Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

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jsterne
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Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:51 pm

Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by jsterne » Sat Dec 26, 2009 8:30 pm

Hi All,

This must be user error. I've got a Live set where I'm overdubbing an instrumental performance, just like in a regular DAW. I arm the track, turn the monitoring in LIve to "off" so latency isn't an issue and monitor through the software for my Apogee Duet (so I'm in "zero latency" because I am hearing the performance going in and the recording coming out). I'm playing on the beat. A person in the room confirms I'm playing on the beat. When I play it back, I'm consistently behind the beat. I know it's not a typical latency thing because I'm not monitoring my playing through LIve. If I switch the channel monitoring to "auto", I get an audible echo (I'm running at 1024 samples). This seems to be more of an issue with bigger mixes, but still.

So, what could I be doing wrong?

Thanks.

OSX 10.5.8, Live 8.1, September Maestro Update for Apogee Duet.

jsterne
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:51 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by jsterne » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:08 pm

I'm reposting this as I am not getting any reply from Ableton tech support on this issue.

I've done the Driver Error Compensation Tutorial and I'm getting like .5ms (yes, that's .5), which should not be audible. But the audio I record plays back consistently about an eighth note behind the beat (whether it's me or someone else playing, so it's not a musicianship issue).

If I monitor through Live and set the buffer down to 64ms, my recordings play back correctly, but of course that doesn't work if you're running a bunch of plugins and overdubbing on an already dense mix (my workaround has been to bounce and then record the track in a new set, but that's just stupidly kludgey.) Anyone else having this problem?

Live 8.1.1 now.

infuzion
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Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by infuzion » Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:12 am

OS, hardware, drivers???
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jsterne
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:51 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by jsterne » Wed Jan 20, 2010 3:36 am

infuzion wrote:OS, hardware, drivers???
OSX 10.5.8, Live 8.1.1, September Maestro Update for Apogee Duet.

Fourtothefloor
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by Fourtothefloor » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:30 am

Heya I'm a duet user too. That's clearly an erroneous reading of your overall latency.
The best way to deal with latency is to play a very short defined sample out of and back into the daw in an audio track lined up to a beat (a little tricky with the duet because of its XLRS but with a cable or so you'll work it out). Now look at what's been recorded, turn warping off and adjust the sample start time so that it lines up to the beat. That added amount of samples is your latency. Voila.
Ok yeah it's a pain in the Alsace Lourraine... but it works.

jsterne
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:51 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by jsterne » Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:43 pm

Fourtothefloor wrote:Heya I'm a duet user too. That's clearly an erroneous reading of your overall latency.
The best way to deal with latency is to play a very short defined sample out of and back into the daw in an audio track lined up to a beat (a little tricky with the duet because of its XLRS but with a cable or so you'll work it out). Now look at what's been recorded, turn warping off and adjust the sample start time so that it lines up to the beat. That added amount of samples is your latency. Voila.
Ok yeah it's a pain in the Alsace Lourraine... but it works.
Hey Four,

Thanks for the reply. I did the alignment like you said (using the driver error compensation tutorial) and got a very low reading--less than an millisecond. But obviously that's not the case. That's why I'm pulling my hair out. But then, I used the instrument inputs on the Duet. Maybe I should be using the XLRs since that's what I'm recording into . . . .

Fourtothefloor
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by Fourtothefloor » Wed Jan 20, 2010 5:40 pm

No worries, glad to help. I've always found the DI inp's on the Duet to be it's weakest feature (if it has to have one!)

Yes that could be it. Would you mind posting a screen of your mixer for me to have a look at?


Oh wait one another thing... are you using any limiters, vsts etc. Particular the ahem less legitimate. These can play havoc with Lives timing. Any limiter and most compressors look ahead a bit which increases latency.

jsterne
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:51 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by jsterne » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:03 pm

Hey There,

I do use tons of plugs (both effects and VIs), all of them legit (though your message reminded me to go delete a few expired demos). The irony is that the main reason I pay for everything is to get technical support. My problem with turning this stuff off is that the whole point of is to be able to overdub an existing mix. But I also have the problem when I'm just playing along to a recording in an empty set. I'm happy to post a screenshot. What do exactly do you want to see?

I'm going to try a couple other workarounds and then give tech support a call. Maybe they'll be more responsive on the phone.

Fourtothefloor
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue May 05, 2009 3:33 pm

Re: Latency issue, what am I doing wrong?

Post by Fourtothefloor » Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:23 pm

They're not too bad on email. I've sent them a crashlog before.

Ok how about freezing all your other tracks? You'll need to remove your side chain devices and put them back on after you've frozen them. This should dramatically help latency, you should also be able to lower your buffer then.

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