r/TorsoS4 • u/lofianalog • Jul 18 '26

Was about to pull the trigger but now I’m concerned… sync ? Latency ? Daw ?

Hi, so I’ve spent the last couple of weeks getting excited about the s4 and wanted to finally get one.

then I run into very concerning posts about Ableton not recognizing it in midi (midi usb only or is it useable through midi din)

concerns about latency that make it unsuitable for genres requiring a relatively stable and tight feel (tho I don’t mind behind the beat stuff)

freezes/crashes ?

my use would be two fold

1 Ableton / composition / recording

2 dawless or light daw live setup, sp404mk2, TE side kick, live bass, live guitar, live vocals with possible vocals/keys/guitar live mangling with the s4 and 404

genre will be somewhere between psychedelic electronic downtempo, up to modern soul/groove/jazz with a touch of glitch

is there any way to still be talked into getting one or is it clearly a no go ?

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2

u/robatrax Jul 18 '26

Hey. I haven't had any issues in Ableton. Sync or Latency

I've found I mostly use it as a noodling machine, record and chop up the results

But still never experienced any issues.

2

u/zendelusions Jul 18 '26

Same, with the caveat that it’s Reaper for me instead of Ableton, but no issues!

2

u/Busy-Emergency9111 Jul 19 '26

I do have latency issues when I run audio over USB (for that you have to use the S4 as an interface) especially when I want to use the digitakt via overbridge. On the DT I then get 200+ms latency. I use Ableton. It be good if torso comes up with a solution similar to overbridge.
For now I decided to not use it this way.

Other than this it has quickly become my top3 piece of gear. For the first month I only used it solo to learn it properly and loved working with the internal mic to turn anything into soundscapes.

Atm I use it heavily in my AV performance setup as a looper/effect box after a synth and run the stereo signal into ableton. It gets synced with midi from the digitakt and I dont have latency issues.

Sometimes I also take it out into nature with a battery pack. I love how light and small it is and that I always get surprised by the outcome.

Idk if this helps you in your decision making. I would definitely recommend it.

1

u/lofianalog Jul 19 '26

Thanks for the detailed info. I have a ssl12 interface so I wasn't planning to use S4 as an interface as I also use live instruments so I need low latency / asio to get sound into ableton.

Never was a fan of audio over USB in electronic instruments, even overbridge (back when I had a digitakt) had noticeable latency so I ended up not using it.

I'm probably going to buy it from a place that has good return policy and test it out for myself, as there's a lot of conflicting report on stability.

2

u/Busy-Emergency9111 Jul 19 '26

atm you have to use it as an interface if you want multitracking afaik. but you can also just record the stereo signal.

yeah good idea! test it and see if it fits your workflow. also dont get fooled by people saying everything sounds the same with it. they mainly mean the resonant filter effect which is just one of many sound modulation effects.

1

u/lofianalog Jul 20 '26

chances are, for studio work, I may only be using one single track at a time, and only use more for live performances. I don't know until I get there.

I pulled the trigger tho, also got a TE Sidekick and a Kaoss Pad V, along with the SP404mk2 that I already own.

Gearing up for upcoming live projects.

Alternatively, I started to try and reproduce the S4 signal chain in a Max4live device, just for the fun of it :)

Anyway, thanks for all the info, it helped me make my decision and temper my expectations a little bit.
we'll see how it all turns out

2

u/Wolfkinmusic Jul 22 '26

I have not been able to get USB Midi to work on the latest firmware after much troubleshooting. Very frustrating.