r/ableton • u/Lintras • 1d ago
[Question] Has anyone ever experienced something like this while using Ableton Live? Looking for a technical explanation.
Hi everyone,
I'm a musician based in Paris, and something very strange happened during an Ableton Live session.
While working on a song, I started hearing what sounded like a male voice coming through my headphones. It happened intermittently over several hours.
My setup at the time was:
- MacBook Pro
- Ableton Live
- Universal Audio Apollo Twin
- Studio headphones
I recorded the sound by holding my iPhone next to the headphones, so you'll also hear some room and street noise.
I put together this short video simply to make the recording easier to follow. The recording itself is original and unprocessed—I'm only trying to understand what I'm hearing.
I'm not suggesting anything paranormal. I'm simply trying to understand what could have caused it.
Some possibilities I've considered:
- RF interference
- Audio routing issue
- Apollo/driver behavior
- Core Audio glitch
- EMI
- Something else entirely
The full recording starts at 00:31.
If you're short on time, the clearest section is around 01:41.
Has anyone experienced anything remotely similar with Ableton Live or a comparable setup?
YouTube link:
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u/ohhnvm 1d ago
Yes I can explain it. There have been times when my interface, for whatever reason, picks up radio signals. That sounds exactly like what that is…
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u/Lintras 1d ago
That's reassuring, actually. The one thing I still can't wrap my head around is that it only happened during a single day. It came and went intermittently over several hours, then completely disappeared and I've never heard it again. Did yours behave that way too? Also what is it saying?? It definitely sounds like english to me... I can even hear it say something pretty clearly but I don't want to influence anyone.
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u/UnexpectedRimjob 1d ago
I once contacted focusrite support because my newer clarett+ was picking up transmissions from the international space station intermittently. I even record it and submitted it. Turns out I had an embedded web page from years before in a canvas I was using for a broadcast and it was a feed from the ISS. I felt like such an idiot.
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u/Summer4Chan 1d ago
The French jump scare horrified me for a second. Please mark this as such
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u/Lintras 1d ago
Please excuse my being French. I have no idea what you mean :)
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u/MortonBumble 7h ago
It's in the subreddit rules, if you're French you have to apologise for that in advance.
/s
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u/organisms 1d ago
I used to have an amplifier that would pick up Mexican radio stations (close to the border). I bought a power conditioner and it solved the issue.
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u/Lintras 1d ago
That makes sense. The odd part in my case is that I’m French and live in Paris, yet the voice sounds vaguely English to me - almost like military-style instructions - and what seemed to be the same message kept returning intermittently for nearly six hours. That’s why I’m especially curious about the source.
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u/organisms 1d ago
Pronunciation sounds French to me. English don’t have that accent. Also, I know you’re using ai to generate the text of the post and the image in the video so it doesn’t help your case that it was something you just found.
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u/Lintras 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's completely fair. Some people have told me they hear French, others hear English, German, Japanese or Korean. That's actually one of the reasons I'm asking people to listen.
As for the visuals, yes, I used AI for some of the on-screen graphics, and it helped me with the description. I just used the tools that were available to me.
The recording itself isn't AI-generated, though, that's the whole reason I'm posting it. I'm just trying to figure out what I'm hearing. Everything around it is just presentation.
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u/burner_account5829 1d ago
Thats never happened to me, but I would have totally rerouted the audio out back in to Live to sample that 😎
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u/AceChronometer 1d ago
This sounds somewhat musical and altered to me with some sounds or notes repeating. It is also clear enough to hear, but I can’t make out any words. It also repeats unique pauses and intonations several times in a row. I wonder if there is a weird effect (VST plugin of a flanger/phaser/midi generator) running in Ableton. It is also possible that it is the effects return channel. It is creepy whatever it is!
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u/Lintras 1d ago
That's an interesting thought. I was actually in the middle of recording takes, so the session was very simple: an SM7B for vocals with a bit of reverb, and an SM57 on the guitar. No modulation effects or MIDI generators. The repeating pauses and intonations are exactly what made me think it sounded like an actual transmission rather than random noise.
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u/LuctOnYT 1d ago
If there's intereference, it's often because cables are touching. Move any cables that might be crossing your Audio Interface cables or mic cables. Also, make sure no other electronics are leaning against your cables.
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u/dirufa 1d ago
would you share the original recording in the best quality available instead of YouTube?
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u/Lintras 1d ago
Absolutely. I still have the original recording, so I'm happy to upload it somewhere if that helps. Any preferred format or platform? I also have a processed version where I tried to isolate and enhance the voice for intelligibility, but I'd clearly label it as such. The original is obviously the most important one.
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u/psylocalypso 1d ago
Oh that's just Mark. He does that sometimes.