Hi there! I got a new gear, the Pulsar 23. I know how to send midi notes form my octatrack to the pulsar, but the problem is to sync correctly the two machines. I saw a video showing an exemple with a third machine (a Minilogue), but I don’t have the Minilogue.
I tried with an electribe 2 (it got a sync in/out in mini jack standard), without success. So, maybe someone here found a solution? Thanx in advance !
i managed to sync it with my digitone one time but took a lot of finesse. this blurb from the manual was helpful. i think when i hit play on digitone i’d hit the lrst manually, or maybe i treated it like a tap tempo. there’s a reason why it was only a one time thing lol. it was frustrating to say the least…
Thanx, I also used the LRST connected to 0.25 out, and I also pressed the RST button but I could’nt manage to get the two machines correctly sync everytime.
that’s a bummer. i wish vlad implemented some reliable way to sync. hoping someone can shed some light on this.
Problem is that the P23 won’t react to midi start/stop messages. Most sequencer/drummachines/grooveboxes send out a constant flow of midi clock, even the internal sequencer stops. So, the P23 doesn’t know where the 1 is one the beat. With the LRST connected to the 0.25 pin, it only knows when the loopers start again.
Solution is to clock the P23 from a sequencer which stops midiclock when…it’s stopped. Here a Cirklon does it pretty well.
It should be an interesting OS update for the octatrack to be able to stop the midi clock when stopped. But what I don’t understand is that my P23 starts and stops when I start and stop the OT, but it is not well synced with it.
I contacted the SOMA support, and here is their response:
“The Pulsar does not respond to transport messages (start and stop) which I’m sure you’ve noticed. Some sequencers do have the option to ‘stop clock when stop is pressed’ but the Octatrack sends clock continually. What you can do as a workaround is use one of the CV outs on the Octatrack to send clock to the Pulsar instead: Set up a track to send CV out, fill each spot in the sequence with triggers, then send that signal to the Pulsars clock input pin by routing the CV out of the Octatrack into one of the 1/4 inch jacks on the back of the pulsar, then from there hook a gator clip from the lower left of the Pulsar to the 1/4 inch jack you used to the Pulsar’s clock input.”
I finally found the solution! I explain everything here (last post, page 2), in French (sorry, too tired tonight to translate): Pulsar 23 et Elektrons - forum SOMA laboratory Pulsar-23 (2/2) - Audiofanzine
So, here is a Deepl translation of the solution 
It’s quite a Sioux-like trick… Cuckoo’s video put me on the right track (Sioux…), but I’m mainly exploring the theme of synchronisation and tempo.
Basically, what we’re going to do is send CV signals from the Octatrack to the Pulsar. You might say: ‘That bloke’s mad – the OT doesn’t have a CV function!’ That’s true, but the Sioux always have more than one trick up their sleeve. So we’re going to use audio CV.
First thing to do: synchronise the Octatrack properly with the Pulsar. To do this, you need to untick the ‘send’ box for the Octatrack’s MIDI clock, because otherwise the OT constantly sends a MIDI clock signal, which the Pulsar doesn’t like. From then on, there’s no longer any MIDI synchronisation between the two units, but the Pulsar does receive the start/stop signals from the OT, which is handy.
Next, connect the Pulsar’s clock output to one of the six 1/4-inch jack sockets and route the audio signal from the Pulsar’s corresponding audio output to one of the Octatrack’s inputs. Record the clock signal into the Octatrack for the entire duration of the sample. Then, save this sample after normalising it.
Next, place it on any track but set it to CUE output, at the track’s maximum volume. Turn off the CUE on your headphones (otherwise, you’re guaranteed to blow a fuse). Next, feed this audio into any input on the Pulsar, and retrieve the signal via one of the six corresponding 1/4-inch jack pins. Using an alligator clip, connect this pin to the Pulsar’s clock In (the same pin used to record the CV clock audio).
Set the MIDI/IN switch to the middle position: at this stage, the Pulsar is neither connected via MIDI for synchronisation nor operating in standalone mode. Instead, it synchronises to a CV signal, simulated here by the audio recorded on the OT.
Next, on the OT, insert an audio trigger on the track containing the recorded clock audio, with a time offset of 1/96 to the right. Copy this trigger and paste it onto every position in the OT sequence.
Don’t forget to connect pin 0.25 of the clock divider to the LRST pin, to ensure synchronisation between the looper and the clock divider.
And there you have it: the OT now sends a CV signal recognisable by the Pulsar, which synchronises perfectly with it. Love, always!
From there, you benefit from the Pulsar’s improvisation capabilities, MIDI synchronisation and effective tempo locking, so you can play samples live, perfectly in sync with the Pulsar’s beat. What’s more, if you want, you can add a MIDI track on the OT and make use of the conditional triggers. Finally, you can also patch the Pulsar as usual and thus use the Pulse Converter. All this without spending a single euro and without any additional kit.
Hi, glad that it works but a little bit difficult.
Doesn’t that procedure work with OT as well?
He talks about syncing, not sequencing the pulsar to use the p23 audio loopers with other gear. Pulsar doesn’t recognize start/stop or better reset which is a pain in the butt to sync, because if you externally hit stop it stops, but if you start again - it starts where it stopped and not from the beginning.
Ah, I understand.
I don’t use Pulsar’s internal sequencer any more, if I don’t play Pulsar standalone.
Even if you don’t use the looper (I don’t use it usually), it’s essential to sync the two gears in order to be able to use the clock divider when the OT is running. But of course, one can just use the pulsar as a sound module triggered by the OT.
Would be cool if OT3 includes CV outs, good idea after reading this thread.
But yea I think pulsar works best with more powerful sequencers. Oxi or cirklon or hapax are probably a better dance partner and can still easily integrate an OT in the setup as well just not have the OT as central brain
Yes, but my idea was to play with the gear I already own, and not to buy another expensive sequencer.
For sure, very creative solution
But if you start and stop the ot - its “out of sync” when you start it again - isn´t it? And you have to press reset until it the loop start point fits again? At least that was my experience with a modular sync. Made video about it in the p23 thread some time ago.
Im thinking the Outbox could be used in a similar way then to sync Elektron gear that are Overbridge compatible right since the Outbox can convert to CV signals?
But if you start and stop the ot - its “out of sync” when you start it again - isn´t it? And you have to press reset until it the loop start point fits again? At least that was my experience with a modular sync. Made video about it in the p23 thread some time ago.
I’m not quite sure because I have the pulsar since Two or three weeks only, and I don’t really use the looper. I prefer the clock divider. I just tried recording a simple rythm with the looper, and start-stop the OT, but it’s not obvious. I have to check better.
Im thinking the Outbox could be used in a similar way then to sync Elektron gear that are Overbridge compatible right since the Outbox can convert to CV signals?
The guy who created this device says it’s not compatible with the OT : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDMRDju1A_c
