sequencing and recording external synths...

[lozoz]

hi all, here's my scenario:

i am using the external instrument plugin to sequence a juno and the audio is being recorded through an audient ID22 onto a separate audio track. my machine is pretty quick, an i7 imac from 2009.

when the audio is recorded direct from the 'external in' i am getting approx 19ms of delay between where the midi note was and where the recorded note lands.

when the audio is recorded via the external instrument plugin the recorded sequence is approx 5ms late which is better but obviously still off and doesn't save me the bother of having to go in and warp / adjust everything i record.

surely this isn't normal?.. can anyone advise re settings or setup of my interface to help me get the recorded sequences nice, tight and as the midi intended?

i've been doing some tests with a simple 1/4 note pattern and adjusting the latency on the external instrument plugin kinda works but seems make the recorded sequence a bit inconsistent ie some notes are early and some are late.

would really appreciate some advise, thanks all.

[lozoz]

bumpty bump...

anyone with any insight on this?

[Shift Gorden]

Hello mate!

Yeah, I sometimes get a small delay when recording from my Prophet using the External In instrument.

You tried using the Track Delay feature? You can basically nudge your delayed audio using a negative value. I did it this weekend actually.

Take a look here, mate.

https://www.ableton.com/en/manual/mixing/#track-delays

[bra10]

I get 40ms delay with my old Yamaha rm1x thru a NI audio interface and I coulnd´t optimize it at all.

[lozoz]

thanks for the link shift gorden. i am aware of the track delay feature and have messed around with using it but it's fairly unsatisfying.

it's a very annoying situation that kinda bogs me down.

i like to jam some drums in using drumracks then put together midi sequences for some external instruments, have everything running together simultaneously then go to town on the filters / fx and record the results.

it kinda makes it impossible if everything is not deadly tight and i have to fiddle around with track delays, measuring latency for each external instrument (assuming they will be different every time depending on the cpu strain?)

i'm imagining lots of other people work in a similar way, has anyone got it working smoothly?