So a session in X3e using a keyboard controller with samples set at 64 using ASIO, playing Roland Groove Synth.
If I had OTHER tracks with plugs...such as Breverb, the latency was too much to play the Roland Groove synth live (or any other VSTi for that matter)...only until I turned off all those plugs (on the other channels) did the latency go away that dropped it below 10ms.
That's correct, right?  The other channels with plugs can delay the live playback of the VSTi as well?  The seems logical as Sonar is processing those other tracks... and then has to keep ALL the tracks aligned....right?   (pulling the live playback of the VSTi along with the other recorded tracks)

Some plugins are not meant to be used while recording, because they either use too much CPU or otherwise induce a bunch of latency to do what they do.
 
I believe Perfect Space and Boost 11 are a couple that are best used for mixing.  There are others, but I have chicken in the oven, so I have to bolt - :)
 
You need to figure out which ones are doing it, and just swap them out for less costly ones, during the recording portion of the project.  Once you begin mixing, you can add those plugins back in, and adjust your ASIO Buffer Size way up - (I set it to 1024 for mixing), and then you should be OK.
 
Bob Bone
 

thanks Bob,...you understand that the plugs were on OTHER channels too...right?  So I'm not going thru them as I'm recording.  They're just in the chain of playback on the other channels.
 
My problem is as I'm recording, I slip into mixing and want to hear certain things on playback while I'm recording new tracks...like reverb on vocals, etc    I kind of track and mix at the same time.  Probably all wrong, but I've done it that way for soooo long now.  Probably started with bouncing tracks on the tape machines.

It does not matter where the plug-ins are in a project, the Plug-in Delay Compensation affects all tracks.

Control E removes all effects.  The mix will sound different (duh) but the latency will be gone w/o having to check each plug in itself.
 
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AT
Control E removes all effects.  The mix will sound different (duh) but the latency will be gone w/o having to check each plug in itself.
 
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BINGO....tip of the thread... THANKS!
Scook... you're always stellar with your replies.  Don't know how you're so consistent with such great replies

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link." A plug-in with lookahead (generally limiters, maximizers, and compressors) will increase the latency by as much as it's looking ahead.
 
You may have one or two "problem child" effects and if you bypass those, you'll have lower latency. Toggle the PDC button to register the change.

AT
Control E removes all effects.  The mix will sound different (duh) but the latency will be gone w/o having to check each plug in itself.
 
@

Well...having to try that, it seems to work on the FX bin.  And you HAVE to hit the two keys together for sure.  However, it doesn't do anything for the FX in the ProChannel....which is where I use a lot of my compression, smidgen of BreVerb, Concrete Limiter, etc
That's a bummer.  I wish it turned off those FX as well.

I also notice CTL + click on enabling a PC module has an interesting effect...in that it turns one PC module off, but in another PC...same type of module, it will do the opposite...or turn it on.  That's really weird.

First, it's E, not ctrl-E.
 
Second, E does turn off the master ProChannel on/off button, which takes all the ProChannel plug-ins out of the picture whether they're enabled individually or not.