I am experiencing latency drift while using Gig Performer 5 (latest version). Buy that I mean that I will load a GP rig file that will initially perform very well, but latency will increase steadily over a period of time until the latency is so bad that i can no longer perform. I must quit keep performer and relaunch to remedy the situation.
Currently, I am using M2 Pro MacBook Pro with 32 GB of ram running Gig performer 5. But I have experienced this phenomenon going back to GP 3.x when i was still using an Intel based MacBook Pro. My particular context is music ministry, so the equipment will be on and gig performer running from 8 AM until 11 AM. But we are not performing music constantly, rather, there are big gaps between songs. I would discern the greatest amount of latency in the songs nearest the end of the service. I could never quite determine if the latency crept in because of the duration the rig was operational or because it was sitting idle for so long. It had seemed to improved over the years.
But last weekend, I was working on a rig file and could discern the latency increasing as I was working. When I would launch the gig file, everything was snappy and played as expected. But as I worked, I could discern the latency increasing. After some amount of time, I could no longer perform because the notes would be sounding an eighth note behind where I was playing. I would have to quit gig performer and re-launch the gig file in order to resume my work. But then the phenomenon would repeat over the same duration of time.
I am currently trying to create a multi instance, set up, whereby the main instance uses the global rack as a mixing console, and the other instances are set up for individual instrumentalists (guitar, guitar synth, keyboards, vocalists), all of which feed into the primary instance using the relay plugin. This seems to have exacerbated the latency drift. The latency I am experiencing increases exponentially quicker. I am not a programmer, but it almost seems like there is a memory leak. IDK.
It occurs with audio only signal paths (for guitar) as well as midi only (via keyboard controller) racks/rigs.
Does anyone have any ideas about why I am experiencing this? Any suggestions how I might solve the issue or at least reduce it? Any help is much appreciated!
A wise man in the know about GP would say, there’s no magic, something’s changed in your setup. So what changed ?
If you have no new hardware or driver in your setup, I’d bet on a MIDI loop. Do you exchange MIDI messages with additional GP instances. Did you open a global MIDI monitor in each of the instances ? Is everything normal there ?
Oh — Audio latency is a different think… I was focused on MIDI latency. An increasing delay is supposed to be related to a buffer that gradually fills up without being emptied quickly enough. An audio latency should then be related to you audio interface and driver.
What’s you audio interface and driver ? Did this change recently ? Do you have multiple application using this audio interface ? What are your audio settings ?
Yes, well the drift is occurring with both audio & midi. Your description of a buffer filling up without being emptied fits. How might I evaluate this possibility? How might it be corrected?
To answer your questions, I recently upgraded from an iConnectivity Audio 4+ (USB A/B) to an iConnectivity Audio 4c (USB C). It uses the same audio driver and same software app to manage the device. My guitar is plugged directly into the interface. I am running at 44.1k. The buffer setting for each instance of GP is between 128 and 256 with no pops or clicks.
The interface is plugged into a CalDigit Element Thunderbolt 4 hub which is connected to my Macbook Pro via a OWC Thunderbolt 4 cable. I have 5 of these hubs and they are rock solid.
I have defined an aggregate device in my mac’s audio settings that has 4 additional audio channels that show up as i/o in GP. I use these to feed audio from other apps into GP so i can EQ & mix them. So the only app sending audio to the audio interface is GP.
Thanks for the plug @npudar lol. I’ve since been ordained and am serving as an Asscoiate Pastor and Minister of Music at a new church. My rig is now just GP and a rack that is essentially a docking station with audio I/O feeding a powered speaker and the PA. Because the Audio 4c is fully compliant with Apple’s OS, I can use this with my MBPro, iPad or even iPhone.
