Reaper Audio Recording - Latency Problem

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Eston

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Hello,

I use Reaper v3.76, and I have used it successfully for over a year now. Still, I have limited knowledge of the pro:(:eek::mad:gram and noticed a delay in recording lately. I am not sure if it was something I mistakenly did or what.

When I over dub anything, mic or direct-in, there is a noticable delay. After questioning my own rythem to the point of insanity, I recorded a count off a simple 1-2-3-4 to a metronome and determined it was not me.

Can anyone please help in anyway? I come from a bit of the old school as far as recording, I didnt ever think these problems would or could occur. I use a MXL 990 compresser mic, a behringer XENYX802 board, and a pc computer running Reaper v3.76.

Any help would be invaluable to me as I'm losing my mind over this problem, Thank you.

Eston
 
Hi there,
It sounds very much like you are experiencing latency.
Think of it as being similar to tape delay. It's a result of the time it takes to process the audio.

Where a reel to reel has to record and play from two separate heads (often), creating a delay, a computer has to write the data, process it, and play it back, which creates a similar delay.

You can usually adjust the amount of latency in computer recording but this makes the computer work harder and if you go to far it can result in frequent crashes or audible glitches in the audio.
Generally the glitches aren't committed to the recording, but can be offputting.

Anyway, look for settings that relate to latency, or buffer size.

Increasing the buffer size will maintain computer stability with higher latency.
Reducing the buffer size will decrease latency but will put more strain on your computer.


Some hardware will have a 'direct monitoring' function for the inputs.
That means you hear the audio before it hits the computer, kinda like tapping into the direct out of a mixer.
Of course that means you won't hear any computer processing that you might have on, like reverb etc.

Setting the direct knob to 100% direct usually means you won't hear any playback from the computer at all, so the best option is to mute your incoming track (that has latency) in your software, then use the direct knob as a balance between your computer mix/metronome and the incoming dry audio.

Hope that helps.
 
When I over dub anything, mic or direct-in, there is a noticable delay. After questioning my own rythem to the point of insanity, I recorded a count off a simple 1-2-3-4 to a metronome and determined it was not me.

Funny, I still remember doing exactly the same thing about ten years ago; I was convinced there was a fault until someone explained latency to me. :p
 
My first guess is you were using direct monitoring before and somehow switched over to input-track monitoring.
 
I use a MXL 990 compresser mic, a behringer XENYX802 board, and a pc computer running Reaper v3.76.

Latency is purely a function of your soundcard and it's drivers. What soundcard and drivers are you using?

I'm going to assume that you are using the built-in soundcard:
It's got about 40cents worth of chips and horrible high-latency drivers.
You can try using ASIO4all, which simulates asio low-latency drivers (but you're still dealing with a 40-cent soundcard.)

Your real solution is to use a real asio soundcard with proper drivers.
Start here: Audio Interfaces and Soundcards
 
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