Greetings.
I am not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I thought it would be worth its own topic, as it is really getting in the way of music making on the AR for me. It’s especially crippling when performing live.
Switching patterns with the “Direct Jump” option enabled will result in the next pattern not lining up with the master clock.
Sometimes it’s 1/16th note off, sometimes more, sometimes it lines up.
This is proving to be a real problem, as I’m using the AR as a slave, and I simply cannot switch patterns reliably. “Sequential” mode is not a solution as I write polyrhythms quite often, and therefore set the pattern length to INF.
Is there any way to get this fixed ASAP, as right now, the AR is just not performing the way it should ?
For information, I’m syncing the AR to Ableton via USB.
However, that would require me going through 100’s of patterns (literally) and changing that setting for each and everyone of them. That and the fact that I don’t actually want the master change to be set to 2, as it would change some of my workflow when I am changing on bars.
Workarounds are cool when they’re going around something the machine CANNOT do. In this case, however, it’s different. The AR SHOULD be able to function as advertised and described in the manual, but it doesn’t. It’s broken and needs to be fixed. I find it difficult to justify this purchase when something as vital and simple as pattern switching is NOT working. It’s especially difficult to swallow when I see resources being poured into making 808 samples, but not on fixing the very core of this expensive drum machine. An acknowledgement of this issue, along with an expected fix date would be much appreciated.
An acknowledgement of this issue, along with an expected fix date would be much appreciated.
Cheers !
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yep, the AR is still a youngster so let’s give the guys at the HQ the time to get things fixed (human after all right? )…having said that, i’m waiting for fixes as well and can’t carry on making music as i would like to and that’s a bit of a shame, even though, this is giving me more time to learn how to talk to the machine properly and let it interact with its friends… as they say: good things come to those who wait
edit: the first is more doable; the latter, i believe not…
Just wanted to chime in and say YES, having the same issue. I’ve posted about the direct jump bugs a few times already so I hope it’s on the priority list.
I’m well aware that the AR is pretty much still in beta. I don’t mind that too much, if you know me, you’ll know that I’ve been an early adopter of almost every Elektron product there is.
I accept that with this early adoption comes very real problems and limitations. Yet, I continue to do so, and that is why I got that AR as soon as it was available at my favourite retail store.
The truth is though, that without the nagging and reminding of is early adopters, nothing would get done. I don’t want to see another 909 sample pack before this is fixed, as it is essentially making this machine unfit for the use I intend. First world problems, I know, but if we don’t keep Elektron on their toes and fixing broken things, I wonder who will.
I’m sure it will get fixed, but I’d like it fixed sooner rather than later. We don’t need sample packs, we need a drum machine that can switch patterns and stay in time. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
Cheers !
i do agree with you, i’m in the same shoes as you are but i’ve changed a bit the way i look at these sort of things in the past few years (up to certain extent, that’s for sure)
in the past i was always like: c’mon, wtf?! how long does it take to a company to fix/upgrade things? but when i started to develop software and hardware myself though, things changed.
there’re so many factors involved in the production of hardware/software which are, sometimes, not taken in consideration from the end users. with this i’m not trying to find excuses on behalf of Elektron, i’m one of their customers too, but i believe things should be looked at with a different approach (not always though…not always )
there’s a post on the forum about Elektron’s company and i would be way more angrier at them if they were 300 people, working on their products, and came up with stuff once in a while (Wolf anyone? )
Elektron is a somewhat small company, with a range of different products developed over the years. this requires a lot of R&D, marketing and most of all: human resources.
it takes the time it takes to build things, especially at such high standards and upgrades/updates may be slower than the ones you get from other companies, which can invest more time, people and money…
as i said, i’m also waiting for upgrades, but things won’t change much just 'cos i want to.
having said that, i’m with you when you say that it would be better for them to dedicate more time to fix problems rather than issue sample packs and we need to remind them of what’s wrong…but we’re talking about a company here, which needs to make money to be able to develop things and keep updating their existing products and come out with new ones … a bit like a dog trying to bite his tail
my AR is always slaved and i haven’t run into the sync disruption issue. i never take mine out of ‘direct jump’ mode.
the issue i have been running into is that sometimes when in direct jump mode i will switch a pattern and it switches in the normal “switch when this pattern ends” mode.
Surely, it goes through the Elektron offices. In any case, this is hardly the point I’m trying to make. What I’m saying is that they have released a drum machine that cannot switch patterns in time when slaved. That’s something you would think they would have noticed before starting to sell it. It took me 5 minutes the first time I had it to run into that wall.
I understand they are a small team, but this is again irrelevant. The fact that the AR came out like this has nothing to do with the size of their team. I will always support their products, and pioneer them, and teach them. They just need to acknowledge the fact that this is an issue. Maybe if they started answering open tickets, it would be a good start.
If anyone is unable to reproduce this bug, I’m curious to know how they are set up.
I’m slaving from Ableton Live 9, through USB.
Yes, that is another issue. It happens sporadically, and no, I’m not chaining patterns or in song mode.
What are you slaving to ? And are you using USB or MIDI for syncing ?
i think you have(had?) an a4? do you have the same problem? i use direct pattern mostly, but if i have time i’ll try to test it out.
what is your transport receive set at? maybe try to opposite? in live have you tried both pattern and song options under midi clock?
are you using the usb only options in the ar? they say using mixed usb/could slow it down. powered usb hub? tried it with straight MIDI cables?
are you able to try logic? the way it sends out clock seems very different than live, which seems to be based on the system time.
i don’t think the ar can receive mtc. i wonder if that would help though because it has a finer resolution.
i hope they add the ability to get sync from a trigger/gate/click in. slaving stuff digitally hardly ever works out well for me, with anything. digital clock distribution and synchronization is tricky.
Hi !
I don’t use the A4 much these days, I seem to remember it was fine though.
I’m using USB only, straight from my computer. Ableton is in pattern mode, I haven’t tried song mode, good suggestion.
I might try Logic as well, if I can find a copy of it
Cheers !
I have not yet been able to replicate this issue with Ableton 9 and the Rytm. Is it possible for you to attach both the Ableton project and the Rytm project in the support case you have going and we shall investigate this.
Yes, that is another issue. It happens sporadically, and no, I’m not chaining patterns or in song mode.
What are you slaving to ? And are you using USB or MIDI for syncing ?[/quote]
I’m slaving it to either an Innerclock sync gen or the Octatrack. I don’t chain patterns or use song mode either.
I did run into sync issues when I was using Maschine standalone to slave the AR just a few days ago but really i blame Maschine on that one. I’ve never had very good luck w/ it’s hardware midi out.
hi olle
has been discussed here, I’ve added a test setting. http://www.elektronauts.com/t/clock-jitter-when-chained-to-analog-4/6714/56374
timing problem when AR is slaved and doing pattern jumping do occur.
you should be able to reproduce it when jumping between “busy” patterns very quickly.
apart from that its common knowledge using a DAW as midi master clock will get u sync problems. thats why innerclock boxes sell well.
)…having said that, i’m waiting for fixes as well and can’t carry on making music as i would like to 
and that’s a bit of a shame, even though, this is giving me more time to learn how to 
)
