Roland TD-3 and Ableton 9 Live

[Roger]

Hello Everyone, Do you have any experience with Roland TD-3 and Ableton live DAW? I'm trying to use the TD-3 via midi to trigger the onboard drum sounds in Ableton. I've got the software to recognize the midi hits from the TD-3 , but the latency is off by a 1/2 second. I there any way to reduce the latency in Ableton?...........Roger

[perceval]

You will need to take steps to control latencies. It's not just plug and play.

All those steps are found right here in the forum, mostly of course, in the VST section.

Basically:

- learn your DAW. What buffers do to latency vs computer power. Lower buffer samples means lower latency. Usually, going at or under 128 samples is fast enough.

- tweak your computer for audio duties. There are a lot of background apps running in a modern computer, you will need to streamline it so it works at its peak power. Here's a good start if you have a PC: http://support.presonus.com/entries/...ista-Windows-7

- if your audio card in your computer can't allow you to get to lower latencies, you may need an audio interface, USB these days. A basic 2 channel plus MIDI will be around $150. More expensive will mean even lower latencies and better support.

Good luck! It's not hard to get a decent 8-year-old computer up to speed.

[Roger]

Thanks Perceval, I'm using a Dell Inspiron laptop with a I3 processor, 6GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive. When I use my Roland TD-15 Module to record to Ableton, There is NO latency! Only when I use my TD-3 module using midi or my Tascam US-122 Midi/USB interface is when I get latency problems. I also downloaded and installed Asio 4 all drivers and I still have latency issues with the TD-3.

[perceval]

Just trying to get facts straight here.

Do you use your TD15 and record module's sounds or MIDI through USB, along with a VST?

[Roger]

Hello Perceval, I use the USB connection from the TD-15 to the laptop. Ableton recognizes the TD-15 immediately and I can set up software to start recording. I don't use a VST.

[Roger]

Hello Perceval, I'm recording the sounds of the TD-15, not the onboard sound of Ableton software.

[perceval]

That's why you get no latency with the TD15, you are recording module's sounds. Just regular analog sounds.

Recording MIDI and translating that through a VST (or Ableton's own samples) is another ball game.

Go to the VST section of the forum and get familiar with the info there. Post again if there's something you don't understand.

[Roger]

Hello Perceval, I think that you've misunderstood my question. I'm not having any issues with my TD-15, I'm having issues with my TD-3. I don't know what is causing the latency with my TD-3 using either a Midi/USB interface or Midi/USB interface cable.

[perceval]

Nope, I think I understood well enough... well, I hope!

You are recording TD15 module's sounds. There's no latency there.

The TD3 is sending MIDI info to Ableton, which needs to translate that in order to produce sounds from its own bank of drum samples (similar to a VST). that will induce latency if your setup is not streamlined for audio production.

Again, look at the link I posted, plus the info in the VST section of this forum to get a goos idea of what you are fighting against / for.

[Roger]

Hello Perceval, I will check out the VST blog.