Latency in VST playback on Samplitude Pro x8

Dafydd-Rees wrote on 3/17/2025, 11:20 AM

Hi everyone,

Hope someone can help. I'm totally new to using this kind of software (having previously only used Audacity in the past). I've connected my Clavinova via midi to my laptop through USB. Recording is all working fine... however the problem I'm getting is latency on my VST playback. I bought a new laptop to meet all the specs required to run Samplitude (16gb ram, 1tb hard drive, 64bit etc). I recorded a drum track perfectly. The problem came with the piano track. If I play the piano back through my Clavinova there's no delay at all and it's in perfect sync with the VST drums. But... if I play the piano back thro VST keys there's a lag and I cannot work out why. I've tried altering various buffer settings and it's a brand new laptop so it hasn't really got that much on it to slow it down. I can't understand why it's playing in time thro the Clavinova and not when thro a VST. There's literally only 2 tracks less than minute long. As I've only ever used Audacity which is very simple I'm getting totally lost. Can someone please help me with some advice as I'm a total novice and need some guidance. Many thanks!! :D

Comments

SP. wrote on 3/17/2025, 1:53 PM

@Dafydd-Rees To compensate for this, you can set a time shift/delay in the track options (right click on the track or press ALT and i on your keyboard to open the options). The shift can be negative or positive. The standard settings are 0 samples. You can switch to another unit, for example milliseconds, by right clicking on Smpl.

Alternatively you can simply move recorded audio objects individually, for example via the Object Start settings in the Fades Tab in the Object Editor

I cannot exactly say, why the audio is recorded with a delay though. Are you using an external USB audio interface with ASIO drivers? If not, maybe your CPU just takes a little bit longer to start recording which is then audible during playback.

Be also aware, that some VST instruments can introduce latency if the audio samples used inside them have a slow attack time, but that would also be noticable during recording so I don't think it's a problem in this case

Dafydd-Rees wrote on 3/18/2025, 5:07 AM

Hi, Thank you so much for the advice. I've tried altering the settings you recommended to no avail I'm afraid. I have my Yamaha Clavinova CVP-305 plugged into a U6midipro box which is then plugged into my laptop via USB. The driver options i have are Magix Low Latency (which is what i'm currently using) WDM & MME. It's literally just a slight lag but enough to be noticeable. And the faster or more complicated the piano piece then the more it struggles. I'm wondering if there's a way I can record the piano through my small mixing desk and use the midi recording just to build up the other instruments. Although this won't give me as much control as I like then. Like I said... complete novice here so learning as I go. Thank you so much for the help though.