Studiomux Latency w/Link?

pod

I'm wondering- I finally have Ableton with link and Studiomux connecting my iPad with it, but I am experiencing some latency. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? Man, I was hoping I could just simply sync and record my iPad (Patterning and Gadget) into ableton. Thanks in advance for any input. (I am using a dell inspiron laptop, and an iPad pro 12.9)

gsm909

I have latency using studiomux. I've tried many different routing setups, with AB,AUM,Mux,with and without LiNK,and IAA. Although the LiNK timing seems correct, the audio from the iPad to Ableton through Studiomux is definately delayed.

pod

Yeah, well that's unfortunate. I was really looking forward to just simple audio into ableton. I had seen all these vids of ableton and the iPad sync'd so easily, I just assumed it would be the same with Studiomux. Oh, well...Guess I'll just have adjust the loops in Ableton after I record. Of course it will sound off while recording...Damnit

Korakios

Music IO is low latency, but has less features (no audiobus , no sessions).

ToMess

Be sure your buffer/sample rate settings are correct. If you cant get proper settings, you might need an audio interface(if you dobt have one). Ofc proper drivers are useful.

If you still get too much latency after checking those, use track delays on ableton.

[Deleted User]

Track Delay compensation.
https://www.ableton.com/answers/how-do-i-set-up-external-instruments-with-delay-compensation

Aud_iOS

Depending on the workflow you're using, Latency/Sync will require various efforts to get correct. These will depend on O/S & Hardware related factors, your Apps Handling of Sync, Sampling Rate & Buffer sizes, whether or not you need to Live Monitor, Record, Playthrough, how your tracks and busses are set up in Live, whether you're recording Live automations in Live, using External Instruments, Return Tracks, whether using any devices that use a lookahead/oversampling/convolution algorithm etc. There are solutions related to each the above factors, but you'll need to know the respective settings in your apps, and Studiomux as well, to properly compensate/adjust settings.

The first basic move is make sure Sampling Rate, Buffer Size, and bit rate are the same across apps/OS/Live. First best option (I think) is to increase Sampling Rate, which say from 48 to 96 will double the amount of Samples taken, reducing latency. Of Course, increasing Sampling rate also necessitates more processing, which taxes the Buffer. Smaller Buffer = less latency = more processing power required. Depending on your workflow, For example, if you want to mix something already recorded, setting a super high buffer is good. While the ultrasonic "sound" aspect of higher sample rates is a fun discussion, if you're time stretching audio you'll have better elasticity and less gaps w/ the higher sample rate. Higher bit depth = lower sound floor = less noise at high volumes = more processing power needed. If you're playing live, you'll want a latency tolerable to your ears, while what is recorded will occur at a different "time," again depending on workflow.

General easy calculation: 512 samples/44.1 kHz = 11.7 ms.)

A few ideas here for battling Latency:

1. If you're routing Audio and/or MIDI directly to Ableton via Studiomux, don't Link-enable StudioMux.
2. In Ableton make sure in Preferences that you Select/Deslect the Proper option for Sending/Receiving Clock on the Respective Input/Output Ports for StudioMux and the Associated Apps
3. In StudioMux Select Correct Option for Clock (Internal, MIDI, Link, or None.)
4. Optimize Windows for Audio: https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071469-Optimizing-Windows-for-Audio.
5. Consider using VIrtual Bussing to consolidate clock: https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209774225-Using-virtual-MIDI-buses-in-Live
6. Live adds latency to plugins, to tracks set to Monitor, or In, or those set to Auto if the Record Arn is enabled. All of this latency can be bypassed by selecting Reduced Latency When Monitoring, from the Options Menu.
7. On Tracks you can also set a Negative Track Delay to compensate for Latency, if you have Reduced Latency When Monitoring selected.
8. In the MIDI Input/Output settings you can set a delay, or use MIDI Timecode for sync (received or generated). MTC (IMHO) is better than MIDI Clock as it's got a higher resolution. However, MTC doesn't sync tempo, so you have to set this manually between sources. Song mode is essentially "Continue" in MIDI terms, So pressing Stop then Play picks back up, rather than starting from the beginning of the loop. Pattern Mode disables this functionality. The EXT button then appears in Live next to the Link button - selecting EXT allows Live's Transport to be bypassed by the Controlling app. VIP here is the OS'es affect on MTC - delay will probably need Compensated for, using a metronome to set this is best way.
9. Ableton's Driver Error Compensation: https://www.ableton.com/answers/driver-error-compensation
10. Informative Latency FAQ for Live: https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209072289-Latency-Compensation-FAQs

Aud_iOS

Should also note that StudioMux tech predates the IAC Driver Bus (I think) - recommended to use it, rather than any external as Clock etc will be better. I don't know if Windows yet supports native Virtual Ports, but probably Midi Yoke etc does... so might be worthwhile to look at native solutions. I wrote an article about this: https://aud-ios.com/2016/11/17/midi-and-audio-routing-ios-to-os-x-with-ableton-live/

pod

Thank you so much for such detailed responses. I will try all your suggestions. I guess... I was really looking forward to everything just working, with all the hype of Link, and the idea of just running Audiobus straight into a channel in Ableton. We all have dreams I guess. Back to the drawing board. In the end I just might have to bounce down loops from gadget and load them into Ableton. Thank you sooo much for all your help.