I've always been very interested in using Synthesia as a learning tool for furthering my piano knowledge, but the latency I experienced when using it has always put me off.
After getting into music production over the last 18 months I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and finally tackle this obstacle.
I've read a lot of threads here and tried all sorts of things - including running midi signals through loop midi and into Pianoteq, which still retains noticeable delay (albeit a very nice sound).
I understand it's possible to use ASIO4ALL drivers to lower latency but this causes anything else that is outputting sound on my PC to crash, which is really frustrating.
I know it's impossible to play MIDI with absolutely zero delay but it would mean a great deal to me to learn how to just keep it as minimal as possible.
Some info:
I primarily use my Roland RD-2000 as a MIDI controller, but I have a spare Alesis Q49
I have a Micro USB cable which I use by default, but I have MIDI cables if needs be
I also own a Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD audio interface but I'm not sure how much use (or relevance) it is as it only has two inputs which are combo 1/4" jack and XLR inputs
Here are my PC specs:
Windows 10 64-Bit
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz Processor
32GB RAM
ASUSTek STRIX Z270E GAMING
Graphics Card:
NVIDIA GeForce GT1030
How can I minimize MIDI latency / lag ?
When describing problems, always mention your OS and game version (shown at the bottom of the title screen).
If your keyboard has USB or MIDI ports, there is a tremendously high chance (>99%) it will work with Synthesia. See what you'll need on the keyboards page.
If your keyboard has USB or MIDI ports, there is a tremendously high chance (>99%) it will work with Synthesia. See what you'll need on the keyboards page.
It sounds like you've tried most of the common (and even not-so-common) stuff. (Thanks for all the detail in your post! That lets us jump right to the good stuff.)
1. ASIO4ALL is a generic driver for all sound hardware. Have you tried your U-Phoria's specific ASIO driver? That one might prevent the crashing (and may even not require exclusive access). You'll need to plug your speakers (or headphones or whatever) through the breakout box, but that might be an immediate fix. Also, "real" ASIO is usually even faster than the general/generic stuff that ASIO4ALL can get you, so that would be another bonus.
2. That RD-2000 is a beast! If you use it as your output device (and disable everything else), that should be super fast.
1. ASIO4ALL is a generic driver for all sound hardware. Have you tried your U-Phoria's specific ASIO driver? That one might prevent the crashing (and may even not require exclusive access). You'll need to plug your speakers (or headphones or whatever) through the breakout box, but that might be an immediate fix. Also, "real" ASIO is usually even faster than the general/generic stuff that ASIO4ALL can get you, so that would be another bonus.
2. That RD-2000 is a beast! If you use it as your output device (and disable everything else), that should be super fast.
Thank you very much for your help - much appreciated.Nicholas wrote: ↑01-21-20 9:17 pm It sounds like you've tried most of the common (and even not-so-common) stuff. (Thanks for all the detail in your post! That lets us jump right to the good stuff.)
1. ASIO4ALL is a generic driver for all sound hardware. Have you tried your U-Phoria's specific ASIO driver? That one might prevent the crashing (and may even not require exclusive access). You'll need to plug your speakers (or headphones or whatever) through the breakout box, but that might be an immediate fix. Also, "real" ASIO is usually even faster than the general/generic stuff that ASIO4ALL can get you, so that would be another bonus.
2. That RD-2000 is a beast! If you use it as your output device (and disable everything else), that should be super fast.
I've managed to get a much better result in respect of latency using ASIO4ALL as my driver rather than the default windows option.
My only problem now is that this kills all other sound on my PC, and according to Google this is because it is isolating the input routed via the ASIO4ALL driver and running it directly to the soundcard to prevent the signal from passing through other unnecessary applications before being outputted through the audio output (causing small delays that total cumulatively).
I have researched ASIO further to this and apparently there are various other ASIO drivers, including ASIO drivers that come packaged with hardware such as the Scarlett Focusrite 2i2, and software such as FL Studio.
If there is not an alternative solution to allow me to utilize the low-latency ASIO4ALL driver whilst still being able to play other sound through my PC, I was wondering if either of these (Focusrite ASIO or FL ASIO) would allow me achieve this?
Apologies if I'm not making sense - I'm a bit out of my depth here but desperate to tackle this issue so that I can knuckle down and learn using Synthesia efficiently.