MIDI latency question

[quarx]

The thing is: I would just simply like to know if there would be any difference in midi latency if I plugged my roland (through midi cables) to the joystick port of the SB Live - or if i plugged it to the midi in/out of the M-audio audiophile 2496? Or is the latency the same in both cases? And also; is there a different latency if i use different midi cables?

thanx,
J. Kralj
Austria

 

[Tifstorey]

try it?

Midi cables are standard. so theres no 'super fast' ones.. or not that ive heard anyway

Your always going to experience latency, but in most cases you wont notice it. If you plugged it into your 2496, i know many people who use these and have no problems. Get it all connected and test it out, if you have any problems get back on here and im sure someone will get it sorted for you.

Good luck

 

[quarx]

well, i don't yet have the audiophile and i also don't want to spend any money on new midi cables if there is no difference...

 

[Tifstorey]

well youve picked a good soundcard with the 2496. Very nice. Midi cables are cheap enough, go on eBay and get em for around £2-3 each. If you already have some, you wont need anymore will you

 

[AlChuck]

Any latency inherent in MIDI is basically negligible. It's audio latency that's the occasional problem with home recording.

 

[ilikecheese]

Are you sure that the midi input on your SB live is the same size as the midi input on your keyboard? ...Because it wasn't in my case.

 

[quarx]

There is no midi input on the soundblaster soundcards. There is only a joystick port, which can be used also as a midi port (if you plug in an appropriate cable).

 

[AlChuck]

Some Soundblaster models also have either a i/o panel that sits in a drive bay (the "Platinum" models) or an external i/o box (Extigy).

 

[fraserhutch]

Just be careful not to get a knot in your midi cable. That introduces midi latency

(kidding)

 

[Kid Downunder]

I found the quality of the MIDI from a SBLive generally slow, loose and not tight, Its not a dedicated interface. I would say your M-Audio would be better, however, as it has to compete on the card for attention and system resources, its not strictly going to be as tight as it could. I have had best results from a USB MIDI BOX extreemly tight and rock solid. However, if its just one or two tracks at once your talking about at once and not MTC, MidiClock plus 16 channels then try your SBLive in playback and recording. If its not good enough (noticably late or loose for some notes and not tight)then you might want to fork out the small amount for a 2x2 USB interface of some sort.

 

[ssscientist]

not MTC, MidiClock plus 16 channels then try your SBLive in playback and recording.

Midi is a 31.2 kilobaud serial language. Most modern dial-up modems run at 56 kilobaud, and all of us dial-up users know how miserably slow those can be. There is always going to be SOME midi delay, even with the fastest USB 2.0 or Firewire interfaces.

There is a communication standard that has a very negligible delay called Control Voltage and Gate that midi was supposed to supercede. It was tight as a cranked-too-much snare head too...