# Strings not in time



## Jotto (Jan 13, 2021)

Im totally new to this VI world. Have bought BBC Core, Tundra and some Ark1. My question is..when i record string osinatos (BBC) i just cant get the strings to play in time. Is it my PC ? Samples ? Or have i done something wrong ?


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## christianobermaier (Jan 13, 2021)

Depending on the sample, you need to play or move them slightly early, just like real players do.


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## Jotto (Jan 13, 2021)

christianobermaier said:


> Depending on the sample, you need to play or move them slightly early, just like real players do.





christianobermaier said:


> Depending on the sample, you need to play or move them slightly early, just like real players
> 
> 
> christianobermaier said:
> ...


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## christianobermaier (Jan 13, 2021)

And - if you triple them, that makes it even fatter...


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## Mark Kouznetsov (Jan 16, 2021)

Jotto said:


> Im totally new to this VI world. Have bought BBC Core, Tundra and some Ark1. My question is..when i record string osinatos (BBC) i just cant get the strings to play in time. Is it my PC ? Samples ? Or have i done something wrong ?


I may be late but if you want them to be on the grid (for score), add a negative delay. For example, many legato patches have a long delay, so I enter around 125ms. For shorts those will be shorter. Try -50 to -80ms. If it's too fast decrease, if it's still behind - add a little bit.

_I. Every DAW is different but it should be pretty straight forward. Press on the (i) icon in the top right corner of your DAW:






II. That will open the inspector window. Select a desired MIDI track. In the delay field enter the amount of delay you want (remember, we need negative, so enter a minus before the numbers).




_

Hope it helps! It works for everything, very useful. Dragging can quickly make your parts messy / slow you down. Especially if you decide to go back and make some corrections / adjustments.


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## Jotto (Jan 16, 2021)

Mark_Kouznetsov said:


> I may be late but if you want them to be on the grid (for score), add a negative delay. For example, many legato patches have a long delay, so I enter around 125ms. For shorts those will be shorter. Try -50 to -80ms. If it's too fast decrease, if it's still behind - add a little bit.
> 
> _I. Every DAW is different but it should be pretty straight forward. Press on the (i) icon in the top right corner of your DAW:
> 
> ...


Thank you Mark!!


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## LauraC (Feb 4, 2021)

Also late to the party, but it’s always a good idea to compensate for the inherent latency in your audio interface, which varies between manufacturers. There are videos in how to do a loopback test to determine the amount and then you can correct


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## Kony (Feb 4, 2021)

Jotto said:


> Im totally new to this VI world. Have bought BBC Core, Tundra and some Ark1. My question is..when i record string osinatos (BBC) i just cant get the strings to play in time. Is it my PC ? Samples ? Or have i done something wrong ?


There is an interesting thread just started (link below) which will hopefully start getting a lot of information added regarding the track delays per different sample library instruments/articulations. I work with a modular template so I'm always having to work out the pre-delays from scratch each time - except for bread and butter libraries/articulations which I have track presets for (Cubase). Hope this helps! 





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Negative Track Delay Database / Spreadsheet


Heres a direct link to the database: Link EDIT: Ok, here's a Google sheet I've created. If you're interested in contributing values for some instruments (and know how to use a Spreadsheet), let me know and I can give you write access. ---- Original post: Is there a database anywhere of...




vi-control.net


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## Al Maurice (Feb 5, 2021)

To be honest what you need to consider, is how to minimize the number of variables that can impact latency times. Due to the way PCs are speced and configured, it's likely we may all achieve differing values.

Each and every patch may have some delays inherent built in, due to the way they are programmed and scripted. These days mostly deliberate to help with the effect they are trying to achieve.

Thus check out drum replacement techniques, there are plenty of videos around on Youtube.

Also minimize anything that can affect the signal path.

The VST instrument should be the first plugin in the path, so switch everything else off when trying to work out your alignments.

Studio One has a performance monitor for instance, which outlines all the latencies in the signal path which can be helpful at times.

Good luck -- experimentation is key here.


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## Virtual Virgin (Feb 5, 2021)

This is one area that I feel devs must work harder on to solve. 
There are occasions when using Spitfire or Embertone strings for programming Baroque/Classical/Romanic music where the time differential between articulations causes headaches which become by far the most salient bottleneck in the entire process.
They should make an effort to supplement a programming mode which accounts for all of these various delays and provides an internal compensation as an option.
As it is I have to run a lot of macros, then still have to do manual note-to-note placement just to get even 16ths out of some patches. It gets ugly.


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