Sudden drastic timing shift of the entire session

[natashaadorlee]

Okay I hope this isn't something boneheaded but it appears to be a wild as hell bug. In the midst of editing some basic track automation, somehow the entire timing got majorly screwed up on a session. It's as if each track in the arrange window is being played back at independent times. No global changes to time signature or tempo automation or anything that would immediately account for this. It seems as though the whole session is one big train wreck despite previously being completely fine! Double checked soloing each track and looking at them relative to the grid, they are exactly intact and independently sound the way they should. It is as if Ableton is playing back each track not thoroughly in time. Mind you there is absolutely zero track delay or anything that else that would immediately be a culprit.

Has anyone else randomly had this arrange window virtual train wreck occur?

I am thoroughly at a loss for why something like this would just randomly go down. Please tell me I am not going crazy

[mode:masters]

natasha does this happen every time you open this track? (i.e. can you re-create it repeatedly?)

Also, what version of Live are you running?

[natashaadorlee]

When I open this particular session the exact same issue occurs. I was fortunate enough to save multiple back-ups up until that point and have since then worked from an earlier session with no issues whatsoever. I realized I was a version or two behind the current and just now upgraded from 8.1.1 to 8.1.3 It appears the arrange window's timing is completely screwed only for that session. So bizarre!

n

[natashaadorlee]

Okay. I can replicate the timing issue. It happened again when I created a midi track with an output going to a drum machine. Apparently when the track is in record enable everything gets crazy sluggish for the drum machine which then in turn makes everything else sound of out timing although it appears to only be the drum machine. Weird. I'm guessing this might just mean I have hit the threshold at which my computer can no longer keep things in order with this particular track? I am running a duo 3.06 imac with 4 gigs of ram.

[filterstein]

Had that kind of issue lot's of times.
You add something or record extra tracks and the timing suddenly sucks.
Sometimes get's better when you disable latency compensation.
With better i mean that it sounds tighter, tracks can still be shifted in timing,
but it's feel a lot less drunk.

[Angstrom]

are there any VST in this drumrack?
if a vst does not report latency correctly that might cause such an issue. I used a freeware impulse reverb a few years ago (SIR) and the latency on that was just insane, a second or so! It produced an effect similar to the one you describe.

Check for rogue VST(i), or failing that check for weird routings, which might fubar the latency.