Outboard Latency Compensation

[DXMG503]

Looking for a solution to this problem:
If you run two parallel lines in your preset (say an amp plus a DI), and one of them goes to external gear, that channel gains a fair bit of latency and falls behind the 2nd line.

The traditional way to deal with this is adding a 100% wet delay in the chain, but I’m wondering if there are other solutions?

 

[GlennO]

Using a compressor block and adjusting the look ahead time usually works better than a delay since it gives you more time resolution.

 

[elvis]

What's the context where you have independent parallel lines that need to be perfectly synch'd? (in the amp/DI example, you are probably not listening to the DI at the same time?)

I actually see bass players and acoustic players mixing preamps with DI.

 

[elvis]

Looking for a solution to this problem:
If you run two parallel lines in your preset (say an amp plus a DI), and one of them goes to external gear, that channel gains a fair bit of latency and falls behind the 2nd line.

The traditional way to deal with this is adding a 100% wet delay in the chain, but I’m wondering if there are other solutions?

Why not a delay in the DI path?

 

[GlennO]

trying to chase parallel external device sync with small delays seems like folly to me since it takes so little in a preset to throw it out again that wee bit that makes an audible difference.

Compensating for the latency works pretty well, since once you've added a drive/amp block to the preset there is very little you can do that would throw it out of alignment after you've made the adjustment.

 

[DJD100]

Flanger with Mix at 100% effect, and Modulation at 0% works for micro-delays as well.

 

[DXMG503]

Using a compressor block and adjusting the look ahead time usually works better than a delay since it gives you more time resolution.

That’s brilliant. I will give this a try.

 

[DXMG503]

What's the context where you have independent parallel lines (one external) that need to be perfectly synch'd? (in the amp/DI example, you are probably not listening to the DI at the same time?)

Yeah, easy example is with a bass, running an DI and an amp summed together in the preset. If I run the amp line to out 3 to run it through an external effect, or even an external amp, it falls audibly behind the DI which never leaves the digital world.

 

[DXMG503]

Why not a delay in the DI path?

It just seems like overkill in the digital world with so many possibilities, but if all else fails, it will work.

 

[slimefuzz]

It would be handy if there was a dedicated sample accurate latency compensation delay block
that could be used in these cases.
Settings could include known values to match latency in the parallel path for
drive, amp, cab and any combination.