MIDI latency from computer as master

Structive · 2014-01-29T19:15:49.000Z

thanks all for the words so far.

one thing I did just discover is that if I have the octatrack/MIDI/sync/transp set to receive but leave the clock unselected there is no drift whereas if I have the Clock selected to receive then the drift slowly creeps in. . .

as invisible says the computers clock info is a bit wack for sure. I’ve noticed it never keeps a constant time and is constantly adjusting the bpm values

invisible_acropolis · 2014-01-29T20:17:30.000Z

""Structive"":

thanks all for the words so far.

one thing I did just discover is that if I have the octatrack/MIDI/sync/transp set to receive but leave the clock unselected there is no drift whereas if I have the Clock selected to receive then the drift slowly creeps in. . .

yeh well there will definitely be no drifting if it is not receiving midi clock, because that means the clock would be generated internally by the device itself

also depending on your setup you may not need it - but if you want to hit “play” on your computer and then have the sequencer of another device start running at the same time, you have to do it (there are other more complicated ways of getting that done without sending clock but you may not be up to it)

if you dont need this to happen, just have each device use their own midi clock (dont sync them) and just set them all to the same tempo

I think the suggested solution given by elektron is to use the Octatrack as a midi clock master, and then have Ableton sync to that… but its still gonna drift, its just the nature of the beast

for some reason, no one ever implements a setting like “clock drift tolerance”… so it will drift by like a few 0.1s of a BPM all over the place, but usually not more than that… so if you are syncing to 120 bpms, you will see the slave drifting from 120.1 to 120.4 or down to 119.8 or something like this… and i dont know why there is not a setting for “tolerance” so that if the clock drifts less than a full 1.0 BPM, it would be ignored - seems like that would solve a lot of problems but apparently nobody has thought of that

nakedbob · 2014-01-30T18:42:09.000Z

Drift tolerance!
That’s a pretty good idea!

danlukas · 2014-02-19T05:49:15.000Z

any luck switching the orientation and having the OT as master and ABLETON as the slave? does that remedy the drift issues?

fachperson · 2014-03-25T09:20:23.000Z

danlukas, this is what I am doing. the drift persists.

I will probably try to find a way to just send play/stop signals to ableton and set tempo individually.

MichalHo · 2014-03-25T09:49:15.000Z

Slave everything to the OT and you should be fine.
that’s how i do it and it works ok.

Use Ableton for recording only and remove it from the MIDI clock chain if you can, you could still send a start transport message to ableton from OT.

t · 2014-03-25T10:20:29.000Z

If I understand correctly, the issue only happens with the MIDI OUT from either the prophet or the Juno connected to the MIDI IN of the MOTU 828 (i.e. Ableton). Is that indeed the case?

fachperson · 2014-03-25T11:24:19.000Z

the issue happens when I use the OT as a master for ableton via my mpk25.

It’s a nuisance because I use tempo based delay fx which get distorted due to the marginal tempo shifts.

t · 2014-03-25T11:58:25.000Z

Fachperson, I was actually referring to Structive’s original question at the top of the thread which describes a different issue.

In your case I’d recommend trying Live as the master. Live doesn’t sync well to external MIDI clock sources.

MichalHo · 2014-03-25T13:16:59.000Z

""fachperson"":

the issue happens when I use the OT as a master for ableton via my mpk25.

It’s a nuisance because I use tempo based delay fx which get distorted due to the marginal tempo shifts.

if i understand correctly, you have two possible “fehlerquellen”:

-try to route clock messages directly and on a reserved midi port whenever possible - no mpk in between would be good, hook that up to another midi in port reserved for controlling ableton.

ableton itself… it will correct audio recording problems most of the time if it is midi master (which might be the way to go for you), but ableton’s master clock, even on well-configured pc/macs, is way more jittery than the OT master clock.

Ableton clock jitter: up to 38ms, depending on system.
OT clock jitter: 0.4ms

Got the numbers from here:

http://www.innerclocksystems.com/New%20ICS%20Litmus.html

e-rm.de

E-RM_report_Jitter_02_14_EN.pdf

t · 2014-03-25T13:41:08.000Z

I like how on this forum threads quickly aren’t about the original question at all anymore.

FWIW I think Structive’s original problem is caused by a “MIDI loop” where the MIDI clock generated by Live ends up being fed back into Live. He might be able to resolve this by filtering these out somehow, or by telling Live not to listen to incoming MIDI clock.

cbg · 2014-11-26T23:11:09.000Z

Hey everybody! I have been struggling to find a solution for this threads topic…aside from spending a nice bit of $ on the innerclock sync gen box. Has anyone come across a decent video tutorial for OT setup with Ableton? Or should I give up and start saving for the innerclock?

cube48 · 2014-11-27T07:37:22.000Z

There have been some attempts with setting MIDI clock delay/offset of your MIDI interface in Live’s MIDI settings. I can’t post direct links now but one should be able to find it on Ableton’s forum.

mezz303 · 2014-11-27T09:41:17.000Z

Have you checked that the MOTU isn’t sending clock via USB/FW?

mickeyziggyk · 2014-11-27T10:57:47.000Z

Hi

@Structive: Try and get hold of another midi interface and see what happens (I switched from a MOTU 128 express to a Midisport 2x2 and all my problems disappeared)

jaydo1 · 2015-01-12T01:00:05.000Z

Hi

am having similar issue and i was wondering if possible for you to post the set up that you have with the Ocatrack as the master and Ableton as the slave (how is this done?) am using the Midex 8 as interface but am having difficulty getting it staying stable any help would be appreciated

fachperson · 2015-01-13T14:03:34.000Z

I changed from Ableton Intro to Ableton Standard and this seems to have done the trick. Ableton is master for sync and transport - OT receives midi through RME babyface, A4 and AR via USB.

I know this doesn’t make much sense, but I have no more sync probs.

ipassenger · 2015-01-13T14:35:34.000Z

""Baddcr"":

we can all hit things in time right?

Not a chance! that’s why I need a drum machine!!
You can use the tempo nudge trick to sort it though. For me, the accuracy of 135bpm for example on two machines is never spot on, they will definitely drift over time… Depends on how long their running together before restarting I guess.

ipassenger · 2015-01-13T14:38:41.000Z

""nakedbob"":

Drift tolerance!
That’s a pretty good idea!

Ableton actually does this when clocked from an external source, it knows yr computer is crap and ignores fast fluctuations. Before I had the modular and expert sleepers Es3/ES5 combo, I set Ableton as slave and took advantage of this, it was pretty good really but not perfect.

ipassenger · 2015-01-13T15:30:37.000Z

Oh yeah I aint arguing that, it’s a useful skill.