Midi Clock: External vs. Internal -- Master vs. Slave?

Posted by: Larry Cohan

Midi Clock: External vs. Internal -- Master vs. Slave? - 02/12/00 07:38 AM

A good friend and I are both using CWP8 midi to record Technics keyboards with their background rhythms.

Each of us has a religious conviction that Cakewalk should either be the master or the slave when it comes to the midi clock. Yet we both agree that either can be made to work.

Is there a "best" method, or is it "dealer's choice". What are the pros and cons of each method?

Larry
Posted by: pbossink

Re: Midi Clock: External vs. Internal -- Master vs. Slave? - 02/26/00 09:03 AM

I think that it doesn't matter. If you have a fairly fast PC, use the PC as a slave.
Posted by: buinu

Re: Midi Clock: External vs. Internal -- Master vs. Slave? - 02/26/00 11:59 PM

In short, the master should always be in control of midi clock and all slave devices should be synced to that clock. There may be times when master/slave roles are reversed, to avoid timing conflicts the clock source should also be reversed.
The cons: Even though all sequencers respond to midi clock, the PPQ resolution of two different sequencers will not be identical. So, if you were to dump a sequence using the clock of the receiving device as the master, you would be forcing the original tempo to meet a new standard. The results would be noticeable, especially if the original tracks were heavily quantized.
Posted by: Vimlesh

Re: Midi Clock: External vs. Internal -- Master vs. Slave? - 04/07/00 09:43 PM

Generally speaking, either method should work. But i have found out that it is usually better to set the keyboards as the master while recording into the PC. This lets CWP8 match any tempo changes and quantization as well as groove/feel data more effectively. I've recorded Korg i3 backing sequences using this method (so that I can convert them to SMF1) with Emagic's Platinum s/w sequencer and there was no latency or other 'timing' problems.

Incidently, when editing and playing back, the master should be CWP8. Even when you're recording extra tracks from the keyboards.
The above ONLY applies to a situation where you're recording auto-accompaniments and rhythm styles into CWP8 for later editing.

Hope that this helps your 'midi clock' problem.
Posted by: Jacques Laporte

Re: Midi Clock: External vs. Internal -- Master vs. Slave? - 04/14/00 12:44 AM

1) If you have to record back knx000 styles (generally 5 parts = drums, bass, accomp1, 2, 3) you must synchronize Cakewalk with the Keyboard.

KN Styles are generally 4 measures long, so I want my KN to start recording exactly when my PC starts playing back measure 1 !
CAKEWALK is Master, KN use the midi clocks it provides (Internal Clock OFF)

2) In the other way, it does not matter.