Please help me sync two laptops with live on both!!

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not family friendly
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Please help me sync two laptops with live on both!!

Post by not family friendly » Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:03 pm

Have a show tonight, and I want to be able to perform in conjuction with my friend, yet we are not sure how to slave his computer to mine so that we can be synced smoothly.

Any help?





me (ibook g4, live 4 with operator, reason, korg padKontrol)
him (g4 powerbook, live 4, reason, korg padKontrol)

What kind of midi interface do i need? we will just play unsynced if we cant figure it out, but id really love to not have to worry bout it.

brandon a
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Post by brandon a » Fri Jul 14, 2006 7:04 pm

While I personally haven't tried it, I have heard people here say that you need an external MIDI clock to sync the two without lag...
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eprom
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Post by eprom » Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:13 pm

just start as close to perfect unison as possible (manually) and then ride the bpm with the up/down arrow keys to lock it in. easy if you've done any beatmatching as a dj.

DeadlyKungFu
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Post by DeadlyKungFu » Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:57 pm

You can do it without an external device (but that is a simple easy solution) and syncing them in close to perfect unison will not work.

There's an external sync button at the top of the page on the left side, click that on the SLAVE device.

This part I've played with but once I get it working I move on, I really should pay attention next time.
In the options -> Preferences -> MIDI page set SYNC on both computers. Drop the SAME IDENTICAL song into both computers and hit play on the master. On the slave the MIDI sync out and MIDI sync in lights (on the left side at the top) should always be in lock step. If they drift, play with the SYNC settings and whatnot.

I've gotten this to work at a friend's place literally half the time. He wouldn't really let me see/tweak his settings or add another midi cable, we just moved on, first time it worked, second time it didn't work but he didn't believe me (annoying), third time yes, 4th time he played real instruments, I played Live, 5th time was a breeze.

I should try this again at home and come up with some definitive answers. The key is having those sync in/out lights in lock step on the slave, even when you change BPM up and down, they might go out a slight bit but the even up shortly.

Hope that helps, post again if you can't get it, with the weekend coming up I can take some time on this.
Last edited by DeadlyKungFu on Fri Jul 14, 2006 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

noisetonepause
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Post by noisetonepause » Fri Jul 14, 2006 8:58 pm

Set the same BPM on each computer and press space at the same time. Works well enough.
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stealth1
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Post by stealth1 » Sat Jul 15, 2006 2:55 pm

You could try using MiDI over LAN?

Thats worked better for me in the past, although I think the reason we did it that way was because my mate was running a PC and I was running a Mac.

Just a thought. Hope you sort it out.

DeadlyKungFu
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Post by DeadlyKungFu » Sat Jul 15, 2006 10:41 pm

I'm trying this now

SLAVE - Laptop -> Remote SL25 via USB (panned left)
MASTER - Desktop -> MIDISPORT 8x8/s MIDI merge box via USB (panned right)

Laptop
options-> preferences MIDI Sync
Control surfaces - enable the Remote SL
Clock type is MIDI Clock, mode set to pattern (there's a bug in this box, *see below)
INPUT devices, set Remote SL's Sync to ON (this is the ONLY box checked)

Desktop
options-> preferences MIDI Sync
Output on port 8 of the MIDISPORT is set to SYNC (this is the only box checked)
Connect MIDI OUT of the MIDIsport to MIDI IN on the SL with a MIDI cable
Hit the EXT button on the laptop for EXTernal Sync

Dropped the same mp3 into scene 1 track 1 of both PCs
Hit spacebar on the desktop and they both start and stop.
run the BPM up and down and they still track, even flange somewhat. Moving the BPM really fast puts them out of sync but in a measure they sync back up again. The phasing of the signals really messes with my head as the mp3s sync up, pretty cool.

In short, 1 midi cable, one box checked (sync) on each machine, EXT activated on the SLAVE machine (upper left of the screen).
And always load the same song into each machine before a jam and test this all out first, before the beers and whatnot kick in.

I see no reason why a Mac and PC can't play together, they're both using MIDI, no endian issues with that.


Looks like there's a bug in how the midi clock SONG/Pattern box shows up, sometimes it shows up, sometimes not, don't see any logic to which settings it's applied to.

I'll keep you posted as I do more jams with a friend who also has Live.

kooki415
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Post by kooki415 » Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:28 am

check out the network midi object in the audiomidi setup application. all you need is a cat5 crossover cable.

DeadlyKungFu
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Post by DeadlyKungFu » Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:38 am

kooki415 wrote:check out the network midi object in the audiomidi setup application. all you need is a cat5 crossover cable.
The what in the what?? Cat 5 the two together, Live sees the other as another device then you sync? What??

not family friendly
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Post by not family friendly » Sun Jul 16, 2006 1:41 am

thank you everybody, we just played dj style, hitting spacebar at the same time, triggering scenes together if they started to slip....lets keep this thread going, i would like to try these different approaches..


check out some music myspace.com/g13soundplan

R.A.W.
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Post by R.A.W. » Sun Jul 16, 2006 10:49 am

we use ipMIDI to sync our lappies (PC), this gives you "virtual" midi-ports using an ethernet connection, then we do just as DeadlyKungFu suggested.

ipMIDI is beta-testing the osx version, you can download the free beta at http://www.nerds.de/en/ipmidi_osx.html

hambone1
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Post by hambone1 » Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:25 pm

Another 4 hour gig last night with no sync issues.

It's been perfect ever since I dedicated one MIDI port to sync, and a second port for MIDI data. The G5 is using a BCR2000, and the iBook a Midisport 2x2.

lowmax
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Post by lowmax » Sun Jul 16, 2006 9:08 pm

ipMIDI didn't work for me, i ended trying out MolCP III (another MIDI on Lan thingy). Although its a trial (you can check it out here http://www.musiclab.com/products/rpl_info.htm), it works flawlessly while it lasts (60 min on PC, and beta testing till 1/1/2007 on Macs). I had to do that because i wanted to use NI softs and the UB is still not out!!!

So what i did is used the MacBook pro as a DAW (Live 5), and loaded up the softsynths on the PC. I connected the two computers through an ethernet cable, and used Live to send all the midi signals to the softsynths. It works great (almost).

Now i'm wondering, and this might sound stupid. But is there a way where i can grab the audio output and send it back to Live from the softsynths on the PC, using the ethernet connection? I dont mind some minor latency issues, as this setup is temporary until i recieve the projectmix i/o.

Thanks....

DeadlyKungFu
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Post by DeadlyKungFu » Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:01 am

lowmax wrote:Is there a way where i can grab the audio output and send it back to Live from the softsynths on the PC, using the ethernet connection? I dont mind some minor latency issues, as this setup is temporary until i recieve the projectmix i/o.
I don't understand your routing question, this is about 2 computers, which to what? Connect the 2nd computer as you would any other external device. If you're asking about audio via ethernet, I have no idea, that's up to the app.

As for latency, Live has delay compensation on a track by track basis, it's the box in track view just above the A/B fader settings, check the manual for details.

lowmax
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Post by lowmax » Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:36 am

DeadlyKungFu wrote: I don't understand your routing question, this is about 2 computers, which to what? Connect the 2nd computer as you would any other external device. If you're asking about audio via ethernet, I have no idea, that's up to the app.

As for latency, Live has delay compensation on a track by track basis, it's the box in track view just above the A/B fader settings, check the manual for details.
Yes, all i meant is if there is a way to emulate an audio signal through an ethernet cable. I think it might be possible, because it is possible to broadcast a live TV signal from a satellite through your network.

I'll post anything interesting i find.

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