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Topic: Latency workaround for laptops (Read 1671 times) previous topic - next topic

Latency workaround for laptops

After much gnashing of teeth and time attempting to eliminate latency (VST's, Coolsynth, etc.), I accidentally discovered a quick workaround. (As a note of background, the playing while an initial tempo or other track sounded tended to result in an eighth note delay in regard to the new track relative to the background track or rhythm track. As a further point of background, I use Coolsynth with almost no buffers instead of the dreaded Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth).

Initially, I used a rhythm track that started 1/8 note before beat 1 of the main repeat bar in a template track. Was "okay" but still left problems and complexities in later adding further parts based upon the earlier recorded track or tracks since they would have to be similarly adjusted.

Then, I discovered that I  could simply eliminate the 1/8 note in the subsequently played track and do a bar audit. Worked, but required some notation cleanup work in, illustratively, replacing tied eighths with a quarter note, etc.

More recently, I discovered that if I created, illustratively, a "rhythm" template (say, 4/4 time) with an introductory measure that only had three and one-eighth beats followed by the appropriate repeat sign and number of repeats, all would be good with the subsequently recorded tracks (without the need for cleanup notation editing). Essentially, the initial measure before the repeats would be "shorted" one-eighth beat. Same could be done with the subsequently recorded tracks if they are used as background for further recorded tracks (combined perhaps with some lead in rhythm measures). Not sure why it works, but does.

Not quite as nifty as actually getting the sequencing hardware and software to play nicely, but that may not be possible with Microsoft operating system. I have added a sample template file.