Latency

[jethroburns]

Help please.

I have Audacity installed on my desktop and on my laptop.
Prior to installing the new version a couple of weeks ago, I used to adjust the latency by opening the click track and then recording the click track. I could use the resulting recording to measure the line length using the feature at the bottom of the screen. After installing the new versions, my latency settings disappeared. S to be on the safe side I decided to use the click-track-recording technique to measure the amount of latency required. However, for some reason, the system will no longer record the click track. Not on my desktop (XP) nor on my lap (a newer operating system (7 I think). I used a microphone and an instrument to check the latency but it is not as accurate as the click track method. Any ideas what has gone wrong please?

Anton

[steve]

Firstly, latency compensation is only important if you are making overdub recordings. Is that what you are doing?
Secondly, when making overdub recordings, the latency test should be performed using the recording input that you will be recording with. The latency for "What U Hear" or "Stereo Mix" may be different from the latency when recording with a microphone.

or some reason, the system will no longer record the click track.

How are you doing that?

[jethroburns]

Thank you very much for your reply.
I use two inputs, via the Scarlett interface, to play mandolin, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and sing (sometimes with harmonies).

I plug my mandolin and bass into one put with a lead and record the acoustic guitar and my voice through the mic in the other input.

When I aligned two click tracks, everything worked really well but, as I say, since downloading the latest version of Audacity, I am unable to use the click track alignment technique

[steve]

I am unable to use the click track alignment technique

Why not? What's the problem?
Does anything here help? http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/latency_test.html

[jethroburns]

The problem is Audacity will not record the click track anymore. I looked at the link you sent me and the reference to the click track is exactly what I do. The settings look the same to me so something have been reset in installing the new version of the program!

Anton

[steve]

Is the click track playing through your headphones when you record? If it is, then just put the headphones over your microphone to record the click track.

[jethroburns]

Well, I am sorry to have wasted your time. I was listening to the click track through headphones but when recording the click track I took them off. In fact the click track wasn't playing as Audacity was recording. I tried to record something else off the Internet. It recorded. So I looked at all the various settings and discovered the "overdub" facility was not turned on, so obviously it would not overdub (now I will have to try with my laptop, which is the one Ialways use for recording, as I have been able to overdub guitar, etc.).

I hope that works, if not I will use your tip. Thanks a lot for your help.

Anton

[steve]

Recording the clicks through your headphones will probably give more accurate results than recording "sounds playing on your computer". In some cases, recording "sounds playing on your computer" may have a different amount of latency to when you are recording a physical input (such as your plugged in mandolin or microphone).

(and yes, "overdub" needs to be enabled).

[jethroburns]

Thanks a lot for your help. I just tried my laptop and the overdub facility is on but it still will not record the click track, so I guest I will have to use the headphones. How much latency do you reckon is tolerable if I am doing so many overdubs, do you think?

Thanks for your time

Anton

[kozikowski]

The errors don't add. If you use the same click track, drum or other rhythm reference for all the instruments, it doesn't matter how many instruments you perform.

The truly obsessive will want to get the errors down to the single cycle, but I don't know that kind of accuracy is required.




How many bands do you know where all the instruments start playing on the same cycle of waveform?

Koz