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Ableton Clock Sync // as slave

Posted: 01 Oct 2022, 12:55
by NeonBlackCat
Hej there

Your device looks promising especially with the Ableton Link built in, which is rumored to be a lot more stable than syncing Ableton alone through outboard gear.

My scenario is as follows:

I want to use an Elektron Sequencer like the Syntakt (especially since they now have their own "Song Mode"), which can provide a clock itself either vie USB, or Din-Midi (24 & 48 ppq), as the "Brain" in my setup to play live and have Ableton follow. However even with a 48x clock Ableton is very unstable and takes about 2 bars to be in-sync. Meanwhile any midiclip or other element that needs a clock signal will be unstable too and thus just sound weird.

Here are two screen captures of the problem:

first one is just starting a midi clip which sends out to a synth and returns audio and you can see the unstable clock and hear the syncing

https://imgur.com/a/h3lrTEx

and secondly a clip of the piano roll with also quick restarts any you can see the transport jump and not behave like it should do

https://imgur.com/a/kvE6NVv

I hope your clock might provide a better and more stable solution to this problem, so Ableton can follow hardware and not just be the brain.


cheers,
Cat

Re: Ableton Clock Sync // as slave

Posted: 10 Oct 2022, 11:47
by Simon
Hej Cat! :)

Sorry your topic must have fallen through the net.

Just looking at your images, wow gosh... This is bad :lol:
I suggest you have a look at this video where I show the exact same thing (MIDI Clock sent over USB) but with the Midronome so you have an idea. It still fluctuates - that's because of USB, not much I can do about it - but a LOT less than in your images.

==> https://youtu.be/-T7KW3hfvDI

Just to make sure this is clear, Ableton Link is *not* included in the Midronome which will be shipped to the Kickstarter backers. It will come later as an add-on module (a year later at least).

I really want to work on this issue (because I love nerding about it), so I hope my brain will come up with a better solution eventually, but for now the only solution if you want tight sync between DAW and hardware sequencer is to use what I call "DAW sync" which uses an audio sync signal, and where the DAW is the master. You can see on the video how it sounds.

I have not investigated much Ableton Link, but it's pretty impossible it will be as precise as an audio signal sync ;)

Cheers
Simon