On? Any sign of an update?
Not a whisper, Roland have been super quiet generally. I read somewhere they are going through some big corporate restructure, could be BS, but would explain a few things
what is BS?
BS (bull s**t) = The rumour that Roland are going through some ābig changesā, thatās all. They did get a new CEO in May so itās not total fantasy but what that means in terms of products & synth is a lot of speculation
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Can anyone explain this?
Iām using Ableton to run a Digitone and an SH-4d. Both connected via USB.
I enter 4 kick drums in the Digitone.
I also program 4 midi steps in the Digitone, which outputs to the SH-4d via Midi, so that the SH-4d also plays a kick drum.
Press play in Ableton, and both kicks are in sync - if there is any difference, itās very difficult to hear it. Both are also more or less in sync with the Ableton metronome.
However, when I do thisā¦
I enter 4 kick drums in the Digitone.
I also enter 4 kick drums on the SH-4d sequencer.
Press play in Ableton.
NOW, the SH-4d kick is very clearly later than the Digitone. Itās very audible, like a clear ba-bam sound.
Iām well used to latency issues with outboard gear (I usually record direct when Iām recording anything outboard). But I donāt understand this. Why is the SH-4d sequencer later that the DT - surely the SH-4d sequencer should at least play itās own kicks faster than the DT does.
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seems like their ābig changesā are mostly going to be focusing on industry hyperbole big concept vaporware like Web3, AI, Augmented/Virtual Reality and all that other stuff that gets venture capitalists sweaty with excitement and is just a giant money vacuum.
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Do you use Overbridge? Also SH4d might be just bad with midi clockā¦ you can change that in the Ableton midi sync settings but I donāt like to use that feature
Figured it out.
The Digitone is being synced from Ableton via Overbridge over USB.
The SH-4d is being synced from Ableton over USB.
But if I change the SH-4d to be synced via MIDI from the DT rather than USB from my laptopā¦
Go into the Systems Settings in the SH-4d and change Sync Mode from Auto to MIDI.
Then in the Digitone Settings: Midi Config -> Sync -> Enable Clock Send & Transport Send.
(I already had a MIDI cable connecting my DT to the SH-4d)
So now itās Ableton -> Overbridge -> USB cable -> Digitone -> MIDI cable -> SH-4d -> MIDI cable -> Behringer Crave -> MIDI cable -> Behringer Edge.
It all sounds really good now. Before now, the Crave and Edge were often out of sync with Ableton & the Digitone because I was using USB to connect to the SH-4d.
Goes to show - for a tech that was invented in 1981, MIDI is still better than anything out there today. Although it also has to be said that Overbridge is also really good at getting Elektron devices to sync with Ableton.
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Slightly off thread, butā¦
Iāve had a similar experience using Overbridge in Ableton Live to sync an Elektron device, then using MIDI DIN cables from the Elektron device to sync other hardware to MIDI clock and transport.
IME the timing sync accuracy over Overbridge is excellent. Itās pretty much sample-accurate. And MIDI timing accuracy from any Elektron box to other hardware is also stellar.
Setting up the kind of chain you have (Live > Overbridge > Elektron via USB, then Elektron > other gear via MIDI DIN) is how I get all of my hardware to sync with Live now.
I donāt bother trying to use MIDI clock over individual USB ports to individual synths/drum machines with latency adjustment per-track using the slider in the Live External Instrument device. That method does work (kinda) but will drift out of time over long sequences IME.
Instead I use my Digitakt as (among many other things!) a kind of super-tight MIDI clock sync hub. The DT is effectively translating clock received via Overbridge into clock transmitted via MIDI DIN, and itās rock solid.
The lack of Overbridge for the DT2 is one of the things thatās holding me back from upgrading my OG DT at this point.
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there are a extensive topics covering this issue (MIDI clock & plugin delay compensation - over bridge introduces a huge plugin latency!):
https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?t=243120
So far Iām successfully using the M4L Clock tool mentioned in the Ableton forums, but havenāt tried the new way using Liveās āKeep Latencyā feature, yet.
Despite my gripes with the patch/ pattern saving system, Iāve been strongly considering picking up the SH-4d again. When I listen back to the music I made with it, I really really like that stuff and I just havenāt captured that vibe with my other things. The main reason I sold it was because I thought Push 3 made it more redundant than it technically already was in my setup. In practice, that hasnāt happened at all.
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Having four synths on different midi channels in the same box makes it very quick and efficient to make and tweak sounds as Iām writing.
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I feel absolutely the same. Some days I try it out, and think - this machine is rubbish, Iām selling it and using the money for a Syntakt. Other days - wow this sounds absolutely great, I canāt sell this thing!
Can you imagine how good the Sh-4d would be if it had Overbridge and a proper patch saving system (where all 5 patches are saved in a project).
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To be fair, it has a proper patch saving system. If it saved all the sounds in the project people would be complaining you couldnāt save sounds individually (like electribe 2 users often do).
Have you tried my pattern saving template, which lets you save the pattern and all sounds in one step?
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Seriously, if it had either class compliant USB or an Overbridge-like extension, it would be a near-indispensable instrument. Having to use the driver and choose between my audio interface or the when recording 4d is a rough choice, and resulted in me never using the USB functionality when I owned one.
If I get one again Iāll absolutely be using this.
Thatās fair - because I can understand their reasons for the saving system. You need to be able to switch patterns but stay with the same patches. But it would nice if you could create a project that contains all the patches & patternsā¦ 
THIS. I had one for about a week and loved the sounds it was capable of producing, but the inability to send audio over USB directly into my iPad was such an obstacle to how I needed it to fit into my workflow that I could not let myself bond with it further. If Roland doesnāt abandon it and eventually patches in class-compliancy I would immediately snap one up again.
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Isnāt that always the thing with Roland, though? They deliver these 95% awesome products but with just a couple obvious and fatal flaws, or super bizarre design choices, that never seem to get addressed. Haha
But then, I guess thatās getting into āit should be easy to codeā territoryā¦
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Now, thereās a small and affordable($19) Sonos USB-C audio input dongle.
Yep, but itās not going to give you multitrack out from the Sh-4d
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