Pim M.

Q: Suddenly high latency

First of all: I realise there are a lot of topics regarding latency in MainStage, but excactly for that reason it's very hard to find a topic about the issues i'm experiencing. I really hope someone can help me. (I'm not a native English speaker, I hope I can explain everything clearly).

 

My setup

Macbook Pro 13" 2010 (C2D 2.4Ghz), 8GB RAM

Mainstage 3.0.3

Saffire Pro 14 (Firewire)

Kurzweil PC3x

Kurzweil PC361

 

Within MainStage I use some software synths, but most of the time it's just the audio of my two Kurzweil synths going into MainStage and than immediately to the output. One synth is connected via analog jack input, the other one with S/PDIF. I use MainStage to send Midi program changes to my synths and to be able to make 'mixing' presets for every song/preset.

 

The issue

During my latest gig I suddenly noticed a very heavy input latency while playing my synth. It was near the end of the gig, after playing nearly 2,5 hours. The strange thing is: it was a patch with only 1 audio input routed to the output. No heavy synths running on my macbook, nothing that could possibly cause a high CPU load or fill my memory. Restarting Mainstage solved the issue.

 

My question is: do you think this is a software issue, related to my Macbook or related to my audio interface? I am thinking about buying a new macbook or a new audio interface, but it only makes sense if i can be sure it fixes the problem.

 

Any help will be highly appreciated!

MainStage, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2), Saffire Pro 14, Macbook Pro 13" 201

Posted on Apr 29, 2014 3:11 AM

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Q: Suddenly high latency

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  • by Bruno Filipe,

    Bruno Filipe Bruno Filipe Jun 27, 2014 3:46 AM in response to jbule
    Level 2 (199 points)
    Jun 27, 2014 3:46 AM in response to jbule

    Hi jbule,

     

    don´t hesitate to ask

     

    Don´t know if it´s the focusrite. I have the i/o pro 26 and don´t get that (but I use Motu today).

     

    Yes I can test it - send to brunofilipe.bm@gmail.com

     

    Don´t undestand your last question. You want the MS3 but not that version (3.0.3)? Want another?

     

    I know it can be really frustrating have all this erros/bugs, but I can say is that MS is one BIG programa to use live.

  • by Joe H Free,

    Joe H Free Joe H Free Jun 28, 2014 4:15 PM in response to Pim M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 28, 2014 4:15 PM in response to Pim M.

    I noticed this issue recently too.  I'm running 3.0.3 with a 17" MacBook Pro (early 2011).  It plays fine for my first set, but if I leave it open for about an hour and come back later, it has about a second of latency.  Restarting the app fixes the issue.  I have learned to quit the app when I walk off stage and then restart it for the next set.

     

    --Joe

  • by jbule,

    jbule jbule Jun 29, 2014 10:08 AM in response to Joe H Free
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 29, 2014 10:08 AM in response to Joe H Free

    Hi Joe,

    Yes me too but that's not a real solution for me because often this latency happens before my first set finish and when i restart MS, this problem happens sometimes faster and faster, like every 15mns.

    Important question: what is your audio interface please? Because i was thinking it's a conflict with Focusrite products (i tried with a liquid saffire 56 too) and was trying to find another brand to test but now i really don't know...

    Thanks,

     

    jbule

  • by Joe H Free,

    Joe H Free Joe H Free Jun 29, 2014 10:40 AM in response to jbule
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 29, 2014 10:40 AM in response to jbule

    jbule,

     

    I completely agree; it is not a solution at all!  I just had the same problem where restarting the app fixed it for about a minute and then it glitched again in the middle of the first song.  Had to restart again.

     

    One thing I didn't mention is that I'm running the OS-X 10.10 Yosemite beta.  I didn't have this problem before I updated my OS.  I play around with app development too, so I tried it out.  My app development is just for fun though, so I was thinking about reverting to Mavericks in hopes that the Mainstage latency problem would go away...  I'm guessing you're running Mavericks?

     

    My my audio interface is the Steinberg UR-22:  https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/audio_interfaces/ur_serie/modelle/ur22.htm l

    -Joe

  • by jbule,

    jbule jbule Jun 29, 2014 12:40 PM in response to Joe H Free
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 29, 2014 12:40 PM in response to Joe H Free

    Joe,

     

    Really interesting. So it looks to come from the software, not my audio interface, i don't know if it's a good or a bad news . It's a shame because i really like MS but it's not stable so not professional like it pretends to be for live playing.

    Yes i m using Mavericks (10.9.3 version) so it's strange that you didn't have this problem before with mavericks too.

    And you are using an usb port and i m using a thunderbolt port with a firewire adapter so it doesn't come from a problem of port or adapter either.

    For info, i just checked Appstore and there is the MS 3.0.4 update available since one or two days! I don't believe in a miracle but i m gonna test tomorrow and let you know the result.


    jbule

  • by aerol,

    aerol aerol Jul 1, 2014 5:47 PM in response to jbule
    Level 3 (551 points)
    iOS Apps
    Jul 1, 2014 5:47 PM in response to jbule

    I'm cutting to the end of the thread without reading all details, but it seems that all posts involve using an external audio device. Has any tried to reproduce this issue (not at a show obviously) using built-in audio just to see if it occurs there too?

  • by felakuti,

    felakuti felakuti Jul 28, 2014 3:10 PM in response to Pim M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 28, 2014 3:10 PM in response to Pim M.

    This has happend to me several times in front of 1000s of people!

    Only thing to do is to restart mainstage, which takes half a song!

     

    It only affects my audio channels. I use many software synths and they are not affected by latency, so it must be incoming audio that is the problem

    Audio device: Focusrite saffire pro 40

    Mainstage version 3.0.4

  • by felakuti,

    felakuti felakuti Jul 28, 2014 3:30 PM in response to felakuti
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 28, 2014 3:30 PM in response to felakuti

    Have to add that the LEDs on my interface react without latency on incoming audio when the problem has occurred.

    I also have the I/O Safety buffer enabled. Will try to have it disabled next time. Maybe there's a bug where Mainstage suddenly thinks it's very unsafe.

  • by CCTM,

    CCTM CCTM Jul 29, 2014 12:32 AM in response to felakuti
    Level 6 (10,914 points)
    Jul 29, 2014 12:32 AM in response to felakuti

    Hi

     

    Given that you all seem to be having problems when using a Focusrite interface, have you contacted Focusrite themselves to see if it is a known issue?

     

    Just a thought :-)

     

     

    CCT

  • by felakuti,

    felakuti felakuti Jul 29, 2014 12:50 AM in response to CCTM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 29, 2014 12:50 AM in response to CCTM

    Thought about that too but there is one Steinberg UR-22 involved here as well…

  • by yfrulla,

    yfrulla yfrulla Aug 4, 2014 8:41 AM in response to Pim M.
    Level 1 (47 points)
    Audio
    Aug 4, 2014 8:41 AM in response to Pim M.

    hello !

     

    i experienced sort of the same " latency increase " randomly a few times when I am in my studio and using my Scarlett 18i8 by Focusrite but never with my Echo 2 audio interface when i play live .

    I suspect an issue with the firmware or midi issue of the Focusrite products . You mentioned the problem with Saphire which is also a Focusrite product .

    The only way to reset this was to quit MainStage and restart the app .

    If you are using the midi port of the sapphire then that might also be the issue as I use the midi port on my Scarlett audio interface .

    When i work live with MainStage , i use a Motu FastLane midi to USB interface .Never had a problem .

     

    best regards

  • by andywyte,

    andywyte andywyte Aug 23, 2014 12:18 PM in response to Pim M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 23, 2014 12:18 PM in response to Pim M.

    I've recently been having the same "latency-after-a-few-hours" issue with 25+ patches of Lush101, Kontakt 5 and Sylenth patches.  I was using MainStage 2 then thought that going to MainStage 3 would remedy the problem.  I've also moved all my sample libraries to an external hard drive (lacie rugged 500Gb 7400 rpm) and still the same.  This problem started around the same time that I purchased an external audio interface (UR44) rather than using the Core Audio.  Next gig is in a few days.  I'm going to run the Core Audio (1/8 out...not the best sound quality) rather than use the UR44.

     

    Restarting the app fixes the issue but certainly isn't a viable solution.

     

    MBP 13" 2011

    Steinberg UR44

    Roland RD64

    Hammond XK-1

    Neo Ventilator

  • by Pim M.,

    Pim M. Pim M. Sep 2, 2014 3:21 AM in response to Pim M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 2, 2014 3:21 AM in response to Pim M.

    The problem seems to happen with either Focusrite or Steinberg interfaces.


    For me, the problem didn't appear for a couple of gigs but it happened to me last saturday. I'm glad I checked if everything worked correctly just after the break, so I could restart MainStage before we started playing. However, with some important gigs coming I'm now considering buying a new interface. Not really happy with spending a lot of money, but I am considering a MOTU or RME interface now.

     

    I know we can't really confirm this, but so far nobody here has had this strange problem with an interface NOT from Focusrite or Steinberg, right?

  • by andywyte,

    andywyte andywyte Sep 2, 2014 4:45 AM in response to Pim M.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 2, 2014 4:45 AM in response to Pim M.

    For me, it's a random issue.  I just did a gig this past Saturday and had Mainstage 3 running for 6 hours (started at sound check and didn't close the app until the end of the gig) and NO LATENCY!  My MBP even ran on battery power for about 2 hours before I noticed that the power adaptor was unplugged.

     

    Seems to be an intermittent problem.  The worst kind.

     

    I play 2-3 times a week so I'll keep a log of what I did before accessing Mainstage 3.   If the problem resurfaces, maybe I can figure out what's causing it.

     

    Cheers

  • by Wonkaah,

    Wonkaah Wonkaah Sep 16, 2014 3:57 AM in response to andywyte
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2014 3:57 AM in response to andywyte

    In my case sometimes it is the midi-interface causing a delay (E-mu X11). I get an annoying 10 sec delay. Just reconnecting the device solves the issue.

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