how to sync the bridge to an external midi clock source

[tchan]

Greetings,

I'm trying to sync two mac laptops for a collaborative performance. I'm using an ad hoc wifi connection and network midi in os x to sync the laptops via midi beat clock. Here's a partial list of the hardware/software in each rig:

Laptop 1 (master clock): macbook, os x 10.6.4, ableton live 8.2

Laptop 2 (slave): macbook pro-13, os x 10.6.4, ableton live 8.2, serato scratch live 21122, rane ttm57sl

When The Bridge is enabled on laptop 2, the EXT sync switch is no longer accessible in Live. However, I notice that Live is still receiving the MIDI sync information from the master clock (laptop 1). I'm assuming Serato SL is using Live's external sync in order to sync Live's clip matrix with Serato decks.

My question: is it possible for Live to sync to an external clock source (ie. network midi beat clock) while the Bridge is enabled?

We want the Live sessions to be in sync on both laptops. However, the Serato decks can remain independent which enables us to scratch on top of the beats from Live.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Cheers!

[davepermen]

i guess you would have to sync SL to an external midi, as SL controls live, then. dunno if you can do that (you can in traktor, never used SL myself)

[tchan]

just to be clear: we don't need SL to sync to live.
but we need the live sessions on both laptops to sync together throughout the performance - as you know, 3phase has petitioned extensively about this topic

in our case, my collaborator is mainly scratching & manipulating sounds in SL (not DJing full tracks). however, he also wants to start manipulating sounds with max 4 live monome apps; this is why we need to sync the live sessions.

ideally we'd like to have the option to turn off the auto sync between SL and Ableton Transport Control and then re-enable EXT sync. perhaps this can be implemented in an upcoming bridge update?

[davepermen]

it doesn't make sense. if you enable bridge, live is bound to the vinyl. it's allready slaving to some timecode at that moment. you can't just have it timecode to something else. don't use bridge, then. because that's what bridge is for: binding the timecode of live to the vinyl of serato.

i don't know serato, but i know traktor. there i could use vinyl OR some other timecode to control the speed of the sound.

if you have bridge, you have to get serato to be a client to some other timecode. if that's not doable, bridge won't work in your case.

[tchan]

our goal is twofold:
1. develop new performance techniques with ssl and max for live devices
2. reduce stage hardware and hopefully setup time

we understand the intended purpose of the bridge but we're hoping for a few tweaks that will bring even more possibilities in a collaborative performance situation

[davepermen]

can't serato sync to some external midi? if it could, that would be your perfect solution. traktor can do that.

[tchan]

been reading the manual and it doesn't seem like serato can sync to external midi clock - another advantage of traktor i guess

anyway, i'm just hoping for an official word from an ableton or serato rep - no offence @davepermen, appreciate the suggestions! just want to know a little more about the sync implementation in the bridge before we start cooking up a workaround

[KillaGraham]

Have you tried making the master midi clock source the one that is using The Bridge? It seems to me that it would make more since for ScratchLive to be at the top of the hierarchy as far as syncing goes.

[tchan]

unfortunately this isn't really an option for our setup. the other collaborators in the group use live and we sync the laptops via wifi. one laptop/player is the bandleader (in this case me) and is responsible for sequence changes while the rest of the players improvise.

our collaborator who uses SSL wants to branch out and have the option of jamming with us in Live for certain songs. we think it'll be great if he can use the bridge so that he doesn't have to bring out a separate rig for these occasions. he can scratch sounds, jam away on live and start scratching again with the same laptop & mixer/audio interface. easier to setup, less hardware and takes up less space on stage.

this is why we're not using SSL as the master clock

[tchan]

bump...any word from ableton hq? are we able to sync live to an external midi clock source while the bridge is enabled?

[cosmod]

In Serato SL there is a mode in the Ableton panel that puts Serato in INT mode. This mode gives master clock back to Ableton, while keeping SL running separately in it's own clock. You still need to have SL hooked up to one of the laptops to getting working though.

maybe that helps?

cosmo d
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