Midi Clock Jitter

Hi! I have a problem with syncing GP to an external Midi Clock. I have an ERM Multiclock which is synced via audio from Ableton on another laptop. The ERM is super stable itself (I can monitor that on the display) but when sending clock from ERM into GP the signal is glitchy, it varies maybe +/- 2 Bpm. When I open MainStage on the same laptop and check the tempo there (the exact same signal that GP syncs to), it´s much more stable, it varies sometimes, but only maybe +/- 0,1 Bpm. The Midi interface I´m using is an iConnectivity Mio 4.

This wouldn’t be a big problem were it not for all the glitchy sounds GP makes due to the unstable clock.

It also makes it useless for syncing to a clock signal with deliberate tempo changes in it, which some of the music I perform require.

I´ve checked all the connections in GP, and there is only one midi port that receives clock.

This is very frustrating as one of the reasons I went from MainStage to Gig Performer was the ability to beat sync to external midi clock (which MainStage doesn´t do).

Any advice? Is anybody else experiencing this?

/Sam

Can you use LINK from Ableton?
LINK is much more accurate than MIDI clock.
I sync GP with Ableton using LINK, works very reliable

Yes, LINK works, but it doesn´t solve the problem with glitchy sounds during deliberate tempo changes.

Do you use LINK during live performances? I find the fact that all connected applications can change the tempo a bit scary… In this case Ableton should always be master, I don´t want to risk accidentally changing the tempo from GP… then the whole show goes down.

I am using Ableton and Gig Performer on the same machine, so nobody except me can change the tempo.

How could that happen?

When I use LINK I can change the tempo in GP from Ableton, but it goes both ways. And with that there´s always the risk to accidentally change tempo from GP. So I prefer the classic way, with a Master computer/track where all other follows… feels safer to me.

Now I made a test with Ableton Live sending MIDI clock to Gig Performer.
Tempo is absolute stable no jitter.

So I cannot reproduce the issue you have.

What version of GP are you using?

No, when using LINK it´s stable with no glitchy sound (except for deliberate tempo changes).

My issue was when using an external hardware Midi clock. Which is very stable itself, I have no issue with other hardware connected to the clock, the issue happens in Gig Performer.

I´m using the latest version, 5.0.28.

For my understanding:
Ableton is sending audio clock to the Mio.
Mio is sending midi clock to gig performer.
In gig performer the recognized bpm is not stable, right?

Ableton sends audio trigger to hardware clock which generates midi clock and sends to Mio. Otherwise correct!

Ok, can you send midi clock from hardware to gig performer?

Yes, that´s what I do, via the Mio Interface,

Without mio and without Ableton.
Just to make sure that the issue is not coming from any of the participants.

Aha, I understand. I´m not in the studio right now so can´t try, but earlier I tried feeding MainStage the same signal, also via the Mio. There is some jitter there too but only about +/- 0,1 Bpm or even less. So Mio could potentially have something to do with it but the problem is way bigger in GP. Also MainStage doesn’t have that glitchy sound when the tempo changes.

Have you checked into adjusting the audio tail length in each rackspace?

I am lost, what influence should audio tail length have on tempo changes via MIDI clock?

I’m just discussing any audio artifacts that might occur during a tempo change.

But maybe this is only for switching rackspaces and not for clock rate changes.

I agree the eliminating the MIO as a possibility would help. It would be interesting to note the routing within the MIO and whether other MIDI signals besides clock are included in the path.

Yes, to my understanding audio tail length shouldn´t affect this.

I could be the Mio of course, I can try with a different Midi Interface when I´m back in the studio. But fact is, the tempo-variations is still much bigger in GP than in MS, with the same clock source.

I assume you have your MIO as the MIDI clock source in Rig Manager. Maybe a too obvious question.