i’m trying get the md, ot, a4, op1, & ableton to sync nicely.
my preference is to not do it by hand, and have ableton be the master as tempo changes, etc. seem simplest to manage from there.
i’ve read about the innerclock syncgen. not real excited about purchasing a box to sync.
are there any other options besides innerclock? some ingenious ordering of the elektron boxes that solves the issue? etc…
especially at that price. …and, i’m just frustrated that it doesn’t just work. gah.
KOMA RH-301
SND Acme 4
Innerclock Syncgen
they all offer different levels of control over midi clock
try getting everything to sync up without a sync box. I think the key is understanding what is missing first before solving the problem.
Start/stop time delay can be adjusted within Live to make sure everything plays in sync when you press play.
Lots of info online for this stuff, just search “elektron innerclock sync daw” and you should find a wealth of articles explaining the various issues
Useful info about your problem here:
https://forum.ableton.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=202282
EU board discussion on the acme solution etc
http://elektron-users.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=28&func=view&catid=9&id=165165
Koma RH-301
Im not seeing how the Rh301 would help danlukas in this situation. The RH301 is sending midi to the laptop essentially using the laptop as an sound module with no in coming audio going into the computer sound card. This configuration is easier to correct syncing issues, whereas I’m assuming danlukas is trying to sync four different sequencers with ableton while feeding audio into ableton. In that case he would need the inner clock or the SND device. Its sad but true, you have to cut the midi coming from the computer out of the equation.
@danlukas Can you elaborate on what exactly doesn’t work for you?
With Ableton as the master, MIDI sync should work well assuming you’re using a decent MIDI interface and you don’t have any driver issues (sadly, OS X seems to work a bit better than Windows in general).
You can daisy-chain your Elektron boxes from a single MIDI Out on your computer using their MIDI Thru ports. Order shouldn’t matter since the Thru ports don’t introduce any delay.
It would be awesome if the koma Elektronik can carry out the same function as the Innerclock Syncgen because it like three hundred bucks cheaper. 
when ableton is the master syncing several bars to get in sync, and generally seems unreliable with the elektron boxes. oddly, this isn’t really an issue with the korg volca.
*this experience leads me to believe it is not simply an issue with ableton.
when octatrack is the master i watch the ableton tempo meter _move. it eventually (mostly) settles into place. but again, it takes time and generally is not rock solid, or even reliable in how long it takes to get to some sort of stability. and when it does settle ableton occasionally shows it off by . 1 bpm; if the OT bpm (master) is 80 ableton will show 80.1 or 79.9.
With Ableton as the master, MIDI sync should work well assuming you’re using a decent MIDI interface and you don’t have any driver issues (sadly, OS X seems to work a bit better than Windows in general).
i’ve tried using the analog four, fm-1, emagic mt-4… similar results.
You can daisy-chain your Elektron boxes from a single MIDI Out on your computer using their MIDI Thru ports. Order shouldn’t matter since the Thru ports don’t introduce any delay.
i do daisy chain, but was wondering if perchance there was some weird order that made a difference.
i once had an interface that would bleed outputs 1-2 to 3-6 if you used TS cable. the manufacture argued with me. seemed stupid, but simply moving to TRS cable solved the issue. design flaw.
how is syncing elektron boxes to other softwares? logic? pt? …bitwig? cubase? whatever…
The order of daisy chaning won’t really make a difference. The issue is inherent to MIDI clocks today.
Back in the days of trackers and Amigas, they were rock solid because they had a dedicated midi chip. These days, all midi goes the CPU of computers, and adds latency.
All of this is covered in complete overkill by Innerclock and their boxes do actually make a difference.
They test the accuracy of several manufacturers out and thru of synths and elektron does rather well, but still not perfect.
I mostly use hardware only this days, but I just grabbed my laptop to do a quick test with the following setup (using an ESI MIDIMATE II as the MIDI interface):
MacBook Pro running Live 9 OUT -> IN Machinedrum THRU -> IN Analog Four
When everything is properly configured (MIDI Sync set to On in the Live preferences for the appropriate port, TEMPO IN set to EXTERNAL and CTRL IN set to ON on the Machinedrum, CLOCK RECEIVE and TRANSPORT RECEIVE checked on the A4), both machines start playback immediately when I click “Play” in Live, are in sync immediately, and stay in sync even during tempo changes or when I stop/start Live.
Please note that Ableton Live does not at all sync well to external clock sources. If you want to use Live in your setup, you should really only ever consider using it as the clock master in your setup.
Latency or timing issues with MIDI on modern computer are mostly related to USB driver issues (again, Windows isn’t the best at this) and with having multiple devices attached to the same MIDI bus.
I’d recommend experimenting with a different MIDI interface, removing all other devices from your USB bus, or even borrowing a friend’s Mac if you’re on Windows before investing in an expensive hardware solution.
I’ve had solid results syncing the OT which in turn is running the A4 and MNM to Pro Tools via an RME Fireface midi port on Mac.
I will usually do the framework of the song stand alone in hardware and then sync it up to dump each track into PT in multiple passes.
Instead of watching the numbers change, why don’t you post what the audio sounds like. Would be interested to hear what is out of sync and how it is out of sync before thinking buying something is going to solve your problems.
I use my OP-1 as masterclock with no timing issues with a kenton host hooked up to the midi in of the OT -> midi out to the A4 and have tried with my buddy’s MD connected via midi thru with no sync issues.
Pattern sequencer on the OP-1 stays in sync with everything- despite the bpm jumping around on the OT and A4.
Use your ears, if things start going out of sync you should be able to hear it within a few bars looping.
Also being more direct and clear with what your intended use is for syncing everything together, what version of Live you’re running, the exact hardware you’re using, operating system, processor/ram etc would be useful in narrowing down your problem which is very hard to solve being so vague.
@nirun
_well i was a little taken a back by your post, then i realized i was being vague.
and that i hadn’t tested things in about 2 weeks, and i had gathered more familiarity with the machines since then.
_so we try again.
and to be honest, ableton as the master and sending clock out is tight enough for me.
ableton 9.1 master but the octatrack is destination for all audio.
sending midi remote & sync to octatrack & analog 4
via the emagic mt-4
hit play on ableton,
the first 8 you hear are flex machine on the octatrack.
the next 8 is hats sequence from the analog 4 that is unmated
the third 8 is a snare track from ableton which is a clip triggered
the last 8 is another synth sequence unmated from the analog 4
oops… used a sample from something copyrighted… retry…
hit play on ableton,
first 4 flex machine on octatrack
next 4 are hats unmated on octatrack from analog 4
next 4ish are snares triggered from a scene in ableton
…from there synth and more rhythm tracks are triggered scenes or unmated parts from the analog four.
a definite success.
The track doesn’t seem to be playing- but I am glad everything is syncing up
Happy in sync beat/sound making good sir! Will peep your creations as you post them
copyrighted or something other… updated above post. thanks for the nudge to _just_do_it. nike!
this thing may be worth a look: http://www.midiclock.de/
but youd probably need a 4x4 midi patchbay to go with it
still a fair amount cheaper than an innerclock setup
if you are syncing multiple devices AND a pc, you pretty much need a dedicated clock generator of some sort
[quote=““invisible acropolis””]
this thing may be worth a look: http://www.midiclock.de/
but youd probably need a 4x4 midi patchbay to go with it
still a fair amount cheaper than an innerclock setup
if you are syncing multiple devices AND a pc, you pretty much need a dedicated clock generator of some sort
[/quote]
That would be perfect for me if it had a clock divider option to I normally make music in the 140-170bpm region and really like half time bass lines (which at the moment is quite laborious)
What I’d really really like is to have the A4 DIN output be set like the internal track multipliers!
Interesting article on how Using PC/Mac midi clocks fall down: http://www.midiclock.de/data/ERM_Jitter_Report_02_14_EN.pdf
Please note that this report specifically deals with DAWs, and Ableton Live specifically, having trouble slaving to an external MIDI clock., and not with the inability of a DAW to provide a stable master clock as discussed in this thread.
iconectivity if it ever releases the iconnect +4 might be a good device. I have the old original and it is good. The new one can also do audio pass thru.
Please note that this report specifically deals with DAWs, and Ableton Live specifically, having trouble slaving to an external MIDI clock., and not with the inability of a DAW to provide a stable master clock as discussed in this thread.[/quote]
No, thats exactly what that report is about. You may want to try re-reading it.