

This is probably best explained with the help of a diagram. Where does this delay come from? It is to do with amp sims, like all software, being digital, and the processing that they have to do, which takes time. It would make playing along with anything like a backing track, other musicians or other recorded tracks in a DAW impossible. Imagine playing a note, and then waiting half a second before you hear it. This is impossible, even with traditional guitar amps (see later section), but we can get it as low as possible. Why do we want to minimize latency? Ideally, we want to hear the note we play coming out of the amp sim at the exact same time as we play it. There is a short delay, typically of a few milliseconds, before the sound comes out of the amp sim and can reach your ears. When you play a note on your guitar, you don’t hear the sound coming out of the amp sim immediately. Take your time to read that previous sentence a few times, and really digest its meaning.

Latency as applied to amp sims, is the time between when you play a note on the guitar, and when you hear the note coming out of the amp sim.

So what is latency as it relates to amp sims, what causes it and why is it desirable to reduce it? What is amp sim latency?īefore we get into reducing latency, a little bit of background information will allow us to better understand what we are doing. If you are interested in checking out the best guitar gear such as amps, effects/pedals & all types of guitar, you can find them at by clicking here. If you happen to be a using amp sims for recording, definitely check out my complete guide to recording guitar using amp sims. With a little bit of knowledge about what amp sim latency is and where it comes from, you should be able to reduce it to the point where it is not even noticeable. The frustrations caused by latency when using amp sims can be potentially avoided by taking a few simple actions.
BIAS AMP 2 DELAY DRIVERS
Also ensure that you are using dedicated high-quality audio drivers for your interface such as ASIO (Windows) or Core Audio (OS X), which are optimized for low latency.
BIAS AMP 2 DELAY HOW TO
But there is one issue that you need to be aware of – latency – and that you need to know how to deal with to get the best out of your amp sims.Īmp sim latency can be minimized by choosing a low buffer size for your audio interface in its configuration utility or your DAW. They are now a real, genuine alternative to using real amps for recording and for home practice. Amp sims (Guitar Amplifier Simulator software) have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years.
