How Do You Solve Latency Problems?

[chillowack]

I'm recording a vocal track right now, and I'm "doubling" it to give it more presence. I understand that the process of converting analog to digital is causing a slight delay, so that the second voice is slightly behind the first.

What do you do when this happens? Is there a way to sync up the two voices?

Thanks.

[Penniesfromheaven]

Audacity explicatly says that there are latency problems in thier software, and that there is really nothing that can be done about it. That is why, perhaps, it doesnt sell well. (or why they have to give it away free?).

[ryanoliver]

The quick fix would be to just grab your double and line it up by hand. We've all nudged a double or harmony here, no shame in it. There is a progam called Vocalign. It analyzes your lead line and matches your double by using time stretching so that it lines up perfectly. It's a time consuming process reserved for the exceptionaly anal.

[Penniesfromheaven]

If I'm not mistaken, the actual problem is that when you record the second vocal track, there is a delay between the playback that you hear and the recording of that second track while it is being monitored and recorded. That is the crux of the latency problem all manufacturers have been, since digital recording came out in the 70"s, battling against. Sony pioneered the technology, but failed to master it. TEAC came along and reinacted what Les Paul did 50 some years before. Now Pro-tools thinks they have it beat (along with a million others); they all have advertized zero latency. Is it true? My test bench says not quite.

what to do!! Post-time alignment, as ryan says. That is your only chance, for now.

[chillowack]

Thanks guys, this was very helpful.

[P.P.T.]

Don' mosst daws have a compensation for that?
Tracktion does.
My recordings line up.

[chillowack]

Originally Posted by P.P.T.

Don' mosst daws have a compensation for that?
Tracktion does.
My recordings line up.

Are you saying your recordings automatically line themselves up, without your having to do anything? So Tracktion just senses the discrepancy and corrects it?

[Geissler]

chillowack, what audio interface are you using? latency mainly a hardware issue, not a software one, so if you're getting high latency changing the program won't change that.

[P.P.T.]

Originally Posted by chillowack

Are you saying your recordings automatically line themselves up, without your having to do anything? So Tracktion just senses the discrepancy and corrects it?

I rarely record audio, but do a lot of midi overdubbing. However, I have not recorded anything in months and can't do any tests right now because I dislocated a finger.

I ususlly work at around 10ms and can't remember having to line things up.
I have done fairly comlex things including drum tracks where timing is critical.
I just don't remember needing to line things up.

I do, however, set my latency right in Tracktion, so it knows what it is.
I don't know how other hosts handle this.

You can always sync the tracks by zooming in and lining up the waves if they are out from each other.

[Geissler]

Yeah, unless you have a spectacular ear anything under 20ms is not noticeable.