Problem with Tracks out of Sync

[MixolydianPony]

I seem to have a problem of different tracks being out of sync, and I've not been able to rectify the situation with anything I've tried so far.

Typically, when I record a song, I'll start by programming the drums in the software. In playback, the drums are perfectly on beat with the metronome. Then I'll record a rhythm guitar part, which will be off just enough to be noticeable, but not enough to tell whether it's before or after the beat. Any subsequent tracks that I record just get more and more off, and in the end, I have a jumbled mess of nearly arrhythmic notes.

I've tried adjusting the software's latency option, but that accomplished nothing. I've tried manually moving the track a few milliseconds forward and back, but I can never get it just right.

Is there something I'm missing here, or have I just not messed around with the software enough?

I use Cakewalk's Music Creator 5 and I record by running my guitar to an effects board, which runs to my amp, which is miked, which leads to an external mixer, which goes into my computer's mic port.

[bartekko]

I'd try to record parts in audacity, export to wav. then Import to DAW. Ableton Live has got a very good stretching algorithm, but I don't know if cakewalk does. you should ask d.notive for that

[X-Trav]

I use Cakewalk's Music Creator 5 and I record by running my guitar to an effects board, which runs to my amp, which is miked, which leads to an external mixer, which goes into my computer's mic port.

The more things your sound has to run through the bigger the delay. Try just recording the guitar, and THEN doing all the editing and effects.

[Versilaryan]

If you aren't doing this already, mute the track you're recording into and pop an ear free from your headphones. And cut the extra silence from the start of each recorded track right after recording. If you aren't doing all three of those, you can have all sorts of timing issues, not just with latency, but with your own playing, too.

If you have any trouble at all playing strictly in time, practice practice practice! I always practice parts I'm recording as if I were to play them live.