2010/1/31 Derek Holzer
<derek@umatic.nl>
"Unnoticeable" latency usually refers to the musician not noticing the difference in time between when they press the key and when the sound comes out. Any time you add a delayed signal to the original signal, you will notice it. The "slap-back" happens at longer latencies, but at shorter latencies you will hear *very* noticeable comb-filtering. And since no computer-based solution is latency-free, I think you need to re-examine what you are expecting Pd to do.
I think it is a reasonable expectation that you don't have to play a note one 16th early to have it sound 'on the beat', which is what one has to do when dealing with 23 ms latency in a 163 bpm piece.
Attached is a little patch that shows some rhythmical implications of any given soundcard latency in ms.
gr,
Tim
Either that, or go with a dedicated DSP board (and learn the accompanying programming!) which would give you a more guitar-pedal-like "zero-latency" system.
Maybe Marco Donnarumma could give a few words here on processing instruments live. His set uses an electric bass through Pd. My guess is that even the un-processed signal goes through Pd to avoid echos or comb filtering due to latency.
Best,
Derek
Jeffrey Concepcion wrote:
* in terms of processor capacity, hardware, and sound card
configuration, what would be the minimum requirements to achieve
unnoticeable latency (not hear the affected signal as a slap-back
type of effect)? i've read that 11ms can be achieved and is
unnoticeable.
---Oblique Strategy # 18:
"Balance the consistency principle with the inconsistency principle"