I just got a MIDI-USB cable so I could plug my piano to my PC for better sound output and recording, since my cheap keyboard's speakers stink.

I downloaded VMPK (Virtual MIDI Piano Keyboard). It plays perfect, but there's a very noticeable delay, like 0.2secs which really throws me off.

Afterwards, I downloaded the 2 week trial for Mixcraft 5 . I can configure it so I can get unnoticeable delay, but no matter what the configuration, the playback just feels wrong. At RANDOM times, even if I'm holding the key, the playback of the note suddenly halts.

Here are recordings in comparison:
VMPK, sounds perfect, but the playback is laggy, although you can't tell from here:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15626407/BaltoVMPK.mp3

Mixcraft. I played it the same way, some notes suddenly halt, like at 0:08. Starting at 0:11, all notes get cut short even if I'm holding the keys long.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15626407/BaltoMixcraft.mp3

So it's either I have laggy playback, or have a crappy quality. I tried Sibelius demo as well but I get the same resutls as Mixcraft.

Tried it with Sequetron. Still the same problem as Mixcraft.

edit: Tried it with a lot more programs. It feels like I can only have a single note play at any given time, which explains why notes get cut off. Only VMPK doesn't do this, but it's laggy.

sounds like latency mate, have a look in the settings at things like your computer's buffer size and stuff, i'm not sure about how you use those programs you mentioned, do you press "record" when you play? do you get the same delay when you're not recording? have a look at your ASIO drivers as well

Lord Akela, what are the specs of your PC? CPU, memory, HD, soundcard, OS, etc. All of these can influence the latency experienced when using software instruments, so if we can spot a bottleneck in your system, we may be able to recommend some changes.

Cheers,
James
x

My computer's specs:
AthlonX2 5000+ (2.6GHz)
Palit 9600GT Sonic 256MB
2GB Kingston DDR800
640GB SATA Western Digital Caviar Black (top class)
Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

I doubt it's my computer since I play games fine on it, like Team Fortress 2 on maximum settings.


How do I change the buffer size for the computer itself? I can only change the buffer sizes for individual programs such as Mixcraft, which is how I got rid of the lag for those programs. The problem is that for those programs, I can't play more than one note at a time. Playback in and out of recording is the same.

So yeah, it really baffles me why VMPK is the only program that lets me play more than one note at a time, but that thing can't change buffer size.

You might also want to seek help at these other fora:
http://www.gearslutz.com/board
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum

Lord Akela, are you using the onboard sound on your PC's motherboard?
If so, it may be worth installing the ASIO drivers to improve latency in supporting applications.

Cheers,
James
x

I installed Asio4All, but I can't use them in VMPK. Mixcraft and Sibelius supports it but I didn't have lag problems with them in the first place. I can still only play one note at a time for those two.

I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure what you are trying to achieve using VMPK. If you already have an instrument connected via MIDI, what is the benefit of using a 'virtual' keyboard to interface with the soft synth?

If your primary objective is to achieve a more realistic piano sound, my recommendation would be to start with a proven piece of software such as Pianoteq. The trial versions should function more or 'out of the box', and will allow you to check if there really is a problem with your PC sound hardware that restricts you to playing individual notes.

Kind regards,
James
x

Neither of those two MP3 are very good. The built-in sound of most DPs is better. The "free" sampled pianos on my Mac are better.

I think what you need is a good software virtual instrument. There are many and some of them have free demo version you can download. You will also need a good external USB or Firewire audio interface box and the low latency audio drivers.

I looks like you've surveyed the low-end of the virtual software pianos and found they aren't great. No surprise.

Can understand the latency, but notes cutting off sounds odd. Have you got MIDI out from the PC connected back into your piano, causing a loop?
If you've got the Sequetron, click 'Diagnostics, Start' then tick the checkboxes to trace MIDI Input and Notes. You should see note on & off events scrolling up as you play - might help with the diagnosis.
HTH.