11r and latency revisited

[derker]

So.... I'm convinced that lowering the latency of the sound could *really* improve the feel of our beloved 11r. I got a chance to A/B my 11r with my buddy's AxeFX (I know, I know...) the other day through a full PA with floor monitors, and the difference in feel due to latency was pretty significant. Tone completely aside, there was a perceivable latency when I plugged into my rig. I could stand farther away from the PA and still feel connected to the tone while playing through the Axe, my 11r felt 'far away' despite standing closer to the speakers.

The PA itself has no digital components, so it shouldn't be adding any latency, and both modelers were plugged in with the same signal path to eliminate variables; i.e. if there was any latency due to the PA, both modelers were equally subject to it.

Now, I'm often a high-gain player (even though I've made patches with all sorts of different tones) and this experience has let me to a possible theory as to why some high gain players have avoided or traded away their 11r...it's not the tone, it's the latency! Palm mutes and fast passages need to feel 'tight', and with the modeling's natural compression already squashing the transients, the additional (however minuscule amount of) latency is enough to affect the player's perception, altering the timing/feel/technique in attempts to compensate. This is less noticeable when timing is less important, such as home noodling where you're sitting right in front of your nearfields at ear level, playing without a backing track, using clean/lower gain tones that still have their transients intact, etc.

I plan on measuring the difference in latency between the two, next time I'm at my buddy's house. I'm sure the difference isn't any more than 2-3ms, which is equal to a few feet of additional distance from the speaker, but I'm sure there are other factors that affect the player psycho acoustically.

Anyone have any thoughts on the subject?