CLOCKstep:MULTI - Ableton Live Sync using E-RM Multiclock plugin (Floatingpoint Instruments)

CLOCKstep:MULTI can easily synchronize tightly with Ableton Live using the Audio Sync Input and the open-source E-RM Multiclock plugin (aka: Tick Tock Plugin, aka: Floatingpoint Instruments Multiclock plugin).
#ableton #abletonlive #modularsynth
More Details:
jmkmusicpedals...
CLOCKstep:MULTI is the new Synchronization Hub for MIDI Clock, DAW Sync, CV Trigger Sync and Audio Metronome in one device.
Join us on:
Discord: / discord
Facebook: / clockstep
E-RM Multiclock plugin:
www.e-rm.de/do...
Tick Tock Source Code:
github.com/m-r...
Floatingpoint Instruments (E-RM Rebrand):
floatingpoint-...

[@MadelnMachines]

Can you make it so pressing play on Ableton Live also starts the external gear without needing to press play or pressing play on the external sequencer starts Ableton Live?

[@jmkmusicpedals]

Yes, as long as the external sequencer can respond to the MIDI Start Command that Ableton sends, or, if you are asking more about CV devices, then if they are hooked up to CLOCKstep:MULTI's relevant transport trigger outputs.

[@jmkmusicpedals]

Following up on this for everyones benefit: Version 1.0.0058 was released which includes a new Transport Mode called 'External'. If CS:M is following the clock that Ableton is sending (MIDI or AUDIO), then using this mode will automatically start the Transport in CS:M upon detection of the first clock pulse. It's a simpler method for getting everything started at once in a system.

[@MadelnMachines]

What if I want to send multiple midi sequences to external synths and drum machines and keep them in time with live rather than just syncing to external sequencers? Or maybe a combination of Ableton Live midi sequences being sent to some external gear and also some sequences playing on the external gear sequences - all synced together. Would that work? What would a setup diagram of that look like? Thanks

[@jmkmusicpedals]

CS:M has a lot of ways to coordinate sync with clock, but doesn't try to manipulate the timing of any other data. However, if you have a hybrid situation sending MIDI Sequences from the DAW along with MIDI Sequences from external gear, there can be a benefit once MIDI Clock is no longer coming from the computer, like in this video. It's less data being forced into the MIDI pipe from the computer and could result in less jitter for the other data being sent. A setup diagram for best results would be the MIDI from the computer, without MIDI Clock, being sent directly to the devices that don't require MIDI Clock. If you have MIDI that you would want to send from the computer to all devices, then a MIDI Splitter after the computer could be used. The second line of the MIDI Splitter would then go to CS:M so that any MIDI Data can be merged along with the clock being generated and sent to the devices requiring that. You could also just send everything through CS:M and it would probably still be better at adding MIDI Clock to the data stream than most computer MIDI outputs sending MIDI Clock. Those are just some options.

[@MadelnMachines]

@@jmkmusicpedals I'm getting a bit lost with this. Doesn't the CSM send midi clock to the DAW? Or Does it get it's midi clock from the DAW (but using audio pulses which are more accurate). Are the only things that work with clock external sequencers and DAW sequencers (or LFOs / Arps on hardware synths). If you sent your sequencers from your DAW without midi clock and then added midi clock with CSM how would your DAW sync up?

[@jmkmusicpedals]

Sorry I missed replying to this, must have slipped through the cracks. Sharing MIDI Clock is meant to keep devices that are running sequencers, loops and arps in sync with each other. It keeps them from drifting apart, which they will always do if they don't share a clock signal and instead try to just rely on their internal timing. In a DAWless scenario, CLOCKstep:MULTI will generate that shared MIDI Clock out to all devices and work as the master Clock device in a setup. DAWs are a bit of a special case because MIDI Clock going into or coming out of a DAW is prone to increases in jitter and/or latency. So, a method used by CS:M and others is to "lock onto" the audio signal coming from the DAW instead, which is much more reliable for the computer. From there, CS:M translates that audio signal into a more steady MIDI Clock that the other compatible MIDI devices can sync to. This only pertains to Clock signals, but if the DAW is sending MIDI Notes to external devices, that the DAW's own sequencer which is running. As the Notes exit the DAW and go to their respective external synth for sound generation, they are not influenced by the Clock signal. However, since the DAW SEQUENCER is part of the shared clock too, in the scenario I describe above, it should be in sync. To put it another way, if something "runs" on one of these device, that's what is being influenced by clock signals. But data sent, like Notes, is just data sent. Hope that makes more sense to you. Easy stuff to demonstrate, not so easy to put down on paper.

[@OliverHägele]

Can you use midi for start/stop in combination with the audio pulse clock source?

[@jmkmusicpedals]

Absolutely.

[@graemecrawford8323]

I use E-RM multi clock with a Digitakt but there is still a very slight delay when i press play on Ableton. Any suggestions?

[@jmkmusicpedals]

I don't own a multiclock or a Digitakt, so I can't really say with any certainty. Sorry.