Computer Latency

[DemonicRise]

Hello all!

I am so happy I found this website, as I am tired of posting on sites like yahoo answers and just getting dumb responses.


I fear I may be fighting a losing battle. I started recording about 6 months ago at home through my PC and found that the sound being sent from my guitar is delyed by just a fraction of second going into my computer. Keep in mind that the lag exists not only through my program (Magix Music Maker 16 premium), but through general playback of my PC, and my computer is deemed a recording only computer. Now, I somehow have trained my self to be able to play with the lag and sync it with my click tracks/drum tracks, but you can imagine how much of a pain this is. Between cutting my wave files and alligning them properly for correct timing, it digitizes my sound to a extreme extent and never sounds EXACTLY the way it should.

I have been researching and problem solving the issue but nothing seems to have worked. The last tip I got was to download ASIO drivers for windows. This should work from what ive read, but coincidencently I have the 64bit version of windows 7 and as of right now ASIO only supports 32bit version.

So here is my question
1. Basically I still havent even determined exactly what the problem is. I just read a post on the forum concerning DPC Latency... Do you think this would be a direct link to the problem?

I have conversed with friends in the industry and everyone who has recorded with a computer even 10 years old with out any updates to sound cards/drivers etc. worked fine with no problem at all

So is it possible that Windows 7 is the direct issue?

I just got a laptop here around christmas time, with advanced audio & graphics card. I was told by the sales rep that the laptop will work perfectly for it. But imagine it that, the lag continues.

So as I sit, I have 2 laptops, and a desktop computer. All encountering the same issue.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thank You!
Rob

And if there is any more information that I could provide that will help my savior of this horrible burdon please feel free to ask and I will post the info ASAP.

 

[TimOBrien]

A quicker question would have been: What causes latency?

Latency is purely the interaction between your soundcard hardware and its drivers.
Your OS and cpu have nothing to do with latency.

ALL built-in soundcards are made with about 40cents worth of parts.
They are made cheap for beep, boops and light gaming, not music production.
The solution is easy: Replace the soundcard with one that has better chips and real ASIO drivers.
ASIO4all is a great little hack, but you REALLY need to bypass that 40cents worth of chips...

#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.

Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)

Another good article: Choosing an audio interface - Choosing An Audio Interface

 

[DemonicRise]

Ahh thank you very much my good sir. I shall look into this area of my computer.

 

[DemonicRise]

Looked into it...

Well ive looked at the site you suggested, and it did help alot. I have a bit of a understand exactly whats happening. and now that I thinka bout it, the only time I ever seen recording on a computer that didnt have any latency issues, they were using a external mixer/interface fore direct monitoring.

I hope this will fix my issue, but I am a little afraid of spending $400+ on a interface that doesnt fix the problem.

Another question is, you say I should replace the soundcard itself.
Q 1. With a laptop computer, is it not all integrated with the motherboard? In my experience I have noticed that not very many things anre interchangeable with laptops.

Q 2. I read into the audio interfaces quite a bit, and this zero latency direct monitoring technique. If using direct monitoring, I was under the impression that it basically takes over, virtually turnign the soundcard off. Is this the right impression?

Im sorry I have a hard time understanding alot of this as there is so much to learn..

 

[TheGuitarMan]

Do you have an ExpressCard slot on your laptop?

Otherwise there are USB or Firewire based interfaces.

Going with an outboard solution is best rather than an internal sound card. Lower noise floor and better sound quality. On board sound can be disabled.

 

[sageaudio]

I agree 100%. Don't waste your time using a built in, or waste money with a replacement sound card for the laptop. Get an external audio interface. We primarily use ProTools HD for recording / mixing, but I've used the digidesign(now Avid) mbox in the past with good results. It's not a professional device, but for $160 you get the interface and ProTools LE software. This will let you record your guitar or whatever you like, and also mix/add effects. There's also a new m-audio device out for recording guitar and vocals. Haven't tried it, but its only $120 and might be perfect for what you're doing.

Check out the Mbox, Mbox Mini, and Fast Track Interface at the site below:

I cant post links since I dont have 5 post on this forum yet, but go to the following address, you'll have to fix the url...
www . avid . com/US/categories/Audio-MIDI-Interfaces/USB-Audio-Interfaces

Hope That Helps!

 

[TimOBrien]

I hope this will fix my issue, but I am a little afraid of spending $400+ on a interface that doesnt fix the problem.

You can easily get a decent USB interface for less than $100. Some less than $70.

Start looking around the catalog companies like musiciansfriend and sweetwater.
They're also running tremendous after-holiday sales right now.

Q1: You will add an external usb or firewire interface to replace the built-in soundcard.

Q2: The internal soundcard will be ignored. You will record and listen through the external interface.

Yes you have a lot to learn. Now is the time to dump this on you...

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My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $16
Amazon.com: Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies (9780470385425): Jeff Strong: Books

PC Recording Studios for Dummies - $16
Amazon.com: PC Recording Studios For Dummies (9780764577079): Jeff Strong: Books
(Wish I'd had those when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
Amazon.com: Recording Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record (Book) (9780879307301): Huw Price: Books
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

Home Recording for Beginners by Geoffrey Francis
Amazon.com: Home Recording for Beginners (Artistpro) (9781598638813): Geoffrey Francis: Books

When you get a bit into it, I highly recomend The Art of Mixing by David Gibson
Amazon.com: The Art of Mixing: A Visual Guide to Recording, Engineering, and Production (Artistpro) (9781931140454): David Gibson: Books

A MUST READ: Kim Lajoie's "Lifesigns from studio" - FREE - http://www.errepici.it/web/download/KLBD.asp

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at TapeOp.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
Tweak's Guide to the Home and Project Studio
Free beginner PDFs | Computer Music Magazine | MusicRadar.com
The #1 online community for musicians | Harmony Central
Tips & Techniques - Gearslutz.com

Guitar Amp Recording: Guitar Amp Recording

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: How to Configure a Recording Studio Rig

Other recording books: Music Books Plus - Home Recording

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)

Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:
Sony ACID Xpress 10-track sequencer: ACIDplanet.com: Free Downloads: ACID Xpress
Audacity: Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: Wavosaur free audio editor with VST and ASIO support (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: KRISTAL Audio Engine
Other freebies and shareware: Music Software - Computer Music Resources - Shareware Music Machine

Another great option is REAPER at REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits
(It's $60 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages...
Myriad: Music Notation Software and much more... / Myriad : logiciels de musique, et bien plus...
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.'