Cubase's own multiband compressor causing latency

I’m using Cubase to finish projects that are 75% finished and I thought I would use the multiiband compressor but it introduces latency…huh :confused:
If I use Waves C6 dynamic compressor there is no latency…
I thought the plugins that came with the DAW were the most efficient,
can anyone explain this please? :slight_smile:

best,Kevin :slight_smile:

The Cubase multiband compressor introduces latency - nothing else to explain there…

Based on what did you think that? Not always what you think is also the truth…

Efficiency refers to CPU usage, not extra latency.

The stock multiband compressor was designed in the mid-2000s, when single core processors were still the norm. It’s likely using a higher latency in order to keep CPU usage close to 0% in as many systems as possible.

The C6 is much newer. The latency it adds is lower but it definitely does add some.

EDIT: The real reason why the stock multiband compressor has higher latency is because it uses linear phase filtering to avoid phase distortion artifacts. Waves C6 causes bad artifacts even with no compression at all.

BTW, the Cubase Multiband Compressor has a live mode that removes the latency.

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OK thank you…now I know why I never use the Cubase plugins…never thought the compressor had not been updated in line with the actual DAW,
any latency that the C6 adds is so insignificant that it is not noticeable…

thanks for your answers…

The Multiband Compressor did get updated very recently, there’s just not much point in reducing its latency when it’s only meant to be used as a last resort during mixing or during mastering anyway.

Why are you concerned with latency? Are you saying you need to track through the MBC?

Cubase compensates very well for plug-in delay. What problem is the latency still causing you?

The included plugins are really good these days. The mulitband comp was updated and is excellent. The only problem I have with it is the auto-gain which really we should be able to switch off.

Multiband comps and other plugins used primarily for mastering do introduce latency.

Hi, I’ve been using the Waves C6 dynamic multiband compressor to make space for a vocal… ( routing instruments through it and side chaining it from the vocal track, just mid frequencies) which works great…no discernible latency, just thought i’d give Cubase’s own multiband comp a go ( even though I know it’s not dynamic) wanted to see if it made a difference to the performance meter…it didn’t and it introduced latency…which surprised me but., what do I know…I’m only into music…not puters!

cheers all, Kevin

Have you got delay compensation turned on? You shouldn’t be hearing the latency.


and if you’ve got asio guard turned on you shouldn’t feel it either.

never needed to use delay comp so never did and yeah…got asio guard on, if i don’t have it on I get distorted audio…
thanks for your interest,

cheers :slight_smile:

I wish that were possible using a DAW, but I don’t think it is.

I too find many things about Cubase that irritate me. But I either spend some time trying to solve them, or if I can’t, I just do whatever workaround I need to to get the job done. For example, the tempo detect was quite broken in an earlier version of C9 … for that period of time I opened projects in C8.5, did the tempo detect there, then brought it back to C9 … or just created my tempo maps manually with Time Warp … whatever it takes to keep working.

I suppose there is some theoretical threshold of problems/bugs above which I would move on to another DAW. That would be quite high for me personally, as I know I would be to some degree swapping out one set of issues for another. I do understand the decision you said you made in an earlier post to move on to S1 … please come back and let us know if there is significantly more music and less computer there than in Cubase.

Good luck!

Hi, I don’t know if you’ve tried S1 or not but it is a beautiful thing, gone are the click fest’s for one…the mixer is very sleek and tidy, the drag and drop improves workflow a ton…i have not had to sort out any problems since buying S1, not one crash and it runs a project at around 40% that cubase runs at around 90%,it’s not perfect of course, Cubase has the awesome chord track which I miss in S1 because I always use it but I’m finishing already started projects inC8.5 and starting new ones in S1 and it’s a much smoother ride…if you haven’t tried the trial…you should, if you don’t use the chord track I can’t imagine why you would go back to Cubase…
I’ve found it more convenient to move to a DAW that is more modern and less troublesome and with a company that talks to it’s customers than figuring things out in Cubase…S1 is so much easier to use, everything just seems to fall into place…

best, Kevin

Plugin Delay compensation in Cubase is always on - nothing you have to do yourself.

but you can turn it off is the point - I was asking if he had it on or off.

I’m still unsure (no answer to my question) why it matters how much latency there is on this plugin. It’s not one that typically needs to be tracked through.

It mattered to me because I wanted to use it while tracking, but went back to Waves C6 ( explanation of why is in an above post) because this plugin created no discernible latency, like I said, I was surprised that Cubase’s own plug caused more latency than a third party plug…sorry I forgot to answer your question… :slight_smile: :slight_smile:
I would be curious to know if cubase’s own dynamic multiband compressor ( i think there is one in C9 ) would cause the same latency… :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

best, Kevin :slight_smile:

Got it, thx. I’d not come across or heard of a situation where it was important to track through a MBC. Understood now why that’s important to you! BTW, just for my own education, what are other comps lacking that you need an MBC to track through?

For those less experienced than you who might not know - it is helpful to keep in mind that some plug-ins intentionally introduce latency, for example those with look-ahead features (such as some limiters). The point being that, especially in plug-ins used for mixing rather than tracking, the overall feature set is much more important than whether a given plug-in introduces latency or not.

Hi Alexis, of course it’s not important to track through a MBC, I just use it, as I said previously, to make space for the vocal by routing the main instruments through it and side chaining it from the vocal, I only use one band in the mid range area…the Waves C6 adds no discernible latency so it’s not a problem during tracking…
regarding other compressors…to do what I’m doing requires a MBC with side chain and the C6 is the only one I have,
I am curious about the MBC in C9 ( i believe it has one, could be wrong though, my trial has expired ) does it introduce latency?
if it does that would be another reason not to upgrade…
best, Kevin :slight_smile:

Hi Alexis, of course it’s not important to track through an MBC, :slight_smile: I just use it, as I said previously, to make space for the vocal by routing the main instruments through it and side chaining it from the vocal, I only use one band in the mid range area…the Waves C6 adds no discernible latency so it’s not a problem during tracking…
regarding other compressors…to do what I’m doing requires a MBC with side chain and the C6 is the only one I have,
I am curious about the MBC in C9 ( i believe it has one, could be wrong though, my trial has expired ) does it introduce latency?
if it does that would be another reason not to upgrade…
best, Kevin :slight_smile: