sound is delayed!!

[Empanada]

SETUP:
created a soundtrack using layered technique from an FK tutorial (the one where you layer different tracks and controll them with envelope adjustments). Placed in a movieclip- placed movie clip in main timeline.

PROBLEM:
when played through browser plug-in (particularly macs), the drum track starts, then the rest of the tracks (bass, guitar, etc) play just a bit later. I thought it was a mistake in my composition---

HOWEVER:
If I drag the .swf on the Flash 5 standalone player (before it is yet running)- the same thing happens. BUT, if I drag the file on the player again after that (now already launched), everything works great.

QUESTION:
Is there a solution to this problem- or do I have to create one large in one file?

---JOE

[hp3]

this tutorial leaves out some important information. you might read the KillerSound tutorial which is the "definative" source on this technique.

in order to get all your tracks to start simultaneously, you need to use a silent stream sound that starts atleast 2 frames before your tracks start and plays through 2 frames after the audio tracks start. This puts the player in stream mode temporarily and helps to improve timing and syncronization of layers in a timeline.

• create a short silent sound.
• place it on the timeline 2 frames before your tracks start.
• set the sound to stream sync.
• add 4 frames after this silent stream sound.
• loop the stream sound enough times in the sound panel to
• see the wave form in all 5 frames.

by the way, is the drum track top most layer containing sound?

(I wrote a more complete article on this process for Electronic Musician Magazine which will be published in May.)

[Empanada]

Excellent! Thanks, I'm sure that has to be it. That's actually one of the tutorials I used, too...but I completely missed the 'silent' sound lead--argh!!

oh, and yes, the drum track is on the top layer.

thanks again! I'll be looking for your piece in the May EM Magazine!

[hp3]

---
oh, and yes, the drum track is on the top layer.
---

Flash behaves the same way when you try and play many sounds simultaneously from an ActionScript loop. The first sound plays then there is a delay, and the remaining sounds play but all in sync. So only the first sound is out of sync. With layers sounds are triggered in top to bottom layer order, so top layer sound is first.

As I think about it, you may not need the stream sound trick after all. When you try to trigger multiple sounds from an ActionScript loop the trick to get synchronization is to use a short silent sound as a throw away and the rest are in sync. Since the behavior between ActionScript loops and sounds in layers seems to be the same, then they may support the same solution.

You might try just putting a short silent sound 1 or 2 frames before the audio tracks start and see if that also solves the problem.