New user, MIDI latency question

Orac · Post by **Orac** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:14 pm

Hi All,

Whilst waiting for my R3 to arrive off eBay, I've been reading the manual and scouring these forums for useful info to get me started. One thing I'm uncertain about concerns MIDI latency. I intend to hook the R3 up to my PC for use with Cakewalk Sonar but am wondering if by using the USB connection will I have lower latency than if I used the MIDI I/O on my soundcard (a Delta AP192). I have a MIDI controller keyboard (Emu X-Board) and have been using the ASIO drivers that came with it and can get the latency down to about 5-6ms. Can I expect a similar figure from the R3? Does anyone have any pros/cons to using USB-MIDI only, or should I use the MIDI I/O?

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:51 pm

The USB connection provides a MIDI connection only, no audio connection. I take it you know what MIDI does as opposed to an audio connection?

There isn't usually any problem with MIDI latency - it is always the audio domain that has trouble. ASIO drivers are for synchronised audio connections. I expect if the Xboard connects only through USB, then the asio audio driver connection lets you get the sounds that it has built in straight to the computer over USB?
That would be audio-over-USB, which the R3 doesn't do. In order to get sound from the R3 you would have to connect its main outputs to inputs on your soundcard or other audio interface.

the USB connection is faster than a normal MIDI connection though so can handle faster throughput and is therefore great when using it with the software editor.

Its difficult to answer your question fully because I don't think you quite know what you're asking about.

kanthos · Post by **kanthos** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 1:36 pm

MIDI-over-USB vs. standard MIDI is irrelevant; use whatever is cheapest/most convenient/you already have cables for.

X-Trade: I'm pretty sure the Xboard is just a controller, so as far as ASIO goes, that'd only be an issue with the output from his virtual instruments and/or DAW.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:58 pm

kanthos wrote:MIDI-over-USB vs. standard MIDI is irrelevant; use whatever is cheapest/most convenient/you already have cables for.

X-Trade: I'm pretty sure the Xboard is just a controller, so as far as ASIO goes, that'd only be an issue with the output from his virtual instruments and/or DAW.

Yes, after looking further into it, it appears so, however I think I was thrown by the mention of sound packs as a 'virtual sound module'.

the USB-MIDI is faster and is therefore preferable if you are going to do a write or recieve all in the editor for example. The data goes through a lot quicker. Plus it doesn't use up your existing MIDI ports.

Also the suggestion of it coming with and using its ASIO drivers makes no sense as that wouldn't be for MIDI... that was confusing.

ASIO drivers are for audio output, so would be for your audio/sound card or external audio interface if you had one. That is where latency problems lie.

Orac · Post by **Orac** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:32 pm

Thanks for the advice guys.

X-Trade: I realise that MIDI is strictly data, not audio but I hadn't really understood what the ASIO drivers (which came with the sound card) were actually for, so thanks for pointing that out.

kanthos: You are correct, the Xboard is just a MIDI controller, no sounds.

What I have been doing is recording MIDI tracks using the Xboard and playing them through a VSTi in Sonar. I would like to do the same thing, but output the MIDI to the R3 and get some 'real' sounds to record back into the PC via the line input.

benef · Post by **benef** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 8:45 am

A way to record the R3 sounds (the sounds coming from the R3) directly into a recording program is to utilize the "Line-In" of your sound card.

There exists cords that are "Stereo In" (R & L, yellow and orange in this case) - "Mini Out" (the size that fits the standard sound card's 'Line In' input).
I can tell that the line in/sound card makes a difference in the recording quality (I personally get some "blips", which is not good)......... but it's sure one hell of a lot cheaper than a proper recording device.

axxim · Post by **axxim** » Sun Feb 14, 2010 11:43 pm

benef wrote:A way to record the R3 sounds (the sounds coming from the R3) directly into a recording program is to utilize the "Line-In" of your sound card.

There exists cords that are "Stereo In" (R & L, yellow and orange in this case) - "Mini Out" (the size that fits the standard sound card's 'Line In' input).
I can tell that the line in/sound card makes a difference in the recording quality (I personally get some "blips", which is not good)......... but it's sure one hell of a lot cheaper than a proper recording device.

The "blips" may be interferences from the USB interface. To check this, unplug the USB cable from your R3/Radias and play or record it to check if the blips are gone. If any case, it is convenient to set the output of your synth near to maximum and then adjust the line in of your soundcard. Also set all unused inputs of your soundcard (mic, phone, aux, etc) to zero level. Doing this, you get a chance to minimize interferences.