M-audio Fast Track latency problem

[bassko]

I just got a Fast Track and it is working but the signal from my bass is running late. Latency is set to 256 and i cannot set it on my own. Any idea how to solve this?

[bassko]

I'm running it on win7 (64 bit).

[Hellbastard]

What version of the driver are you using? What DAW are you using?

[jpTron]

Monitor through the Fast track. I think that's what I do. Or maybe I'm thinking of the pod

[hover]

yeah, update your ASIO driver, and set it there.

[seamonkey]

Are you talking about live playback.
The time it takes from your pluck until you hear it?
256 depth would be like 5 or 6 ms at worst.
Maybe you have effects in your chain that are slowing this down?

[the_hook]

I just bought the m-audio fast track pro as well and finally got it going last night. I'm using Audacity and I did install the ASIO files. I'm using Windows 7.

When I went to record a bass track there's a lag and echo when I play. I later found the latency screen but it was greyed out, I couldn't move the slider.

[the_hook]

I managed to get the latency slider working last night, but no matter what setting I put it on I still get the delay when I play and record.

[Hellbastard]

Do you have the latency problem while using another software?
IME there's a problem with audacity's sotware monitoring option. No matter how low the settings there's always a lag in the monitoring. If you want you can disable the software monitoring in Audacity and use the mix knob on the Fast Track to monitor what you are recording.

[Charling]

Might you be using the wrong driver? If the latency setting slider doesn't effect the latency then it sounds like its referencing a differen driver to the one in use. Try checking your audio-devices panel nd ensuring its set to M-Audio ASIO or similar. You shouldn't have to download 3rd party drivers to get the soundcard to work, though you may have to download an update to your driver from the m-audio site.

[Samsound]

Often times a latency or buffer size setting is disabled in the DAW software, because you need to set it in the hardware's driver panel.

Aside from that, to improve latency:
Disable all networking
Disable all virus/malware scanning
Ensure USB audio device is not sharing an IRQ

[the_hook]

Originally Posted by Hellbastard

Do you have the latency problem while using another software?
IME there's a problem with audacity's sotware monitoring option. No matter how low the settings there's always a lag in the monitoring. If you want you can disable the software monitoring in Audacity and use the mix knob on the Fast Track to monitor what you are recording.

I finally got around to tackling this tonight. I downloaded a newer version of Audacity for Windows 7. Bit nicer GUI on it. I also found by turning down the Mix knob on the unit the lag disappeared.

I had my son record some guitar (he's just learning) and it sounded nice. I then did a bass track and it sounded good too.

Only issue now is I brought in my guitar player's track, recorded my bass to it, but when I play it back in Audacity or save it as an mp3 and play it back, I can barely hear the bass, but the guitar sounds fine.

[Charling]

Originally Posted by the_hook

I finally got around to tackling this tonight. I downloaded a newer version of Audacity for Windows 7. Bit nicer GUI on it. I also found by turning down the Mix knob on the unit the lag disappeared.

I had my son record some guitar (he's just learning) and it sounded nice. I then did a bass track and it sounded good too.

Only issue now is I brought in my guitar player's track, recorded my bass to it, but when I play it back in Audacity or save it as an mp3 and play it back, I can barely hear the bass, but the guitar sounds fine.

Often the mix knob on small soundcards is by default set to blend between to versions of the signal. In your case it sounds like one way is monitoring the signal direct, ie before its gets converted and hits the computer (thats the part that slows audio down) and the other way lets you hear the 'after computer' signal, this is the one where latency is an issue.

I think you need to keep searching for the latency slider that your soundcard is referencing! maybe in a control panel down in the system tray?

The bass volume thing, audacity should have a mixer or at least an option to add gain to a recorded signal. Use one of these to bring it up and balance it nicely with the guitar.

[CrashClint]

Which sound card is best to use with the Fast Track?

[Charling]

Originally Posted by CrashClint

Which sound card is best to use with the Fast Track?

The fast-track IS the soundcard! Soundcard is kind of an antiquated term now, but its what an interface IS. An interface is a soundcard in a box, but a pci soundcard is an interface as well.

Soundcards were generally always in the box things, the soundcard was the audio interface. When USB devices became more common they were called external interfaces, then interfaces. So the terminology has changed a bit over time, but soundcard=interface and vice versa!

[the_hook]

Originally Posted by Charling

Often the mix knob on small soundcards is by default set to blend between to versions of the signal. In your case it sounds like one way is monitoring the signal direct, ie before its gets converted and hits the computer (thats the part that slows audio down) and the other way lets you hear the 'after computer' signal, this is the one where latency is an issue.

I think you need to keep searching for the latency slider that your soundcard is referencing! maybe in a control panel down in the system tray?

The bass volume thing, audacity should have a mixer or at least an option to add gain to a recorded signal. Use one of these to bring it up and balance it nicely with the guitar.

Last night I opened up the Fast Track piece (under sound/audio devices) and could see the latency box, but again, the slider would not work, it's set where I last put it at when it did work; 256.

Audacity shows a volume slider on each track. When I scale back the guitar one it's barely audible thru the headphones while I play the bass at the right volume. I'll play around with it more tonight. But at this point it's the only issue I'd like to address so I can send my bass and guitar track mp3 files to my guitarist and drummer to hear what basslines I've come up with.

[jpTron]

Originally Posted by the_hook

Last night I opened up the Fast Track piece (under sound/audio devices) and could see the latency box, but again, the slider would not work, it's set where I last put it at when it did work; 256.

Audacity shows a volume slider on each track. When I scale back the guitar one it's barely audible thru the headphones while I play the bass at the right volume. I'll play around with it more tonight. But at this point it's the only issue I'd like to address so I can send my bass and guitar track mp3 files to my guitarist and drummer to hear what basslines I've come up with.

When your Fast Track is hooked up, you should be able to go to your audio properties and set the FT as your default sound device. Then you can monitor through it and you shouldn't have latency.

[the_hook]

Is there a way I could run my bass thru my markbass F1 amp and then into the m-audio box? Or does it have to be direct from the bass?

[m_bisson]

Line out on the F1 into the input for the m-audio.... WHY do you want to do this? :P Don't you love the sound your guitar makes unhindered by excess electronics?

[Charling]

Originally Posted by the_hook

Last night I opened up the Fast Track piece (under sound/audio devices) and could see the latency box, but again, the slider would not work, it's set where I last put it at when it did work; 256.

Audacity shows a volume slider on each track. When I scale back the guitar one it's barely audible thru the headphones while I play the bass at the right volume. I'll play around with it more tonight. But at this point it's the only issue I'd like to address so I can send my bass and guitar track mp3 files to my guitarist and drummer to hear what basslines I've come up with.

Ok.. I'm trying to work out what could be going on, its undoubtedly simple but hard to decipher! You say that if you scale back the guitar track its barely audible, well why not just scale back the guitar track less, so it sits just beneath the bass?

Sounds obvious, so I imagine thats not working for you, but the way you put it, it sounds like its a simple level thing

The mix knob, as I said before, sometimes blends the direct (before computer) signal with the 'post' (after computer) signal. I think that you are experiencing latency on the post computer side, so you put the mix knob all the way to the 'direct' side to eliminate these problems. However, if you are just listening to the direct signal from your bass then anything coming from the computer is going to be silent or very quiet. If you could sort out the latency then you could monitor off the computer, meaning you could hear both your bass and the pre recorded guitar fine.

You need to keep looking for a latency slider, either in audacity, in windows' sound control panel or on the control panel that (may have) came with your interface. If you can find that you can set it at the correct level, monitor off the computer and hear both guitar and bass correctly.

An alternative is to set the mix knob at 50/50, turn down the bass' fader in audactiy all the way and then play along to the guitar. That way you are not hearing the post-computer latent bass, but you ARE hearing the guitar. And you are hearing your bass direct still, so you can stay in time.

This is assuming a lot, ie assuming that the mix knob works as I guess it does! But I think fundamentally you need to spend a good while with the manual and work out what everything does, unless someone with specific knowledge of you interface can help!