Troubleshooting

Each section starts with the quickest checks. Work down the list until the problem is fixed.

No sound

1. Is the DAW sending notes? Arm or select the track, and check that its MIDI routing reaches Throughline Synth. For Throughline FX, check that audio reaches the track.
2. Are Throughline's output meters moving? They are at the top right of the editor. If they move but you hear nothing, check the DAW track's volume, mute and output.
3. Does the patch reach Audio Output? Follow the cables from MIDI Input or Audio Input to Audio Output. Every link in the chain needs a cable.
4. Is anything muted or bypassed? A node muted with M passes nothing or passes its input through unchanged. Check Audio Output's Gain and Muted too.
5. Is a VCA closed? A VCA whose Gain comes from an envelope stays silent until a note opens it. Check that the envelope's Gate is connected.
6. Does a sequencer or arpeggiator need the transport? With a Host Clock, they play only while the DAW plays. See Not following tempo.
7. Is a node Faulted? Look for a Faulted badge or the faulted count in the header. See Node shows Faulted.

Put a Monitor on cables along the chain to find where the signal stops. See Inspecting signals.

Notes keep sounding

1. Does an envelope control the level? An oscillator connected straight to Audio Output never stops. Route it through a VCA whose Gain comes from an ADSR, and connect the note's Gate to the ADSR. See Build a synth.
2. Is Release very long? A long ADSR Release keeps notes fading for a long time.
3. Is the sustain pedal down? Polyphony Input holds voices while CC64 is down. Lift the pedal, or check your controller.
4. Is a latch holding notes? MIDI Latch and the arpeggiator's Latch keep notes playing after you release the keys.
5. Is the stuck note in another instrument? Your DAW's own panic or "all notes off" command clears notes sent through MIDI Output.

For a panic button inside the patch, drive MIDI Panic Trigger from a control you can reach, and merge its output with your normal stream using MIDI Merge.

Editing the patch while notes play does not leave voices stuck: if an edit removes the Zone's Polyphony Input, its notes are released.

Not following tempo

1. Is a Clock wired to the node? Delays, LFOs, Shapers and sequencers follow tempo only through a Clock or Clock Divider cable. A Delay Time that shows milliseconds is not synced.
2. Is the Clock's Source set to Host? An Internal Clock uses its own BPM.
3. Is the DAW playing? With Host, sequencers and arpeggiators start no notes while the transport is stopped. Synced delays and modulation keep running.
4. Does your host supply a transport? If not, set Host Unavailable to Use Internal Tempo, or set Source to Internal.
5. Is an Internal Clock stopped? Start its Transport.

MIDI Delay and MIDI Ratchet behave differently: they fall back to the host tempo without a Clock. See Timing and sync.

Cannot connect these sockets

Read the message that appears when the connection is refused:

• Incompatible socket: the kinds cannot connect, for example audio into MIDI. Add a converter, such as MIDI Decode or MIDI Encode. See Connections and sockets.
• Choose an input socket as the target or Choose an output socket as the source: drag from an output (right side) to an input (left side).
• Map Range is locked to …: this Map Range already drives a different kind of destination. Add a second Map Range.
• Polyphony Zones don't take audio input: connect MIDI to the Polyphony Input and build the sound inside the Zone. See Polyphony.
• Polyphony Input pitch and gate outputs are per-voice signals: connect them to nodes inside the Zone, and send results out through Polyphony Output.
• … takes its signal type from its input: connect that node's input first, then its output.
• … is controlled by a Macro: right-click the parameter, choose Remove Macro, then connect.

If the connection works but sounds wrong, compare the two sockets' units and ranges. See Read what a cable carries.

Macro assignment fails

1. Is a cable connected to the parameter? Remove it. A parameter has one driver at a time.
2. Is the parameter already on a Macro? Remove it from that Macro first.
3. Are all eight slots used? Delete a Macro you no longer need.
4. Can that parameter take a Macro? On/off toggles, whole-number controls and mode settings that change how a node is built cannot. See Macros and DAW automation.

Node shows Faulted

A node that produces invalid audio, such as a value that is not a number or is infinitely large, is silenced so the problem never reaches the rest of the patch or your speakers. Extreme settings, such as a filter pushed to the edge of its range, are a common cause.

• If the node keeps producing invalid audio for about a quarter of a second, Throughline stops running it. Many nodes stop after the first invalid block.
• The node shows a Faulted badge, and the header shows a count such as 1 node faulted. Point at the badge to see what happened. Click the header count to select a faulted node; click again for the next one.
• A MIDI node that faults releases every note it held.

To run the node again:

1. Change the setting that pushed it too far.
2. Click Retry next to the badge, edit one of the node's parameters, or make any change that rebuilds the patch, such as adding or reconnecting a node.

Automation does not restart a faulted node: a Macro or DAW automation lane leaves it stopped until you retry or edit it. If the cause is still there, the node faults again.

Audio Input and Audio Output never stop this way. If your DAW sends invalid audio, those blocks are silenced and the patch continues when the input is valid again.

Still stuck?

Check Compatibility and known limitations for current limits, and contact support with your DAW, its version and the plugin format (AU or VST3).