FIX MIDI LAG IN ABLETON!

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ASIO4ALL Driver (Windows-only): www.asio4all.org/
Optimizing CPU performance: help.ableton.c...
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:17 Why is there latency with software instruments?
02:21 Audio Settings & Buffer Size
03:23 Input Monitoring
03:41 Low Latency Audio Effects
04:44 Delay Compensation
06:32 Optimize Software Instruments
07:50 Freeze Tracks
08:26 Thank You

[@novaria]

WOW! The short little side-note on ASIO for Windows users was what helped me! Thank you so much dude! Greatly appreciated

[@alexperry8561]

Leaving this here in case it helps someone: my problem was with my bluetooth headphones. I haven't looked into getting a different pair that will fix the problem, but for now I'm just doing my MIDI recording outputing to the built in speakers.

[@melodywoods5705]

I’ve never commented on a video before, but I felt the need to tell you that this is solved my hour-long hair-pulling session- thank you so much 😭

[@alexperry8561]

@@melodywoods5705 I'm so glad! Yeah I still forget that bluetooth sometimes adds latency that the DAW isn't aware of 🤦

[@hajhammereaux]

THATS THE POINT GODDAMN THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@carfanfan]

Frustratingly I kept trying to record and re-record using quantize but the latency was causing me to be off tempo every single time - thanks to your video, I managed to reduced the number of samples and now the quantize is working like a charm and my triggering is far better while playing ;)

[@hungryformusik]

ASIO saved my life. Thank you so much!

[@riozero8047]

You athio thaved you life

[@danielgv1526]

Wow, I usually get confused with the software because I'm a newbie, but this was so clear I could actually fix it! Thank you so much!!

[@gusdoes897]

nice pfp ;)

[@FishNChipsBro]

I got as far as the ASIO4ALL driver for windows and no interface set up like I have, adjusted buffer to 120 and now it's perfect! Thank you so much! Spent so much time mucking around trying to fix this.

[@PhaseLoop]

Happy to hear that, thanks!

[@jedidja]

ASIO for Windows drivers made an _immediate_ difference. Thank you!!!

[@boardlife27]

How do you only have 499 subscribers?? The quality of your videos is up there with Sanjay C Hoping for more great content like this! Congrats on your 500th subscribers btw 🥳

[@PhaseLoop]

Thank you so much! I have some new stuff coming soon, thank you so much for the support! Much love!

[@RickySweum]

Excellent tutorial. One of the best I've yet seen explaining these important Ableton latency improvement tips. Thanks

[@PhaseLoop]

Thank you so much! Happy to your appreciate it!

[@domonkosjozsa3723]

A thousand thanks! 😂😂 For nearly a year I thought Ableton was just poorly optimized, then you show me that there's this "Reduce latency when monitoring" feature. I just hold my head and keep repeating "why??"

[@pieterborgh8895]

WOW!!! I've been trying to figure out so many of these issues since I started playing with hardware. I have TRAWLED the internet.... You have helped like NO OTHER video Ive found. SO much gratitude to you bro!!! Massive respect from NZ

[@ozhalljr]

5:45 Bingo! if you have track delay on ANY track, your latency will be at least that long!!! Great video, thanks!!!!

[@derekflow]

A+ on the explanation and thank you for not talking about random nonsense for the first 3 minutes, very helpful

[@jamesokeeffe8306]

Unchecked reduced latency when monitoring, problem solved, thanks man.

[@karisummers77]

Brilliant! This fixed my frustrating problem - I thought I was in for hours of rewiring connections, or in for $$$ for a new computer. I learned so much from this. THANK YOU!

[@mend3l]

a personal thank you. my ozone was delaying the whole thing!!

[@TCLYDE]

bro this hit home great for me. i didnt have issues with midi lag until i started recording my drumset. Thanks for these tips mate

[@Staypift]

None of this fixed my issue, but it was a pretty well made and informative video so I'll go ahead and throw you a thumbs up

[@novaria]

If you're on Windows you might want to use ASIO4ALL

[@Staypift]

​@@novaria I got it figured out eventually. I must say, I really appreciate the response from a random stranger. Thanks for taking the time.

[@Volpexxx]

Zenahr It works, but it feels way too responsive

[@Volpexxx]

Zenahr just a little too fast to me

[@vitaminpisation]

You're awesome man thanks. Gave you a shout-out to the Ableton group. Can't wrap my head why that reduced latency when monitoring was turned off by default. Also realized that if I set everything to ext sync I won't be able to play but for some reason everything I press on a midi device will be monitored at near 0 latency

[@JQualitymusic]

Well put. Best explanation on how to fix Ableton latency this far!

[@501Labs]

Thanks dude! Installing that ASIO driver immidiately killed all the lag. The default direct X driver was terrible for my finger drumming on windows. #peace

[@kpsiegel]

Great video which immediately pointed me to what the problem is while I was trying to track some keyboards using Ivory and Ableton Live 11. I had some high latency plugins in the chain while tracking and there was just no reason for it. I removed them and instantly it solved my problem. Thank you so much!

[@PhaseLoop]

Thank you! Happy to help with this exact problem. Enjoy!

[@xCORRUPTAx]

This helped me. Thanks dude

[@plopperator]

I have a half second delay on Ableton no matter what buffer size I use, even if I use the laptop's keyboard. Same setup with Studio One has no delay.

[@sammiller9855]

Thanks for the tips! A couple of questions: Does disabling a plugin truly eliminate its latency from the signal chain or is it better to delete it? Will plugins on Aux/return tracks add latency? EDIT: Searching around the Ableton forum, I found the following post by Angstrom which was helpful. Apparently, since Ableton is designed to be used live disabling plugins on the master track will not remove their latency: FIRST : plugins on the master will always introduce latency on all DAWs. For example: tracks 1,2,3,4 ... fed into a plugin on the master bus such as a compressor which has a latency of 15ms. In this case tracks 1,2,3,4 will now be fed through that 15 ms of latency + whatever hardware latency your system has. Tracks 1,2,3,4 fed through a bus track "My bass buss" with a mastering compressor on it with 15 ms of latency ... all those tracks 1,2,3,4 will have that 15 ms of latency. This is also the same on all DAWs, it is not possible to be any other way. SECOND Live is a live-stage capable application, so while other DAWs will take a deactivated plugin out of the latency calculation when they are deactivated Live does not. when plugins on the master are deactivated it does not recalculate the latency of the audio streams and re-sync them with the new plugin delay calculation - because on stage that would make a big POP noise through the PA. So, Live does not do that. It aims to maintain glitch-free audio. Deactivated plugins are still used to calculate the offset of all tracks fed through them . THIRD there is no way physically, computationally or magically for any DAW to avoid the processing and calculation time that a plugin uses if the stream passes through that process. If it takes 15 ms to calculate the output of a convolution process then that's what it takes. If a signal passes through this process then it will incur the inherent delay. The only way to avoid that delay in any DAW is to route a monitored signal direct to your hardware outs and bypass whatever bus processing you are using which incurs the delay. You are free to do this, a lot of people do, but now your audio-processed and latent signals will be out of time with your bypassed signals. This is how all DAWs work, it is how computers work, and how processing works. FOURTH Live does provide a "fastest path " method, which will ignore other sibling tracks latency, but it cannot ignore the latency of the channel it is passing through. So if Track 1 has 10 ms latency, and 2 has 200ms latency - and the master has 20 ms latency . If we activate "reduced latency when monitoring" track one will now have 30 ms latency and track 2 will have 220 ms latency. They will be getting to the outputs at the detriment of track sync, track one will get to the hardware quicker than track 2 --- but it must still pay all tolls it passes through. FIFTH your "major disappointment " and mentions of "don't master on the master bus". You arent mixing, you are tracking. When you set up to track, do it correctly, Check again what you are doing. Make sure your audio hardware is at around a buffer of 128, set your audio device sample rate to 88 or 96kHz . Ensure that "reduced latency when monitoring" is active, ensure that any plugins on the master out have an absolute maximum of 10 ms latency. LASTLY It's not about "don't master on the master bus". I have a bunch of plugins on my master bus when playing live. The thing is - I make sure they have a very short latency. This can be seen by hovering over them in Live's device view. Look at the info view bottom right for the latency of each plugin. EXAMPLE OF A SETUP This is for live performance, with plugins on the master. My output latency of my audio device - An RME Fireface at 88kHz is 3.2 ms of output hardware latency With Glue and Saturator on the master I have a (Live induced Master channel) additional latency of 0.41ms that gives me a total output latency with plugins on the master of 3.61 ms. set a delay to 4ms and see how short a delay this is, it's very very small. FROM ABLETON'S HELP PAGE: Tracks containing devices that introduce latency should be frozen and flattened to permanently remove the latency. Delay compensation must be active in the Options menu before you freeze and flatten the track. If you adjust a track delay, then every other track in the set is compensated so that everything plays in time. Freeze and flatten any tracks with active track delays.

[@marcosrotllan]

what a comment bro

[@kpsiegel]

Awesome info. Thank you so much for posting this up.

[@PSYMASMann]

Nice one fella, your good at this, thanks! I look forward to exploring your channel.

[@TheAngryMushroom]

Great job. Was looking for a clue on syncing the keyboard in real time. Thanks

[@dennissigala9945]

Wow! I was going crazy trying to get my Midi keyboard setup in Focusrite Scalet 4i4 ! and Ableton Live! This solved my latency prob! Thanks so much!

[@PhaseLoop]

Thanks Dennis! Happy to hear that helped!

[@the_mirabela]

Oh man music production is so complicated. I’m trying so hard to go from instruments to midi pads and keyboards and am hitting such an insane learning curve 💀

[@dlyric101]

thanks man i started having issues with fl studios in abeleton while using it as a plugin when they discontinued rewire this helps i appreciate it

[@ddDaaAmmMguy]

Is it possible for a mixing board to add letency

[@JeandreGerber]

Very solid explanation. Thank you!

[@7sevens]

Very solid indeed and also beginner friendly - not an easy balance - well done

[@Fredcaramia]

Hello, when I try to record on a midi track without instrument, I have a delay recorded on the timeline. It only works well when i’m in « off » mode. But in « off » mode, I can’t hear my midi instrument when I have it

[@bonifasiusadisuryanto5786]

Can you help me? The response of the input to the computer is so bad, i only can play 2 notes input at the same time. If more the input only detect 2 notes. Sometime the input does not detect any input.

[@johnsuggs3952]

I keep hearing content providers say NO LATENCY. Zero latency doesn't actually exist. What you're technically trying to do is reduce the latency to a level that is beyond detectible by human ears. Which is usually around 10-20 miliseconds. Anything above that range, depending on the person, will begin to become noticable.

[@theboo4u]

My preferences don't match anyone else's screens. I have input and output buffer size, and I can't go lower that 3400 samples. It also doesn't have presets in a drop down menu and only move by moving the mouse up and down. Please help, I am unable to use this keyboard either this lag

[@somoonietv]

how do i stop my keyboard from changing velocity while playing?

[@mazatch]

super helpful, thanks!

[@whitneykaye]

Awesome video!!

[@gabrielfortuna9243]

Whitney Kay thanks Whitney!! It means a lot you came over to check it out!🙏

[@bloodcircle3885]

Thank you for this. Super helpful compared to other vids. 👍

[@ikamy]

I never know about plugins and master bus latency, thanks New Sub

[@i0waska34]

Thank you! This helped and was very well put together and informative.

[@MrRedrum01]

Well logic here I come

[@kaustavpratickhazarika9621]

I am having the same problem but with Fl studio ... sir do you have any solution

[@KjKase]

My PC can only handle 1184 sample buffer size. Which is quite surprising because it's a very powerful PC. I'm guessing this must be because of the onboard audio that comes with the motherboard? It's not really something I paid attention to when purchasing that part >.< How do you upgrade it to handle a smaller buffer?

[@zacharysiddiqui]

Dude, you are awesome and super helpful! Thank you for this.

[@sunandanabrol9949]

Hey bro need help ! When i play sound using my Casio keyboard with sustain pedal the sound produces to much of glich ! Ableton live lite 10 !

[@TeleporterM11]

I can’t wait for Midi 2.0. Look it up and support it guys.

[@bboydreaded]

My god. That was simple and informative. Why do all the others not talk about anything helpful or directly address the issues I’m looking for. Lol. I’m making the switch from Maschine. This helps. A lot. 🙏

[@25566]

for some reason ableton was set to 200ms by default in the output latency, I could lower it to 26ms without any crackling. why the hell is the default so damn high?

[@tommytomorrow2219]

You will never get zero latency MIDI monitoring. The solution is to use an audio out line into your DAW interface (if it has zero latency direct monitoring) or an amp. Then, turn the volume of the MIDI channel you are recording into to zero (so you won’t hear it when you record). Even tho’ the channel volume is set to zero it will still record the MIDI data. Then select the new MIDI channel and start recording. If you have a previously-recorded MIDI track it will play, and you can play along with it while hearing what you are playing in sync via the audio. Then “rewind” and turn up the volume on the MIDI track you have just recorded. It will be perfectly in sync with the backing track (or tracks). The audio will not have been recorded.

[@richardsmithson4453]

I sometimes wanna go back to Ableton but this is what puts me off. In Studio One you just click a button and you can play that midi track with zero latency.

[@PhaseLoop]

This is great default setting to have and personally how I love to set it as well. To do this in Ableton, leave the “Reduced Latency While Monitoring” setting enabled and use the custom options.txt file with the line “-EnableArmOnSelection” hope that helps someone!

[@TheShoegazer]

It won’t let me set the buffer size, it’s at 0 samples.

[@lanmichaelmix2818]

my midi latency is quite low but it's still not like playing a keyboard producing it own sound especially whne play fast

[@TheSickify]

Didn’t work for me. Still have a lag on the simpler, someone please help. No audio interface no nothing. Using headphones and laptop keyboard.

[@jestalefish]

Great video! and very good assets, I downloaded all! Thank you!

[@PhaseLoop]

Thanks for checking that out! Enjoy!!

[@thecraiginator]

Great video. 👍🏻👍🏻 Super helpful

[@EvanCrofton]

CHECK "REDUCED LATENCY WHEN MONITORING" IN THE VIEW DROP DOWN. MAY BE THE ONLY THING GETTING IN THE WAY.

[@MarcellJjr]

Not an issue in Logic Pro or even MPC :D

[@generalawareness101]

My lag is with the midi itself not the audio lag. Slide a slider and it lags behind.

[@TheAmericanIndie]

Im getting massive recording latency (not when monitoring) while using my kemper profile to record guitar. Ive tried all your tricks and no luck

[@HLDMAD1CK]

Wow amazing video thanks man!

[@nickosinit]

still useful!

[@MrCshmn]

Also if you are using external hardware midi gear and you wan to monitor that audio and treat it like a vst instrument with no latency get yourself a thunderbolt sound card. all latency gone. its a dream. I highlight recommend the UAD Apollos.

[@Rishabh-Shukla]

Can't we direct monitor midi instrument. I'm still getting latency even at a very low buffer size, though my cpu is very high end.

[@johnsuggs3952]

Direct monitoring is for audio going into the system. Rather than have it go into the audio interface, thru the DAW and then back out for you to hear, the signal is routed directly to the Headphone or speaker output. With MIDI, you can't really have that because MIDI isn't an audio signal and in order for MIDO to do anything it has to ALWAYS be read by e MIDI divice. Whether that device is virtual in the form of a plugin or an actual MIDI synth, it has to go into them before a sound can be produced.

[@abhinavrangabhinavrang7724]

I am using my Casio ctk 6300 keyboard as midi and as I connect it with laptop I get latency although m usingmotu m2 interface plzzz tell me that how I can reduce my latency

[@devsadana]

How can I use mastering rack and low latency together?

[@elohimbeats]

Bro, you help me a lot. I'm subscribed!

[@PhaseLoop]

Happy to hear that! Thank you!

[@halfmanhalfcat1058]

yessss, reduced latency when monitoring, thank you, I can jam again :)

[@wearezohal]

Thank man! got a question at 00:06:29 , how did you display the screen over the keyboard like that? thanks

[@czerwonymike]

so my issue probably isnt latency, I have a drum rack open with a large amount of samples loaded onto it, and i will use my keyboard as a midi beat pad (w/e) and only on certain drum racks (with more or complex samples and effects?) i will press the key rapidly to play the drum but if i press too many times it will do a stickey keys type of action and will take a few seconds to load the sample i switch to ( for example: f f f f e e e e e e k k k (freeezes) ..... a a a a a b a a a b (freezes) CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO CHANGE?

[@PhaseLoop]

Hey, sorry to hear that. You’re just using the computer QWERTY keyboard? I’ve had some issues playing reliably with some Windows keyboards. Both built-in laptop ones as well as Bluetooth keyboards. If you can, try a cheap wired USB QWERTY keyboard and see if it gets rid of that issue. Good luck!

[@arturkaczan1776]

Thanks

[@Vallabha318]

Thanks a ton brother! Now i am using ASIO and things in daw are running smooooooth. Btw when i run daw with asio, my windows sounds won't play, any trick for that as well?

[@bvrbvs]

Brilliant. Freezing tracks I find most helpful.

[@rafaelhernandez5550]

Great. Thank you very much,

[@someguy7680]

Great vid!

[@NoelleOCleary]

Duuude, U rock

[@breakpoint1216]

THANKS BRUH 5:45

[@Skiroy]

I know the buffer settings effects the audio monitoring latency but does it also effect the recording and playback latency of the actuall midi data itself? The issue I have is I can record the midi data and playback is on time from my DAW to my hardware Synths. But when I record the Audio back into my DAW from my hardware synths the audio is out of time? Is this a buffer setting issue or a midi offset issue?

[@PhaseLoop]

Hey! Sorry for the late response, sounds like you might want to check out Ableton’s “Driver Error Compensation” video. You can find it quite easily and it explains how to fix that exact problem you’re having!

[@4StringDude]

This video is awesome and should get more praise! Very informative, right to the point and also produced really well! Thank you!

[@PhaseLoop]

Glad you liked it!

[@Yikkoofficial]

My issue is: I have Input Buffer Sizer & Output Buffer Size whereas your tutorial only shows it as generic Buffer Size.... Anybody else know how to reduce latency with those settings???

[@PhaseLoop]

Hey! Sounds like you might be using the default windows audio driver. This driver is not recommended for low-latency performance. Instead, try downloading ASIO4ALL, restarting your computer and setting ASIO4ALL as the Output Device in Ableton Live. There will be a “Hardware Setup” button that will become available where you can change the buffer size. Cheers

[@SergeyZarin]

YO! Thank you!

[@erzloh]

Good video, thank you! :D

[@flowmerlin]

Dam I fix my latency in my keyboard 🔥🔥

[@henriqueomena420]

awesome

[@samuelmejia6878]

for some reason it wont let me adjust my buffer size

[@PhaseLoop]

Are you using an ASIO driver? Try clicking the “Hardware Setup” button in your Audio Preferences

[@ItsDavidWright]

Video starts at 2:22

[@ana303_]

And i dont have any latency while playing thru midi but drawing midi notes in piano roll causes lags.

[@PhaseLoop]

Hey! Sorry to hear that. Are you still experiencing that problem? I’m wondering if it has to do with some kind of MIDI effect or arpeggiator on your track

[@ana303_]

@@PhaseLoop I still facing this issue. Idk why. I've tried different audio drivers everything. While drawing notes, there's a latency but at playback or using the midi controller no lag or anything.

[@Ahrix54]

still have latency problems with my mic and instruments :/

[@PhaseLoop]

Have you checked out the latency video for audio I have as well??

[@jaleekalexander4271]

My midi plays wrong note how do I fix that

[@PhaseLoop]

If you’re working with a drum pad controller, check if there is a MIDI Editor for your controller. Many companies provide a tool or utility for this! Hope that is the case for yours. Cheers!

[@ievadubova]

funny enough MainStage and logic is perfect but Ableton just lags always and is the most expensive ( I have the suite version )

[@PhaseLoop]

For live performers that simply need to process audio or play live instruments, Mainstage is a perfect option if you're using a Mac. It is optimized with zero and low-latency instruments and effects to achieve this. Ableton Live is a full DAW for complete productions from start to finish which opens the door to higher latency devices and plugins. Cheers

[@SteveHorne]

The title is "MIDI LAG" and all you talk about is audio latency. Not a bad video, but not what I'm interested in, which is MIDI lag.

[@kanelomusick]

✅

[@RichLunaMusic]

Mine only goes down to 256.

[@PhaseLoop]

Are you using ASIO4ALL or an audio interface?

[@Freaxment]

WHY THE F DO I HAVE NO LATENCY IN FL STUDIO WHILST I HAVE EXACTTHE SAME PREFERENCES SET IN ABLETON

[@Babasafti]

Because FL works with a lower demand on cup rates. Even the GUI is loading pretty fast, guess there's no other daw with this ability. But still, Ableton and FL are pretty good daws...

[@thelastchance6113]

You're a cutie and this was extremely helpful 😍

[@diiegopc]

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww :(( someone knows how to apply this on Bandlab?

[@Bstrong5001]

gggggggggggggggeeeeeeettttttttttttttttttttttttttt to the point jesus

[@Raggra]

You're sweet. I subscribed.

[@anusheeltripathi1]

ASIO4ALL degrades the audio quality a lot while producing.