Page 1 of 1

Syncing 2 laptops using LIVE and Windows XP

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 3:36 pm
by s[riteboy
Hi All,

I know this has been covered all over the place with MAC but not with XP.

I have read the manual and done exactly what it says but I still have a problem

Here is my setup:-
1 - I have 2 computers running XP and Live 5
2 - Computer 1 (Master) has an evolution MK-425C midi controller keyboard. hooked up to computer 1 by USB and has midi out (midi cable) going to controller 2 on computer 2.
3 - Computer 2 (Slave) has a uc33e controller which is hooked up to computer 2 by USB and has a midi in (midi cable) coming from midi controller on computer 1.
4 - Computer 1 is sending midi info out to midi controller 1
5 - Computer 2 is set to recieve information from midi controller 2 and the EXT red sync button is selected.
6 - Both midi options are set to the same 24 FPS.
7 - When I play notes on midi controller 1 it sends midi data to computer 1 + 2.
8 - When I kick off computer 1 it plays but does not trigger off computer 2.

- It there something I am doing wrong?

Thanks

Ed

Re: Syncing 2 laptops using LIVE and Windows XP

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 12:45 pm
by jasefos
s[riteboy wrote:Hi All,

I know this has been covered all over the place with MAC but not with XP.

I have read the manual and done exactly what it says but I still have a problem

Here is my setup:-
1 - I have 2 computers running XP and Live 5
2 - Computer 1 (Master) has an evolution MK-425C midi controller keyboard. hooked up to computer 1 by USB and has midi out (midi cable) going to controller 2 on computer 2.
3 - Computer 2 (Slave) has a uc33e controller which is hooked up to computer 2 by USB and has a midi in (midi cable) coming from midi controller on computer 1.
4 - Computer 1 is sending midi info out to midi controller 1
5 - Computer 2 is set to recieve information from midi controller 2 and the EXT red sync button is selected.
6 - Both midi options are set to the same 24 FPS.
7 - When I play notes on midi controller 1 it sends midi data to computer 1 + 2.
8 - When I kick off computer 1 it plays but does not trigger off computer 2.

- It there something I am doing wrong?

Thanks

Ed

Without sounding too sarcastic - good luck getting nice sync from Live to Live. I've found the quality of Live 5's MIDI clock output to be .... um ... very inconsistent (guys - looking forward to you fixing this!).

The only solution I've found which works is to make Live on both systems syncronise to an external hardware based MIDI clock source. I've currently established excellent syncronisation of Live slaved to an hardware drum machine ... an Electribe ER1mk2 to be precise.

You might be thinking - the Electribe only has a single MIDI out ...


I have a ghetto solution (which although is dodgy works fine):
Not a Y adapater but maybe a W adapter ?

1. obtain 2 identical MIDI cables, some gaffa tape and a knife.
2. snip the MIDI cables in half.
3. Gather 3 ends together and strip the inner cables
4. twiddle the ends of the inner cables to join 4th piece following colour coding of inner wires
5. Gaffa tape around your dodgy cable twiddles
6. You can now make 3 copies of the 1 MIDI output .... Now you can send sync to up to 3 MIDI devices

OR

Buy a proper MIDI Thru box.

; )

Cheers

Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:16 pm
by robtronik
this is an interesting take. Maybe if I make Live slaved to my Electribe as well, this may fix my problem I'm currently having here:

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26764

hm. I hope this works. That would be great if it did.

rob.

Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 12:50 am
by jasefos
robtronik wrote:this is an interesting take. Maybe if I make Live slaved to my Electribe as well, this may fix my problem I'm currently having here:

http://www.ableton.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=26764

hm. I hope this works. That would be great if it did.

rob.

In Live 5 on the slaved laptops ....
It is necessary to ensure MIDI note events from the Electribe aren't accidentally "input" to your MIDI tracks. In the Preference setup page for MIDI input and outputs, be sure the MIDI port receiving the sync has only the Sync enable option ticked and not the Track or Remote options.