I’m trying to do the following:
Plug in my guitar to the audio interface (focusrite solo v3)
Plug the AI into the computer
Open the audio editor software (audacity)
Apply an effect to a track (distortion)
Hear what I’m playing through my computer speakers (direct input, guitar, with distortion effects applied) without latency/delay
Record what I’m playing
All I’m able to do now is:
Plug in my guitar to the audio interface
Plug the AI into the computer
Open the audio editor software
Record what I’m playing (all I’m hearing while playing is an unplugged electric guitar without effects)
Apply an effect to the track
Play what I recorded
Is there anyway to do this? What do I need to do this? I don’t want to buy headphones and record (which I figure will fix the problem) because A.) I don’t want to spend the money B.) I’ll be listening to my guitar clean. So I’d have to buy a pedal to hear it dirty, when I want to hear the effects used in the software.
I remember being able to do it with an apogee one and garageband on my macbook. The monitor had no delay whatsoever.
So what made it work then and not now? The fact that I used a different audio interface (apogee v. scarlett)? Or, different software (garageband v. audacity) ? Or different computer (macbook v. PC)? Or a mixture of the three? Or all three?
Am I asking too much? I don’t think so, seems pretty basic to me.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I’m so excited to get down to business and write and record some jams. I played just for a minute, and it felt really good. I was kind of depressed before I started, and it helped. I want to write my wife, who isn’t speaking to me regularly right now a love song, or two.
Thank you all beforehand.
Audacity doesn’t apply effects, filters, or corrections in real time or during recording.
I think that’s the basic problem.
Koz
Koz,
Thank you so much for your prompt reply. I really do appreciate it.
Okay, so that addresses one issue. So no matter what, I am not to expect to hear my guitar (either by headphones, or speakers) with effects real time.
Do other audio editing programs allow for this?
Also, do you, or anyone else have any input on the other aspects of my post?
Thanks again.
So no matter what, I am not to expect to hear my guitar (either by headphones, or speakers) with effects real time.
Do other audio editing programs allow for this?
There is ALWAYS some latency through the computer. It’s related to the multitasking operating system. Your computer is always multitasking, even when you’re running only one application. In order to keep the audio flowing in-and-out smoothly there are recording & playback buffers (like a storage tank or like a long pipe).
Often you can get latency down to an unnoticeable amount but it’s not always easy. There is a free online book called [u]Glitch Free[/u] about optimizing your computer for audio.
Higher end interfaces and higher end software support [u]ASIO drivers[/u] which are designed for low-latency. The Scarlett should have (optional?) ASIO drivers. I don’t know about the Apogee. Audacity doesn’t support ASIO because it has to be licensed.*
But, it’s not JUST the drivers and sometimes the regular Windows drivers are just as good or better. It’s mainly whatever is interrupting the audio and how quickly your computer can finish-up that background stuff.
So the BEST solution to latency is not to monitor through the computer. Some interfaces have direct-hardware zero-latency monitoring. (I believe the Scarlett is advertised as “low latency” so it doesn’t have that feature.)
In a pro studio, you’d be playing through a guitar amp and there would be a mic in front of the amp. Then there might be direct connection recording in parallel. If you were monitoring a backing track (or the rest of the band) through headphones, there would probably be a separate mixer set up for monitoring.
with effects real time.
Most [u]DAWs[/u] can apply effects in real-time. But that means the sound is going through the computer and some effects add additional latency. (Audacity is an “audio editor”, not a full DAW.)
There are a few interfaces with built-in effects (and zero-latency monitoring) or there are USB mixers with some built-in effects that can double as an interface.
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- If you are a programmer you can compile Audacity with ASIO but it can’t be distributed that way.
What he said. The three examples of successful overdubbing (Sound-On-Sound) all used devices that allowed hardware monitoring. That’s the only way to guarantee no delays for any user on any computer.
Since then, I bought a Benringer UM2 microphone interface. It can do it, too.
Koz
Ah yes, but so with that setup you can hear yourseslf play with no delay. Good. BUT can you hear effects live while recording?
BUT can you hear effects live while recording?
There are a few interfaces with built-in effects or there are USB mixers (which double as an interface) with built-in effects. But, distortion isn’t a common effect outside of the guitar world.
[u]Here’s[/u] something I found. It looks like Line 6 and Boss also make guitar interfaces with effects.