What is latency when referring to mics?

[Kindness]

Just curious what this is. Thanks!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by itself

Just curious what this is. Thanks!

Hi Lisa...

Recording into a digital interface the signal has to go into the analog interface, be converted to digital, be introduced into the computer, be processed by the software, and then played through the sound board. This takes time...

When you are layering tracks (multi-track recording) the effects latecy show up when you are recording your second, third etc tracks with the original track. By the time the software plays the original track from the computer, and feeds it to the headphones/monitor so you can record back through the interface along with the original track, the second track is micro-seconds behind the original track.

You don't hear it while you are recording, but you may when you play it back.

Depending on how much latency there is in your system, you may need to select the added track(s) and realign it (them) with the original track so all the 'beats' line up precisely. Thankfully with modern software, that's pretty simple to accomplish.

Modern computers and recording interfaces have less latency than a decade ago, but it still exists.

Hope this helps explain it...

[Kindness]

Larry,

A nice thorough explanation. Thank you...

[Ty Ford]

latency can also be the difference in time between the sound hitting the diaphragm directly and continuing past the diaphragm to enter through the back ports of a microphone to create a directional pattern, but typically that's expressed as simply a time difference.

[Bob Womack]

There is a very real application in the world of USB mics, where there is an analog to digital converter within the actual mic.

Bob

[Kindness]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

There is a very real application in the world of USB mics, where there is an analog to digital converter within the actual mic.

Bob

Yes, this is where I am hearing it most. I have been looking at the Apogee MiC and the Blue Spark Digital and there is a lot of reference to latency.

[Steev]

Well, I had a weird one today.
Vocalist into a TLM49 through an Avalon pre and into ProTools HD. She was getting about 100ms repeat delay in her headphones but I wasn't getting it in the monitors in the control room. I thought it might be a delay compensation issue but as far as I can see HD doesn't really have a problem with latency.
Then I discovered that I wasn't getting the delay through my headphones using the same send and from the same headphone amp. It was only in her cans.

A bit of turning it all off and on again fixed it but I don't know why...

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Steev

Well, I had a weird one today.
Vocalist into a TLM49 through an Avalon pre and into ProTools HD. She was getting about 100ms repeat delay in her headphones but I wasn't getting it in the monitors in the control room. I thought it might be a delay compensation issue but as far as I can see HD doesn't really have a problem with latency.
Then I discovered that I wasn't getting the delay through my headphones using the same send and from the same headphone amp. It was only in her cans.

A bit of turning it all off and on again fixed it but I don't know why...

That same thing has happened to me a couple of times with HD Native rig and the same close the session and reboot seemed to fix it . It must just be and internal routing thing( mixup ) in PT mixer itself.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Steev

Well, I had a weird one today.
Vocalist into a TLM49 through an Avalon pre and into ProTools HD. She was getting about 100ms repeat delay in her headphones but I wasn't getting it in the monitors in the control room. I thought it might be a delay compensation issue but as far as I can see HD doesn't really have a problem with latency.
Then I discovered that I wasn't getting the delay through my headphones using the same send and from the same headphone amp. It was only in her cans.

A bit of turning it all off and on again fixed it but I don't know why...

Nuendo has a feature referred to as "direct monitoring" where the interfaces switch from digital reproduction to analog through-put anytime the input, rather than the playback, is being monitored. It is the cleanest way to achieve latency-free monitoring of a live source. But every once in a blue moon the software will randomly switch off this feature and the A/D and D/A latency will show up. You can't tell in the control room because you aren't in the presence of the original sound but the talent in the the recording rooms will be driven batty by it. You can look in the menu and the option will still appear to be checked and active. Usually closing and re-opening Nuendo will take the system back to direct monitoring. Perhaps that is what happened with you.

Have you noticed how often modern gear's problems are solved by rebooting? The repair engineers where I work giggle about reminding people of that being 90% of their job anymore.

Bob

[Steev]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Nuendo has a feature referred to as "direct monitoring" where the interfaces switch from digital reproduction to analog through-put anytime the input, rather than the playback, is being monitored. It is the cleanest way to achieve latency-free monitoring of a live source. But every once in a blue moon the software will randomly switch off this feature and the A/D and D/A latency will show up. You can't tell in the control room because you aren't in the presence of the original sound but the talent in the the recording rooms will be driven batty by it. You can look in the menu and the option will still appear to be checked and active. Usually closing and re-opening Nuendo will take the system back to direct monitoring. Perhaps that is what happened with you.

Have you noticed how often modern gear's problems are solved by rebooting? The repair engineers where I work giggle about reminding people of that being 90% of their job anymore.

Bob

That maybe sounds like the 'Input Monitoring' in PT HD.
The strange thing that I put down to gremlins was that I couldn't hear it through cans plugged into the same h/phone amp!

But yeah the "turn it off and on again" is one of my teaching mantras. At least it gives you an occasional mini time out like re-wind used to.

cheers
Steve

[Rudy4]

Latency issues are why I don't like USB mics and why I prefer to track on my lowly R24. I can track directly to computer, but the external recorder does away with all the latency issues. The longer I record the more I'm willing to trade "optimal fidelity" for an enjoyable troublefree tracking experiance.