MIDI Sync: Tempest as master, Carbon as slave

Stoss

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MIDI Sync: Tempest as master, Carbon as slave
« on: January 26, 2017, 06:54:44 AM »
Hi Friends.

Last night I was using my Tempest as the master clock and my brother was slaving his Kilpatrick Audio Carbon to it and sequencing some of his synths. After a while the Carbon would start to drift off of the clock and would be slightly ahead of the beat. Anyone have a thought as to what might be causing this?

I've always had good luck with the Tempest as the master clock, though there's always been some odd tempo display issues on other gear. For example, when I've got the Tempest set to 105 bpm, my Roland SPD-SX will display 104.9 bpm. Some times that number will fluctuate. Same thing happens to other gear in the room. They all stay in sync, but the slave clocks seem to have a hard time agreeing with what the Tempest says is the master tempo.

Sorry if this has been covered already.

Thanks.

Re: MIDI Sync: Tempest as master, Carbon as slave
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2017, 05:32:11 PM »
Hi Stoss,
Never had any problems with Tempest timing and this fluctuation is insignificant.The previous beta was somewhat skipping under certain conditions like scrolling with load soft knob etc..What's your OS version?

Stoss

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Re: MIDI Sync: Tempest as master, Carbon as slave
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2017, 02:55:34 PM »
Hi Yorgos.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm running the latest Beta OS. My thought is that the Carbon is using tempo information in a way that allows it to drift. We're looking into it from the Carbon side of things as well. I knew there had been ongoing discussions related to sync and I thought maybe someone else's experiences could inform this situation.

Re: MIDI Sync: Tempest as master, Carbon as slave
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2017, 05:07:19 PM »
Hi Yorgos.

Thanks for the reply!

I'm running the latest Beta OS. My thought is that the Carbon is using tempo information in a way that allows it to drift. We're looking into it from the Carbon side of things as well. I knew there had been ongoing discussions related to sync and I thought maybe someone else's experiences could inform this situation.

Hi Stoss,

There are still a couple sync related issues yet to be fixed:

·      When switching beats on-the-fly, the first step of the sequencer-out is consistently late; so if you're triggering a sample loop on the one, every time you switch beats on the Tempest, it will be out of sync for the first pass.  *This is an invasive fix.

·      Tempest starts one midi clock late or early depending on various conditions of the sync source or Tempest modes.  *This is an invasive fix.

That said, neither of those bugs cause "drift" per se.  So I would venture that any perceived "drift" is the Carbon's issue.

Cheers!

Stoss

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Re: MIDI Sync: Tempest as master, Carbon as slave
« Reply #4 on: January 31, 2017, 08:03:52 AM »
There are still a couple sync related issues yet to be fixed:

·      When switching beats on-the-fly, the first step of the sequencer-out is consistently late; so if you're triggering a sample loop on the one, every time you switch beats on the Tempest, it will be out of sync for the first pass.  *This is an invasive fix.

·      Tempest starts one midi clock late or early depending on various conditions of the sync source or Tempest modes.  *This is an invasive fix.

That said, neither of those bugs cause "drift" per se.  So I would venture that any perceived "drift" is the Carbon's issue.

Cheers!

Thanks for the reply!

We did some further testing last night... With MIDI directly out of the Tempest and into the Carbon, the issue still occurred and the Carbon would start to drift ahead of the beat. With MIDI directly out of the Carbon and into the Tempest, both stayed in sync. We then repatched a few things in the room to run the Carbon as the master clock for the entire room rather than the Tempest. Everything worked well, though the solution is not ideal as the tempo control is a better fit in my hands since I play live drums, I am the only member of the group with a click track in my ear, and when we play our instruments off script (which is often) I am typically setting the tempo, either initially or in response to what someone has started to play.

My brother has been in contact with Andrew at Kilpatrick Audio who let him know that others have reported the same issue of drift when the Carbon is using an external clock. The issue is one he will be looking into and his suggested temporary fix was to do what we did and set the Carbon as the master... but that of course isn't our ideal permanent solution.

I am happy to report that with the Carbon as the master clock, the many other devices in the room were behaving in response to it the same as they do with the Tempest. They stay in sync, but their individual clock displays will fluctuate by .1 up or down from the set tempo. This makes me feel more confident about when the Tempest is the master and produces the same result.

As far as the two bug reports listed above... the second seems like it may apply in our current arrangement with the Tempest syncing to an external clock. Thanks for the heads up on what could be an issue.

Thanks again for your time!