I tried this with the plug-in inserted in the track and the echo button on - it works but the latency issue makes it impossible to work with. What exactly do I have to do to play through a plug (such that I'm not experiencing any latency) and record what I'm hearing in Sonar? Should I be playing the plug as a standalone? Thanks - rev MOTU Traveler Interface, Win 7 Ult, Sonar 8.5.22, Intel Quad 3.3, 12 RAM

OK, I got rid of the echo by muting the input track in the Cuemix control software that comes with the MOTU Interface - but I still have a latency delay. My latency slider is at the Fast-est end and the manual latency offset is correct. Any idea?

Latency is unavoidable. All you can hope for is to reduce it to a point where it's no longer a distraction. Depending on the instrument, 5 to 10 milliseconds is usually acceptable.

Most of the latency is caused by buffering data coming in and going out of the computer. It takes a finite amount of time to fill a buffer, based on your sample rate, which determines how fast data is moving, and the size of the buffer. Raising the sample rate therefore reduces latency, as does making the buffers smaller. On top of that, many plugins add their own latency to the total.

So to get the latency down low, you can do any of the following:
- reduce buffer sizes
- increase the sample rate
- avoid using high-latency plugins

Of course, there's always a catch-22. If latency is reduced too much, your CPU won't have enough time to process data, and you'll get dropouts. So there's always a limit to how low you can get your latency before the computer runs out of steam.

Raising the sample rate therefore reduces latency,


Hey Dave, Now as I will always believe anything you say cause it's always been bang on,,, but I'm pondering this one. To me if I increased my sample rate then that is way more data per millisecond being processed... right?? just wonderin..  


I find I have to stay at 44.1 and I get 7ms RTL but it I set it to 48 it goes up to 12 ms RTL. 

Dave - I was about to say the same thing as Cactus. Raising the sample rate appears to be going the wrong way, more work, more data, more overhead required(?). Everything else I read on this subject confirms your post, there are three steps. 1) Enable monitoring with the echo button 2) Get rid of the doubling by muting that track in your sound card software 3) Reduce latency to minimize the delay I think I have an acceptable result now but it's worth noting that Line 6 has a true zero latency interface but it only works with POD Farm. 'Only' isn't that bad because POD Farm isn't bad and you get v2.0 when you buy the hardware. The cheapest zero latency hardware from Line 6 is $99.

Another thing! I always format my posts for readability with carriage returns, bullet points, etc but as soon as I post them, everything wraps from margin to margin. I notice that you guys are able to format your messages - what's the secret!? rev

Use a browser other than updated Firefox.
The forum software isn't Firefox-friendly.
I personally use Firefox along with the IE-Tab add-on.

Yes, but why deal with Firefox and all its quirks and slowness. Chrome is by far the best. 

I've had to switch to Chrome. I found half the web sites I use started going weird in FF. I even tried installing FF 3.5 and nothing will work. Used to be a good little browser. Chrome seems stable, just hate the Google is taking over the internet idea... 

So still curious about the Sample rate ... Dave??