Hi @barefootpriest.
There is a (long-ish) discussion around that particular issue: See Live loops Sync questions :-). [Edit - Ha. Just realised that’s one of the Patreon specific topics. Sorry 
]
In short though, it is because the sync :bd inside the :pad live_loop will block that live_loop and make it wait until the next time the :bd live_loop loops around before continuing.
The live_loop command has a sync: parameter that you will want to investigate as an alternative - See the Lang help section for details.