What is Latency?
Audio latency is the delay between the moment sound enters your microphone and when you hear it played back through your speakers or headphones. High latency can make recording difficult, especially when monitoring your voice or instrument in real time.
Bluetooth devices
Due to their design, Bluetooth devices will have an impractical amount of latency. We recommend using a wired setup for recording as the first step. Using Bluetooth to listen or mix is fine since the delays are less noticeable.
Recording with Effects and Pitch Correction
Some effects can introduce delays because they require accumulating a few milliseconds of audio signal to perform their calculations. Some examples: autopitch, pitch shifter, convolution reverb.
Disabling these specific effects temporarily will reduce your overall latency.
Run the Latency Test
BandLab needs your audio latency information to keep recordings in sync. You can set this in two ways:
Automatic (Recommended): Run the latency detection test.
Manual: Enter the latency yourself. Only use this if the automatic test fails or is inaccurate.
Run the latency test directly inside the Studio by following these steps:
- Create an Audio track
- Ensure that your track monitoring is Disabled
- Open the main menu at the top left of the Studio
- Select Tools
- Select the Latency Test
i. Unplug your headphones
ii.Ensure that your sound is audible through your speaker
iii.Ensure that the room is quiet
iv.Run the test
- Click Start Test
- You may also manually adjust the setting (in milliseconds) if you continue to experience latency.
Note:
Position the microphone as close to the speaker as possible to ensure accurate latency measurements. The microphone needs to detect precisely when the sound is played and when it is received.
Doing this without first disabling your track monitoring will likely cause feedback.
Use a wired setup
- BandLab automatically compensates for the placement of new recordings on iOS. This helps align recorded audio, but it does not remove the delay heard through headphones during live monitoring.
- For the lowest latency, use a wired connection for recording and playback. If you're already using a wired setup and still experience significant latency, please report the issue here!
Region Shifting
If you’ve already recorded a region without proper latency adjustment, you can adjust an individual region to line it up properly.
-
Tap on the region you want to adjust and tap the
Triple-dot Icon
-
Tap Shift and adjust the slider below to compensate for the latency
- Tap
Check to apply the changes
Run the Latency Test
BandLab needs your audio latency to keep recordings in sync. You can set this in two ways:
Automatic (Recommended): Run the latency detection test.
Manual: Enter the latency yourself. Use this only if the automatic test fails or is inaccurate.
-
In the Studio, tap the
Gear icon at the top of the screen
- Tap on Latency Fix
- Tap on Retake Test
-
Retake the test and follow the instructions on the screen
- If your test results are within the 0 to 30ms range, you have a much more manageable latency that you can monitor via headphones.
If your latency still feels a little too high:
-
In the Studio, tap the
- Tap on Latency Fix
- Select Advanced
- Manually adjust the latency
Audio Safe Mode Options
Disabling Audio Safe Mode may reduce your latency, though it may introduce some artifacts in your sound. If the manual latency compensation amount you set doesn't lead to properly aligned recordings, please try these steps:
- Open the project in the Studio
- Tap the Gear Icon to access the Settings
- Find Troubleshooting and disable Audio Safe Mode
Region Shifting
If you’ve already recorded a region without proper latency adjustment, you can adjust an individual region to line it up properly.
-
Tap on the region you want to adjust and tap the
-
Tap Shift and adjust the slider below to compensate for the latency
- Tap
Incompatible Devices Notice: If you are still experiencing latency despite taking these steps, please check whether your device is on the incompatible devices list. Unfortunately, our support is limited to this if you've already tried all the steps above.
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