Anyone here integrate the OT with their daw? I"m just looking for some ideas and was wondering if it’s possible to sync with your daw and have the daw trigger patterns?
At the very least i’m trying to have it sync up so i can have it in time with other stuff going on in my daw and easily recording each track separately without timing issues
best thing that happened to me in this regard was ditching ableton in favour of reason for an all-swedish combo
given the fact my man-boy room (ie. bedroom studio) is rather hardware-oriented, with the OT as the center piece, reason is slaved to the OT. works wonders for me, because within reason I can easily clone the main output pair to send to an external cassette recorder for additional lo-fi goodness.
Hi you can watch this for the manual sync procedure :
If you want something better, you can looking for a sync box will act as your master clock and all will be slave to this, include the computer :
_ SYNC GEN 2 PRO
[http://www.innerclocksystems.com/New%20ICS%20Sync-Gen%20II%20Pro.html](http://www.innerclocksystems.com/New ICS Sync-Gen II Pro.html)
_ ACME 4
http://www.s-n-d.com/acme4e_a.htmlhttp://www.s-n-d.com/acme4e_a.html
_ KOMA elektronik RH301
http://koma-elektronik.com/?product=rh301-rhythm-workstation-utility-tool
Hope it’s help
Cheers
btw. anyone else get the impression ableton is total crap in the sync department?
it’s Jitter problem, so the problem is with all computer based software, maybe one should be more tight to another, but you always have jitter problem with a computer. So you can sync with midi delay compensation but for me when i switch of my computer i have to re-do the all stuff… so i’m going probably like so many friends in a SYNC GEN 2 PRO configuration, it’s expensive but you can SYNC computer + 5 midi devices + 5 Din sync (old hardware stuff)
So… Depend to the needs
Ableton MIDI sync totally depends on the Interface performance of the hardware (MIDI-Audio-Interface, drivers etc.).
Funny story I recently had: MIDI goes out via USB, Audio via Firewire.
With the original driver of the FW interface = crap clock, jumping +/- 3BPM all over.
With 3rd party driver or Audio via USB: perfect clock.
I’ve had no luck at all with Live as a master - I was running a TB-303 from the A4’s DIN out, and with Live as master the 303 pattern was out of sync after a few bars - after three minutes it was a total mess. Interestingly, Reason fared better as a master, but I couldn’t be bothered to investigate why. This was consistent with across USB MIDI direct to the A4, and Maschine’s standard MIDI out. I could bring up the tempo on the A4 and watch it fluctuate by half a BPM constantly while Live was running, which was perhaps causing the 303 to drift over time (because it wasn’t compensating for this), I don’t know.
Anyway, I decided I could live without DAW sync, so that was that. I don’t know if it was Live or the A4’s slave sync or something else, but I left the A4 driving the 303 itself for a good hour and the sync stayed tight, so that was good enough for me.
i use the octatrack in my studio with cubase…
i built a midi device panel so i can control the octatrack via CC when im at my desk on my DAW and not in front of the octatrack… i monitor the octatrack direct back through the desk so there is no real latency issues with playback…
no clock issues using cubase as the master… its solid…
tbh though i tend not to use the octatrack when im at my DAW its more for live use and jamming out ideas quickly in the studio…
on the ableton topic… i found it to be a real pain when it came to using external kit… ive got a lil phatty, prophet 08, pulse 2, eventide space, some moogerfoogers, jomox mbase and mbrane, plus the octatrack… ableton seemed to give me more trouble than it was worth… i went back to cubase, the DAW i had been on for about 12 years and was much happier for it…
So whats the deal with getting Octatrack stems inside a DAW. I have a apple laptop but no external soundcard etc. After reading this I assume that Live (i have the most basic Live Lite - mainly for creating sample chains) needs to be sync’d someway to Octatrack? Do i need to buy some sort of external soundcard (sorry if this sounds 101)
Sync does suck in Live! However… I have Live 9 Intro. I used a simple little Midisport 2x2, and I installed ASIO4All - http://www.asio4all.com/ - on my PC. With Live as master clock going in to the OT, ASIO4All did the sync trick well enough (very close, but not perfect) for me to record in time, but I still had to do some basic quantizing on every track. That’s the first DAW I’ve owned, first usb midi interface I’ve owned, and the first song I’ve ever tracked. The song gets released on the 8-bit Operators label June 10. Take your time with the settings in Live and ASIO4All. This will likely help you, but after seeing this thread, I may be giving Reason a try next time.
a plain vanilla macbook will only get you as far as transferring samples to/from the OT via usb. if you get a dual jack to stereo minijack cable you can record audio to the computer but that kinda sucks ass and it’s waaay better if you have a proper audio interface.
if you want to sync the OT with a DAW, you’ll need a midi interface, because OT does not transmit midi via usb.
Got ya!
Any suggestions for a good (i assume firewire) audio interface? Ideally something with a shit load of inputs so i can record 4 outputs of Octatrack and a few channels of Tanzbar all at the same time…
depends on how much you’re willing to spend. basically better innards and more inputs = $$$$$
myself, I’m very happy with my MOTU Ultralite mk3 (but elsewhere on this forum you can read it can be problematic). RME and Apogee are also very nice albeit more expensive. it really boils down to figuring out how many inputs do you need vs. how much money you have.
I’m using a Focusrite Pro 40 and it sounds pretty good to my ears. It also has nice software to control routing and other settings, and has expansion capabilities. I was previously using a Roland FA-101 and the Focusrite sounds drastically better.
I suggest not skimping on your interface if possible, as it will affect the quality of everything you record with outboard gear. I wish many of my older samples and recordings had been made with a nicer interface!
I also use the Pro 40 and am very pleased with it. Added another 8 inputs via ADAT and a patchbay and couldn’t be happier.
is that the focusrite with the oddly placed knobs on the front panel?
The knobs are staggered which seems a bit odd at first, but I feel like it actually gives your hand a bit more room than if all the knobs were lined up horizontally.
I got rid of the Sync-Gen Pro II in favor of good old fashioned Tap Tempo and Start/Stop…Bend +/- on OT and use it as the final stage…call me crazy but I got there after many tests…It’s widely known that Ableton has a bad reputation for erratically drifting when clocking hardware but not all is lost…internally Ableton can clock steadily as a Slave to a Master which is good when you are using it alongside a DJ software such as Traktor which has virtual MIDI…adding clocking devices such as the Innerclock Systems Sync-Gen Pro II mentioned above does a great job of keeping things in time with the DAW but…you can try to clock manually and push and pull things into time…the Sync-Gen Pro II…it’s just a nice “Pace keeper” and doesn’t transmit program changes…with that in mind…everything that is clocked relies upon the signal to give the hardware orders…anything that can be written and arranged to playout inside your DAW can become a mastered sample version for patttern & program arrangement to playout from the OT…and with a bit of commitment, skillful set-up, and planning you can get OT to move in many directions and also will reduce your set-up requirements and wait time it takes for the larger and more complicated soundcard+software+laptop+clocking device set-up…okay, we all know this so if you are simply trying to get the OT to play with your DAW for the OT to replace thr DAW in a live situation, the Sync-Gen Pro II will handle the duties…but you will need a soundcard that has an assingnable output pair…no DJ Mixers work so the only thing I had at thetime was a Xone:K2 which worked like a charm to output the Sync-Gen’s plug-in clocking signal but you might need two more output if you want to hear anything else going on in Live…yet, using your hard work as mastered samples in backing track fashion in the OT and only jamming on the stuff you need at the moment…might be best.
The new “Trio” run performances in time so I adjust the OT to the live sound’s running BPM on my mixer or Live…I push and pull to get things in time, and for the most part I try to be precise when mixing hardware with software and analog…
I tried and checked, and the Resultat was for me ( i only can Speed for Ableton and Maschine):
When Using live it. ist the best that Ableton Live is the Master and the OT the Slave!
In the Other direktions live will Jump…
The Second Thing is the Interface, the best Resultat i get with rme, there is nö alternative for me, focusrite and Others have to much Delay Times!
But At he end you have to Check the Timings , best Methode is to use a kick drum with the OT and a Share in live Or the Other Way and just bring it in time!
But when you want to send midi to the OT or other external hardware and then bring the sound back into the software, so the delay will be dubbled or tribled!
But no worry you can adjust that! ( the delay time depends on the interface and the sampling range!)
But, but, but at least it all fucks me up, adjusting, adjusting, etc…
I like and love to make musik… And elektron gear let one make musik, with computer the mouse can not realy and there are only one or two controler they can it !
Att the End my result was to use the OT as the Sequencer and the Daw as a secound soundmodul or only to record that wath the OT output brings in!
For now i only use the OT, analog keys and thats it, no adjusting, no searching, only makingmusic, but when i want to record it, i have to adjust it, or use a tape one here post it!
Good idea!
I’ve ditched live and have retreated back to lpx. The timing issues just got me in he end. I understand you can get it working but I’m not making a dime off this - it’s for fun and fixing timing issues when it’s not obvious what the problem is - well really fucking annoying.
I can see me maybe just even recording straight audio to metric halo mio console and bypassing the daw entirely.
But I’m also buying a little modular rack and getting expert sleepers so that will cure any sync issues and I might go back and use live for some stuff and then bounce to lpx.
I’m one of those people who thinks live sounds like shit - null or no null.