[Deprecated] ARA Plugin for MidroSync

Future features that could be implemented on either the Midronome or the Software Tools.
Topics ar marked as: [A]=Approved, [WIP]=Work in Progress, [F]=Finished
Simon
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[Deprecated] ARA Plugin for MidroSync

Post by Simon »

UPDATE 7 Sep 2023: this plugin has now been replaced with the Midronome plugin available on the Midronome Support page :)

UPDATE 3 June 2023: first version of the plugin is out
UPDATE 17 July 2023: mac versions are now signed and notarized
-------------------


Original topic: viewtopic.php?t=150

This feature is about making a DAW plugin which will be an alternative to the MidroSync File Generator when syncing Midronome to a DAW via MidroSync (see the Midronome manual for more information about MidroSync).


==> Full Setup/Demo video here <==


Important info:
  • The plugin is an ARA plugin and needs to be loaded as ARA. See if your DAW is supporting ARAv2 (unfortunately ProTools is not in the list as the support is not open)

HOW-TO INSTALL:
  1. Download the plugin
  2. AU file is for Logic only, other DAWs need to use the VST3
  3. On Mac: copy the .vst3 (or .component) file to /Users/<username>/Library/Plug-Ins/<type>/
  4. On Windows: check your DAW to know where to copy the .vst3 file
  5. Start your DAW, check out the list of plugins, you should see it in "Midronome" -> "MidroAudioSync"
  6. You need to load the plugin as ARA:
    • Studio One: create a track, bounce a region, and put the plugin as "Event FX" on that region (see the setup video)
    • Cubase: insert the plugin as an "extension" as shown in the section "Inserting Melodyne" of this page:
    • Logic: looking at this video, it seems that you can simply insert the plugin on a track as normal
    • Other DAWs: google how to insert the ARA version of Melodyne and load the MidroAudioSync plugin the same way
Looking forwarding to hearing what you think!!
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Compiled Windows version now available. Any beta-testers?
Dark Waves
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dark Waves »

Simon wrote: 07 Jun 2023, 16:20 Compiled Windows version now available. Any beta-testers?
Great news! I'll try to check it out this weekend.
Dark Waves
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dark Waves »

Thought I'd go ahead and report from admittedly very limited time to play with it this weekend (and bear in mind, I'm far from highly experienced in DAW usage, still).

Watching the video with quite a few pauses and rewinds, and trying to get to the right sections in Studio One (they are often hidden by default) I did get the plug-in to load and play. Am using S1 v.6 Pro on Windows 10 with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Pleasantly surprised the short bit of drawn sync section, just 3 bars, continuously works regardless of transport operation or position further down the track. I got the metronome sound from the Midronome playing and following the tempo changes, and then played around with some ramps in the tempo track, and it followed those fine.

There is some fairly frequent dropping of the sync, though. Once or twice a minute the box shows Err, and most of those times there will be audible glitching happening then. I took some care to set levels, both in the Focusrite mixing / routing control app, and in the DAW, finding the ranges that worked best, trying to avoid also running too hot, i.e. out of headroom, on either one, though I did find that the signal needs quite a bit of high level to get in the green range. Also, the line outs on the interface seemed to perform somewhat better than the headphone outs, as the drop outs were more frequent on the latter. I haven't had a chance yet to compare the plug-in performance to the audio sync file.

I'm interested what kind of results others experience.
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Thanks for testing Jack!

If everything works and is set up correctly, losing the sync should never happen (on my setup, in Studio One with the ARA plugin, using a 12 years-old Mac and a very old audio interface, it literally never loses the sync no matter what I do).

Could you double-check that:
  1. only the sync signal is sent on the output, nothing else
  2. the volume is set correctly (in the "middle" of the green zone - as I understood you've done that already, but please double check :) )
  3. the sound is not distorted (for example clipping in the DAW but then lowered down in the Focusrite software - which would change the ratio between the high and the low pulses)
  4. it's not a cable problem (try wiggling the cables a bit)?
If this is all correct and still happening, then it could be a bug of the Windows ARA plugin. I know I'm asking for a lot, but it would be really awesome if you could then:
  • Try with the Sync File Generator
  • If it works, then it's definitely a bug -> then it'd be great to have a bounce of the audio the plugin generates :)
Thank you!
Simon
Dark Waves
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dark Waves »

Sure thing, I'll try to get to it soon.

With regard to the possibility of clipping, that is on my mind, since both the DAW fader and the interface routing fader had to be quite high (I did try to balance them, and also find the middle of the green zone). I will let you know.
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

It has to be quite "loud" indeed if you compare to listening on headphones (0.3V into your headphones would sound super loud), but because the impedance is very high it should be no problem at all to reach those levels with any audio interface. The Midronome can do it (when daisy-chaining two Midronomes, the master Midronome is basically sending the same signal as the plugin) and its audio output is much lower than your audio interface.

I would suggest:
1) Focusrite level at 0dB and DAW track level at 0dB
2) turn the physical volume knob on your interface till the LED turns red on the Midronome
3) in the DAW, turn the track volume down to find the green zone, then set in the middle
Dark Waves
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dark Waves »

Wow, I just spent hours experimenting and writing out a lengthy post documenting all sorts of, now admittedly unnecessary, details, only to lose it all when going to preview and finding that I've been logged out. So lesson learned, not for the first time. I'll just cut to the chase now. It turns out the errors and glitches happen when I'm getting power from a USB port on my otherwise quality UPS. Moving to one of my 3 busy USB hubs results in stable operation, and this is the case for both of my Midronomes. Go figure.

Although I'm pretty confident in this conclusion, I'll withhold total certainty until I get more time to experiment, but with all the troubleshooting I've been doing, I don't expect the outcome will change.
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Dark Waves wrote: 19 Jun 2023, 11:48Wow, I just spent hours experimenting and writing out a lengthy post documenting all sorts of, now admittedly unnecessary, details, only to lose it all when going to preview and finding that I've been logged out.
Argh, sorry to hear! That happens to me all the time too :roll: When I remember, I write a long text in a text editor and then copy paste, but I guess like everybody I forget :D

Glad to hear you could solve the issue, and thanks for sharing - maybe the voltage given by the UPS had dips under 4.5V which could result in strange operations.
But back on the plugin side of things - as I understand the S1 Windows ARA plugin works fine, then?
Dark Waves
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dark Waves »

Yes, thanks, I would say the plug-in passed the test. With my schedule (usually only having a few spare, non-contiguous, hours on weekends for messing around in my bedroom studio) I've not yet had a chance to try these sync tools with an actual piece of music, but hopefully son! The workflow of the plug-in seems like it will be smooth and flexible, so I'm very glad to have it.
vocalbird
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by vocalbird »

Simon wrote: 22 May 2023, 14:35 [*] On Mac:
  • Copy the .vst3 (or .component) file to /Users/<username>/Library/Plug-Ins/<type>/
    (replace <username> with your username and <type> with VST3 or with Components - for example: /Users/simon/Library/Plug-Ins/VST3/ )
  • Run the xattr -cr <file> command to accept that the files are not signed, for example:

    Code: Select all

    xattr -cr /Users/simon/Library/Plug-Ins/VST3/MidroAudioSync.vst3
I am a long-time Windows user now on an M2 mac mini and trying to get this plugin installed and working in Studio One. I followed the steps above, including running the xattr line in the terminal window. (It gives no feedback when I run the command, I'm not sure if that is normal or expected.) But when I restart Studio One it never shows up in the plug in list. I have reset the blacklist, refreshed the plugin list, exited and re-launched Studio One several times, but get no sign the plugin even exists. It is in the folder with the rest of the .vst3 files that are being recognized by Studio One. I am out of ideas. Any suggestions?

Robin
lydian91
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No Audio Signal from ARA Plugin

Post by lydian91 »

I just received my Midronome and am trying to use the ARA plugin in Digital Performer. I've updated the firmware to v1.1 and I've got the ARA plugin and audio routing set up in DP. Audio is flowing both to and from the Midronome; however, I'm noticing in Simon's ARA video that a continuous audio signal is being sent to the Midronome when "Only send signal when playing" is unchecked and the playhead is not moving. That is not happening on my system.

For me, audio is only sent from the ARA plugin when I hit play over the blank audio region on the track containing the ARA plugin. If I hit play over an empty bar, there is no signal going to the Midronome. If the playhead is stopped, there is no signal going to the Midronome.

My goal is to send DP's tempo information to another DAW. Is there any other way to do this with audio? I'm doing film scores and deal with complex tempo maps. The sync file generator tool will not work for my needs.

DP has a native plugin that sends Longitudinal Timecode (LTC). Not sure if that would help?
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Thanks Robin for trying the plugin. I've never had any issue with that. I have tested the plugin with Studio One 4, things might different for Studio One 6. If you are doing all the steps here then it must be an issue with the file. I will test it some time in August - in the meantime I suggest you try the Sync File Generator way - see the new video series on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HZCqAA ... 9o15YUCvnE
Simon
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Re: No Audio Signal from ARA Plugin

Post by Simon »

lydian91 wrote: 07 Jul 2023, 08:16 For me, audio is only sent from the ARA plugin when I hit play over the blank audio region on the track containing the ARA plugin. If I hit play over an empty bar, there is no signal going to the Midronome. If the playhead is stopped, there is no signal going to the Midronome.
Interesting - thank you for testing the plugin! Clearly Digital Performer seems to handle things differently with ARA so this would need to be adjusted.
When I get some time (not before August or September), I'll see if I can grab a version of Digital Performer and test it in there.
lydian91 wrote: 07 Jul 2023, 08:16 DP has a native plugin that sends Longitudinal Timecode (LTC). Not sure if that would help?
I am afraid not. Just have a look at the audio generated by the Sync File Generator and see if you can get something that could generate that :)
amaeland
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by amaeland »

I am trying to get the plugin working in Logic, but no joy so far. Was expecting the plugin to generate a signal similar to that of the sync file generator (I have set the channel output to a dedicated audio interface output which feeds the Midronome input), but there is no activity on the channel meter. Anyone got it working in Logic yet? Many thanks

edit: I managed to get it working by loading a dummy audio file on the track with the plugin! Remembered reading something about this being required for ARA to work. Now my main issue is getting the external sequencers to start and stop in tandem with the DAW. Had a blast syncing a Korg ER-1, Behringer TD-3-MO and Korg SQ-1 (for pitch CV to the TD-3-MO), but when I tried adding parts in the DAW, things got messy.
Deflator_500
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Deflator_500 »

Had some success in Reaper.
As long as there is some kind of media object in the track the Plugin will send a sync signal. Cannot find a way to send a signal when not in play. Let me know if anyone else has had any success in Reaper.

Sounds like a similar issue to DP
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

amaeland wrote: 11 Jul 2023, 22:42 Now my main issue is getting the external sequencers to start and stop in tandem with the DAW. Had a blast syncing a Korg ER-1, Behringer TD-3-MO and Korg SQ-1 (for pitch CV to the TD-3-MO), but when I tried adding parts in the DAW, things got messy.
Thanks for testing! To sync start/stop with the DAW, simply press Play on the Midronome and they should start in time (on the next bar). To "press" it automatically when the DAW starts playing, get your DAW to send MIDI Clock (which will be ignored by the Midronome) as this will send MIDI Start and Stop to it as well, which will have the same action as pressing Play on the Midronome.

I am not sure what you mean with "when I tried adding parts in the DAW, things got messy", you mean the plugin stopped working properly when you added more tracks?
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Deflator_500 wrote: 11 Jul 2023, 23:32 Had some success in Reaper.
As long as there is some kind of media object in the track the Plugin will send a sync signal. Cannot find a way to send a signal when not in play. Let me know if anyone else has had any success in Reaper.

Sounds like a similar issue to DP
Thanks for testing! Yes sounds like the same as DP, probably is a code bug.
amaeland
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by amaeland »

Simon wrote: 12 Jul 2023, 08:27
amaeland wrote: 11 Jul 2023, 22:42 Now my main issue is getting the external sequencers to start and stop in tandem with the DAW. Had a blast syncing a Korg ER-1, Behringer TD-3-MO and Korg SQ-1 (for pitch CV to the TD-3-MO), but when I tried adding parts in the DAW, things got messy.
Thanks for testing! To sync start/stop with the DAW, simply press Play on the Midronome and they should start in time (on the next bar). To "press" it automatically when the DAW starts playing, get your DAW to send MIDI Clock (which will be ignored by the Midronome) as this will send MIDI Start and Stop to it as well, which will have the same action as pressing Play on the Midronome.

I am not sure what you mean with "when I tried adding parts in the DAW, things got messy", you mean the plugin stopped working properly when you added more tracks?
Thanks for the reply, Simon. I figured this out after posting. Now things are working a lot better, but I am getting dropouts now and then. Have optimised the sync signal level as per the guideline, so am wondering if maybe the signal path isn’t clean enough. Am using a pretty long and cheap unbalanced cable (can I use TRS?) and it’s going through my patchbay with possibly a fair amount of electrical interference, so will try going directly from the audio interface to the Midronome and with a better cable too if the problem persists. Is the Midronome quite sensitive to noise? (Thought maybe not since the pulses are loud?)

When I have it all figured out I could write a Logic «how to» if you want. By the way, in Logic you can’t change tempo on the fly successfully with the ARA plugin, it appears to be stuck at the tempo that is set when you hit play. As soon as transport is stopped and restarted, the plugin sends the correct sync signal again.
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

amaeland wrote: 12 Jul 2023, 18:08 When I have it all figured out I could write a Logic «how to» if you want.
Awesome, thanks for the feedback and yes a Logic "how-to" would be great, I'll happily push this!! :D
If you want to make a video, even better, then we can edit it together and I'll put it on the Midronome youtube channel with the others (I can add a link/reference to whatever you want of course).

But I would prefer to have a stable version of the plugin before we publish it officially. In the meantime we can put it here ;)

As for the drop-outs, you are correct noise should not be an issue since the signal is quite loud. And no unfortunately the signal has to be unbalanced (TS), as the right channel in the plug can be used to add a footswitch.
To know if they are caused by the plugin or by the signal noise, you can try sending a WAV generated by the Sync File Generator instead of the audio generated by the plugin, see if you still get the drop-outs.
And make sure you adjust the volume to be "in the middle" of the green zone, this can also cause drop-outs ;)
amaeland
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by amaeland »

Simon wrote: 13 Jul 2023, 11:49
Awesome, thanks for the feedback and yes a Logic "how-to" would be great, I'll happily push this!! :D
If you want to make a video, even better, then we can edit it together and I'll put it on the Midronome youtube channel with the others (I can add a link/reference to whatever you want of course).

But I would prefer to have a stable version of the plugin before we publish it officially. In the meantime we can put it here ;)
Yes, that makes sense. I want to have repeatable rock solid performance before making a how to. All the kinks need to be ironed out :)
To know if they are caused by the plugin or by the signal noise, you can try sending a WAV generated by the Sync File Generator instead of the audio generated by the plugin, see if you still get the drop-outs.
And make sure you adjust the volume to be "in the middle" of the green zone, this can also cause drop-outs ;)
the sync file generator WAVs seem to be a little more stable so far. Think I will aim for getting the WAV method locked down before experimenting more with the plugin. Fewer variables that can potentially go wrong...
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Angel Alanis
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Angel Alanis »

Logic Pro X

I have the ARA version of the plugin inserted into the FX and a blank Audio Region in the track. I get 0 audio from plugin.

I m not too happy with this

thanks

a
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Angel Alanis wrote: 31 Jul 2023, 09:07 Logic Pro X

I have the ARA version of the plugin inserted into the FX and a blank Audio Region in the track. I get 0 audio from plugin.
Hi :)
San Jetty from the Midronome Facebook Group has managed to get the plugin working fine in Logic. The only issue seems to be when looping.
Angel Alanis wrote: 31 Jul 2023, 09:07 I m not too happy with this
Please remember that this is an open source community project, for now there is no official support from Midronome on it.
If you do not want to help the plugin project advance, you can use the supported way which is using the Sync File Generator (download it here: https://midronome.com/support )and then importing the generated WAV into your DAW.
Note that unfortunately for now there is no specific guide for Logic, you can see the "sync to DAWs" guide on the support page and follow the general steps.

Simon
Dave
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dave »

Dark Waves wrote: 13 Jun 2023, 02:52 Thought I'd go ahead and report from admittedly very limited time to play with it this weekend (and bear in mind, I'm far from highly experienced in DAW usage, still).

Watching the video with quite a few pauses and rewinds, and trying to get to the right sections in Studio One (they are often hidden by default) I did get the plug-in to load and play. Am using S1 v.6 Pro on Windows 10 with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Pleasantly surprised the short bit of drawn sync section, just 3 bars, continuously works regardless of transport operation or position further down the track. I got the metronome sound from the Midronome playing and following the tempo changes, and then played around with some ramps in the tempo track, and it followed those fine.

There is some fairly frequent dropping of the sync, though. Once or twice a minute the box shows Err, and most of those times there will be audible glitching happening then. I took some care to set levels, both in the Focusrite mixing / routing control app, and in the DAW, finding the ranges that worked best, trying to avoid also running too hot, i.e. out of headroom, on either one, though I did find that the signal needs quite a bit of high level to get in the green range. Also, the line outs on the interface seemed to perform somewhat better than the headphone outs, as the drop outs were more frequent on the latter. I haven't had a chance yet to compare the plug-in performance to the audio sync file.

I'm interested what kind of results others experience.
How did you set up S1 Pro 6? I did what was shown in the video (I've been using the sync file generator and using the DAW Pipeline plugin to route the audio to the Midronome via an output on my interface) and can't get it to show as an ARA plugin in the DAW - I always get the not an ARA plugin error. Yes, I'm adding it as shown in the video.

I'm now using 6.2.1 I think is the latest version of S1. I'm on win11.
Simon
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Dave wrote: 03 Aug 2023, 04:38 How did you set up S1 Pro 6? I did what was shown in the video (I've been using the sync file generator and using the DAW Pipeline plugin to route the audio to the Midronome via an output on my interface) and can't get it to show as an ARA plugin in the DAW - I always get the not an ARA plugin error. Yes, I'm adding it as shown in the video.

I'm now using 6.2.1 I think is the latest version of S1. I'm on win11.
Thanks Dave for the feedback! I've actually only tested in Studio One 4 :roll:

I'm very focussed on Firmware 2.0 for now which will add the possibility of syncing to 24ppq pulses (without the bar marker), which means you will be able to use the E-RM plugin. Then we'll see if there is a real need for the ARA plugin - if there is I'll get a few DAWs (and the most recent versions), test it properly, make a few how-to videos and then release an official version.
Dark Waves
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dark Waves »

Dave wrote: 03 Aug 2023, 04:38
Dark Waves wrote: 13 Jun 2023, 02:52 Thought I'd go ahead and report from admittedly very limited time to play with it this weekend (and bear in mind, I'm far from highly experienced in DAW usage, still).

Watching the video with quite a few pauses and rewinds, and trying to get to the right sections in Studio One (they are often hidden by default) I did get the plug-in to load and play. Am using S1 v.6 Pro on Windows 10 with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Pleasantly surprised the short bit of drawn sync section, just 3 bars, continuously works regardless of transport operation or position further down the track. I got the metronome sound from the Midronome playing and following the tempo changes, and then played around with some ramps in the tempo track, and it followed those fine.

There is some fairly frequent dropping of the sync, though. Once or twice a minute the box shows Err, and most of those times there will be audible glitching happening then. I took some care to set levels, both in the Focusrite mixing / routing control app, and in the DAW, finding the ranges that worked best, trying to avoid also running too hot, i.e. out of headroom, on either one, though I did find that the signal needs quite a bit of high level to get in the green range. Also, the line outs on the interface seemed to perform somewhat better than the headphone outs, as the drop outs were more frequent on the latter. I haven't had a chance yet to compare the plug-in performance to the audio sync file.

I'm interested what kind of results others experience.
How did you set up S1 Pro 6? I did what was shown in the video (I've been using the sync file generator and using the DAW Pipeline plugin to route the audio to the Midronome via an output on my interface) and can't get it to show as an ARA plugin in the DAW - I always get the not an ARA plugin error. Yes, I'm adding it as shown in the video.

I'm now using 6.2.1 I think is the latest version of S1. I'm on win11.
Since I got it working, it is a very slick function, since it just dynamically follows the DAW's tempo. Anyway, it did take several times before I got the hang of it without scrutinizing the video myself, and I had to pause and rewind to catch all the details. I'm on S1 Pro 6.2 and Windows 10, so close enough, although differences in default song setup could change how you get to where everything is. Anyway, here's what works for me, considering there are usually multiple ways of accomplishing the same thing:

Launching a new song, add an audio track and make it mono. Other settings can be done later.
In the Record Input dropdown, select "None" since you don't need actual audio coming in.
[EDIT: try range tool if arrow doesn't work on this step] With the arrow tool, draw in a short section (a bar, could be flexible, need to experiment with that) to the beginning of the track, then "Bounce Selection."
If it isn't already, open the Inspector to the left, with the "i" symbol.
Above the fader, the second rectangle allows you to select the audio output, so choose one not going to your speakers!
In the section below the fader, next to "Event" click "Enable."
A bit below that, where the box says "Inserts" click the small "+" icon, open the Midronome folder and select Midroaudiosync.
You can deselect "Only send signal while playing" and close the popup box that appeared.
Sync signal should now be going to wherever you sent it.

Mileage may vary, but for me, I found the best settings (coincidentally) are the track fader at nominal, i.e. zero, and adjust the output for optimal level to the Midronome on the interface using whatever software or hardware controls it. That has the advantage of being preset at that level every new song, so less fussing about adjusting each time.

Let me know if that works for you!
Last edited by Dark Waves on 08 Aug 2023, 01:46, edited 1 time in total.
Dave
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Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dave »

Dark Waves wrote: 03 Aug 2023, 10:43
Dave wrote: 03 Aug 2023, 04:38
Dark Waves wrote: 13 Jun 2023, 02:52 Thought I'd go ahead and report from admittedly very limited time to play with it this weekend (and bear in mind, I'm far from highly experienced in DAW usage, still).

Watching the video with quite a few pauses and rewinds, and trying to get to the right sections in Studio One (they are often hidden by default) I did get the plug-in to load and play. Am using S1 v.6 Pro on Windows 10 with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Pleasantly surprised the short bit of drawn sync section, just 3 bars, continuously works regardless of transport operation or position further down the track. I got the metronome sound from the Midronome playing and following the tempo changes, and then played around with some ramps in the tempo track, and it followed those fine.

There is some fairly frequent dropping of the sync, though. Once or twice a minute the box shows Err, and most of those times there will be audible glitching happening then. I took some care to set levels, both in the Focusrite mixing / routing control app, and in the DAW, finding the ranges that worked best, trying to avoid also running too hot, i.e. out of headroom, on either one, though I did find that the signal needs quite a bit of high level to get in the green range. Also, the line outs on the interface seemed to perform somewhat better than the headphone outs, as the drop outs were more frequent on the latter. I haven't had a chance yet to compare the plug-in performance to the audio sync file.

I'm interested what kind of results others experience.
How did you set up S1 Pro 6? I did what was shown in the video (I've been using the sync file generator and using the DAW Pipeline plugin to route the audio to the Midronome via an output on my interface) and can't get it to show as an ARA plugin in the DAW - I always get the not an ARA plugin error. Yes, I'm adding it as shown in the video.

I'm now using 6.2.1 I think is the latest version of S1. I'm on win11.
Since I got it working, it is a very slick function, since it just dynamically follows the DAW's tempo. Anyway, it did take several times before I got the hang of it without scrutinizing the video myself, and I had to pause and rewind to catch all the details. I'm on S1 Pro 6.2 and Windows 10, so close enough, although differences in default song setup could change how you get to where everything is. Anyway, here's what works for me, considering there are usually multiple ways of accomplishing the same thing:

Launching a new song, add an audio track and make it mono. Other settings can be done later.
In the Record Input dropdown, select "None" since you don't need actual audio coming in.
With the arrow tool, draw in a short section (a bar, could be flexible, need to experiment with that) to the beginning of the track, then "Bounce Selection."
If it isn't already, open the Inspector to the left, with the "i" symbol.
Above the fader, the second rectangle allows you to select the audio output, so choose one not going to your speakers!
In the section below the fader, next to "Event" click "Enable."
A bit below that, where the box says "Inserts" click the small "+" icon, open the Midronome folder and select Midroaudiosync.
You can deselect "Only send signal while playing" and close the popup box that appeared.
Sync signal should now be going to wherever you sent it.

Mileage may vary, but for me, I found the best settings (coincidentally) are the track fader at nominal, i.e. zero, and adjust the output for optimal level to the Midronome on the interface using whatever software or hardware controls it. That has the advantage of being preset at that level every new song, so less fussing about adjusting each time.

Let me know if that works for you!
THANK YOU!

I think the step I missed was using that other box to select the output (I'm so used to using Pipeline) to send it to the Midronome.
Dave
Posts: 41
Joined: 28 Feb 2022, 06:22

Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dave »

Simon wrote: 03 Aug 2023, 10:19
Dave wrote: 03 Aug 2023, 04:38 How did you set up S1 Pro 6? I did what was shown in the video (I've been using the sync file generator and using the DAW Pipeline plugin to route the audio to the Midronome via an output on my interface) and can't get it to show as an ARA plugin in the DAW - I always get the not an ARA plugin error. Yes, I'm adding it as shown in the video.

I'm now using 6.2.1 I think is the latest version of S1. I'm on win11.
Thanks Dave for the feedback! I've actually only tested in Studio One 4 :roll:

I'm very focussed on Firmware 2.0 for now which will add the possibility of syncing to 24ppq pulses (without the bar marker), which means you will be able to use the E-RM plugin. Then we'll see if there is a real need for the ARA plugin - if there is I'll get a few DAWs (and the most recent versions), test it properly, make a few how-to videos and then release an official version.
I now seem to have it working - Dark Wave's step-by-step instructions got me going.

However, I did have some odd Midronome behavior. I'd been using it with the generated file and it worked flawlessly that way. With this sync I had to go in and mess with the Focusrite control panel and the volume, because at first I had to boost everything to +10, but even with adding an additional 30db or something to the output the Midronome never showed me a red LED. However, slamming the levels like that seemed to work, in that after I brought them back down, I could then gently raise the slider for the track the plugin is on and got the red LED and could follow the video.

I probably should've just powered the Midronome off and back on for starters.

Is a yellow Locked LED normal for when using the ARA sync plugin?

I've also noticed that now when the DAW isn't playing, the bpm readout on the Midronome is flashing from time to time, which is a bit distracting. It doesn't do that when playing in the DAW (yes, I have that checkbox disabled). In fact, it's losing sync when not playing. I'll fiddle with it more later, but if I can't get this working, then I'll go back to the rock solid sync'd file.

I have my Keystep 37 connected to the Midronome and, with the sync vst, the bpm is drifting all over the place when the DAW isn't playing. I often like to work without the DAW going, so.....

EDIT: Interestingly, nothing I do now will result in it locking to bpm. I went back to the way I was doing it before and it can't lock on, either. Ugh.

What seems to work as a workaround for now is to use the ARA plugin but only send when playing, so that I can adjust the Midronome to any bpm for live use and then hit Play in the DAW so it sends the signal and syncs to the DAW bpm so that both conditions are solid (but the ARA still generates a solid yellow LED for Locked - it never goes green).
Dave
Posts: 41
Joined: 28 Feb 2022, 06:22

Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Dave »

FYI re Studio One 6.2 - easier to apply Event FX than before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ8H2wazgaE
Simon
Posts: 789
Joined: 09 Jan 2022, 22:08

Re: [A] DAW Plugin - community open-source project

Post by Simon »

Dave wrote: 06 Aug 2023, 18:11 FYI re Studio One 6.2 - easier to apply Event FX than before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ8H2wazgaE
Awesome, thank you for sharing :)

Regarding the Locked LED - yes it is yellow, the actual physical LED is yellow and no other color, so it no it will never be green :D
When it's Locked (=Synced) it just turns on, so you know if you are locked to the DAW or not.

Apart from that - you're saying here that the sync works but not on the other post? So is it working?
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