Best And Tightest Midi Sync Setup - With Laptop

Elektron Gear
#21

i have the feeling that People can’t understand that subject until they finally have a Sync Dedicated box + useful options included onboard on top of that Sync capability. I never heard someone who invest in this kind of box said it’s not worth the money… so …

A lot of people neglect the Mixer too in their setup, they think a soundcard is a mixer… but it’s not. Of course the primary goal is to make music with their budget : i would never recommend to someone to borrow money to buy a hi-end studio when it is simple savings for a home studio that you must advise.

But when you take the ROAD of the Hardware + Computer in a hybrid setup there’s things with a cost but This makes life easy.

oh i forget DAPAYK who use the ACME 4 too also in an Elektron environement :

What’s fine also in this kind of setup is Sync box with multiple clock start/stop make transitions and loading project more easy.

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#22

wow that is a sweet setup.

#23

Hi, I have a question: will the groove function on the synch box work on midi sync message, or it only works on din sync?

#24

Am I correct in assuming you’re planning to have Logic act as the MIDI clock master and that you’re considering getting an E-RM Midiclock+ to remove any jitter from that clock signal?

I would recommending trying without an E-RM Midiclock+ first. Make sure to use a decent MIDI interface and an active MIDI Thru splitter to distribute the clock signal to your hardware devices.

I would only get an additional hardware device like the E-RM Midiclock+ to remove jitter from Logic’s clock signal if you’re actually having any issues with your hardware not playing tightly.

Please note that removing jitter from the clock signal won’t do anything for the Digitakt because it derives the tempo from the clock signal instead of being driven by it directly (see my message above for an explanation). I don’t know for sure, but I would be surprised if this isn’t also the case for the arpeggiator in the Nord A1. The Dominion Club and the Acidlab 606 might be driven directly by the clock signal; this is something you could ask the manufacturer.

If you’re handy with a soldering iron (or know someone who is) you can build a MidiGAL and run the MidiClk firmware on it to test the quality of the clock signal in your setup and to remove any jitter from the clock signal. See https://midisizer.com/midigal/ and https://midisizer.com/midigal/midiclk/ for details. Building this yourself will give you a much less expensive alternative to the E-RM Midiclock+.

The same site also offers a PCB for a nice compact 1-to-5 MIDI Thru splitter at https://midisizer.com/midithru/

#25

I don’t know which one you asked… (i think it’s working everywhere because the shuffle need to be rock solid and based on audio pulse, that’s the clock coming from the plugin in the DAW or the standalone clock generated by the Box itself) :

acme 4 : http://www.s-n-d.com/acme4e_a.html
http://www.s-n-d.com/acme-4/ACME-4_user_manual.pdf

ERM Multiclock : https://www.e-rm.de/multiclock
(https://www.e-rm.de/data/Multiclock_Manual_EN.pdf)

@t Midisizer Midiclk sounds good but it’s not coming with an audio pulse (plugin VST) to route the clock from the Daw by the Soundcard to the Sync solution right ? i like when the clock is an audio trigger in a hybrid setup i find it a very nice solution.

#26

Correct, but neither does the E-RM Midiclock+ (see https://www.e-rm.de/products/midiclock.php).

I’m not going to argue with your preferences, but IMHO it makes very little sense to spend $500 on this kind of hardware if your setup already works for you.

#27

Sure ! i’m talking about the Multiclock

I’m not going to argue with your preferences, but IMHO it makes very little sense to spend $500 on this kind of hardware if your setup already works for you.

Of course.

#28

Thank you for taking the time to write this, very elegantly and eloquently put, and cleared up a few questions I had.

#29

Many thanks for this. Most helpful. Yes, Logic would send midi clock. If I can have a try without the separate clock, that’s great. I’m planning on running a focusrite interface (thunderbolt) to capture the hardware outputs. Would I also need a separate midi interface or could I use the midi on the focusrite?

#30

Crazy good information, thanks for taking the time writing this.

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#31

The Focusrite should be fine.

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#32

I have an ERM Multiclock, and I highly can recommend it. another option might be one of the new midi interfacesof iconnectivity that support midi via Ethernet (rtp). I expect less jitter there and less latency.

#33

Excellent. Then I guess the focusrite connected something like a Kenton midi thru box with all of the hardware plugged into it?

#34

Yup.

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#35

i hear mostly glowing reviews of the audio midi sync boxes … seems the key to a fabulous result is the accompanying quality and latency of the soundcard in the studio.

#36

Any decent examples of audio midi interfaces?

#37

Cheers. £250 for the focusrite and £80 for the Kenton. Hopefully this will work!

#38

by audio midi interfaces i meant like the Kenton, et al … not sure although i think they use a kind of audio signal to achieve sync

as regards audio cards,
a firewire rme card is guaranteed to have super low latency fwiw
although Focusrite has a great name and are less expensive

#39

Ah, I see. Thanks for that. Looks like I need to hook up the mac to the focusrite via thunderbolt, then connect the focusrite to the Kenton thru which then speaks to the hardware (the output from which feeds back into the focusrite via the inputs). Fingers crossed this works ok. I shall report back!

#40

thunderbolt? fabulous :slight_smile:

1 Like