Latency Issues?

[Sam241]

I just got a macbook (2.2ghz, 1gb ram) dual booted with windows xp (boot camp). I downloaded Mr.Ray v 2.2 and plugged in my RD-700sx via USB. Whenever I play, though, the sound lags behind. Im a complete newbie at this so I came here to see if anyone knew how to fix it...

[Darbyjack]

Buy an Edirol UA-25

[Yoozer]

Using Windows XP means that it doesn't use Core Audio, which means that your soundcard is used with the regular Windows drivers.

 

What you want is an ASIO-compatible audio interface. So yeah, the UA works on both XP and OS X and it'll certainly help your latency down, but you should pick the interface that fits best with you regarding your budget and your needs (e.g. if you want to put 8 mics in there you should take something bigger).

[Mike Warren]

This quite likely won't work on your system but you could try ASIO 4 All. http://www.asio4all.com/

 

 

[Prague]

Buy an Edirol UA-25

That's got nothing to do with it. The RD has all it needs as far as MIDI goes. I would think it's far better than some cheap controller.

[Sam241]

Yea I tried asio4all. I opened up the offline settings window and changed things around (I had no idea what I was doing) but nothing happened. The audio still lagged by the same amount.

 

So is the only way to fix this by buying an audio interface? I was kind of hoping I didnt have to buy anything...

 

BTW I tried the mda ePiano on the Mac OSX side and it worked perfectly.

[ITGITC]

Had a latency issue once.

 

Penicillin cleared it right up.

 

 

[2Shlow]

With a new Windows XP-Pro box with Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card there is a terrible latency through the LINE/AUX input, but if the USB connection from the RD-700SX is used with sound fonts, there is no delay at all. Why should the LINE/AUX input be delayed is beyond me? Is there anything to do about this?

 

[Darbyjack]

Buy an Edirol UA-25

[Yoozer]

Buy an Edirol UA-25

Repeating does not make it more true.

So is the only way to fix this by buying an audio interface? I was kind of hoping I didnt have to buy anything...

If Asio4All doesn't do the job, then yes.

BTW I tried the mda ePiano on the Mac OSX side and it worked perfectly.

That's because of CoreAudio which is basically a way of doing something ASIO does - only built in the operating system. Still, you'll have to deal with the at best mediocre built-in soundcard and inputs.

 

The audio interfaces handle a few things in hardware instead of software (mixing several audio streams for instance). ASIO means the hardware is addressed directly; sound data does not have to be passed through several programs which abstract the whole thing.

[ADino]

Roland told me that they do midi a bit different, dont know what he meant, but I do notice that when Im recording using say, an ASR10, the midi lite on my FF only lites when I play a note, however, when I have 1 of my Rolands plugged, the midi lite blinks constant...I dont get a lot of latency at all w/my FP3, but...the 700sx has latency..not to the point of being noticeable, but at where I feel disconnected to the feel of the board, so I dont use the 700 at all when tracking.

[Yoozer]

however, when I have 1 of my Rolands plugged, the midi lite blinks constant...

I don't know how it was called again but you can actually switch this off. Either it has to do with the clock signal or something else.

 

Roland doesn't do MIDI different - it's an agreed upon standard. Where implementations differ is whether mfgs choose how to edit sounds (using CC or NRPN).

[ADino]

Thats what confused me when the Roland guy said it...the midi thing I mean...how do u do midi different??...thks, I will check that about the clock thing...

 

Actually, Im thinking about selling the 700...great board, but very heavy..I do alot of quick in n out gigs so a lite bd is a must.

 

Thks again...A.

[JeffLearman]

Every manufacturer does MIDI a little different -- it's a standard, but the specs are not unambiguous. Still, saying "Roland does MIDI different" doesn't offer much information. No doubt it's just sending MIDI clocking, and you can turn that off.

 

I've had Roland keyboards and their MIDI implementation is no more different than anyone else's. And the later the manufacture date, the less different -- over time, manufacturers tend to fix the biggest interoperability problems.

 

Make sure you're really using the ASIO4ALL driver. Are you using MrRay in standalone mode, or in a VST host program (and if so, which one?) If standalone, make sure you select the ASIO4ALL driver in MrRay's audio setup.

 

At the longest setting, ASIO4ALL's latency should be much less than a default setup for most built-in soundcard drivers. Did you notice any difference?

 

Tell us what the ASIO4ALL settings are, and what the Audio settings are on MrRay73. Most likely you have all the right parts but don't have them set up correctly yet.

 

Finally, if you can't get the built-in to work correctly, the Edirol would be one option, but there are plenty of other options as well.

 

[2Shlow]

I do not see how the Edirol UA-25 between my RD-700sx and my computer will solve anything, as the delay is caused by the computer in any event in its line input. What is the point trying to be made here?

 

 

[Yoozer]

Soundfonts are supported "in hardware" by the Creative cards since they're an invention of Creative.

 

The point is that for music production you should buy an audio interface and not a gaming soundcard .

[JeffLearman]

I do not see how the Edirol UA-25 between my RD-700sx and my computer will solve anything, as the delay is caused by the computer in any event in its line input. What is the point trying to be made here?

 

I don't think you understand what's going on.

 

First, if you're using MIDI in, then line input is not involved; the line output is. In the case of using the Creative card's built-in MIDI, you're skipping audio altogether in your processor; the soundcard does it all.

 

If you are using audio inputs (e.g., line inputs) then the same issues occur for audio inputs as audio outputs.

 

With audio inputs or outputs, *by default*, most systems are set up to buffer lots of audio (up to say half a second), to avoid dropouts in the audio stream if the software handling the audio gets preempted by other software for a long time. This is the main cause of audio latency. (The other causes add up to a few milliseconds and can usually be ignored.)

 

The way to avoid high audio latency is to use a low-latency audio driver. There are two ways to do this: (a) get a free one, like ASIO4ALL, which works with most built-in devices or (b) buy an audio interface (like the UA-25), which comes with an ASIO or WDM driver.

 

Notice we don't generally talk much about MIDI latency. Yes, there is MIDI latency -- for example, if you're using a MIDI cable, there's about a 1 msec latency per note when you play multiple notes at once, due to transmission characteristics. There is generally also a latency in your computer that's typically at most a couple of milliseconds.

 

Also, there's latency in the air due to the speed of sound. It's about one millisecond per foot. Move the speakers 1 foot closer, you reduce the latency by nearly a millisecond!

 

HTH

 

[Moonglow]

Had a latency issue once.

 

Penicillin cleared it right up.

 

Those little diamond-shaped blue pills work pretty good too!

[Sam241]

I was in MrRay's standalone mode but it wouldnt let me choose the ASIO4ALL driver in the settings. I tried the offline settings but that didnt do anything.

 

Anyway, Im planning on playing some software instruments live and I think I might have to stick to the OSX side for that. Ill stop being so cheap and buy scarbee or something .

 

Anyone know of a good software B3?