Syntakt + Microfreak setup

Elektron Gear Syntakt
#1

Hi people,

In need of help setting up Syntakt to clock my Microfreak.

I have tried various settings on both with no success.

Can anyone please help? Very frustrated as I had problems setting up my Volcas to clock my Microfreak. I thought it would be straight forward with the Syntakt.

I am using the Midi jack that came with the Microfreak.

Sync a Midi out from Syntakt to Midi in on Microfreak.

#2

I’m assuming you’re using the control centre software with the microfreak to enable the necessary settings for recieving clock.

Then you just need to make sure that the syntakt is set to send sync and transport and it should work. If that doesn’t work there’s likely a bug somewhere. Most likely culprit is the control centre, so try reinstalling that first.

#3

Thank you for your reply.

I have looked at settings in the control centre and on the microfreak itself. I don’t suppose you know what settings I need to change through the control centre?

#4

Clock source on the Microfreak should be set to midi and sync to external. Both can be done on the hardware itself. Restarting the device after that will magically help in my experience.

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#5

Thanks I will try this.

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#6

I’m trying this set up these days actually. Make sure you have Clock Send and Transport Send enabled on the Syntakt, and check which Sync source is the Microfreak listening to (it should be in MIDI, Auto might work as well I think).

#7

I have tried these settings and still no luck. I feel like I’m missing something simple, it is driving me crazy. Do you have midi out cable from syntakt to the microfreak midi jack that was supplied with the microfreak, then midi in on the microfreak?

#8

With my microfreak, only one of the two supplied midi adaptors works for midi in… if you have two, maybe you can try out the other one…(if you haven’t done that yet?)

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#9

I’m actually getting to the Microfreak with MIDI thru from the Microcosm, so the connection I have is: [Syntakt MIDI Out]---->[Microcosm MIDI In],[Microcosm MIDI Thru]---->[Microfreak MIDI In]

#10

I realize some of this goes beyond what you were asking for - I set up the two synths here and thought I might as well document the entire process.

Wire it up:

  • Syntakt MIDI Out -> MicroFreak MIDI In
  • MF Audio Out -> ST Input L/R (note: balanced TRS preferred)

Clock it:

  • On the MF go to Utility -> Global -> Sync -> Source: Set this to Auto or MIDI (auto worked fine here).
  • On the ST go to Settings -> MIDI Config -> Sync. Enable clock send. Optionally, transport send will control connected devices when you hit start/stop.

When you turn the Rate/Swing encoder on the MF now, it should say “Ext MIDI” (with sync off).
I thought it used to display the incoming rate, but when I tried it on Firmware 5.0, it reports a constant 120.0 bpm. Maybe I am misremembering that behavior.

This only appears to be a display error though.
Putting a pattern on the MF’s sequencer showed that it would change its speed in response to the tempo set on the ST.

I don’t have any gear to confirm whether the MF’s clock output is synced correctly to the MIDI clock for synths like the Volcas.

Sequence/play it on the ST:

  • Pick a track on the ST and hit [SYN] twice to bring up the machine menu, then select MIDI.
  • [FUNC] + [Click A] to enable the channel select.
  • On the MF, go to Utility -> Global -> MIDI -> Input Channel. Select the same channel on both the MF and ST.
  • [FUNC] + [Click B], [FUNC] + [Click D] to enable preset selection via the ST. Presets are in groups (banks) of 128. Bank 1 gives you access to preset 1-128. Bank 2 gives you access to 129-256, and so on.

Hear it:

  • ST Settings -> Audio Routing -> External Audio: Mono
  • [FUNC] + [LFO] Ă—3 -> Input LR Volume 100
    Now you should hear the MicroFreak via the Syntakt’s output.
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#11

Problem solved! I managed to get the other midi jack from a friend who I bought the mf from. Using that and also selecting the prog Ch send option on the syntakt solved it. Thank you all for the support

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#12

Great news! Enjoy the combo :slight_smile:

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