Dear forum,
I want to use my Eone with a computer to saend out multiple devices like drummachines and grooveboxes. Beside being te main controller for pattern switching and on hands control of cc messages for filters I’d also like to have this wonderful midimachine send out the midi clock to all devices(or else I will have to chain all devices(to sync them in tempo) and I am afraid this might cause some issues with the following:
a. not sure how well the electra one is in terms of midi clock latency when chaining 4 to 5 hardware devices in 1 row
b. I am not known to how long a midi chain can be in sense of cable before jitter and midi drop outs occur with this device(or windows of that matter) i heard the cable of midi shouldnt extend to longer than 7m or something when i was a kid?
If anyone knows, thanks!
The following machines are in play here. If can finalize this I hope to also upload all presets of each device here (= aswell as a liveset template, as how I used it!
OTO Machines Boum
MFB Tanzmaus
Behringer TD-3
1010music Razzmatazz
Teenage Engineering Op-Z
Electrix WarpFactory
I don’t know what changes Martin has made in the recent OSes, but in general, I would not use the Electra One as a master clock source.
Also, it has been a long-standing issue with MIDI and device chaining. Again, I would not chain devices, especially if they implement ‘soft thru’ MIDI connections. Back in the old days, a MIDI through connection was done with hardware and the connection was literally looped through a minimal hardware path. Soft Thru connections are done in software and typically do introduce some additional latency.
Basic suggestion is to get a MIDI splitter or MIDI patchbay and whatever is the master clock have that distributed to all your devices. Managing multiple MIDI devices in a non-trivial setup requires some thought, testing, and additional hardware. I understand not wanting to spend money on things that don’t make/process/edit sound, but if you don’t you are just asking for headaches down the road.
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Fully agree. Whatever the clock source, you will not be happy with the sync once you daisy chain 4 or more devices. Even after 3 devices some people will notice delays already.
Always use MIDI (or USB)routers that distribute the MIDI signals to all devices in parallel. If you are out of parallel MIDI ports, then limit daisy chaining to only two devices
I have an electra one, but I do not recommend it as a clock source. It’s not designed for that specific purpose.
In my set-up the main MIDI controller serves as master clock and its signal is distributed to all other systems via MIDI routers.These routers are interconnected via Ethernet, adding 2ms latency.
Some (older) synths or drum machines can’t be made to shut up their own clocks . If you have this situation and you really want to use MIDI out from such device, then ensure your MIDI router has the ability to filter away those clock signals when they enter the router. If not, all other synth ARP or sequencers will suddenly start playing at double their speed
When I use my DAW, then that DAW takes over the master clock role. I use Ableton link as well in that case .
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