Help with monitoring delay

[Macrawn]

I've searched through the forums but being as new as I am I don't quite understand the posts about this.

I have recorded a midi track on Cubasis 4 and when I try to get another midi track on it even though I play in sink with the sound the new track comes out about 2 seconds ahead of the old track. I can play with the sound through my speakers just fine. When I play the tracks back the new track is always about 2 seconds ahead of the other track.

I have an audigy 2 platinum card which supports the asio drivers. I've tried all of the asio driver options with the same results (along with the monitoring enable button) I still get the delay.

I thought that I would try to do external monitoring but can't figure out how to set it up. I'm using sondfonts and a midi controller. I have a mixer and another midi keyboard.

I thought that maybe if I turn the outputs on the VST mixer to the midi out on the soundcard, that I could hear the midi tracks play back on my keyboard. I thought this would bypass the audio card processing and prevent the delay. Then I could play my midi controller to that. Didn't work.

Any suggestions? Help for this noob would be appreciated. All of my prior recording experience has always been analog by 8 track.

 

[darknailblue]

That's kind of strange.. Well first thing you should consider is to buy a soundcard thats meant for recording. The problem could lie in your soundcard. The Audigy is a home entertainment soundcard, not a recording one. Most cards, that are meant for recording also have something called a DSP chip on it, which basically provides acceleration functions so that your CPU doesn't have to do so much work (same comparison to a 3D video accelerator). Even If you get an inexpensive audio card like the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 which goes for about $100, you won't have to worry about using the monitor function because the card supports direct monitoring (one of the advantages of having a DSP chip). Also, I'm not familiar with Cubase 4, but on Cubase SX2 you don't need to enable the monitor function when recording to a midi channel IFFFFF you have the midi channel set correctly. Some VSTi's actually require you to have a certain channel selected in order to hear anything. As far as not hearing anything on you keyboard... does the audigy actually have midi ins/outs, or are you just connecting it to the soundcard via rca cables? If you're doing it that way you're not going to hear anything because midi data isn't transmitted through rca cables, only audio.

~darknail

 

[Macrawn]

Thanks for the reply

The card actually has build in midi in and out on the drive bay adapter. That was what I was using. I probably should have gone with the card that you suggested above, I am pleased with the card for playing games and home theater so far.

I'd be happy with the recording aspects of it also if I could get around this delay issue.

I can hear everything on my keyboard, just strangely when I play back the tracks, the new track is 2 secs ahead of the others.