A lag in recording

[badgerer]

Say I import a click track, then play guitar over that. It's not in line...there is a slight delay (i.e. the click sounds slightly before the first strum). The same happens with anything I try to record. Any idea how to fix this?

Cheers

 

[TimOBrien]

Look up "latency". It's in your soundcard and you can adjust it by setting the buffers.

Go to the help section....

 

[crankz1]

There are other things to check as well.
Make sure n-Track is set to use "Wave" timer for playback and record and not "System".
If your soundcard is a Soundblaster series (or even some of the on-board audio chips), set your sample rate to 48kHz.

 

[bdemenil]

what soundcard are you using?

soundcard drivers and recording software are supposed to communicate and compensate for buffer latency. If that's not happening, then there's something wrong with the drivers. This problem exists for instance with Maudio delta drivers versions 27 and earlier.

 

[badgerer]

what soundcard are you using?

soundcard drivers and recording software are supposed to communicate and compensate for buffer latency. If that's not happening, then there's something wrong with the drivers. This problem exists for instance with Maudio delta drivers versions 27 and earlier.

I'm using an Audiophile 2496...so the old driver may be the problem then? I did buy it a good while ago...anyways, I'm downloading the new driver now from the MAudio web site so hopefully that will fix the problem! And if not I will try the other suggestions.

Another question if one of you guys uses the 2496 - what do you set as the playback/recording devices in NTrack's preferences? There are many options (two of each with either MME or WDM at the start). They all mean nothing to me really, but I choose MME: M Audio Delta AP 1/2. I suspect this might be wrong as when I try and set up the metronome, the only sound I can get out of it is what sounds like the PC speaker coming from the tower. Any suggestions?

Cheers!

 

[crankz1]

Make sure to use either the WDM drivers or the ASIO. MME drivers aren't really the best choice.
If ASIO drivers don't show .... click the "Advanced" button and make sure they are set to be shown.

The Audiophile doesn't have an internal synth, that's why the metronome is only sounding via the PC speaker. The latency of the MS wavetable soft synth makes it pretty much useless as the MIDI output.
Best bet may be to create a click track by other means, instead of using the metronome.

 

[badgerer]

Make sure to use either the WDM drivers or the ASIO. MME drivers aren't really the best choice.
If ASIO drivers don't show .... click the "Advanced" button and make sure they are set to be shown.

The Audiophile doesn't have an internal synth, that's why the metronome is only sounding via the PC speaker. The latency of the MS wavetable soft synth makes it pretty much useless as the MIDI output.
Best bet may be to create a click track by other means, instead of using the metronome.

That's no big deal, I've been using click tracks for all my recording career so far anyway!

Could you tell me the relevance of the different drivers? What the difference is? I selected ASIO and it seems to like having loads and loads of tracks (I'm only recording to one track), so in the advanced box i said only to use 1 output/input channel. What is the benefit of ASIO over WDM and MME?

And one last question...when selecting in windows Sounds and Audio Devices Properties (in the control panel), what "Default Device" should I choose? Under playback I have the option of M-Audio Delta AP Multi, M-Audio AP 1/2, and M-Audio Delta AP S/PDIF. Under recording I have the same plus M-Audio Delta AP Mon. Mixer. I assume the S/PDIF option is for MIDI...but what is the best option for me? They all seem to work, at least in playback.

Cheers!

 

[bdemenil]

SPDIF is a type of digital output - not MIDI. You can also choose the number of input and output chanels in the recording settings (reached from the recording vu meter).

ASIO and WDM drivers are more advanced and can provide much lower latency. MME drivers are pretty much useless for pro audio.

Mon Mixer stands for Monitor Mixer, which is a hardware mixer which is part of your audio card. Your ins and outs can be routed through the card's mixer with practically 0 latency. The mixer can be used as an output or an input. It is controlled via software which is installed with your audio card driver.

I think you should read up a bit on digital music. Can some suggest a good series of online articles?

 

[badgerer]

SPDIF is a type of digital output - not MIDI. You can also choose the number of input and output chanels in the recording settings (reached from the recording vu meter).

ASIO and WDM drivers are more advanced and can provide much lower latency. MME drivers are pretty much useless for pro audio.

Mon Mixer stands for Monitor Mixer, which is a hardware mixer which is part of your audio card. Your ins and outs can be routed through the card's mixer with practically 0 latency. The mixer can be used as an output or an input. It is controlled via software which is installed with your audio card driver.

I think you should read up a bit on digital music. Can some suggest a good series of online articles?

I think i should read up a bit on digital music but its so difficult to find an article that caters for beginners, and is written in layman's terms. Whenever I want to read up on a subject I spend ages trying to find a well-written article. So yes, can anyone suggest helpful links?