zero latency monitoring with effects ?

[JakeyMort]

Hi, if I have headphones plugged into the monitoring port on a usb mic (blue yeti, snowball etc) do I still get zero latency if I'm recording with effects on ? or does effects add latency to the monitoring ? thanks

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi,
It's not about whether the effects are on or off, it's about the monitoring path chosen.

If you're hearing the audio as output from the computer, which you could prove by turning up/down the faders and observing change, then you're going to have some latency.
Adding plugins into the path will increase that latency but for zero latency it's still just the wrong path.

If there's a zero latency monitoring option on your hardware, select it.
You can confirm it's working by adding effects or tweaking faders and observing no change to what you hear.

 

[JakeyMort]

Hi,
It's not about whether the effects are on or off, it's about the monitoring path chosen.

If you're hearing the audio as output from the computer, which you could prove by turning up/down the faders and observing change, then you're going to have some latency.
Adding plugins into the path will increase that latency but for zero latency it's still just the wrong path.

If there's a zero latency monitoring option on your hardware, select it.
You can confirm it's working by adding effects or tweaking faders and observing no change to what you hear.

Thanks for the reply, I'm looking to buy a microphone and saw this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrdvROfxAKI where he shows the delay of 1 audio interface and then their interface, but I wasn't really looking into serious stuff like interfaces and that, I just wanted a little usb mic like a yeti, but just wanted to see if I could still get the no latency whilst using effects before I buy one, as if I couldn't then I would have to buy the one from the video

 

[bouldersoundguy]

It's probably possible to use parallel effects like reverb, echo, perhaps chorus while using the mic's direct monitoring function. Series effects like eq and compression will add some latency, but not necessarily enough to matter if the computer is decent. Try it. You would have to defeat the direct monitoring and activate the DAW input monitoring on the track.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Thanks for the reply, I'm looking to buy a microphone and saw this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrdvROfxAKI where he shows the delay of 1 audio interface and then their interface, but I wasn't really looking into serious stuff like interfaces and that, I just wanted a little usb mic like a yeti, but just wanted to see if I could still get the no latency whilst using effects before I buy one, as if I couldn't then I would have to buy the one from the video

Short answer is no. If there are effects in the chain, there's latency.
I suppose there are probably interfaces out there with built in very low latency processing, but that's the general rule - effects = going through computer = latency.

Now that said, it's 2016. Any modest computer and decent interface should give you low enough latency that you'd be hard push to even know.
I don't remember the last time I worried about latency or buffer settings.

 

[Farview]

It's all about the monitoring path. If you have zero latency monitoring, it's because the interface is feeding the headphones the live signal before it goes into the computer. If you are listening to the computer, there will be latency.

However, there might be a way to route the effects, so that you only hear the effects from the computer and still hear the live feed. This will work for delay effects and possibly reverb, depending on how much latency there is. Adding 40ms of latency to a 200ms delay isn't the end of the world, but adding that much latency to your live vocal would be a big problem.

 

[JakeyMort]

It's probably possible to use parallel effects like reverb, echo, perhaps chorus while using the mic's direct monitoring function. Series effects like eq and compression will add some latency, but not necessarily enough to matter if the computer is decent. Try it. You would have to defeat the direct monitoring and activate the DAW input monitoring on the track.

yeh I would probably only be using reverb or maybe a template/preset

 

[JakeyMort]

It's all about the monitoring path. If you have zero latency monitoring, it's because the interface is feeding the headphones the live signal before it goes into the computer. If you are listening to the computer, there will be latency.

However, there might be a way to route the effects, so that you only hear the effects from the computer and still hear the live feed. This will work for delay effects and possibly reverb, depending on how much latency there is. Adding 40ms of latency to a 200ms delay isn't the end of the world, but adding that much latency to your live vocal would be a big problem.

most helpful response yet my good man, I'm an idiot and you explained it so even I could understand, so the zero latency headphone plug on most usb mics do it by sending to your headphones before pc, therefor not applying effects, in that case ill probably not go with the usb mic as I have no idea how to "route the effects" as you said, ill probably just get the kit from the video link

 

[Farview]

This is the way interfaces work as well. The interface will send the raw signal of what ever you plug into it to the headphones before it gets to the computer. That's how it's zero latency.

Since the effects happen in the computer, the sound would have to get there before they are effected. That is where the latency comes from. IT will happen that way with a a usb mic or a normal mic and an interface.

In order to hear the reverb,without latency on what you are singing, you would have to be able to create an effects send on the input channel and have the effects bus routed to the main out. If you are going to get into recording, you will eventually need to figure out how to route things in your DAW. It's not hard to do, just sometimes hard to wrap your head around.