My timing has never been poorer than when I started recording my performances in DAWs. Today was another reminder of that.

In creating this post, I hope to get a few S1 pros involved to test and confirm the MIDI timing inaccuracies I've discovered in Studio One. This test is error free if we are to believe the settings and our eyes and ears when it comes to recording.

For this test I used S1 4.61 on a PC through a Focusrite 6i8 USB 2 interface (2nd Gen). I set the block size to 1024. (I'm monitoring in real time and not through S1's "blue button".)

At the end of this post, I've also included a LICEcap GIF of the results I got with a simple MIDI vs AUDIO rec. test.

Here's what to do if you feel so inclined:

1) Create an 8 bar looped section and render a click track from S1's click menu for use within that 8 bar loop.

2) Hook up a shure 57 or other mic with short XLR cable and record the click track.
a) COMPARE the rendered click track transients versus the mic recorded click transients: do they line up perfectly?
b) If there is a gap between the two (latency, either + or -) then go to Options/Advanced/AUDIO and set the offset + or - by whatever distance that gap is in MS or samples.

c) Record the click track again and keep adjusting the audio offset until the output click signal and the recorded click signal are in perfect sync. This prepares you for the MIDI accuracy test.

NOTE: What you have now established is perfect audio timing in your signal chain where the output of the system is almost simultaneously recorded into the DAW.

3) Set up an external MIDI instrument. I used V-Drums because that's where I noticed these timing issues with MIDI most.

4) Now, record yourself playing a single note in exact time with the click WHILE ALSO RECORDING THE AUDIO sound of your finger hitting that key or the V-Drum head. The reason for this is to prove how close your real time physical attack on the keyboard is to the click track being played back — knowing that the mic recording track has already been calibrated for PERFECT timing to that click.

5) NOW, here's the fun/no so fun part: Have a look at the MIDI notes that you recorded: are they in perfect time with the audio track of you hitting the keys? My answer: an emphatic NO.

If you are concerned about accuracy of MIDI performance, I've put this test together to give us a common means of measuring the accuracy of MIDI input from system to system.

Please let me know what your experiences were. It should take about 15 minutes to try this.

Below is a GIF of the gap between the drum hit that my mic recorded, and the variable/unreliable offsets that Studio One created to make my MIDI performance / Drum grooves utterly useless. The highlighted area offers a visual display of the offset between MIDI and audio attacks.

BONUS ROUND: For a further thrill, adjust your Dropout Protection and note how this begins to offset your recorded MIDI signal as well. I'm always at Minimum. I tried Medium. That was enough to send me running back.