Hey guys,
I’m swithching to PC recording from using a Tascam PS5 for some time.
I googled around and bumped into ntracks. I’m loving the software but I have a latency issue with my keyboard.
I’m using a MK-249 connected directly to my laptop via USB. My system specs are as follows:
Computer: Sony Vaio VGN-FZ150FE
OS: Vista Home Premium (32 bits)
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo T7100 1.8Gzh
Soundcard: Wish I could tell… if any one can tell me how to find the spec…
I have been recording a few vocal tracks using the built in mic and I am able to sing in perfect sinc with previously recorded tracks, but when I play my Keyboard, the sound comes in close to a second later.
I searched the FAQ and the Forum before yelling for help. I played around with the buffer settings and they seem to have no effect whatsoever.
Thanks in advance !
Hey guys,
I'm swithching to PC recording from using a Tascam PS5 for some time.
I googled around and bumped into ntracks. I'm loving the software but I have a latency issue with my keyboard.
I'm using a MK-249 connected directly to my laptop via USB. My system specs are as follows:
Computer: Sony Vaio VGN-FZ150FE
OS: Vista Home Premium (32 bits)
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo T7100 1.8Gzh
Soundcard: Wish I could tell... if any one can tell me how to find the spec...
I have been recording a few vocal tracks using the built in mic and I am able to sing in perfect sinc with previously recorded tracks, but when I play my Keyboard, the sound comes in close to a second later.
I searched the FAQ and the Forum before yelling for help. I played around with the buffer settings and they seem to have no effect whatsoever.
Thanks in advance !
ASIOS4all drivers?
keep shinin'
jerm
Gracias Jerm !
This is what I found…
(click here if the image is not clear)
I’m sure you can make it out, but “controlador” is the Spanish for “driver” 
I hope this tells you if my drivers are Asio4 or not. If not, please tell me where to look…
You say you have “latency issues” is it a lag in the recordings? or a delay in what you “hear” as you play?
It sounds like it is not a “recording latency” issue but a “monitoring issue” since you say the vocals come in on time (I’m assuming they are in time the recordings)
Most likely the keyboard midi device has a hardware ASIO, so not sure if the Asio4all driver is going to be any better…
Try setting Ntrack to highest priority.
File>Preference>Options> (highest priority tab.)
While in there you can click:
File>preferences>Recording settings>Wav devices…
In there you could see Asio4all listed if you have it already, you can chose what device you want to use to play the sound and which one to record the sounds.
You could play around with buffer speeds as well, but I don’t recommend that! 
When you designate which device should be used for playback there may be a device you recognize from the keyboard that should be designated for that (click it to assign it) and using that device may eliminate the lag you are hearing) look into the manual and see what device or configuration they recommend for monitoring while recording and use that.
Make sure you are using the most up to date driver for the keyboard:
M-AUDIO MK-249/Oxygen 49/UC-33e/ProKeys 88sx/MK-225c Keys Driver 4.2.0.3v4
keep shinin’
jerm
Hey Jerm,
First your question: The issue is a delay from the moment I play a note on my keyboard to the moment it comes out of my PC speakers through ntracks. My keyboard does not have speakers.
I did all of what you said (exept for changing my keyboard driver) and the problem still shows.
Thanks again in advance for any insights !
I searched the FAQ and the Forum before yelling for help. I played around with the buffer settings and they seem to have no effect whatsoever.
Thanks in advance !
You're on the right track but for ASIO devices/drivers you need to use the driver's control panel to edit the buffer setttings rather than in n-track.
What you are experiencing is a common problem - it's called latency and is a combination of all of the processing delays from when you hit a key on your keyboard to it being turned into a sound inside the PC. Most of us try to avoid monitoring in software as there is always a trade-off/balance to getting the buffers right for low-latency recording vs smooth playback and mixing. It's better to monitor via hardware (eg mixer) but unless your keyboard has a line-out or internal speakers (which I think you are saying it doesn't have), then you are stuck with monitoring in software.
Hi My guess is the “sounds” you are hearing from the keyboard are being made by the Microsoft GM synth which can exhibit a delay. I don’t have the answer to your problem (I use a hardware Synth) but hopefully some one else will jump in with a suggestion.
From M=audio site:
This delay is known as latency.
Latency with MIDI signals is due to the soft-synth you are using. MIDI data is simply control data. The MIDI is read by the soft-synth. The soft-synth then completes a large number of complex calculations, in order to produce the sound you hear. All this takes time.
We recommend getting a proper soundcard. You can get a decent one these days for under
£30. The Soundcard will provide you with a better quality MIDI synth.
If you already have an adequate sound card, try re-installing the latest drivers for the sound card, or try reducing the buffer sizes of the audio drivers. You can do this in the Sound Studio II and Sound Studio Pro II programs by going to ‘Audio’ – ‘Audio system settings’ where you can reduce the buffer sizes of the MME or ASIO drives.
It is possible the chipset on your mother board has trouble with the direct USB ports. This can be solved by purchasing a USB dedicated card. Such cards can be obtained for under
£20.
I already posted the “latest driver”.
keep shinin’
jerm
As Nick already pointed out, the MS GM Wavetable Synth has horrid latency problems. What’s worse is it changes somehow… totally unusable to play “live”. I recommend downloading some free VSTi/DXi’s to evaluate your system.
Balthor’s Grand is a decent free piano to toy around with. Just Google it or Google “Free VSTi” and try some stuff.
D
...You're on the right track but for ASIO devices/drivers you need to use the driver's control panel to edit the buffer setttings rather than in n-track...
Thanks to all, it looks like you have a great group here, just about the sort of thing I believe in !
I found the Asio settings in the control panel. I'm on the road today but I
´ll be testing this tomorrow.
Most of you mention hardware monitoring. I wonder if something like the Line 6 Tone Port would help. I bumped into this while searching related posts in this forum.
I'll keep bugging until I get this right. I'm slow but stubborn. I hope you can bear with me until I can jump into the helpers side.
Thanks again to all !
...I already posted the "latest driver".
Thanks Jerm ! I was aware of this since your first post, I just have a hard time changing drivers so I put this at the end of the list. I promise to do this tomorrow when I get home.
(gurus reading this post, please make sure you also read my last post just before this one)
Hey amigos !
Asio4all is the name of the game. You all said it, its like magic. I am monitoring my keyboard through n-tracks with no audible delay. Thanks so much.
Jerm, I also updated my keyboard’s drivers.
The one thing I’m missing now is that if I record audio through Asio4all, the wave form is not drawn by n-tracks. I guess it’s a way to save CPU power. Any ideas on how to overcome this ?
Note 1: I found out (by accident) that if I rename the wave file the wave form is drawn.
Note 2: I tried to recalculate the wave form with no luck.
Any ideas on the above post ?
Thanks in advance !!!
Hey amigos !
Asio4all is the name of the game. You all said it, its like magic. I am monitoring my keyboard through n-tracks with no audible delay. Thanks so much.
Jerm, I also updated my keyboard's drivers.
The one thing I'm missing now is that if I record audio through Asio4all, the wave form is not drawn by n-tracks. I guess it's a way to save CPU power. Any ideas on how to overcome this ?
Note 1: I found out (by accident) that if I rename the wave file the wave form is drawn.
Note 2: I tried to recalculate the wave form with no luck.
I'm not real sure what you mean by "wave form drawn"
I was under the impression Ntrack used npk. or sng. files for editing, instead of the original wav. file that were either recorded or brought in.
Then when you mix down the npk. or sng. file you get a wav. file?
From what I can tell that is how it allows you to edit the sng. file without destroying the original wav. file which is stored elsewhere and never seen.....
That is why I do not understand what is meant by "wave form is not drawn"....
If you can't see the npk. files (which look like a wav.) in the edit box it may be because of another issue, perhaps the View>Timeline is turned off or has been minimized???
Or Preferences>Appearances> (Check the box next to"view waveforms")
keep shinin'
jerm