Midi playback function > How to synchronise Ableton with the drummer

:beer: :beers: :beers: :beer:

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We failed !

For now we just want that one of us be able to launch the other song.
For me to launch his click, or for him to launch my Ableton.
At the same time !!

I am lost and do not understand.

I would do this:
In Ableton Live you have a so called click track, for example a cowbell on each beat.
This Track you route to your mixer where you and the drummer can hear it.
In Ableton Live you start the scene and you hear the click track,
Now you can trigger different clips via midi in Ableton Live and you can synchronize the start of the clip to the next bar or the next beat or whatever you want.

Just for my understanding: What is meant by “his click”?

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Thanks you Pianopaul and sorry for not being clear enough.
I just created click tracks, so that the drummer and me can hear it.
But what I wabt is that we can be “independant”.
I want him or me to start the track and that we have our own click, from our own devices :
Me the click from Ableton.
Him the click from the SPD.

The problem is that if he hears my click (because he would hear the headphone output of my audio interface), he can’t hear himself play the SPD !

I’m trying to find a way so that when I or he push ‘start’ both of pour devices start.
It must be a midi thing but we didn’t find how to !

Thanks again for your help !

OK, why can’t he use a small mixer?

And best practise is: You should only have 1 Master

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Yes but how to be the master !

Explain to the other members of the group that the one who can play a 7-notes chord with notes ranging over 3 or more octaves is the master. :nerd_face:
Oh you were perhaps speaking from a master clock? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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You start Ableton Live, the click track plays (forever in a loop), so you and the drummer have the timing.
And then the drummer can launch clips in Ableton Live.

Yes but without a mixer how to make the SPD séquence start at the same time as me ?

Help me, what does a mixer help to start sequences?

I would record the spd sequences as clips in Ableton and then use the spd to trigger the clips.
This way you are absolutely in sync.

Yes but :
How to make the SPD launch my Ableton !!!

@Dextroze I think you need to separate the problems you are trying to solve, and focus on the capabilities of the SPD. GP and Ableton will be much more flexible than the SPD, so any ‘limitations’ are likely to be caused by the SPD.

One of the first things I saw with the SPD is that it can support midi tempo sync. I would recommend you look at that as a starting point.

If you choose “AUTO,” MIDI clock (F8) messages received via the MIDI IN connector or the COMPUTER connector will be detected automatically, and the SPD-SX’s tempo will synchronize to these messages.

To get this working you either need to use USB to connect the SPD to your laptop, or use midi out from your interface to the SPD midi in. It might be easiest to start with the USB connection as that will support bi-directional communication between your laptop and the SPD and you don’t have to worry about midi routing.

If you get this working then my assumption is that your drummer can listen to the SPD click and you can listen to your Ableton click, because the ‘midi tempo sync’ between the 2 devices will ensure they are… in sync.

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Thank you very much, I will try that sunday !!!
Hope I can make it :slight_smile:

In Ableton Preferences (Link Midi) you will also need to activate the ‘Sync’ button on the ‘Output’ for the SPD. I am assuming that once you connect the SPD to your laptop (and you have set the SPD ‘USB Mode’ to ‘Audio/Midi’) then the SPD will appear as a MIDI Port in Ableton.

The ‘Sync’ button means that Ableton is acting as the master/host device and will send out the midi clock to the SPD to keep the tempo in sync. There is even a Sync Delay setting in Ableton to fine tune the clock messages to ensure both device’s tempos are exactly in sync.

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Thank you ‘rank13’ for these really detailled explanations :slight_smile:
That’s exacly what I want to do !
:crossed_fingers::four_leaf_clover:
Hope I can make it later this afternoon !

We tried to do this but nothing happened ! No synchronisation of any kind :’(

I think you should think about moving your spd sequences to ableton live and just trigger clips in Ableton from your spd.
But maybe wa all did not really understand what you want to do.

I just want to start my ‘GP CONTROL’ midi clip in Ableton, but in sync with the SPD.

OK, what means in sync?
Same tempo, or should it automatically start with the next beat?
And what is GP CONTROL?