Out of all my rackspaces, only one has Blue3 (two instances). When that rackspace is active, it has started “crackling with audio drop out” only on Blue3 (for 2 seconds) recurring every 20 seconds. If I bypass both Blue3, the crackle crackle/drop out stops. THE OTHER INSTRUMENT IN THE RACK (Kontakt piano) continues to play fine DURING the crackle. So I think the problem is isolated to the Blue3 (the only VST affected).
SOLVED: My license somehow has changed to demo after a year. I did purchase a licenses so I guess I will try finding and entering the code.
This is from their web site
The plugin will operate in demo mode until you purchase a license. Everything is fully functional in demo mode, but you’ll hear a low volume crackling sound after 2 minutes and every so often after that.
SOLVED: My license somehow has changed to demo after a year. I found my code and I think it is ok now. Maybe a Windows update caused this issue? Very strange.