I was asked to check a devices midi sync performance, I used the OT as the master because I know it has good sync timing both sync out or sync in.
In the test I hooked up the OT and the other device to my scope, and was able to see (and hear) what was happening and make the report.
Anyway after I synced the ARmk2 to the OT, the sync was absolutely bang on as expected, so I hooked them up to the scope to see a difference if any, there was no appreciable jitter, see the video below.
I zoom the timing window of the scope down to 2ms.
It is just another of the many reasons why I appreciate Elektron gear.
…there was a time, when mpc’s were the most tightest machines on the planet…
in direct playing response and syncwise in both directions…but those days are long gone…
It is quite surprising how much gear has shit midi clock performance, Synthstrom and Squarp also have great sync, Roland tends to vary from device to device, current Akai MPC range I doubt will ever have good midi sync (according to one of their techs). A shame.
The last time I synced my ARmkI to Hermod, it was working fine (didn’t check with an oscilloscope though) but I did notice that Hermod internal clock was so-so. At least a project set to be 116BPM is not 116BPM once dropped in my DAW. 116.1436 or something and it drifts very slowly. To be honest, I don’t need tight integration with my DAW and a slowly drifting clock might make things more alive so I don’t care much but it was the first time I realized Elektron’s box were really awesome at their job. I thought every sequencers were like that until then (The Hermod is my first sequencer outside of the Elektron’s world!)
Thank you for proving this in a more scientific way ; )
It was in my workshop largely unused because I have not done any electronics for a while now, so I took it into my studio and hooked it up to the patchbay, comes in handy for CV and audio. It is only a cheapo one a Owon 30mhz, it has a periodic lag on the display like every so often it pauses, but it is good enough for what I’m doing.
I made some cables to go from BNC to mini jack using adapters.
I was wondering, did you try connecting your AR and OT with two MIDI cables to enable Turbo MIDI and measure if the sync was even better? Maybe there could be a difference if a lot of midi events is transmitted with the clock events as I suspect turbo midi is just higher baud rate.
I did not test turbo midi as I don’t use it because most of my other gear does not support it, but I don’t know if it could/would be much better, I might try it at some point.
I’ve been recording my OT stereo into Ableton. Just hitting record before a session. Sometimes the OT will be playing for 15 minutes before I actually start to do the performance, recording what will eventually be the bulk of the finished product, but the OT sequencer is playing the whole time.
When I stop recording, and have 20+ minutes of audio, I’ll set live’s tempo to the tempo I was using in the OT (there are no midi cables between the two). No tricks, no warping, just aligning the first beat to the start of the grid.
And every time, EVERY time, the beats line right up to the grid, flawlessly.
Zero drift, zero need for correction.
I can go down 18 minutes further in the audio and pull out a 1 bar loop from the grid perfectly.
It’s made recording fun, more spontaneous, and more liberating. I’ve been able to make tracks from all sorts of OT recorded sessions. From 2 minute clips that I’ve been able to coax into tracks with FX and phrasing tricks, to more complex and involved sessions.
Would be a nightmare workflow if OT’s internal clock had any drift. Arranging this way is so rewarding.
