Instrument Track Commit results in huge audio delay

[Carl Kolchak]

I know we'd all rather have fixes, than workarounds - and I'd be interested to hear how other DAW's compensate for external hardware MIDI modules.

Back when MIDI modules / synths / samplers were the only practical option - when there were no, or very few V.I.'s, it was just one of life's headaches that MIDI had a degree of slop, and that each manufacturers products had their own unique amount of latency.

The user had to measure each units MIDI latency (and keep a record of it), and figure out Pro Tools MIDI offsets for each buffer size.

I'm not sure how Pro Tools (or any other DAW) can automatically figure out the unique MIDI latency of a particular external hardware unit. Maybe some do, but I genuinely don't know how that would happen.

So the workaround I've always used is to have 4 short 1/4 notes, triggering short percussive notes from the external MIDI device, two bars before the actual musical passage.

Then when I come to actually record the external source as an audio file, I can align those short quarter notes with the Grid, bringing the whole piece back in sync (and showing if there is unacceptable MIDI slop - which might require a second pass at a different buffer setting).


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[ChuckS]

For external, one thing is that MIDI Thru should not be compensated while recording. While recording MIDI in DP with external devices, there is no delay for the live performance regardless of the audio buffer setting. As far as compensating for the external device itself, that is another question where MIDI offset would be the right choice. Some of the old devices add a significant delay via their internal processing.

[XJENSEN]

Originally Posted by del cosmos

I can hear you!

But this problem has always been present in Protools.

Most DAWs have automatic delay compensation on their midi playback, Protools don't.

Every time I use an EXTERNAL synth, if I sequence it on Protools, It will always play back out of sync against your recorded audio, even more if you use plug ins in your session.

Avid knows about this, and their solution to this problem was the "midi offset" preference which you can set per instrument or globally.

This is a PITA because that number will vary depending on which plug ins you have on your session.


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Originally Posted by lesbrunn

Exactly. One would expect HD to compensate for external delays even if Vanilla doesn't, but apparently even this is too much to ask. It becomes worse when you use more than one external synth or sound module, because then they would have different delays, and the global offset wouldn't work. You'd have to compensate manually per track.

I quote directly from the Pro Tools Reference Guide v12.7, page 123, about Delay Compensation for External Devices Options:

MIDI Notes and Controllers
When selected, Pro Tools applies Delay Compensation to MIDI notes and MIDI controller data. This is useful when monitoring playback or when recording in- put from external MIDI devices.

This definitely indicates that Protools should be properly compensating for external MIDI instruments (less the inherent instrument-specific delays, of course) Now, am I interpreting this completely wrong or am I just turning plain analphabetic? It is clear that in my setup, Protools is not at all compensating for delays with external MIDI instruments. This is the point where I'm starting to get really confused.

[john1192]

Originally Posted by XJENSEN

I quote directly from the Pro Tools Reference Guide v12.7, page 123, about Delay Compensation for External Devices Options:

MIDI Notes and Controllers
When selected, Pro Tools applies Delay Compensation to MIDI notes and MIDI controller data. This is useful when monitoring playback or when recording in- put from external MIDI devices.

This definitely indicates that Protools should be properly compensating for external MIDI instruments (less the inherent instrument-specific delays, of course) Now, am I interpreting this completely wrong or am I just turning plain analphabetic? It is clear that in my setup, Protools is not at all compensating for delays with external MIDI instruments. This is the point where I'm starting to get really confused.

on a side note sort of ... is there anything with the Nord E5D that could be a component in this ?? just thinking out loud for a moment .. please just disregard this if you have been down this road .. trying to to derail but not leave any stones unturned ...