sonobyte

Hi all! I'm new to these forums but have browsed a few other topics and found that there are quite a few knowledgeable people here, so I'm hoping you all can help me

I recently bought an M-Audio Midisport 2x2 Anniversary Edition MIDI to USB interface so I can use my keyboard controller with my PC. The problem is that no matter what software or settings I use for MIDI input, I cannot get the sound to render in real time with the MIDI event.

In other words, I hit the note, see the light on both the interface and my software go on at the same time, but the sound itself doesn't render until a split second later. It's not very much, but it's more than enough to screw up my timing and playing.

I've updated all my audio and MIDI drivers (using RealTek onboard sound), and have tried it with both Sonar Home Studio XL 7 and Cubase LE 4. In both programs, like I said, I can see the MIDI event and the volume meter blink at the exact same time I hit the key, and my measured latency is 1.7ms, so I know it's not that.

I've changed the sample rate to 48khz as per a recommendation I saw in another thread here, reduced my sample and buffer sizes to the absolute minimum, but no dice.

I'm running a PC with Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit, 8GB of RAM, RealTek onboard sound (which is my best guess as the culprit...).

Thoughts/ideas? Thanks in advance!

jiiteepee

Asio4all is maybe the solution for you.
After installation, just remember set the proper (Asio4All) ASIO driver in Cubase since there ar couple other listed as well.

jiitee

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sonobyte

Thanks for the tip, but I already had it set. I've even messed around with the "Audio Priority" settings bc Cubase's help file said it could affect midi timing, but the result is the same. I'm running the Asio driver at the lowest possible latency and buffer settings, but there is no perceptible difference in the delay, and as I posted above, the response of both Cubase and Sonar's midi event indicators and volume meters is instantaneous, but not the actual sound.

jiiteepee

Are you using VSTi synth or General MIDI synth?

What is the lowest possible latency value you mentioned?

jiitee

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dj_stick

the problem is not a MIDI one here, as you say that the software receives the MIDI information instantly, but one with audio - sounds like a latency issue - but at 1.7ms you shouldn't hear such a delay

try another soft-synth, or even just another patch on the same synth to see if that's an issue, however I have a feeling the problem could be the fact that you're using a built in soundcard - latency performance on those, even with Asio4All, is pretty poor

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sonobyte

@jiiteepee: The problem happens with either VSTi synths or General MIDI. Lowest latency is 1.7ms.

@dj_stick: This has been my thought as well. Since the MIDI signal has to hit the USB bus and general system processes before hitting the sound card (which I know isn't designed for live streaming, doesn't have builtin ASIO support, etc.), it's understandable that there's a delay. I've just been hoping that there might be another solution that wouldn't involve spending more $$ to solve.

That said, what sound cards out there are good for music recording? Everything these days is geared toward gamers, so I don't even know where to begin.

Thanks again for all the help!

brainless_beginner

if u have a pci slot begin with sb live 5.1. very old but very cheap. for me it handles guitar rig 2 with 4ms latency(using special driver) w/o glitches and underruns, and allows quite comfortable playing.