So I’m just finished moving into my new place and I finally set up my new studio spot and everything was all well and good until I started jamming and tried syncing multiple bits of hardware along side Elektron boxes that are using audio over USB via overbridge, things are just not quite synced there is an obvious latency between the hardware that uses audio over USB and the stuff that doesn’t so I’m unable to jam with my Octatrack, Machinedrum UW nor the sequencers in the DSI Pro 2, Korg minilouge or the twisted Electrons acid8 and any arps from other synths like the Virus TI, Novation ultranova or Moog grandmother.
The gear I’m using Overbridge with is the Analiv RYTM, Analog four and Digitone. This all worked fine in my last up where I just sent midi clock from Ableton to and through each box in succession and all the audio into a mixer then into my interface but with this new set up I wanted to free up as many mixer channels as possible so I could hook everything up so I decided to finally use overbridge for the face that I can stream audio over USB…I’m not quite sure where to even start looking for the source if this issue other than some preliminary exploration of possible options but that hasn’t really yielded any kind of concrete evidence of where the problem lies.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I know there has to be a way to fix it.
Please let me know if you guys need anymore info on my set up to help.
This whole thing has completely ruined my ability to use thr AR, A4 and Digitone alongside anything other than each over
If I understand correctly, your issue is that audio over USB thru Overbridge doesn’t sync to audio directly via hardware? If so then the short answer is that yes, this is expected behavior: audio via USB is unavoidably going to have a lag compared to audio direct from hardware. There’s no way around it.
If you want to continue using both Overbridge and hardware audio then you could (a) set up a delay in your daw to lag the hardware audio or (b) adjust midi clock using something like the ERM Multiclock. Personally I don’t like either of those options so I avoid Overbridge entirely and just use the audio outs on my hardware devices.
So audio lag is expected when using audio over USB? I never heard that before and didn’t realize that was a limitation. Why isn’t everyone complying about this? Streaming audio over USB is the only reason I installed Overbridge as I find the plug-in editors to be essentially useless since the hardware interface(s) are more than sufficient and are fun to use.
I wish there was some kind of work around for this I love the ability to multitrack all of the drum channels of the AR so I can treat them
I would have imagined a lot more people would be dissatisfied with Overbridge if audio lag is in fact a limitation and expected to happen.
In fact everyone IS complaining about it!
There are several threads about it in this forum alone. @Smapti is totally right. There is nothing you can do. Overbridge is fine if you use it exclusively, but it will always be out of sync with audio via your interface. This is not Elektron’s fault btw, this applies to audio over USB in general.
My personal solution was the ERM multiclock - awesome device. Quite expensive, but solved all latency problems forever in my studio
Perhaps you can mute the OB tracks in the DAW and monitor the physical audio output of the ST with your mixer/interface and that way hear your other plugins while playing the ST. Most audio interfaces support direct monitoring which is 0 latency.
I think this is the most discussed issue on all music related internet forums of all time
Anywho, you said you don’t have any problems when using Overbridge devices only (A4/AR/DN).
You could try to use the audio inputs of the A4/AR/DN (connect your other devices to those inputs), this way the audio streams of your non Overbridge devices will at least be in sync more I guess.
That’s not a bad idea, a pain in the ass for sure but would probably work.
I had no idea this was a think I generally stay away from music forums with this one being the only exception.
That’s a shame that it’s a limitation in the technology I actually was thinking audio over USB was the future since it’s so flexible with routing and easy to set up etc.
I appreciate the heads up everyone, I’m also talking to someone via PM just to verify that it’s not something on my end that I can’t sort out and get things talking a little better.
The way I use OB is a very good way to avoid latency. I’m using the No Sync option on each OB plugin (DT, DN, AR, A4 and now ST) and sync everything via MIDI cables, a MIDI Thru box and the Midihub from Blokas (to hook up different Sequencers, Keyboards or Controllers). My other Synths use the Inputs of each OB device. I match the BPM of my Patterns with Ableton Live.
Recordings : I start the recording in Ableton and then, I press play on the Master device (in my case, DT). When the recording is done, I select all the Tracks and move them on the first Step of the grid.
I use an Apollo Twin X with OB standalone going to virtual channels (Apollo lingo). OB reports 0.7ms of latency when I am at 64 buffer / 96khz. it’s great OB can work alongside my Apollo (instead of having to create an aggregate). I don’t have enough i/o so I use my Elektron’s inputs for my gear but I sometimes plug a monosynth directly into the Apollo Twin and can’t hear any latency. As Tchu said, I use MIDI cables to sync everything, not my DAW. My DAW is just a “tape recorder”.
So some answers were already given but:
use your Elektron’s inputs
use MIDI cables to sync everything, not the computer
Various workarounds as there are no actual “solutions”…
** Digital mixer with multitrack usb drive recording. Gives you eq, compression, fx, multitrack recording.
Disadvantages are Digi Elektrons only have stereo out so you can’t multitrack them in real-time. But that does force you to work more to get a great sound out of the stereo output. A&H Qu series is an example.
** use Overbridge to record only, but not monitor. Monitor your stereo outputs direct with a dedicated audio interface’s lower latency if you need to mix it in with other DAW based material… Record your track outputs from Overbridge simultaneously (muted), and align them after the fact. Any send/return fx that you use on stereo outs, you’ll have to redo in your DAW. Not a loss though as plugins are often better and more flexible.
** Low latency multitrack interface. MOTU 16A etc. I use a MOTU Ultralite MK4 at 64 samples with a Traveler MK1 wired in over ADAT. 16 inputs and outputs into my daw at -4ms round trip latency. This is not noticeable. Same caveat as option 1 with Digi boxes but it’s turned Ableton into my mixer and it’s honestly incredibly powerful, reliable. Just use MOTU AVB/ UL MK4 or newer, as the older interfaces are nowhere near stable enough at these lower latencies.
I’ve tried all listed solutions and have settled on option 3. Ultimately, I had to choose one and accept that this is the way it is, and worry about my compositions rather than stress about having to overcome these limitations. Making peace with that has helped me be productive.
