Chiming in here.

MME will allow play through 'live' but with much more latency than is acceptable to most musicians.

rharv is right in that there is probably some midi data throughput issue to sort out first. I think rharv's suggestion to look to see if the keyboard keys are lighting up is a good place to start. Many VSTi interfaces will also have a fake LED of some type to let you know they are receiving midi data.

So, to sort out the 'live' signal chain, it does have to be established that the VSTi module is getting midi data as an 'end-to-end' process first.

So far, the OP of the post hasn't come back here.

Here's how I would attack the problem:

1. Establish that the VSTi receives midi data through live keying of the input controller keyboard. This is independent of the audio driver being used.
1a. Some hosts require that the midi input on the card be 'enabled/armed' for recording. For my DAW, each audio or midi input available to the DAW should be enabled, and then 'armed' if you want that input data to be sent to the midi destination. If I don't do that 'arming', I can see the midi data blipping the input on the GUI of the DAW, but no sound happens.
1b. This can be a port issue, a midi channel issue, midi send issue from the controller keyboard, etc.

2. Go ahead and try the installed audio driver first, once it's established that midi data is being received at the VSTi - I think that was rharv's point; don't throw in an audio driver swap until this other midi throughput is established first.

3. If unacceptable latency occurs, THEN go for ASIO. As it so happens, this is almost a foregone conclusion, as I don't know of anyone yet who can use WDM or MME drivers for live playthrough. Just too hard to 'play ahead' and wait for the sound.

BTW, look back through the forums to around 2004/5 time frame (if it still exists) and you'll see I was one of the first ASIO evangelists here at PG. In fact, the lack of ASIO support at the time caused me to wander astray from the PG fold - I got so hooked on live playthrough of very fun VSTi that I gave up on PG products for DAW, even though I rocked it with PTPA before hand. But, once you get the bug of all of the very cool VSTi that weigh nothing and sound nearly as good as the original hardware, it's very very hard to go back to not having live playthrough capability. I still have a blast pretending I'm Keith Emerson using some freeware analog synth VSTi (minimogue VA is still my favorite - simple but with meat!).



-Scott

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