. Can't see the keys? Press Keyboard.

  1. Step 1: Typing in a box. The cursor in the sound’s code: letters type there, not notes. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Edit the wiring off. Edit the wiring reading Done: click Done, and letters play again. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Keyboard. The Keyboard button above the keys. (larger)

4A MIDI keyboard isn't found

Use Chrome, Edge or Firefox: Safari doesn't support MIDI on the web. Click Use a MIDI keyboard, and allow it if your browser asks. Plug the keyboard in at any time: SynthMaker finds it. Several keyboards? Pick one, or All MIDI inputs.

  1. Step 1: Safari: no MIDI. In Safari: A MIDI keyboard can play SynthMaker in Chrome, Edge and Firefox. Safari doesn’t support MIDI on the web. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Plug one in. No MIDI keyboard found yet: plug one in. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Not available here. MIDI isn’t available here: the browser said no. Allow MIDI for synthmaker.com in the browser’s site settings, then reload. (larger)
  4. Step 4: The right input. The menu of inputs: All MIDI inputs, or one keyboard by its name. (larger)

5Clicks, gaps and dropouts

Gaps happen when a sound needs more of the computer's time than it has. The line by the transport says how much: CPU and its peak, and in Chrome and Edge, any dropouts. It turns bold orange when the peak is high or a dropout happens. Turn on Show CPU to see which module takes the most, then remove it or play fewer notes at once. Click the line to start its peak again.

  1. Step 1: The CPU line. The readout by the transport: CPU and its peak. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Show CPU. The ⋯ menu open, with Show CPU. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Each box's share. The Patch of Upright Piano with each box’s share of the CPU. (larger)

6Still silent?

Try it

  1. Open SynthMaker, click a key, and open Timing details: Audio says Running.
  2. Set Listen as to Phone speaker and play, then back to Off: thin, then full.
  3. Turn on Show CPU and play a chord on Upright Piano: each box shows its share.
Open the example sound: Upright Piano ↗ (opens in a new tab)

On the Mac, Listen As is in the View menu, a MIDI keyboard plays as soon as it's plugged in, and Help › Report a Bug opens the forum's Bugs board.

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