Latency? Let's Wait And See...

I read through all kinds of Audacity

Tutorials and "help forums" and the like, and I made a discovery which should solve my recent problems with the studio.

Latency Test

After reading about "latency," I recorded a click track on Track 1.

Then, I made a recording on Track 2 of the very same click track, by running my headphones, to the microphone.

I then played back the two tracks in parallel, and discovered that the clicks were 45 milliseconds apart, due to latency (the difference in time between a sound hitting the microphone and the computer actually recording it).

The two out of sync click tracks sounded eerily familiar in their disjointedness.

For the past month, every note that I played exactly on the beat was being delayed by 45 milliseconds before being placed in the recording.

I was jamming away, keeping time with the drums or click track, "feeling the groove," thinking "this is a really cool rhythm, I can't wait to add lead to it."

But Then, when I played back the first two tracks, the guitar had fallen behind by 45 milliseconds; not enough time to run to the store for a beer and back; but enough of a delay to make the guitarist sound like he has no rhythm, and make him want to run to the store for a beer, to help drown his anguish over how something could sound so good during recording, and then have the life squeezed out of it upon playback. 

When I DID go right to step 3, to add lead guitar, or bass or vocals, I couldn't feel the relationship between the drums and guitar because they were out of step, and it wasn't very inspiring of playing a good part.

The Audacity program has a setting for latency, which comes "from the factory" already set to correct a 130 millisecond delay. This may be tailored around desktop computers. 

I will either have to set mine to correct for 175 milliseconds, or just shift every new track that I make back in time, 45 milliseconds, manually. I've already tested the second method and it worked...

This comes just in time, as I have run out of money, my lighter died last night, the zipper on my guitar case has broken, and I will have to get out on the street and busk. At least I won't have to devote so many hours a day, trying to figure out the studio...