After a lot of bad advices about my PC being too much weak, my plugins flawed, and after Cantabile’s error-log confirmed that, apparently, I finally figured out where the problem was: my cheap sound-card was just dead!
I removed it, uninstalled its drivers and, LISTEN TO THAT!
Most musicians say that without ASIO you can’t make music, but it’s not correct
At least with Windows 10 and WASAPI (exclusive mode) you can make music very well, even using huge sample-based plugins, and getting a latency that is more than good for my non-professional use
Moral of the story: don’t waste money on cheap sound cards!
They may work well for some years, but they will die sooner than expected (planned obsolescence) and/or their support and drivers will die due to OS updates
So, try first if you can use WASAPI with the internal sound card that is anything but weak on modern PCs
N.B: Not all DAWs accept WASAPI: Bitwig and Cantabile do, but Ableton Live doesn’t (I don’t know about other DAWs)
Only after, if you really find that you have annoying limits, put aside your money (at least a thousand bucks for used versions) and buy a serious card, i.e. a MOTU ( Microbook maybe) or an RME (babyface maybe)
Focusrite is good brand for a couple hundred bucks. i use Behringer HD IO units with WASAPI and ASIO (they have real ASIO drviers). so you can have good quality from lower cost units. and if you’re not specifically recording live (i.e. in the box with virtual instruments), then lower cost ones can be ok as long as you can set the latency high enough during mixing to reduce resource loads on your PC.
avoid using the realtek stuff unless you’re on the road and no other option, and definitely avoid realtek ASIO. as a note, in some cases, ASIO4ALL is acceptable but should be your third choice after ASIO, WASAPI.
And why?
It works like a charm in my system and for my needs, and with a low latency I’ve never seen before, as you see in the screenshot
and it’s free
BTW, my faulty Komplete Audio 1 was in the same price range of Focusrite Scarlett Solo
i usually only buy either 2 or 4 channel units for portable use, and my larger units are 8 channels. i think most “solo” products are not really serious on any level (except maybe the Billie Eilish album she recorded in her house on a focusrite solo which went multi-platinum…)
Seems like you’re upset. If it works for you?.. It works for you. There are a hundred ways to skin a cat.
In my experience… Any live instrumentation was beyond the realm of possibility. From about… '96 to '02, I was writing songs for strippers, cheerleading cues, and (what was then called) jungle/drum and bass using an Akai MPC, Acid Pro and a Roland VS1680… Lotsa samples, and piano roll work in the digital realm. For everything anyone played in real time it would go to the Roland VS1680. To be honest… I can’t remember if I even owned an audio interface to get any performances into the computer.
Funny enough… That was the only stretch of my life where I was making a living with my music. lol :o)
as a note, in some cases, ASIO4ALL is acceptable but should be your third choice after ASIO, WASAPI.