Plug-in delay compensation

Plug-ins that look ahead (limiters, linear-phase EQs, some amp models) output late. Marbble compensates every path, as Logic’s default “All” mode does, so tracks, summing stacks, auxes and sends line up at Stereo Out.

• A bus waits for the latest of its inputs, and every other path into it is delayed to match. The whole mix plays that much behind the playhead, like extra output latency.
• Sends are compensated too, pre- and post-fader.
• Bypassed plug-ins still count, so switching a plug-in off doesn’t shift the rest of the mix.
• Changes while playing don’t click: when a latent plug-in is inserted or removed, a plug-in’s latency changes (the Linear Phase EQ’s Quality, a Compressor’s Lookahead), or Low Latency Mode switches, each delayed path glides to its new delay with a 15 ms crossfade instead of jumping. You hear a brief blend of the two timings rather than a click. Bounces always start with the delays settled.
• Automation, the metronome and recordings follow the compensation.
• The Audio FX label of a strip shows its plug-in latency (each slot’s tooltip has its own), and the status line shows the total (“PDC 10.0 ms”).
• Settings › Audio › Plug-in Delay Compensation: All (default) or Off.

Low Latency Mode (Settings › Audio, or Record › Low Latency Mode): while you play live, plug-ins with more latency than the limit (5 ms by default) are switched off on record-enabled tracks and on monitored audio tracks, and those tracks skip their compensation delay. An armed audio track that is recording always skips its own compensation delay. Bounces and exports ignore Low Latency Mode.