As a keyboard player, I perform overseas with a wide range of equipment and numerous plugins driven by a Tyros 4 MIDI clock, Kronos 88-X, Kurzweil PC3K8, as well as a garden variety of sequencers and rhythm units. I’ve used Pro Tools for years, as well as Ableton Live, MainStage, and Logic Pro-X. It really wasn’t until I started using Gig Performer that I got hooked on the functionality; reminding me of my old Arp2600 in terms of quick cabling. I guess I’m spoiled now, due to its ease of setup and flexibility. However, without a way to slave Gig Performer to an external MIDI clock, I lose all of the functionality to drive sequencing, and syncing to plugins such as Superior Drummer and a host of other unique MIDI clock synced plugins (within Gig Performer). The Tyros 4 as well as many other keyboards, transmits MIDI Clock and Start/Stop data at a rate of 24 PPQN (pulses per quarter note). Of course when slaved, it would need to respond to demo changes from the Master. Somewhat similar to Ableton Live or Logic Pro-X. I believe Digital Performer also has this option.
is this functionality something that might be entertained sometime down the “Yellow Brick” road? It’s hard to imagine that someone else hasn’t requested this feature…
We discussed this earlier this morning. We are hoping to add this in the next week or so, it is a pretty simple thing to implement — (no guarantees, we don’t want to be sued if we don’t deliver it immediately:-)
We are sensitive to user needs and have often adjusted our priorities but in fact nobody has asked for this feature. The only vaguely related feature that users did request (and which we subsequently implemented) was Tap Tempo.
I suspect the reason that people haven’t asked for it yet is that most users are using it for live performance and are not trying to drive it from a sequencer.
We’ll be able to respond to the START and STOP messages as well. We will probably not add the ability to send out MIDI clocks in the near future though.
When you get to it, that would be awesome. I was dreaming about the possibility of a widget such as the current MIDI IN (Omni), possibly labeled MIDI IN (Sync or Master) or some such incarnation. That way the user could double-click on the widget and physically set the tempo in case of timing issues between the Master and Slave. Sending out MIDI clocks from Gig Performer isn’t necessary for anything I do, so, hey… Take all the time you need… And thanks for the quick reply too. I appreciate it.
There is already a BPM field on the main window (near the top right) where you can set a global tempo and each rackspace can have its own tempo as well.
Unless we run into a surprise, it should be straight forward enough to do this. I’ve already built a Max patcher to generate clocks so we can test it.
Yes, however I hadn’t used them since I couldn’t control or start/stop the MIDI clock with rhythm oriented plugins in Gig Performer. Normally we leave the tempo field blank and let the Master dictate the clock rate. With Apple’s Thunderbolt, using the ResidentAudio T2 or T4, latency isn’t an issue with Ableton Live, yet I found that with MainStage, I needed to occasionally enter a fixed tempo value depending of course upon the plugin. Omnisphere as I recall requires that. The real issue arises when we change the tempo on the Master, as in using the Tyros MIDI clock to sync a Slave to. You are correct in that the tempo override could be done via the BPM field, and within each rack space as necessary.
We just announced Gig Performer v1.6.0 which includes support for MIDI clock. The new feature can be enabled or disabled for each rackspace.
To enable it - simply double click on the rackspace name to open its properties and select the box “Sync with external clock”
I will take a trial run tonight for SURE… And the speed at which you provided this functionality is amazing! At the same time it probably sets a dangerous precedent for you too:-)
Let us know how it goes, please. There may be some interesting opportunities to tweak its responsiveness depending on how it is being used so feedback is welcomed.
Wow - I had so many issues with adding and removing widgets such as Kontakt 5 and Omnisphere. I removed everything and started over. It turns out that Norton Security updated their software for Apple MACs 5 days ago and caused numerous issues. The new version required for a MAC is Norton 7.4 (Build 165). They sent it to me yesterday and once installed I had no further problems adding or removing plugins from the Gig Performer environment.
I installed the MIDI monitor application as you suggested to specifically see what’s happening behind the scenes. For some reason, Addictive Drums and ToonTrack’s Superior Drummer 2.0 won’t run properly. I am running on a MacBook Pro with 16GB ram and 1TB SSD as well as an 8TB Thunderbolt drive where most of the plugins reside. The MIDI Monitor correctly shows the Tyros 4 correctly sending MIDI Clock Start / Stop and continuous clock time in between. Nothing else. On the plugins however, they simply reset on each beat back to the start of the rhythm, never moving forward. The tempo is accurately displayed in Gig Performer. I tried three (as much as I hate to bring up other DAWs); Ableton Live, MainStage, and Pro Tools. All three Start, Stop, and process rhythms the correctly. It doesn’t appear to be the MIDI stream on its way in. However, I’ve been wrong before… Could something else be problematic in my configuration or setup?
Could you please try to disable your external clock, then play Addictive Drums or Superior Drummer and change the BPM while playing manually (using the BPM control in GP) or assign a MIDI control to GP’s tap tempo feature and change it that way while playing.
Does that also reset them every time?
What does the MIDI monitor display coming in from your MIDI clock device exactly?
On an aside, it is generally unnecessary to run anti-virus software on a Mac and certainly not on a machine that has to deal with real-time apps like Logic, GP and so forth. I’d certainly avoid anything from Symantec. Their stuff is generally really bloated.
Interesting test… I don’t need an incoming MIDI clock to reproduce what happens when I use one. In the Rackspace Properties I tick the Checkbox and set the “Set Time Info” to 133. I do NOT set Sync. Then I Instantiate Additive Drums and select a Rhythm as I would when I normally use it. It plays perfectly when started from the Play button on Additive Drums in the Rackspace. Then on the front of the Rackspace where tempo and BPM are correctly displaying the selected Tempo, I press the Play/Stop button and it exhibits the same issue I have when I send MIDI clock to GigPerformer. It appears to go into the ozone. If I deselect the Play/Stop button on the BPM button, it works again. I can also adjust the BPM from the RackSpace front and it correctly adjusts the tempo from Additive Drums.
Just wondering, but shouldn’t “Set Time Information” be disabled in the Rackspace Properties if “Sync with External Clock” is enabled?
Just curious if my previous post provided enough detailed information to duplicate the issue I’m having. I substituted Superior Drummer 2 for Addictive Drummer and the same issue occurs. The Start/Stop button at the top of Gig Performer (also triggered by MIDI if Start/Stop is selected on the keyboard) sets the preselected rhythm back to the first note over and over as if a restart occurred. However, the Start/Stop on the plugin works within GigPerformer correctly. I am currently on revision 1.6.3
we managed to get a copy of Addictive Drums 2 and I either cannot reproduce the issue or I am not understanding it completely.
I created a short video of me using an external clock and start/stop device and it seems to behave as I would expect it. Start/Stop works normally and I can change the tempo any time - regardless of playback state.
In the rackSpace properties disable everything (Set time information and Sync with external clock)
At this point there is no external clock provided, only the tempo indicated by Gig Performer. As in your video, select Sync/Play/Stop at the bottom of the (Beats) tab page.
Then, start the selected rhythm by clicking the Play/Stop button at the top of Gig Performer (not the Play button on Addictive Drums 2). When I start the rhythm from Addictive Drums, it operates correctly, however, when I start the rhythm from Gig Performer, it just resets over and over again. At least that’s the way mine is working. I’m on version 1.6.5
I have MIDI in (Omni) cabled to Addictive Drums 2 MIDI in, however, the results are the same even without a MIDI in (Omni) connection.
I loaded and ran this version. The clock now starts, stops, and runs the selected rhythms. It works correctly from GigPerformer’s Start/Stop button too. The sync starts out fine as a slave, but appears to drift out of sync after several measures.
Even when setting the tempo in the Rackspace properties with a fixed value, it tends to drift off after a while. Watching the BPM it fluctuates up and down by what looks like 1 ppm. The CPU runs between 6% and 15% while processing in real time. I wonder if that, or perhaps the possible latency between the Tyros, and Resident Audio’s Thunderbolt MIDI in and out to the MacBook Pro and into Gig Performer could cause that?
This is so close it hurts. I really appreciate all of the effort your putting into this feature…