Latency Problems in SoftSynths

[cpntq]

Hi all

I have done midi sequencing in the past using cakewalk with hardware sound modules. Have been out of touch with MIDI stuff for a long long time and recently started to experiment with softsynths. The first thing that bothers me is the latency problems. Can't record properly with that lag!

My recently upgraded PC: C2D E6300, 2G RAM, SATA2 HDD
MIDI Interface: USB 1+1 MIDI cable
Sound card: Nil (Integrated)
Software: Samplitude 8 SE with some free VSTi from the web

My question is whether there are any tweaks or low cost upgrades to my set up that can reduce the latency?

Would a sound card like Audigy or EMU0404 help to reduce the latency? I know those into serious DAWs would say a big NO to audigy but are the EMU stuff an overkill for me?

I am not into gaming, neither do I need super-duper recording quality ... I just need to be able to record some songs to demo certain arrangements to my band members ... recording would include some KB stuff through MIDI and some guitars through audio in ...

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Cheez]

Soundcard is your problem. 2 solutions:

1. Download ASIOforall as you'll need ASIO drivers: http://www.asio4all.com/

2. If that doesn't work, best is to get a soundcard. A low cost pro soundcard I recommend is the Echo MIA Midi. Echo products gives me excellent support and close to zero-latency. Very good drivers. It has midi in and out - so you can get rid of your USB midi - since they do sometimes cause interference to other software, depending on the drivers. Emu is OK - Emu users can chip in. Since the day I started DAW programming and sequencing, I've been using Echo products.

 

[heclak]

you can also get the E-MU 0404. A simple card with lots of quality and strong drivers. Latency would not be an issue with the E-MU.

 

[cpntq]

Hey guys

Thanks for the quick replies.

1. Yes. I have installed the ASIO4ALL stuff ... though I dun fully understand its purpose If I remember correctly, the lag reduced slightly after installing ASIO4ALL, but the resulting latency still bothers me ...

2. Ok. So I must get a soundcard.... Both the ECHO MIA MIDI and the EMU0404 is in the range of S$200 ... Again, pardon me for asking, if I don't need pro recording quality, would an SB Audigy (sub $100) solve the latency problem? There's someone selling a Audiotrak Maya 44 MkII for $80 ... is this a better choice over an Audigy?

 

[Cheez]

Before you jump into buying a new soundcard (since you sounded like you want something really budget), check the settings in your samplitude first. I don't use samplitude, so I can't comment more. There should be some kind of buffer setting - you'll need to play around to see which setting gives you the lowest latency.

Next thing - make sure you PC is optimized. Do a search in this forum to see discussions on it.

The other thing - running too many instances of VSTi simulatanouesly taxes the RAM and CPU. This does not usually affect latency heavily, rather the polyphony. But it may, so watch out. If you load a few instances of VSTi, you may want to use the freeze track function to reduce CPU load.

If all else fails, yes, you can get one of those Audigy things if you don't want pro recording. But performance is usually lower than the pro audio cards - so latency may be still higher than the better cards. It will be less than what you are experiencing now though. Just make sure you only install the audio drivers and not all the extra bloat software that comes with Creative - which will drain your CPU and RAM. That means not running the installation file, but search for the drivers yourself during installation.

 

[lowjk]

cpntq,

How about asking your questions in the Magix Samplitude forum since so few of us use it here.
http://support.magix.net/boards/samplitude/index.php

 

[cpntq]

Cheez

Thanks, again. Really appreciate your explanations. I may have sounded "cheapo" in but actually I dun mind spending the $200 for a pro card ... just trying to understand the differences before spending the $$$ since the audigy cards also mentioned support for ASIO, blah, blah, etc.

For my tests so far, I was just trying two tracks with two VSTis ... so it should not be too overloading yet right?

lowjk

Actually I just tested Samplitude for 2 days! Got it free from a magazine and that's why I decided to try the softsynth stuff ... basically I am trying to understand the costs/benefits of going this route ... I do have some old hardware that I could hook up for my needs, so wanted to see whether to reuse those or go into softsynths ...

 

[Cheez]

Yes, 2 VSTi CAN overload depending on the VSTi. Some are more efficient than others. It's the programming. Some only gives you a few notes polyphony before going into trouble. Some of these can have bad latencies. I've encountered some of them, mainly free ones.