I might have a workaround for OB latency on M1 Pro/Max devices

Hey peeps, I’ve been obsessed over making OB work on my device, I contacted elektron support and they said this problem exists for M1 Pro/Max (M1 non-Pro/Max devices seem to be fine) devices and they are on it. However, I might have a workaround. Could you please verify this, as well?

The Problem: OB sync has issues, the plugin is not able to report reliable latency (it’s variable) information to Ableton (or whatever your DAW is), because of that, the DAW is not able to shift tracks back and forth to make sure they sit tightly on grid.

The Theory: But in reality, A4’s (or any elektron device that supports OB) latency should not be variable because it works with fixed sample rate and buffer size. So, if we can disable OB sync and find another way to sync our DAW and the A4, we might get some stable results.

The Solution:
1- set your device to work under OB mode
2- in the midi config -> sync settings, enable all receive messages
3- on the OB plugin, set sync mode to no sync
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4- on your DAWs midi settings, make sure you are sending sync information to your elektron device
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5- create a pattern with an attackless sound and record it in your DAW(default settings of a channel will suffice). You’ll see that there is latency.


6- measure the latency by zooming in, selecting the distance between the grid and start of the sound, and looking at left bottom corner of your screen

7- open the midi settings and expand the midi output to your elektron device, and enter the latency you read as negative value in MIDI Clock Sync Delay field
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8- repeat step 5 and 6 to read the latency again, because of rounding, you might still be a little off. if you want to perfect it make small tweaks to the value you entered in step 7

finally you should have you waveform starting right at the grid like this;

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Don’t get me wrong, there will still be latency when playing live. It is impossible to avoid latency in a Digital <-> Analog audio conversion world. The goal is to make tweaks so that we can still live with that latency.

But at least, recordings will sit tightly on the grid. You’ll be able to play clips on Ableton, and patterns on your elektron device during live monitoring with perfect sync.

Now, 14ms is a lot, maybe syncing both Ableton and the elektron device to an external clock source would help. Let me know if you have ideas to perfect this.

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The unfortunate reality of trying to sync devices via MIDI over USB is that USB messages will experience jitter, and the clock being sent out to your devices will not be very stable. If you are super serious about getting reliable sync from your computer to your external gear, you’re going to need something like an E-RM Multiclock. A cheaper option is an Expert Sleepers USAMO, but I found the clock output of those devices to not be very stable.

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In my case it’s quite reliable, I took a 100 bar loop recording and I was only seeing ~1ms variation in timing

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However, @npp1993 is right. USB MIDI might not be that reliable (see Jitter and latency - USB / Firewire / Thunderbolt)

But anyway, you can do this setup I described with DIN MIDI cable as well. Just use your auido interface’s MIDI output for syncing in step 4 in the original message

wow I’m impressed it’s that accurate! glad it’s working for you

it doesn’t work with analog heat though(
but this trick was documented by ricky tinez as well here

I don’t have much to add to this, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to experiment and to document your findings with really helpful descriptions and screenshots. You’ve added a lot to the community with this.

I’ve backed the Kickstarter for the Midronome which seems like a variant of the E-RM Multiclock. Hopefully this will fix any issues I face in the future.

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I’ve done the exact same for the exact same reason.

I just spent 3 hours manually warping drum stems that were recorded via Overbridge. They were way, way, wayyy off… But i love the potential of multitrack recording from my DT.

Really hoping Midronome comes through!

I did some tests and the latest OB update (2.5.1) seems to have fixed the issue for me, I’m getting 2-3ms stable latency without any workarounds! :fire:

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