Quote:

You will need to use ASIO drivers for low latency during tracking the live stuff along with your tracks.



Why does everybody push ASIO drivers?

Latency comes from disturbing the OS running in the background, like a mouse movement or a keystroke would send an interrupt message to the OS. These are called IRQs (Interrupt Requests). When you move a mixer with your mouse, you will get a latency event. However, while recording an extenal instrument, you are not playing with your mouse or keyboard.

This is the way computers have worked forever. Your CPU is sitting there cycling undisturbed asking "Have any work for me? Have any work for me? Have any work for me? Have any work for me? How about now?" until you give it "work". Tap the space bar, roll the mouse, poll for mail on your wireless network.... once you give the OS a "job" to do, it momentarily pauses what else is going on to do it. In 99.99% of the cases that pause is so fast it is imperceptable. However, with music playback, should you use your mouse to boost or cut a slider on a channel, that IRQ will cause a "burp" in the sound being played back. NEITHER driver will eliminate that. It CAN make the latency gap so small you don't notice it, but it will happen every time you send an IRQ. That is NEVER zero latency. And before 17 people tell me how they have no latency, let me repeat that it may be .00000000000000001 nanoseconds, but it is there all the time.

This is why I traversed the long and winding road (and forum threads) of adding hardware that allows me to mix on a mixer and off the computer. When I record or play back I do not touch the computer running Real Band other than to start it and stop it. Volume changes can come later. I can move sliders on my mixer all day and night and I do not disturb what is going on in the computer.

Bottom line, your MME driver with the latency buffer at about 500 and "Quick Volume Changes" enabled should make the latency so small you won't hear it.

The thing that is hard to remember is that you can't play sloppy like Bob's garage band and expect it to come out sounding like the digital remix of Sgt Pepper.... you need to have an ear for EQ and when to (and when not to) add effects.... and experiment. Experiment with your hardware, your software, and your skills.