DT with OB disconnects from Ableton Live transport and sync

Elektron Software Overbridge
#1

I just got my first piece of Electron gear a couple of days ago and have been experimenting with all the various ways to connect it. I’m running Ableton Live 11.0.5 on an 2017 iMac 27" 5K running macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 My Digitakt is at firmware 1.30 and Overbridge is at 2.0.60.2

I have the Digitakt connected via USB using OB and via 5 pin DIN MIDI to a Scarlett 18i20. Only MIDI out is enabled for the 18i20 in Live so I can sequence some synths using the DT. All of the USB MIDI to and from the DT is disabled in Live. This all works fairly well (other than some latency for the MIDI tracks) except that after 20 or 30 minutes the OB plugin loses its connection to Live’s sync and transport. When this occurs, starting and stopping Live has no effect on the DT. Also the pads and virtual keyboard on the OB plugin stop working. The plug-in is still communicating with the DT since the UI changes when I change tracks on the DT. I’ve tried both the AU and VST. The VST seems a bit more stable, but the problem occurs with both. If I delete the plug-in and drag in a new copy it starts working again.

I love the DT so far, but getting it to work reliably with my DAW has been a real struggle.

#2

I have the exact same issue with a slightly different set up. Mac Mini M1 running Big Sur 11.4 and Bitwig 4.0.1.

The same thing happens to me, after about 10/15mins the DT stops responding to the transport. I have to manually disable and enable the plug-in via Bitwig to get it started again.

EDIT 1: I just emailed support and I recommend anyone who has this issue do the same.
EDIT 2: Urgh - this is the same with the Digitone - after a pause in activity it stops responding.

I waited months for OB to be Mac M1 and Big Sur compatible, and it just doesn’t work well.

#3

I sent in a support ticket as well.

#4

Please see the exact ticket I just sent to Elektron and their reply;

*I am having an issue with complete Audio loss with the Digitakt in Ableton when used via Overbridge. It happens every time and is very easy to reproduce. Audio usually disappears very quickly in a matter of seconds. *

*Here is the scenario; *
*I load Ableton (Suite fully updated to latest V11) with my Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 as the main sound card using the latest ASIO drivers from Focusrite. I do not experience crackling, popping or Audio dips. This specific problem is complete loss of Audio. *

*I’m using the most recent version of Overbridge and the DT has the latest Firmware. *
*I make sure there are no trigs enabled on the DT (cleared sequence) and use the Ableton sequencer to sequence a simple 1 bar loop into the DT via Overbridge. *

*The DT is connected to a USB 3.0 port on the PC (have also tried to use a USB 2.0 port) *

*I have eight audio tracks grouped in Ableton along with the FX track and the OB Plugin. I have the midi configuration in prefs set exactly as shown in the OB manual. *

*So I press play in Ableton and the DT behaves as expected, playing the 1 bar loop over and over until after short time the audio stops completely. *

*I can see that the DT still appears to be receiving midi from the plugin as the tracks light up as expected when midi is received. The bar continues to play in Ableton but there is no sound from the DT. *
*To rectify the issue I have to stop the OB engine and then restart it. This fixes the issue until it occurs again. I don’t have to restart the PC or Ableton, just the OB engine. *

*So I have also tried the following *

*1. Used different USB ports on the PC to connect the DT. *

*2. Used the Elektron Overhub that I have, again in different USB ports on the computer. *

*3> Have tried different settings in Overbridge control panel such as buffer size, speed and buffer margin settings. *

*What I have noticed is that the issue does not occur if I select the DT as the audio interface in Ableton. It’s rock solid then and works perfectly. Obv this is not a solution as I use several other synths and need to use my audio interface’s inputs. *

*Looking through various threads on Elekronauts it is clear that several people are having the exact same issue. *

*My PC is running 64bit Windows 10 Home edition which is fully updated. I7 9700F @3Ghz with 16GB Ram. *

I cannot see an option to attach the error logs from the OB plugin.
*Can you please advise if you are aware of this issue and any possible fixes? *

Thanks

Their reply;

I’m sorry to hear about the issue.

​

This is unfortunately due to a known firmware bug, and we are currently evaluating a fix. The bug fix looks very promising so far and has resolved the issue for our beta testers, so a public release should not be far away. I’m very sorry for the inconvenience.

Best Regards,

1 Like
#5

I got the same response from. my ticket.

#6

Whilst it is good they are aware and are fixing it, this doesn’t reflect well at all does it?

I’m switching the DT off now until it’s sorted. Drum Rack in Ableton just works with no fuss

#7

I haven’t experienced quite the same issue as you. Although I do have the individual tracks set up in Ableton, I primarily use the main stereo output provided by the OB plug-in. While I lose sync with Ableton’s transport and MIDI clock, I don’t lose audio. I’m not sequencing the DT from Live so perhaps that’s the difference. Since I can usually run for 20 or 30 minutes before losing sync, the DT is still usable, given my workflow. I got the DT to give me more sequencing flexibility than the Ableton Push 2, and I’ve been happy with the way they work together. Still, it’ll be nice to have the issue fixed.

#8

It’s interesting to hear how you use OB with the DT.
At first OB was a bit of a head scratcher to me. Yeah sure I understood what it did but I never really appreciated the need for it, maybe I’m still on the fence on that.

Like you say if you sequence from Ableton you forego the DT sequencer which to me is the main reason for buying the DT.

I always sulked at the idea of clicking my patterns in via the mouse. It made me think that using the DT in this way is pointless.

So do you do all your automation on the DT too or do you dial that in via OB into Ableton?

#9

At the moment I’m mostly using OB to sync the DT to the Ableton transport and to provide audio from the DT to Ableton. I tried using the DT without OB and found that it wasn’t very reliable to simply sync from Ableton to the DT and I also had significant clock latency. I have enough audio inputs so that I could use the analog outputs of the DT so I didn’t need to use USB for audio. It’s the DT sequencer I’m interested in primarily. As you pointed out, Ableton has a perfectly good drum sequencer built in, particularly using a Push 2. You could argue the the DT doesn’t add anything to the mix, but I still find it more appealing to jam on and the DT sequencer can do things that would be difficult or impossible with the Push.

The latency using OB seems to be more manageable. I’m also using the DT to sequence 3 external synths via MIDI so the idea is to use OB so that I can record the whole mess into Ableton and end up with something I can use. I haven’t tried using Ableton automation for the DT via OB. I could see myself using it at some point but I’m still exploring the DT itself. (That’s plenty complicated enough at this point)

1 Like
#10

Cool

Thanks for the explanation