Ableton Forum

I am using a purpose built single thread Ableton system - built in March 2020:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/General_R ... iew=pDbLP6

32 sample buffer with no twitching whatsoever.
Latency showing 9 ms.
24% CPU use on the entire 5 track project with plugins.
Single instance of Serum.
Key.....................note


Have never experienced this before on a Mac, most recently a 2012 MBP.

Hit key on MIDI keyboard (Moog Grandmother).....................note

This is ridiculous.

Is there anything that I can do?

You don't mention which audio interface/drivers you're using, but yeah, I've had this same problem at 24% CPU--it's only a problem when I play MIDI. Turn off your plugins, record in your MIDI, then turn them back on. When playing back the MIDI, there won't be any latency.

Audio interface could be a factor--I've had different results with different interfaces.

^^ what type of Audio interface and what type of MIDI connection are you using on the Moog - USB or MIDI cables (to what)?

Just asking a basic thing just in case...this is a PC build right? But you're used to Mac?

Are you using ASIO drivers not Windows/DirectX/WASAPI/etc? Win drivers always cause horrible MIDI latency, it's something to do with the way they're prioritised in the kernel I think. ASIO drivers fix it. Your interface should come with ASIO drivers or you can download them from the manufacturer's site.

Richie Witch wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:26 pm

You don't mention which audio interface/drivers you're using, but yeah, I've had this same problem at 24% CPU--it's only a problem when I play MIDI. Turn off your plugins, record in your MIDI, then turn them back on. When playing back the MIDI, there won't be any latency.

Audio interface could be a factor--I've had different results with different interfaces.

Shit. Sorry about that. NI Komplete Audio 6 with ASIO.

Da hand wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 11:01 pm

^^ what type of Audio interface and what type of MIDI connection are you using on the Moog - USB or MIDI cables (to what)?

USB from Moog to Computer

timday wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 11:42 pm

Just asking a basic thing just in case...this is a PC build right? But you're used to Mac?

Are you using ASIO drivers not Windows/DirectX/WASAPI/etc? Win drivers always cause horrible MIDI latency, it's something to do with the way they're prioritised in the kernel I think. ASIO drivers fix it. Your interface should come with ASIO drivers or you can download them from the manufacturer's site.

I am using ASIO.

thehotfire wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 15, 2020 6:42 pm

Richie Witch wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:26 pm

You don't mention which audio interface/drivers you're using, but yeah, I've had this same problem at 24% CPU--it's only a problem when I play MIDI. Turn off your plugins, record in your MIDI, then turn them back on. When playing back the MIDI, there won't be any latency.

Audio interface could be a factor--I've had different results with different interfaces.

Shit. Sorry about that. NI Komplete Audio 6 with ASIO.

Yeah, I use a Komplete Audio 6 paired with an fairly new Dell XPS 15 and an M-Audio Keystation 61 MIDI controller for times when I'm on the road. It's a nice interface and very reliable, but if I was doing any keyboard work, I had to keep my plugins to a minimum until I had the MIDI tracks recorded. It's not as bad as some other interfaces I've tried, but yeah, it didn't seem to have enough horsepower to track MIDI and handle multiple plugins at the same time.

One possible solution--I didn't notice as much of an issue if I was running MIDI into a MIDI hub, rather than running it through the interface. I've got a MOTU MIDI Express XT for my home studio and a Micro Lite for travelling. Both of them work well and seem to help with the MIDI latency.

thehotfire wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:14 pm

5 track project with plugins.

The only plugin you mentioned was Serum, but you say ‘plugins’ in plural.

Are you using any reverbs? Mastering plugins? Etc?

thehotfire wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 14, 2020 9:14 pm

I am using a purpose built single thread Ableton system - built in March 2020:

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/General_R ... iew=pDbLP6

32 sample buffer with no twitching whatsoever.
Latency showing 9 ms.
24% CPU use on the entire 5 track project with plugins.
Single instance of Serum.
Key.....................note


Have never experienced this before on a Mac, most recently a 2012 MBP.

Hit key on MIDI keyboard (Moog Grandmother).....................note

This is ridiculous.

Is there anything that I can do?

I would guess most likely its your interface. Not all interfaces are equal in terms of super low latency.

I'm assuming you are referring to round-trip (input + output).

For round-trip, 9 ms should be workable.

For midi softsynths only, your latency is most likely lower than 9ms.

You will hear it more trying to record audio without direct monitoring.


I use a focusrite scarlett which gets me at about 7-8 ms on a PC at 64 samples which is decent for me (and clients I record).

You probably won't get much lower until you invest in more higher end interfaces (usually thunderbolt, although RME supposedly makes low latency USB).