dscoyne
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Melodyne audio buffer size
Just getting started trying out Melodyne with X3 for the first time for vocals. The Melodyne documentation recommends setting audio buffer size at 1024, which is much higher than I previously had it set with V-vocal. This concerns me a bit because I had previously used ASIO for the purpose of reducing latency and had the buffer set quite low. I am wondering what the experience of others has been in recording vocals to accompany existing MIDI instrument tracks with this higher buffer size.
And in setting the buffer number in Preferences, there are choices to make, whether we are talking about Playback I/O or Record I/O. Is it equally important for both Playback and Record, or can you get away with 512 for Playback, perhaps?
Also, should the boxes (Under Preferences > Audio > Sync and Caching > File System) for "Enable Read Caching" and "Enable Write Caching" be left unchecked as they are right now? What difference does this make?
I imagine some of this control of latency while avoiding drop-outs may have to do with the computer system being used. Mine is Win 7, Intel i5, 8 GB Ram, Fast Track Pro interface, 3 Hard Drives. Have not had any problems with latency or drop-outs, but while using V-vocal at lower buffer sizes.
Thanks for any comments about your experiences.
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herbroselle
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/06 23:11:36
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Mine are set sat 256, and I've experienced no problems with Melodyne
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mudgel
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 02:17:33
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Just ignore the error message. If it's working OK use the buffer settings that give you the best results.
Mike V. (MUDGEL) STUDIO: Win 10 Pro x64, SPlat & CbB x64, PC: ASUS Z370-A, INTEL i7 8700k, 32GIG DDR4 2400, OC 4.7Ghz. Storage: 7 TB SATA III, 750GiG SSD & Samsung 500 Gig 960 EVO NVMe M.2. Monitors: Adam A7X, JBL 10” Sub. Audio I/O & DSP Server: DIGIGRID IOS & IOX. Screen: Raven MTi + 43" HD 4K TV Monitor. Keyboard Controller: Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S88.
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 07:49:47
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dscoyne
Just getting started trying out Melodyne with X3 for the first time for vocals. The Melodyne documentation recommends setting audio buffer size at 1024, which is much higher than I previously had it set with V-vocal. This concerns me a bit because I had previously used ASIO for the purpose of reducing latency and had the buffer set quite low. I am wondering what the experience of others has been in recording vocals to accompany existing MIDI instrument tracks with this higher buffer size.
Do you mean you're doing it in real time? As I suppose most do Melodyne edits after the tracking, and often one verse or even one phrase at a time, the higher buffer plays no role timing wise.
SONAR PE 8.5.3, Asus P5B, 2,4 Ghz Dual Core, 4 Gb RAM, GF 7300, EMU 1820, Bluetube Pre - Kontakt4, Ozone, Addictive Drums, PSP Mixpack2, Melda Creative Pack, Melodyne Plugin etc. The benefit of being a middle aged amateur is the low number of years of frustration ahead of you.
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Sanderxpander
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 08:38:39
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I've never bothered to up the buffer that much for Melodyne. Truth be told, if you leave a lot of clips "active" (rather than bouncing them down) Sonar seems to eventually get less stable. I've never checked if this is less so with a buffer of 1024 or more samples. Certainly it has never taxed my CPU very much. I now make a habit of bouncing nearly all clips. Backing vox for instance. The one(s) I prefer to keep open are my leadvocals because sometimes I need to revisit them. While it's possible to reMelodyne I'm not that comfortable with stuff running through the algorithm so often.
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river
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 09:46:42
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I have a track with several vocals and multiple instances of Melodyne in it and I'm noticing a substantial loss of phase coherence regardless of buffer settings. It's a great tool but going forward, I'm inclined to use it as a standalone and import the tuned tracks, which was how I started out with it since S6PE (my previous version) did not support integrating it as a plugin.
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robert_e_bone
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 12:16:32
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I do any Melodyne processing in editing, only after completing track recording, and so I jack up the ASIO Buffer Size with no problems, because I am not trying to sync new track clips - am only doing playback and editing at that point in the project life cycle.
Bob Bone
Wisdom is a giant accumulation of "DOH!" Sonar: Platinum (x64), X3 (x64) Audio Interfaces: AudioBox 1818VSL, Steinberg UR-22 Computers: 1) i7-2600 k, 32 GB RAM, Windows 8.1 Pro x64 & 2) AMD A-10 7850 32 GB RAM Windows 10 Pro x64 Soft Synths: NI Komplete 8 Ultimate, Arturia V Collection, many others MIDI Controllers: M-Audio Axiom Pro 61, Keystation 88es Settings: 24-Bit, Sample Rate 48k, ASIO Buffer Size 128, Total Round Trip Latency 9.7 ms
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Sanderxpander
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 12:34:53
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river
I have a track with several vocals and multiple instances of Melodyne in it and I'm noticing a substantial loss of phase coherence regardless of buffer settings. It's a great tool but going forward, I'm inclined to use it as a standalone and import the tuned tracks, which was how I started out with it since S6PE (my previous version) did not support integrating it as a plugin.
Melodyne's algorithms can shift timing by a few samples as part of its efforts to keep a neutral sound during pitch and timing changes. This is a known "issue". So that could conceivably affect phase coherence although I have to wonder in what kind of situation you'd hear that on vocals. Did you multitrack a backing vocal group with a lot of crosstalk? This effect, by the way, is separate from ARA integration so using Melodyne externally and then importanting tuned WAVs should suffer from the same thing.
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dscoyne
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 13:23:00
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I would not be doing this in real time. I would be correcting the vocal after the track has been recorded.
So if I understand correctly, if I raise the buffer to 1024 when doing this, it should not have an effect on latency.
Should I leave it there, or lower it back down when I am done pitch correcting with Melodyne? For example, if I then process the track with the V-64 Vocal Strip and/or double it, or apply other effects. And what about further recording?
Thanks.
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paulo
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 13:42:05
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dscoyne
I would not be doing this in real time. I would be correcting the vocal after the track has been recorded.
So if I understand correctly, if I raise the buffer to 1024 when doing this, it should not have an effect on latency.
Should I leave it there, or lower it back down when I am done pitch correcting with Melodyne? For example, if I then process the track with the V-64 Vocal Strip and/or double it, or apply other effects. And what about further recording?
Thanks.
Have you tried just ignoring the message as has been suggested ?
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Larry Jones
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 14:24:02
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dscoyne
I would not be doing this in real time. I would be correcting the vocal after the track has been recorded.
So if I understand correctly, if I raise the buffer to 1024 when doing this, it should not have an effect on latency.
Should I leave it there, or lower it back down when I am done pitch correcting with Melodyne? For example, if I then process the track with the V-64 Vocal Strip and/or double it, or apply other effects. And what about further recording?
Thanks.
Increasing buffer size will increase latency. But if you do it as part of mixing/editing (as opposed to tracking) it won't matter. The ASIO panel is your friend. You don't have to decide on a buffer setting at the beginning and keep it unchanged throughout the project. Lower it when recording soft synths or playing guitar through a simulator, raise it (if necessary) when pitch-correcting later. Or, see how far you can get with Melodyne while ignoring their warning. That can work too. Most of all, have fun.
SONAR Platinum 2017.10 • CbB • Win10 • i7/2600 • 16GB RAM • Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 • NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
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Sanderxpander
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/07 18:04:52
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Latency only affects real-time input from the user. This is an important point that is often overlooked. It will not mess with existing tracks, offline edits or really anything except what you're playing or manipulating in real-time. Even then, a soft synth you're playing will still record the notes at the time you hit the keys rather than the moment you hear the sound.
So you can comfortably up the buffer size/latency for editing even if you plan to track more later at lower settings. Or, yes, you can ignore the warning. I've always done that.
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Kalle Rantaaho
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/08 02:59:25
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Sanderxpander
I've never bothered to up the buffer that much for Melodyne. Truth be told, if you leave a lot of clips "active" (rather than bouncing them down) Sonar seems to eventually get less stable.
I've also experienced increasing instability if I'm "careless" with Melodyne. Leaving an active instance in the Project when closing is a risk to me. I only edit a few bars at a time and bounce them before proceeding.
SONAR PE 8.5.3, Asus P5B, 2,4 Ghz Dual Core, 4 Gb RAM, GF 7300, EMU 1820, Bluetube Pre - Kontakt4, Ozone, Addictive Drums, PSP Mixpack2, Melda Creative Pack, Melodyne Plugin etc. The benefit of being a middle aged amateur is the low number of years of frustration ahead of you.
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river
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Re: Melodyne audio buffer size
2015/06/08 09:30:02
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Sanderxpander
Melodyne's algorithms can shift timing by a few samples as part of its efforts to keep a neutral sound during pitch and timing changes. This is a known "issue". So that could conceivably affect phase coherence although I have to wonder in what kind of situation you'd hear that on vocals. Did you multitrack a backing vocal group with a lot of crosstalk?
This effect, by the way, is separate from ARA integration so using Melodyne externally and then importanting tuned WAVs should suffer from the same thing.
Tracking multiple vocals from the same vocalist through a modular multitrack deck, then importing to X2 for mixing. There is some headphone leakage on a few of the tracks which I know is a source of trouble, but I tend to only push tuning to short of the audible artifact point. I fix timing issues with editing. When I disable the Melodyne for the fx bins, phase returns to normal coherence.
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