Will audio interface help with the speed of playing Reason Pianos?

[krzemian]

I'd like my Reason Pianos/Bass etc to work w/o any latency. How much it depends on the audio interface? And is the midi interface the case as well? Currently I'm using some cheap no-name midi cable which just transmits the signal, not in a fashionable way though - it's too slow. I'm thinking about some ESI Midi Mate II or so.
I finally want to get it work fast.

What are the main areas that I should consider upgrading?

 

[Shadow_7]

A PCI interface will have the lowest latency. But we're not talking instantaneous. They'll still be up to a 1/2 second delay between event and note. You can pick sounds that are more instantaneous, and other settings to make it almost instant. But really without an actual keyboard with on board sound ability, there will be a latency. Maybe not much of one, but a latency. Taking off the extras also help, as in no reverb, vibrato or whatever might be enabled by default. And a faster computer with loads of RAM might help more than an interface would.

 

[krzemian]

So what's the real difference between my cheap 10$ midi usb interface and the one of ESI par exemple?
I understand the obvious difference between integrated audio device and the DAWs, but the ones above?

Ah, yeah, I'm using a Lenovo notebook, so the PCI's are out of my interest for the time being.
The question now is: what can I - apart from interfering with the insides of my notebook (2 ram slots already occupied - 2gb) - buy/change in order to hear a fast sound response from, for example, Reason Refills, while playing my midi keyboard controller?

Thanks!

 

[kcearl]

Ive used a line 6 cheapo on my netbook with only 5ms latency....I find anything under 10ms is OK

if you are just looking for one to play midi with the dont worry about inputs...most of the major brands will do, and will be a world apart from the thing that acts as a soundcard in your notebook...just get one that runs off USB power so you dont lose your mobility

 

[Shadow_7]

You might choose a simple sound that differs from the final goal. Then change the sound after you record it. You might try setting the playback to 16 bit and 44.1kHz versus 24 bit and 48kHz or higher. No, it wont sound as nice, but it'll be more instantaneous. And if you record just the midi events, you can re-assign the instrument and rates in post.

My only exposure to using my midi keyboard is fluidsynth in linux. And the optimum settings for it and my current (old) laptop appear to be as follows:

$ fluidsynth -C no -R no -o audio.periods=2,audio.driver='oss',midi.driver='oss',synth.sample-rate=48000 /path/to/sound/font.sf2

Everything else defaults. Most of these settings were derived from the difference between how qsynth launches fluidsynth and fluidsynth by itself. Not for everyone, but enough for a bearable latency on my system. Far from instantaneous, but closer than the 1/2 second it was by just default settings.