After all this I wrote a ticket and that’s their answer :
When a program change message is sent to an Elektron device, the corresponding pattern is cued for change. This means that the program change needs to be received a few ms before the pattern change is supposed to happen. When for example sending a program change from Ableton, you will need to use a negative track delay for the track/clip in order for the program change to be sent early enough for the Elektron device to have time to cue the pattern. The Elektron device can not foresee the future.
This also applies to other gear that is used as master clock. If it sends the program change exactly when the change is supposed to happen, the Elektron device will not have time to cue the pattern. When PROGRAM CHANGE SEND is enabled on an Elektron device that acts as master, the program change will always be sent a few ms early so the receiving Elektron device has time to cue the pattern. That’s why it’s working in an Elektron ecosystem.
In short, if the master device can’t send the program change a few ms before the pattern change is supposed to happen, an Elektron device will always change too late. Using program change for pattern changes is not ideal, and it’s something our current products have inherited from the Machinedrum era. I will talk to our developers and hear if there’s anything we can do differently in the ideal situation you describe, but I suspect that isn’t possible due to how things are implemented, unfortunately.
I don’t know if there will be any update about this. Sorry if my post feels a bit agressive I was mad having this issue with all my Elektron machines… I’ve tried so many things to make this work. Capitals and strong letters was for easiest understanding though.
@Kpucski If I understand correctly I would be supposed to insert a program change event just before the end of the loop ? What if I want this loop to loop twice or even more and toggle the change when I feel the pattern need to change ? I feel like pre-writting the pattern change and pre-writting every single loop length loop would kill my workflow.
For the moment I’ll be honest, my Digitakt is collecting dust since I have this MPC. And my digitakt was the brain of my setup. I still use the synths (A4, Digitone) but not the built-in sequencer (or I sample it when needed).
An option on the settings, to activate the oldschool working midi mode would be great. And the oldschool midi mode is nothing else than a direct pattern change, because if it can cue the pattern, I think it can change the pattern…