If notes look right but feel early or late, do not immediately blame your skill — check calibration first. Frets on Fire lets you shift audio/video timing, and a wrong audio buffer or sample rate can make a well-played run feel permanently off.
Calibrate in order
- Set your audio output to a standard sample rate (44,100 Hz is the usual starting point) and close other audio apps.
- In the game’s audio settings, increase the audio buffer size if sound crackles, and change it back down if timing feels sluggish.
- Adjust the A/V delay setting in small steps — try changes of 50 at a time, as the game’s own troubleshooting notes suggest — and test with a song you know well.
Settings problem or hardware problem?
- If timing drifts during a song, suspect the audio buffer or a background app stealing CPU.
- If timing is consistently early or late by the same amount, suspect A/V delay calibration.
- If notes drop entirely on chords, that is ghosting, not timing — see keyboard ghosting and the NKRO fix.
If audio is missing or out of sync rather than just mistimed, see no sound or audio desync.
Browse the full hub. Related guides: keyboard ghosting nkro, frets on fire no sound audio desync, add custom songs frets on fire.