Latency/Delay is KILLING ME.

Question

Level 1

0 points

Latency/Delay is KILLING ME.

So for some time I've been having some serious problems with latency/delay issues and it has finally left my computer basically worthless for recording music. There has always been some delay, but it was never too difficult to just line up the regions where they needed to be in relation to the metronome or other instruments, but Garageband has now taken to trying to speed up in the middle of recording. So sometimes the beginning of an audio clip will be at the right speed but it will speed up a little into it and cause it to change pitch, which is how I know it's not just a mistake by the musician. This renders the clip worthless. And it's beginning to do this every time. I need help. Any ideas? Thank you so much.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo and 2 GB RAM

Posted on Jun 21, 2008 8:12 PM

Reply

Answer 1

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Jun 22, 2008 7:20 AM in response to burritohead

I don't think you have a latency problem. Latency is when the monitor sound is played after your recorded track(s). If your track are not lining up or changing speed it sounds like a tempo issue. This usually happens if you change tempo after a project has started.

Reply

Answer 2

burritohead Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 22, 2008 7:28 AM in response to burritohead

Alright, that sounds plausible. I'm working on a song right now where this has been happening more than ever, do you think that if I copied the regions into a new project where I have the tempo right from the beginning anything new that I record will stop doing this?

Thanks for your help!

Reply

Answer 3

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Jun 22, 2008 8:00 AM in response to burritohead

This depends how many track are at the right tempo and how many are off. If it's just a couple of tracks you could export them one by one to a different project or audio editor adjust the tempo and bring it back to the project. But it won't be real easy unless you know how many bpm they are off.

Reply

Answer 4

burritohead Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 22, 2008 8:50 AM in response to burritohead

I tried copying the regions into a new project with the tempo set right from the beginning to start recording from there but everything copied at different speeds for some reason and now when I try to just go and play the original project, even the things that had recorded at the right speed are all playing at different speeds and it is just an awful mess. I guess there's just something seriously wrong with my computer or my garageband. I'd rather not have to just leave the song the way it is and call it "experimental" or something but I'm not sure what else to do. We're going to try to start over with the song on my friend's Dell and we'll see what happens I guess. I'm also mixing an album I just recorded of a friend of mine and I'm really scared to see what happens when I open those projects. If anyone has any suggestions that would be great, but I'm guessing it's a lost cause at this point. And I haven't adjusted that tempo since we started recording. So yeah. Anyone had similar problems?

Message was edited by: burritohead

Reply

Answer 5

Kurt Weber

Level 6

13,969 points

Jun 22, 2008 6:34 PM in response to burritohead

It is near to impossible to record into one session and paste pieces into a new one. Even a small discrepancy could mess off your timing.

It is better to record one large session with multiple tracks. Even on my G4 iBook I have done up to 20 tracks without difficulty. Some pointers:

1. If timing is exact through the song use a drum loop as a click track. You can use a metronome but a drum loop helps you 'get in the groove.' When all track are done you can delete or mute the click track.

2. Record dry (no effects) so your timing can be exact. Delays and reverb can throw off your timing as well as be a strain on your processor if They are activated for many tracks. Some effects are heavy processor hitters

3. Watch your playhead (the moving triangle) as you record. If it is always turning orange or red you are pushing your processor. It should remain white.

MacBooks and iBooks have special energy saver settings that drastically effect Garageband performance. Make sure your energy saver is not set to the 'best battery life' setting. You need the high performance setting to get the best from Garageband which is a processor hogging app.

Other ideas to maximize performance:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=GarageBand/4.0/en/6567.html

Kurt

Reply