I have set my latency using the clicktrack method outlined on the Youtube video. I Ggot my latency perfectly set when I checked using a 2nd clicktrack check. but When I try to record a vocal track to a music track. The delay is just a bad as before I set my latency. What am i doing wrong? I never had this problem when using Cool Edit Pro or Adobe Audition. I’m running Audacity 2.1.3 and Windows Home Premium.
There is no “official” Audacity video.
Even if the videos are for the right Audacity (good to check), nobody gets it right and when we tell them of errors and omissions, nobody wants to go back and correct them. The upshot is very nearly all posted videos have mistakes.
There are two latencies. Recording latency is where you set Audacity so the new track overlays the old track perfectly. That’s what the latency setting in Preferences does. In short form, you play back a rhythm track and record it in overdubbing by jamming your headphones against your microphone. Keep adjusting latency until the new and old tracks perfectly line up.
Machine latency is the time it takes your voice to get into Audacity, turn around and come back out again. Your voice is always “one one computer late” and you’re stuck with it. Software that uses ASIO drivers and software can work around this problem inside the computer, but Audacity doesn’t directly support ASIO because of licensing issues.
The hardware solution is to choose a microphone, mixer or interface that has “zero latency monitoring.” All three of the examples in the Overdubbing tutorial have local monitoring.
Another option is to compile Audacity from the computer code with built-in ASIO support. In addition to the complexity, there are restrictions to using Audacity when you get done.
Since I wrote that, I found the Behringer UM2 microphone USB interface can be used for overdubbing.
Koz
Yes, I know. Nobody uses Apple earbuds for mixing. They were handy and pretty for the photos.
Koz
http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_recording_multi_track_overdubs.html
I wrote the original one. This one’s been revised and updated.
Koz