Have a realtracks file I imported from Biab. If I play and record a rhythm I have a feeling that my rhythm is delayed, not when I play it but when I playback the whole thing. How do I tell if it's my playing that sucks ? :-)


Soundcard: Focusrite 2i2

Strat

Try changing your ASIO latency settings. Most of the time reducing the setting works but sometimes you have to increase the latency setting.

Thanks Jim

I'm aware that recording is the way to go to get a tight rhythm but sometimes I feel it's hard to determine if you're experiencing a technical (software) issue, or you simply have to practice your playing more!

Strat

Try going to Edit/preferences and select the audio tab. Toward the bottom of the window you will see 'Recording offset MS' I set this to 45 milliseconds on my setup and that seemed to fix the latency I was experiencing between the audio from real band and my guitar playing when I am laying down tracks. I used to have it set for 30 milliseconds but further testing convinced me to go to 45 milliseconds.

As a side note, the way I test this is to solo a drum track in playback within Realband, I then select an empty track and place my headphones over the microphone that I'm going to record with and hit 'record'. I record 30 seconds or so then compare the recorded track with the original drum track and expand them out so I can easily see each beat. I compare the recorded drum sound to the original then go back to Edit/preferences/ audio tab and change the 'Recording Offset MS' value if needed on a new recorded track until I get a very close match.

Doing it this way takes out the human variable of me playing the guitar while listening through the headphones.

Hope this is of some help to you as it took me quite awhile to figure out why I was always 'behind' when I recorded my guitar in Real Band.

Nice tips Del. Thanks!

In RB there is also a tool that helps make sure your Audio and MIDI signal triggers are in sync.

Prefs - MIDI tab - MIDI Devices - Latency Adjust button.

This shows you how your MIDI trigger speed compares to your Audio and let's you make said adjustments.
From the Tool Popup:

"This lets you adjust the latency setting for a non-DXI soft synth (e.g. GS-WaveTable Synth) by
ear. When you press the Start button, PT will load in a special song that contains an audio and MIDI
track that plays quarter notes. The note of the MIDI track is a 5th higher than the note on the
audio track.

While the notes are playing, adjust the latency on the spin control until it sounds like both notes are
played in unison. Press start again. If the song starts with the tracks lined up right away then you
are finished. If not, then this means you overshot or undershot the real latency by the length of a
quarternote which is 500ms. (e.g.: If the MIDI begins exactly a quarternote early then
the latency setting is now 500ms too high. If the audio is heard a quarternote early than the
latency setting is still 500ms too low.)"

Thanks all

I will try your suggestions!

Strat

Hi Del!

I did like you said and noticed a delay between the two tracks. My focusrite has a direct monitor button, should this be enabled? Further more I couldn't find the preferences where you said they should be, but instead I hit ctrl 5 which brought up the audio button. By the way I use asio and see the buffer size for MME ???

It's kind of tricky with all these settings :-)

Strat

With the Focusrite, be sure you are using the latest ASIO driver for that interface.

Set the buffers and latency as needed. In my system , the default settings were just fine.

The key is the ASIO driver and the settings for the buffers and latency.

Can anyone here direct me in setting up my focusrite 2i2 to run flawless in RB? what about the monitor button, enabled or not?
I assume it's best to use ASIO, compared to MME?

Strat

2i2 only has ASIO drivers as far as I know (yes, its better if your system plays nice with it)
As for the monitor button; try it. I would think you would use it to avoid hearing the sound after being sent to the computer and back (latency).

Page 11 here (note the part about not routing the audio back out, which is tricky with the 2i2 as it does not come with mixer software for the computer, which adds to the confusion)
https://d3se566zfvnmhf.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/focusrite/downloads/7317/scarlett-2i2-user-guide-v2.pdf

I think the Mono issue is related to whether you use balanced cables or not. If I recall.
The paragraph above (on page 10) explains the balanced cable system..

Couple related articles:
http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/31728/connecting-audio-interface-to-mixer

https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207547145-Can-I-use-Scarlett-MixControl-with-the-Scarlett-2i2-and-2i4-

Sorry, I didn't realize you were using ASIO. The ones that use ASIO on this forum will have to assist you with that.
Best regards,

Hi again Del


I'm almost always working with wave tracks and no midi.
It seems that I can get an acceptable small delay when setting focusrite up in MME.
Could I ask you to send me a screen shot of your audio preferences.

Strat

Hi Strat,
Click on Options/Preferences then select the audio tab.
The setting I'm referring to is towards the bottom of the screen, 'Recording Offset MS' I have mine set to 45 Milliseconds as shown.

Hope this is of some help!

It took me awhile to figure that out Steve but it seems to work quite well for me!

Remember too.... that ASIO is a one application driver. Which ever application you open first that uses ASIO will grab it and nothing else will be able to use ASIO until you close that first application.

As a result, I open Sonar first and let it grab the ASIO driver. BB & RB will run but they will use the MME driver. Using the real track styles in BB/RB, I have no issues whatsoever when they run on MME.

There's supposed to be a new version of a multiple client ASIO coming out, and people talk about it, but I have not found it yet. Supposedly, that will solve a number of problems.

Working with audio should be pretty flawless with both MME and ASIO. It is for my system. So, double check the buffers and latency settings in MME and ASIO. Move them around and see if you can get something that is workable.

Regarding multiclient ASO; I did a search with your exact term (multiple client ASIO) and one of the top results includes a link to this very forum
http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/20484/how-to-make-asio-work-with-multiple-programs-how-can-i-listen-to-guitar-rig-plu

PGMusic link
http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=237170

/reply was meant to Herb's post, not SC

It does indeed help, I don't care if it's Asio or MME as long as things work, but I understand that this is no simple decision. I have often Biab and RB open at the same time and I wonder what this means in terms of choosing the proper driver setup for Biab and RB each?

Strat

Thanks a lot Del,

Great help!

Strat

Glad it worked out for you Strat!