Serious latency with MIDI and Windows

[thedkn]

Hi all,

I've just upgraded my system to a pretty high spec - P4-2.8Ghz, 80Gb HDD, 512Mb RAM, GeForce 4 5700FX Graphics, PC800 Motherboard, etc

I've plugged in my fave audio card, the Terratec EWS88-MT, which has 8 channels of audio I/O and MIDI in/out.

The audio seems to be running ok, but i am getting some SERIOUS latency and lack of responsiveness from the MIDI input, about 5-7 seconds sometimes, but ONLY when i'm not in playback or record mode. Otherwise, its running like a dream

This is generally really frustrating - any ideas what could be causing it?!

Many thanks

Joe

[thedkn]

oops forgot to mention am using Logic Audio 5.5 Platinum and Windows Server 2003

Thanks again!

[Graeme]

You also didn't say how you were generating the sounds!

[thedkn]

Hi, thats true!

I was using the virtual instruments (any of the standard ones that come with Logic 5.5) to generate the sounds, but as i said, when the playback head is moving (either in play or record mode) there is no latency at all!!

It's really quite wierd the latency seems to be introduced at the point where the MIDI enters the system, as on the transport bar, where it shows the midi signal coming in the response time is really slow and often "sticks"

Any clues there?
Thanks

[Graeme]

Not being a Logic user, I'm not sure where to suggest you start looking. I'm always highly suspicious of systems which are relying on virtual intruments, but I agree the sort of delays you are experiencing are way out of order and it's very odd that it only happens when you are not running the sequencer.

Maybe another Logic user can help with this?

[thedkn]

calling all logic audio (PC) users! Any tips on the aforementioned problem?

Thanks all

Joe

[Double A Ron]

You forgot the people who use Cakewalk as well. I'm using Windows XP and latency's becoming a serious issue with me. Everyone at VGMix.com is hitting me over the head because of the delay of my soundfonts.

[Graeme]

Originally posted by Double A Ron
You forgot the people who use Cakewalk as well.

As a generality, latency issues are not normally directly related to the sequencer being used, it's more likely to be a problem with the hardware (insufficient RAM, buffering issues, etc., etc.).

There are thousands of people using Cakewalk who don't suffer from this issue (or, not to such a great effect - latency is still a fact of life with any software audio) so I'd start looking at your computer system before you point a finger at Cakewalk.

thedkn's problem is slightly different and could well be Logic related (although there's no absolute proof of that).

Originally posted by Double A Ron
I'm using Windows XP and latency's becoming a serious issue with me. Everyone at VGMix.com is hitting me over the head because of the delay of my soundfonts.

On the assumption you are using Soundfonts in conjunction with a SoundBlaster type card, this rather makes my point. Once the fonts are loaded, what you really have is a hardware device and there should be very little latency in the system. I've been using a system like this for years - a SB Pro Live and Cakewalk Pro 9, under both '98 and XP - but I've never had a real latency problem.

Only if you are using some sort of software Soundfont device (such as Audio Compositor) might latency become an issue. Even then, most of this type of software allows for non-realtime rendering, which means the latency is avoided entirely.