"Global MIDI Offset" value in preferences

[Jenk2k]

Can anyone direct me to some help with the "Global MIDI Offset" value in preferences? I seem to be having problems with click inconsistencies. I play keyboard drums which have no audible latency yet always seem to be behind the click on playback. Same with real drums.

Also, I notice that when I'm doing a tempo map, I cannot force the tempo change if the tempo change occurs mid measure. Why is this? example....say i'm in 6/8 and only 3 beats are played and then its changed to 4/4. Pro tools forces teh change at the end of the full measure when I go to insert teh next tempo. any tips?

Finally...does anyone know why my Smack! plugin always goes to bypass in low latency mode? I thought it was working last nite in low latency mode, but when I track vocals i have so much latency he can't sing. I thought the whole point was to give the vocalist a realistic verb to give a good vibe while tracking with no latency. Am I missing something here?

[spkguitar]

Can anyone direct me to some help with the "Global MIDI Offset" value in preferences? I seem to be having problems with click inconsistencies. I play keyboard drums which have no audible latency yet always seem to be behind the click on playback. Same with real drums.

Honestly, it sounds like you just have your H/W buffer set too high. When tracking, it is recommended to set it to the lowest value you can. (MIDI offsets can be set by Setup->Preferences, selecting the MIDI tab, and then setting the Global MIDI Playback Offset)

Also, I notice that when I'm doing a tempo map, I cannot force the tempo change if the tempo change occurs mid measure. Why is this? example....say i'm in 6/8 and only 3 beats are played and then its changed to 4/4. Pro tools forces teh change at the end of the full measure when I go to insert the next tempo. any tips?

Think about that very carefully for a sec; What exactly does a time signature signify? Top number is how many beats in a measure, and the bottom is what resolution gets the beat. If you are in 6/8 and only 3 beats are played in the measure before you try to change tempos, then it's not 6/8, is it? Nope, it's 3/8. You can't change time signatures in the middle of a measure, because then the original time signature would not be valid. Get it? To do what you are doing, you would have to first change the time signature at the beginning of the measure to be whatever time signature will give you the results that you are looking for.

Finally...does anyone know why my Smack! plugin always goes to bypass in low latency mode? I thought it was working last nite in low latency mode, but when I track vocals i have so much latency he can't sing. I thought the whole point was to give the vocalist a realistic verb to give a good vibe while tracking with no latency. Am I missing something here?

From the Reference guide:

When Low Latency Monitoring is enabled, any
plug-ins and sends assigned to record-enabled
tracks (routed to Outputs 1–2) are automatically
bypassed, and must remain bypassed. Also,
these tracks will not register on meters for Master
Faders

[Jenk2k]

Man that was the most succinct way my questions could have been answered. I really appreciate it.

I checked my hardware buffer and it's already rather low. I just can't seem to figure out this click issue. Everything sounds off, but it's so subtle. I just feel like the click is off, and I can't explain why. I run windows so I don't have any preferences i could trash, and I just installed pro tools 7.3 fresh and clean. I'm gonna uninstall and reinstall everything and start over.

[spkguitar]

Wait, the click is off? Do you have a multi-core processor? If so, have you applied the Microsoft dual core hotfix for Windows XP? There's a flaw in the operating system that causes havoc with the MIDI clock when using multi-core processors, and the hotfix corrects it.

[Jenk2k]

Nope - I have an AMD 3000+XP.

[spkguitar]

Is your Pro Tools and all other peripheral software installed into the default location? The only other time I've seen MIDI timing errors (on non-multi-core systems) is when Pro Tools is installed into a different location than default.

After that, we would need details about your system, including any other software and plugins you have installed (inlcuding version numbers), and any and all other hardware you are using to be able to help you further.