How to Minimize Delays when Using MIDI Equipment with a Computer

The MIDI format allows keyboards to interact with computers to control a wide array of digital sounds. While MIDI used to sound cheap and fake (think old NES sounds), the technology has progressed amazingly over the years. Modern MIDI voices can sound as real as acoustic instruments. Turn on the radio to a pop or rap station and there's a good chance that most of the instruments you hear were recorded on MIDI.

You can record with a MIDI keyboard through your home computer to make your own songs or just to mess around, but you'll need good equipment. Even with a fast computer, you may notice some delays when recording to a computer through MIDI. Here are a few tips for minimizing and eliminating these types of delays.

Reduce your hardware buffer. Sometimes, a computer won't be able to process MIDI quickly enough and it will automatically adjust the buffer on its sound card. This leads to delays, and anything over 10ms or so will be extremely noticeable.

Most sound interfaces and decent sound cards have separate utilities that manage their hardware buffers, although the buffer might be in your sound program's settings menu. Raise it to get rid of clicks and pops and lower it to get rid of any delays. Your computer probably won't be able to handle an extremely low buffer unless you're working with a lot of power, but slight adjustments can make a big difference.

Check your drivers. Drivers can sometimes cause a delay with MIDI, because the computer doesn't know how to use its hardware properly to process signals. Make sure that you're running the latest version of your sound card's drivers. You should also check for software updates to the audio software that you're using--sometimes, minor updates fix big bugs, so updating regularly can be a good way to keep your system up to speed.

Use decent hardware. While MIDI adapters are cheap, you'll need a decent sound card to process the various digital sounds that high-quality MIDI programs are capable of creating. A standard off-the-shelf computer probably won't have a decent enough sound card to handle the MIDI demands of programs like Logic and FL Studio.

You might not want to spend any money on hardware, but if you're serious about MIDI recording, it's probably necessary. Run through the other tips in this article, and if none of them work, look for a high-end sound card or processing interface that's designed to work well with MIDI. My personal favorites are the Creative Labs Soundblaster X-FI series and Tascam recording interfaces like the US-1641. Read reviews of a few sound cards before deciding what to buy and ask for advice from friends or from MIDI forums if you're not sure what to get.

Have any questions about using MIDI? Post below.