Why always 120 BPM?

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
GrooveNinja
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Why always 120 BPM?

Post by GrooveNinja » Wed Jan 20, 2010 4:46 pm

Whenever I save a Live set and restore it, the tempo of all of the MIDI clips gets reset to 120 BPM. Is this supposed to happen?

GrooveNinja
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by GrooveNinja » Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:30 pm

Does no one else encounter this with Live 8? If I create a MIDI clip at 108 bpm, then save the set, close Live, restart it, and then open up the set, the MIDI clip will be at 120 bpm.

jstilger
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by jstilger » Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:48 pm

The global time is set for 120 BPM. The first midi/audio clip I place into my set will adjust the global time to the clips BPM. I believe it is just a template to start every set at 120 BPM.

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Fizmarble
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by Fizmarble » Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:07 pm

Are you looking at the global tempo at the top of the screen or the clips tempo on the clip detail?

GrooveNinja
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by GrooveNinja » Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:35 pm

Fizmarble wrote:Are you looking at the global tempo at the top of the screen or the clips tempo on the clip detail?
The clip's tempo in the clip detail. The global tempo comes back as the correct 108 bpm, but all of the MIDI clips are at 120 bpm. Audio clips stay at the correct 108 bpm.

Fizmarble
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by Fizmarble » Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:21 am

Works the same for me. It is definitely undesirable, which to me says bug, but I can't see how it would affect workflow at all. Midi doesn't have an original tempo, it just has whatever the current tempo is. So I don't think it matters what that box says. For Audio it matters because the farther you stray from the original, the more artifacts you have. Maybe they didn't want to have an empty box and the midi file doesn't hold that data, so it's just filled with the default "120".

GrooveNinja
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by GrooveNinja » Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:46 am

Fizmarble wrote:Works the same for me. It is definitely undesirable, which to me says bug, but I can't see how it would affect workflow at all. Midi doesn't have an original tempo, it just has whatever the current tempo is. So I don't think it matters what that box says. For Audio it matters because the farther you stray from the original, the more artifacts you have. Maybe they didn't want to have an empty box and the midi file doesn't hold that data, so it's just filled with the default "120".
It will sometimes cause my Virus Ti to play out of sync. It doesn't happen every time, but there is some other operation that I do in Live (I haven't figured out exactly what yet) that will cause the Virus to play back too slowly. It seems that Live sees that the original tempo of the clips is 120 bpm (even though it wasn't), and consequently it slows them down to match the 108 bpm global tempo. I have to go into each clip, select all, cut all, set the clip's tempo back to 108 bpm, and then paste the midi notes back in. It's a real PITA. Then, after I quit Live and bring it back up, all of the clips will be back at 120 bpm.

Fizmarble
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by Fizmarble » Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:19 am

GrooveNinja wrote:
Fizmarble wrote:Works the same for me. It is definitely undesirable, which to me says bug, but I can't see how it would affect workflow at all. Midi doesn't have an original tempo, it just has whatever the current tempo is. So I don't think it matters what that box says. For Audio it matters because the farther you stray from the original, the more artifacts you have. Maybe they didn't want to have an empty box and the midi file doesn't hold that data, so it's just filled with the default "120".
It will sometimes cause my Virus Ti to play out of sync. It doesn't happen every time, but there is some other operation that I do in Live (I haven't figured out exactly what yet) that will cause the Virus to play back too slowly. It seems that Live sees that the original tempo of the clips is 120 bpm (even though it wasn't), and consequently it slows them down to match the 108 bpm global tempo. I have to go into each clip, select all, cut all, set the clip's tempo back to 108 bpm, and then paste the midi notes back in. It's a real PITA. Then, after I quit Live and bring it back up, all of the clips will be back at 120 bpm.
Ouch. Bug post for sure.

ark
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by ark » Thu Jan 21, 2010 2:56 pm

Fizmarble wrote:Works the same for me. It is definitely undesirable, which to me says bug, but I can't see how it would affect workflow at all. Midi doesn't have an original tempo, it just has whatever the current tempo is.
Midi has to have the ability to record original tempo in a file, because otherwise there would be no way for Live to know that the file was recorded at 108.

supamonsta
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by supamonsta » Thu Jan 21, 2010 3:05 pm

well, 120 is quite a good BPM, isn't it? :D

ikeaboy
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by ikeaboy » Thu Jan 21, 2010 3:52 pm

monstrejumo wrote:well, 120 is quite a good BPM, isn't it? :D
140 is the new 120. One reason to have a clip tempo box is the *2 /2 tempo double/half switches. Tbh GrooveN I doubt that clip tempo settings are affecting your TI, I can't see any reason for Live to use that information beyond interpreting what is going on in the midi clip.

Fizmarble
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by Fizmarble » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:02 pm

ark wrote:
Fizmarble wrote:Works the same for me. It is definitely undesirable, which to me says bug, but I can't see how it would affect workflow at all. Midi doesn't have an original tempo, it just has whatever the current tempo is.
Midi has to have the ability to record original tempo in a file, because otherwise there would be no way for Live to know that the file was recorded at 108.
Actually Live doesn't know it was recorded at 108, it thinks it was recorded at 120.

leedsquietman
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by leedsquietman » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:11 pm

120 bpm is the default tempo in any sequencer I have ever used which is many (Live, Cubase, DP, Logic, Protools HD, Sonar, Samplitude, ACID, Reason) the only exception is Renoise which seems to set itself as 123 bpm by default (unless I messed it up as I'm new to it).

140 bpm is the defacto Grime speed. Maybe tell the manufacturers to set up a Grime template at 140 bpm for all you grimy people :)
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ark
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by ark » Thu Jan 21, 2010 5:33 pm

Fizmarble wrote:
ark wrote: Midi has to have the ability to record original tempo in a file, because otherwise there would be no way for Live to know that the file was recorded at 108.
Actually Live doesn't know it was recorded at 108, it thinks it was recorded at 120.
Actually, Live does know that it was recorded at 108.

If you start a new set and drag a MIDI file into it, Live changes the global tempo to be the file's tempo. The only way it can do that is if it knows what the file's tempo is.

Fizmarble
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Re: Why always 120 BPM?

Post by Fizmarble » Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:13 pm

ark wrote:
Fizmarble wrote:
ark wrote: Midi has to have the ability to record original tempo in a file, because otherwise there would be no way for Live to know that the file was recorded at 108.
Actually Live doesn't know it was recorded at 108, it thinks it was recorded at 120.
Actually, Live does know that it was recorded at 108.

If you start a new set and drag a MIDI file into it, Live changes the global tempo to be the file's tempo. The only way it can do that is if it knows what the file's tempo is.
Image

I don't know why I am wasting my time, but if you look at this picture you will see the original tempo at 120, where it should be 133, but instead it matches the global tempo. I tried the exact method you stated and it proved me right. I have no more words for you.

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