Reducing MIDI latency when recording.

mwd

mwd

Power User
I have a Yamaha MOX keyboard with a built in audio interface. Utilizing this keyboard I can monitor song from DAW and play keyboard and it is effective in reducing latency using the keyboards audio interface.

Using my Apollo for the audio interface the other night for monitoring. I played the keyboard more as a controller with a plug in inserted in a software track in Logic X. The latency was horrible. Very spongy.

Are there any steps I can take to reduce this spongy delay or is it inherent to recording MIDI with a channel plugin. Is this a case where I should have ‘enabled’ software monitoring?
 
The way I look at it...
Recording MIDI
and playing/recording a virtual instrument are NOT the same thing.

My advice and something I've done for numerous reasons over the years at times... not all the time- sometimes...

Record the midi- edit/sequence/do it right- get it edited and perfect- whatever...
THEN- run it through the virtual instrument and record that track- with no hands on the keyboard.

Then the computer can compensate and sync it better- overall will record tighter

If you're- recording midi- then putting that midi through an instrument and recording that- it's a little complicated/delayed-

When you're just playing back midi and recording an instrument- the computer can look ahead in the future because it's already recorded- if you're playing it live it can't do that.

Worst case for me is I have to perform the damper pedal live- so the computer plays all the notes through my keyboard i already did and i just hold down the pedal when needed.
 
I agree with your process and that is how I usually work but that is with my Yamaha which has internal sounds to monitor with. I'm about to get a Kontrol S25 for desktop use and, unless I'm mistaken, it is only a MIDI controller with no internal sounds. So I would have to monitor with some virtual instrument and I am guessing I will encounter this spongy latency.
 
Try turning your buffer size down for the Apollo. Smaller buffer gives less latency but requires better real time system performance to keep up with the small buffer. You might even have to bounce down the rest of the project to a single temporary backing track with no other plugins running while you record the keyboard track to be able to use a small enough buffer size. You can also try using a smaller or less taxing but similar sounding virtual instrument just for the MIDI capture as well. Once you have captured a MIDI performance you like, you can then go back to the full project and better plugins and virtual instruments at higher buffer settings where playback latency doesn't matter.
 
I have an apollo too and don't find it that bad...

I'm also doing things the right way- I have an 8 core processor - with all 8/90% cpu power dedicated to protools

Also- I have a SSD for OS- but more importantly all my virtual instruments/library/etc are on another SSD with just samples on it- then record to a third HDD

And Whatever max ram is- 32gb?

All of those is really what makes virtual instruments thrive- it gets them up fast- and then there's enough ram to keep everything handy- so latency is minimal
 
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