Need Soundcard advice

[tombikadam]

I have an i7 8 GB laptop at home and want to do MIDI recording, especially with piano VSTs. I doubt whether ASIO drivers will suffice. With this kind of recording, latency should be very low. I would be happy if you gave me advice.

[FranklyFlawless]

Consumer sound cards are sufficient for music production purposes.

[BertKoor]

I doubt whether ASIO drivers will suffice.

What you want has worked already pretty well for decades, for most people.
Nothing has better latency on Windows than ASIO drivers.

[whyterabbyt]

I have an i7 8 GB laptop at home and want to do MIDI recording

ASIO doesnt record MIDI

, especially with piano VSTs.

Piano VSTs have no intrinsic differences from other VSTs.

I doubt whether ASIO drivers will suffice.

Why do you doubt that? ASIO are usually the best (lowest CPU, most efficient, lowest latency) type of PC drivers a soundcard will be supplied with.

With this kind of recording, latency should be very low.

If you're recording MIDI, then audio latency wont matter.
If you're recording audio, then audio latency wont matter to the recording.

Also, you havent defined 'low,' what sort of latency do you think you need?
Most ASIO drivers would offer you a setting at 256 samples latency, which is going to be 6ms latency at 44KHz. That's the same latency as being 6 feet from your speakers.

[whyterabbyt]

Also; this is the Hardware (Instruments and Effects) forum, not the Computer Setup forum, which is where you should actually post about soundcard related issues.

[Pictus]

I have an i7 8 GB laptop at home and want to do MIDI recording, especially with piano VSTs. I doubt whether ASIO drivers will suffice. With this kind of recording, latency should be very low. I would be happy if you gave me advice.

IF the onboard sound does not have ASIO, Windows WASAPI is an alternative.
High sampling rates will decrease the RTL(Round Trip Latency), but the CPU will be more taxed.
Lower ASIO/WASAPI buffer size will decrease the RTL, but if the ASIO/WASAPI buffer is too small
the audio subsystem will be more taxed and may not work well.

Audio interfaces like RME have better efficiency/lower RTL, check here.
IF you ever need an audio interface, check
Audio interfaces will also have better sound quality.

Windows DPC(Deferred Procedure Call) is another factor that may cause problems specially
in laptops full of bloatware and tweaked to economize power to produce less heat and
save the battery. Some tweaks to achieve the lowest DPC as possible at
viewtopic.php?p=8820694#p8820694

[Pictus]

...

[tombikadam]

I have an i7 8 GB laptop at home and want to do MIDI recording

ASIO doesnt record MIDI

, especially with piano VSTs.

Piano VSTs have no intrinsic differences from other VSTs.

I doubt whether ASIO drivers will suffice.

Why do you doubt that? ASIO are usually the best (lowest CPU, most efficient, lowest latency) type of PC drivers a soundcard will be supplied with.

With this kind of recording, latency should be very low.

If you're recording MIDI, then audio latency wont matter.
If you're recording audio, then audio latency wont matter to the recording.

Also, you havent defined 'low,' what sort of latency do you think you need?
Most ASIO drivers would offer you a setting at 256 samples latency, which is going to be 6ms latency at 44KHz. That's the same latency as being 6 feet from your speakers.

if the latency is high, it is a problem to use the sounds of the VST, and the midi keys should respond as fast as possible for a good performance

[whyterabbyt]

if the latency is high, it is a problem to use the sounds of the VST,

Wrong way round. And nothing to do with ASIO.

[Kaine]

The issue comes across as sound generation lag when hitting a key on the keyboard?
I would have said drop the ASIO buffer to 128 or lower and that should be that.

DPC would come across as overloads, not lag. Drive sluggishness or other component latency would appear as overloads as well, rather than constant responsiveness latency.

It would be handy to know if there's an interface in the use here, or a reliance on ASIO4All or similar solution... or indeed, no ASIO at all.

[AideyG]

ASIO4All is your friend. Free to download and test but if you want decent latency you are probably better off with a dedicated sound card like a focusrite Scarlett 212 - around £100.

[kritikon]

I have an i7 8 GB laptop at home and want to do MIDI recording, especially with piano VSTs. I doubt whether ASIO drivers will suffice. With this kind of recording, latency should be very low. I would be happy if you gave me advice.

ASIO definitely will suffice, as it has for quite a long time now.

Latency is already very low with most consumer interfaces/drivers.

Advice - almost any even budget interface will do all of what you want. Personally, I use a Steinberg UR22c, but I'd be happy with any of the usual competitors. Those Scarlet thingies seem to have finally become good and I'd have one of the latest generation Scarlets. I'd probably even be happy with a Behringer interface nowadays, and they certainly save you money. You can spend twice as much for RME if you want to feel smug, and they have a reputation for reliability but dubious that the drivers give you anything useful and extra that you actually need. I can see an argument for RME if you make a living out of music production, but not as any kind of hobbyist. If money is no object then go for it though.

Probably the most difference in interfaces nowadays is the preamps. Not really a consideration for me (though Steinberg have a good rep for theirs), and for you playing piano VSTis then preamps are irrelevant. Actually you're spoiled for choice with interfaces that do exactly what you need, and any concerns for latency are not real. With the kind of laptop you have and doing the simple kind of music you refer to, you should be able to get ridiculously low latency that only a Marvel superhero with superpower hearing in extradimensional time realms would be able to discern. Though of course, RME owners would tell you that you can get those drivers to play your piano before you actually played it. Impressive, but liar liar pants on fire IMO.

Hope that helps. $300 should get you a very capable interface with perfectly acceptable latency capabilities. Actually, probably less than that, as you shouldn't need midi in/out, which adds to the cost of an interface. All you need is bog standard, no extra ins/outs or any frills.