Originally Posted By: dsbw
Just when I thought I was out—they pull me back in!

So, I've had my travails in getting my KeyStation 88 to work with my Win10/SoundBlaster Z set up, but I finally have it where the sound works, works pretty consistently and at a reasonable volume.

It also doesn't lag...much...at first! (Read in William Shatner's voice for best effect.) But...slowly...the lag appears...begins to embiggen...and pretty soon, I'm wondering if I've gone mad, or if I've gone sane in a mad world. (It IS actually, kind of funny, as I play slower and slower because the notes are coming out slower.)

Actually, I think now (I've been mulling this for a few days) it's always a little laggy. I had a better pianist than I come in try it and she noticed immediately. It seems better or worse from moment to moment but I can't nail it down.

So...how to troubleshoot this? These are my MIDI settings:


  • My MIDI Input Driver is "Keystation 88". That's the only thing I've found that works.
  • My MIDI Output Driver is Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth or Microsoft MIDI Mapper.
  • My Synthesizer/Sound card is Coyote WaveTable DXI. (I can use any of the others apparently; I haven't figured out the significance of this. Though it doesn't seem to matter vis a vis the lag.)
  • I've checked Use VSTi/DXi synth.
  • I've checked Route MIDI thru to MIDI driver.
  • My GM2 Support is General MIDI 2 (GM2) support.
  • Audio Settings are ASIO always.


1) If I exit BiaB and come back, the lag reduces, but never actually goes away AFAICT.
2) I'm using ASIO4All.
3) I can use the SBZ driver, too, but that doesn't seem matter much.
4) I set the quality settings to "Fast"
5) If I click the "Get from soundcard" button at any time, BiaB crashes.

I am open to any solution to removing lag. Hardware/software/whatever.



Your problem is self inflicted. You are using 2 soundcards. One for input ... the KS88 and then you use the MS wavetable as the output.

You really need to find ONE interface/card, which can support both in and out from the same card.

I'd lay a bet that there is no clock sync between the 2 cards you are using. Since they both run at approximately the same clock speed, they start at the same time but the non-synced clocks soon start to wander out of sync and there you have it. The further you go, the worse it gets.

Sound blaster cards can be made to work in some, perhaps even many cases but are not the ideal recording card to be using. That's why many folks have bought and use a third party external dedicated musical interface. I have a Focusrite Saffire to handle all of my musical input and output duties. It works exceptionally well.

The only solution is to get, obtain, buy, beg, borrow, or steal, a decent interface that will permit you to do input and output of both audio and midi from the same card. Focusrite, M-Audio, Presonus, are all good options and will work well, use ASIO, and do the job. You can still send the KS88 midi into the computer via the interface. It uses a 5 pin midi connector so get an interface with a 5 pin midi input and you're golden. The software will be using the ONE interface for INPUT and OUTPUT so you won't have the clock sync issues.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 04/15/17 03:49 AM.
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