ASIO Recording Latency Compensation

All I can tell you is what I have been told. Asio4all should not be used as a final solution for ASIO. It is buggy.

Don't use an onboard sound device. Get a decent external sound card.

Onboard sound cards are OK for playback of media through WMP or YouTube etc or through a mic for Skype but not for low latency audio recording.

For many systems asio4all can create more problems than it solves.

Work out how many individual things you want to record at the same time. If there's only you and you only need to record a guitar and your singing you only need a device with 2 inputs. If you want to record an acoustic drum kit you may need 8 Mics. So work out what you need and what you budget is and get yourself an appropriate audio device. There's a big choice starting from very modest prices.

Isn't this the effect of that you adapt to your own echoed notes and play earlier?
Midi is not delaying a full audio buffer size on input - only output latency.
But daw may be compensating placing clips roundtrip latency earlier - making it to early.
 
Any plugins that introduce latency may also be involved - most common.
 
Also external midi gear will have a response time, not seldom hundreds of samples.
 
A few ways to deal with it:
a) use the Time+ setting for midi to make audio line up
b) try the PDC button on control bar when recording to create vip lane for audio not delayed by loaded plugins latency for record armed track.
c) if external gear - listen locally on what is played, not midi echo through Sonar and then trig external gear.
d) there is also a setting in daws whether to use system time or midi time generated by midi interface.
In Sonar variable IgnoreMidiInTimeStamps in TTSSEQ.INI set this. It's not midi clock, but if arriving midi events are timestamped according to system time in computer, or according to what midi interface provide. Search help and read up on what it does.
 
just a bunch of ideas....

You are recording MIDI, not audio. MIDI is not audio.

Therefore audio settings, audio drivers etc. are not the problem. Altering the audio driver or it's manual offset etc. will make no difference because MIDI is not audio.

Well, it might make a differemce, but only if the audio latency is so bad you're over-compensating for it by playing early, and Sonar puts the MIDI notes when you pressed the key, not when the sound emerged from the speakers.

In which case the answer is to get the audio latency down, so you can actually play in time.

charlyg
Frankly I find best practice to be one at a time. I have no need for more inputs. Out of all I tested, my fave is the 2i2.

What do you think about Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 in comparison with 2i2?

mettelus
Have you tried the other driver modes? If only recording MIDI and playing audio, you should be able to, but I have noticed issues with WDM latency in the past. Have you tried WASAPI or MME?

Yes, none of them do a correct "compensation", ie, I mute the instrument sound of the track that I'm recording to listen only the metronome (midi click) to be sure that it's the exact beat, on exact time. But with all modes (WASAPI, MME, WDM or ASIO) the recorded midi note is shifted a little to the left.

charlyg
Just to be clear, it is not a new sound CARD you need, but an I/O computer interface. They can be had at most any price range. Focusrite, Tascam, Presonus, etc etc etc, all have entry level(but not entry level specs) products. I have used iTrack Solo, Scarlett solo and 2i2, Tascam 2x2, and even Line 6, and all were fine and between $50 and  $150. You can find them used for even less. Well worth a few less lattes, beers, cigarettes or whatever.
 
There are two contributing musicians to my projects so I can record only two at a time. Frankly I find best practice to be one at a time. I have no need for more inputs. Out of all I tested, my fave is the 2i2.

I appreciate your tip. I'm pretty tendentious to buy 2i2. But my focus is not the external audio capture, but the MIDI production based on samplers, mainly using Kontakt.
Thus, until now, my ridiculously old Soundblaster sound card has solved the problem. My only problem with it is the high latency.
Could you tell me what the real gain I would have in reducing latency using Sonar and Kontakt with 2i2? Or any other advantages?