Quantization and delay and the human ear.

[musicguy7]

I was wondering with strict 100% quantization to the grid, are notes still a tiny bit off the beat due to delay caused by the speed of the computer, technology, etc? Is this noticeable to the human ear? and if so is there a threshold that can be measured in milliseconds or something that delay becomes detectable to the human ear?

[ski]

No quantization is entirely perfect. And some plugins won't play back the same way twice, meaning that the timing is going to be slightly different each time you play back the part (talking MIDI parts here, not recorded audio).

 

To your other question, whether or not the timing of a part is off from some kind of "ideal" placement can't be scientifically measured because different people have different sensitivities and sensibilities when it comes to timing. Therefore, "detectable" is relative. To put it in perspective, some people can hear timing differences as little as 1/2 a millisecond, and others can't clap in time to a beat (even though they think they are).

[taffy]

Brilliant - "some people can hear timing differences as little as 1/2 a millisecond, and others can't clap in time to a beat (even though they think they are).

 

How about people who poke fun at themselves because they know they can't keep a beat or sing in tune... think shyness enters the picture?