Inconsistent External MIDI Timing.

rhythminmind · Post by **rhythminmind** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:47 am

I'm trying to send midi out to my external analog synths/drum machines. I'm not trying to sync just send notes/trigger.
For testing purposes I'm sending a simple 1/4 note kick loop to a DRM1-mkIII drum synth.
The notes are inconstantly triggered. I have disabled all other midi ports/controllers. No slaving or Syncing, just running with this one midi output.
Works fine in my other DAW's
Using Live 8.0.5 & a motu midi hardware.

Any ideas?

rhythminmind · Post by **rhythminmind** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:26 am

Can someone else on a windows box do a loopback test for me? Just physically plug a midi cable out & back into your interface, then record the output to confirm this is a mass issue or not. Would greatly appreciate it.

My systems do this. with 2 completely different hardware setups. Very audible.

rhythminmind · Post by **rhythminmind** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:35 am

FS - Ableton Live 8 + Addons

filterstein · Post by **filterstein** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:54 pm

Got a motu interface too, had no problems with 8.04.
Can try this on 8.05, but to have any meaningfull comparison:
are you using a midi track or an external instrument?
what is your asio buffer size?

rhythminmind · Post by **rhythminmind** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:31 pm

This is just midi. Plug a cable from an output of the motu then back into an input and record what it outputs compared to the source. It's been confirmed by others already on OS X as well.

filterstein · Post by **filterstein** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:35 pm

If I remember correctly: asio buffers influence timing in live, the longer the buffer the more random the midi.
In the screenshot below are 1/8 notes recorded without quantize on a motu 128, live 805 on windows xp sp3.
asio buffer 128 samples.

rhythminmind · Post by **rhythminmind** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 11:02 pm

Interesting. The lower the latency the smaller the error. I wonder whats causing the problem.

filterstein · Post by **filterstein** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 7:15 pm

Bug or not, longer buffers and worse timing has been around since at least L7.
Try if you get better results with external instrument, or disable delay compensation.

rhythminmind · Post by **rhythminmind** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 8:53 pm

Over this last year I've moved from tracking with VI's back to mostly triggering analog synths. With this my midi needs have exploded once again. I don't believe Live is designed or focused on this type of workflow. I have enjoyed Live from ver 2 but I made the decision to stick with a more robust DAW host & sold my L8 license.
It came down to two things that killed it for me.
1. Lives method of recording post latency, (what you hear out of your speakers) not what you actually play.
2. Horrible Midi timing with high buffers

filterstein · Post by **filterstein** » Thu Oct 08, 2009 8:14 pm

I feel your pain; i use somewhere about 15 hardware synths.
I also almost gave up, but L8 is an improvement for me and if things do fuck up I record and quantise the audio.
Since i hate cubase there are not that many options on pc.
But i do wish they'd fix the stupid delay you get when monitoring is enabled.
If you find the perfect midi solution, let me know.

Inconsistent External MIDI Timing.

Inconsistent External MIDI Timing.

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