I have just purchased MMM17 but I am unable to 'play' any of the soundpools or MIDi without a constant distortion (crackling) within the sound. Any ideas what is going wrong?
You did not mention Music Maker version you are using.
Distortion could be of various reason, most common, high volume. Need driver settings etc.
To check present volume control in computer just look right down you will see Speaker icon click it and check if it is set too high, turn a little bit low, or you can also right click the same icon then check various play/record settings.
When music maker is open click on "Y" key on computer then under General tab choose proper ASIO driver. You will have to do settings again in your audio device. You can open that Play/Rec by right clicking speaker Icon as you did earlier.