is it IM/POSSIBLE to RECORD EXTERNAL HARDWARE truly IN SYNC?

intrepid traveller · Post by **intrepid traveller** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 2:54 pm

so here it is:

1. i have lots of nice hardware that i've ALWAYS wanted to use in conjuction with ableton live 6, including an elektron machinedrum, an elektron monomachine and a nord rack 3.

2. but when i use ableton live i find i only use software instruments, such as reaktor 5 and battery 3, because, for the life of me, i could never get my hardware to record in sync alongside my software instruments.

3. i have followed all the tuturials regarding 'driver compensation error' and i have set my audio lactency to the lowest setting possible.

4. but when i record a simple test drum beat from the elektron machinedrum, the waveform is never ever in sync with the actual downbeat in live. it is always slightly behind. changing my latency setting slightly improves this, but not entirely. i've found no difference in modifying any of the 'driver error compensation' or in mucking about with the track delay settings. nothing seems to push my recording back into sync.

5. i realize that one could simply move the start marker over, ever so slightly, to get the machinedrum recording in sync AFTER IT HAS BEEN RECORDED OUT OF SYNC, but what i'm ultiimately wondering is:

is it POSSIBLE to RECORD EXTERNAL HARDWARE truly IN SYNC?

this is why, for something like 7 years now, my two worlds of hardware and software have NEVER met. i'd like to introduce them to each other. but the SYNC issue drives me batty with frustration, especially in the kind of music i do, where timing and groove is all important. even several millisecords of difference is intolerable. all my native instruments software SYNCs perfectly, right on the downbeats. it is all quite obvious when looking at the waveform.

i'm trying to find a way to record my hardware in such a manner as well.

is this POSSIBLE?

any help here would be highly appreciated and rewarded with praise and laurels! i just hate to not use my beautiful elektron gear because ableton live won't record them in SYNC.

i know there are workarounds, such as sampling my machinedrum or monomachine, and putting them into something like battery 3 or kontakt 2 to be triggered in ableton live, but i'd rather use my external synthesis in more of a realtime fashion.

PLEASE HELP or SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES!

here is my setup:

Apple iMac G5 running 10.4.10 2 Ghz PowerPC w/ 2 GB RAM
MOTU Traveller running the latest OS
Ableton Live 6.0.7

Elektron Machinedrum
Elektron Monomachine
Clavia Nord Rack 3

thanks so much in advance,

all the best,

graham miller aka intrepid traveller
toronto

Chouch21 · Post by **Chouch21** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:53 pm

Hi,

I tried a lot of time with different Midi interfaces, different machines and it's never perfectly synced. Very fustrating. Hope this will be fixed soon ...

Hexdump · Post by **Hexdump** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:03 pm

i found out the only delay i cant compensate for is when i route incoming audio (triggered by midi) from the input track to another audio or return track.

the input track can be shifted by delay compensation, no problem. but other tracks receiving audio from that same track get some strange delay that can't be compensated no matter what i do...