Latency using digital piano?

[herminga123]

I am new to the whole software recording world and am considering buying a new imac (27", i5, 8 gb ram) for recording using Logic. I will be using a lot of piano (88 keys, weighted, digital piano - Korg SG pro X) and have been doing some research online and heard about latency. Do I need to worry about this? Thanks!!

[mojobone]

Hmmm, I'd say the answer is a qualified "no". If you're entirely happy with the sound and response of your Korg, you can monitor the sound of your keyboard on its way into the computer, so the effective latency is zero, so long as you interface allows you to monitor the incoming audio only. (or blended with your DAW's output, when overdubbing) On the other hand, hardware instruments haven't kept pace with developments on the software side, due to manufacturing concerns. (software instruments don't have to wait for tooling and dies to catch up) Upshot? You don't need to worry about latency, but you may need to deal with it.

[herminga123]

Thanks for your help. As long as I'm able to monitor the incoming signal, I should be fine. What if I want to use my keyboard as a controller to take advantage of software instruments?

[mazz]

There is latency inherent in every digital audio system. How much depends on a variety of things including speed of your processor and the buffer size. Smaller buffer sizes give lower latencies but at the cost of higher stress on your processor.

Also, the more instruments you use, the harder you push your computer, which may require you to turn some off or turn them into audio on order to keep a low latency buffer size.

Part of all this is also how much latency you can tolerate. If you're 10 or 15 feet from your guitar player onstage, the laws of physics pretty much guarantee some latency there as well!! In fact, that amount of latency might be more than in your computer system!!

Have fun!

Mazz

[elser]

Welcome to the empowering, frustrating, inspiring, hair raising world of digital audio.

In order to deal with latency in Logic get familiar with this window. Under the 'Logic Pro' menu scroll down to 'Preferences' and then select 'Audio'. In the Audio Preferences window you will see another pull down menu called 'I/O Buffer Size', this is where you adjust latency. As Mojo pointed out, if you are using external sounds from your midi piano, you can listen to the sounds as they go into the computer, consequently you will have no latency. But if you use software instruments, the EXS24 for example, then you will encounter latency, and you can determine how much by adjusting the 'I/O Buffer Size'. A setting of either 64 or 128 should keep you happy.

As your song evolves you may find your computer struggling to play back all the parts. In this case if you raise the I/O Buffer Size to 512 or 1028 your computer will play back everything better but you will have more latency when recording. Myself and I think most others adjust the buffer size according to whether we are recording more parts or mixing and editing.

Be sure to read up on the 'Freeze' function as well, it will help your computer deal better with complex arrangements.

Now try to make some great music!

[Fullertime]

If you use an outboard or "hardware" keyboard like your Korg, and you are planning on using the sounds from it instead of a Virtual Keyboard, you will experience NO latency. You can simple route your keyboard alongside your computer until it's time to "dump" it to a final print or track into computer.

If you plan on using a software based piano samle ten your latency will be determined
by your audio card settings.

You can PM me if you would like me to walk you through it in detail.

Good Luck

Fuller

[herminga123]

Thank you so much for the advice! So, is this just a fact of life when dealing with a digital piano/controller in the computer-recording world? Regardless if you have an imac or mac pro? I am going to be doing pretty basic recording (broadcast quality of course!!) with vocals, my digital piano, drum kits, strings (not much more than 4 or 5 instruments per song - for the drums, strings, and anything else I would use the software instruments). I am planning on buying an imac (27", i5, 8 gig ram, 1 TB HD)...will this do the job? Which interface would you recommend?

Herm

[Fullertime]

I use an iMac 2.66 and it works fine. I use Digital Performer with a MoTu 896 and it allows me to set the "buffer" lower(256) which decreases latency to almost non-noticeable. However once I finish programming the VI, I "bounce" or "render" it to an audio file to free up RAM and keep the system at a healthy load.

Also, once I start mixing, I set the buffer higher(around 1024) to use lots of plug ins.

MOTU just releasd a new piece called the "MicroBook" that sells for $249 but has awesome features! I may buy 1 for traveling.

Good luck

[herminga123]

Thanks, again, Fullertime! I was just doing some reading online about the i5 and i7 processors in the imac. It seems like there is a lot of varying information out there. Is there any advantage of going with an i7 with doing projects of no more than 10 tracks? Do i need the fastest processor available when playing pretty intense piano (i.e. heavy chords, etc, on my digital piano)?

[Fullertime]

As far as the processors go, the bottom line is this... with Mac's today( I know very little about PC's)... they are all so darn good & fast that even the entry level mac mini's can accommodate what used to be impossible as far as simple recordings.

I think if you are doing "professional" level productions then obviously you want the latest & greatest processor and the MAX memory available, but even that changes every 2 years!!!

Having said that, when it comes to recording audio tracks, you want fast processing, partitioned Hard Drives and a nice Firewire Interface.

If you find yourself(like me) using a TON of Virtual Instruments, then you want to make sure you have Maximum RAM potential. For example I wouldn't by a iBook that maxes out at 4 gigs. I would want maybe a newer iMac that lets you use 8gigs or if you're rich, a MACPro that allows for 32 Gigs!!! (wow... that's a lot of RAM)

Either way, 10 tracks of audio and a Virtual Piano can run no problem on even my old iBook Power PC with no Glitches. So I think you'll be fine either way.

If you were going to use 10 or 20 instances of Vienna String Library like some of these other dudes on the forums, then you would be in need of the MacPro.

Remember, no matter what you buy today... you'll probably need a new one in 2 - 3 years so look at it as a short term investment that will hopefully pay itself off with a few TAXI placements in film/TV! $$$

Good Luck

Fuller