[ardour-users] Effects and latency

[Mark Knecht]

On 5/14/05, Joseph Dell'Orfano <fullgo at dellorfano.net> wrote:

> Possible solutions include 

1) reducing my buffer size (and thus my latency) and do software
monitoring as I have been,

A well tuned system with a solid setup makes this possible. I run this
way most of the time using 5-10mS latency. For me that's OK but I
think others are possibly more sensitive to doing this and getting a
good performance. When I have recorded what I want I will sometimes
then nudge the audio back in line with other audio to get it a bit
tighter mix if necessary.

2) accepting the latency, which is fine if I am recording someone
else, but really distracting when I am recording myself

Ah, you are the sensitive type. ;-) 

3) get real and buy a decent effects unit for my rack, 

If it's just reverb then even a cheap one is pretty helpful. Set it up
on a insert from the material being recorded but don't record the
reverb output. Always record the dry material. I use an old Alesis
MidiVerb for exactly this purpose when the need arises.

4) record the wet mix but monitor dry via h/w monitor

This is the only one I say NO too...

5) stop being stupid and record all tracks dry and add the effects later.

...because this is the right way to do it. I think you'll find things
work better if you mix everything dry and, in general, add in a global
reverb at the end. You'll set up sends on all tracks needing reverb
and then set levels on the sends to get your wet/dry mix. Create a bus
in your mixer for the reverb return (whether it's a hardware or
software reverb) and then get you're overall reverb back into the mix.

IMO if you pretend Ardour is nothing but a big SSL hardware deck and
you do your setup just like you were sitting at that console you'll
most likely come out with some of your best results over time. Don't
get crazy - just go old school. It works.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Mark