Ren setup with tb-3

Hello need some help setting up a Roland tb-3 with the ren
I want to record the midi and then sample it in the ren so I can use more than one sound from the tb3 and I want to send midi clock to it
This is my set up Mac mini , ren , max 25 and tb-3
So I have set it up so far by connecting the tb-3 to the ren via USB and connecting the audio outs to the ren and having the sound play Thur the ren doing this gives me a feed back type hiss when I increase the rec gain on the ren and even at the lowest poss setting ,
I can rec midi but it's not syncing the clock as in the ren settings I have two options to send clock too one taken by the ren public and one taken by the max should I ditch the USB and connect it via midi cables to either the ren or max will this receive midi clock from these ports
Now the tb3 sends audio and midi via USB so it acts as a sound card too but obviously I have the ren too so what options do I have
Create an aggregate device on the mac does this work with the ren
should I buy a mixer have both Tb and ren running into it but I want to record the tb3 in the ren as audio sample
Can I plug the tb into the ren audio in and play Thur the ren but I'm getting some hiss and I've read other people have this prob I also had this with my motif
If the tb send audio over USB I could buy a proper daw like logic and rec the audio into logic and maybe use the ren with logic but don't really want a buy a daw at the mo
If the tb sends audio over USB can I hear that audio Thur the computer out without connecting the tb audio outs to speakers or does it only send the audio to be rec by the computer( confused because if it's recording audio I would be able to play that audio on the computer outputs but is that only after it's been recorded ) I ask this because at the mo I rec stuff from my laptop to the ren via my lap top digital out to ren digital in I do this because it's clear and I get no hiss like I do on the normal ren audio ins I could create a multi output device on the Mac mini and send the digital signal to the ren, so I'm thinking I could then send the audio from the tb that go's over USB Thur the computer via optical out to the ren then it will play Thur the RENs digital input 3/4

Any help much appreciated

That makes my head hurt!

First of all, sync...

The USB port on the Renaissance works as a USB hub for your computer, so if you connect the TB-3 to your Renaissance via USB, you are really just connecting it to your computer via USB.

Have you loaded the TB-3 drivers onto your computer? If so, the TB-3 should show up in the MPC Software Preferences/Sync as a destination to send MIDI Clock to, over USB.

Otherwise, if you want to sync the TB-3 to the Renaissance via MIDI, instead of USB, you could connect a Renaissance MIDI output to the TB-3 MIDI input, and choose that Renaissance MIDI output port in MPC Software Preferences/Sync as a destination to send MIDI Clock to, over MIDI.

You should have the Renaissance MIDI ports as destinations to send MIDI Clock to, over MIDI, are they not showing up? Have you installed the MPC Renaissance drivers onto your computer?


Then on the TB-3, is the MIDI Clock Source set to Auto?

makes my head hurt to use to be simple

Cheers yes all drivers installed mpc and tb
Tb shows up I can select it under midi clock only thing is u have two boxes I now have three places I want to send midi clock, max 25 , ren public , and now tb which is set to auto does the clock get sent Thur the mpc public port or max so if I connect the tb to either one of them via midi cables will it receive clock from them
Cheers for your help Simon

Why do you want to send the MIDI Clock to 3 places?

Where is the clock being sent to Ren Public going?

Right midi is sorted
Just the audio if I go into the ren ins I get a hiss both sets had this with my motif some bloke on the akai site has a similar problem I'm going to message akai about this
So I have connected my Mac mini digital out to the ren via a converter now the tb is going in via USB to mini if I create a multi out put on the mac I was thinking I could route the audio back to the ren this way as I've done with iTunes

I can hear the the tb in mpc software if I select it as an input in the mpc ,the monitor button in sample record needs to be down I can hear and record the tb prob is now I can't record from I tunes I can hear iTunes , got cut short as I got a go work I'll post back later when I can play around with it

There nothing connected to the ren via midi but if I deselect mpc public from the clock my transport won't work on the mpc
I've got my max connected to USBon the ren and I have clock sent to that
Tb seems synced if I press play on the tb it plays and starts the mpc if I press play on the mpc it won't start the tb which is right I think as u don't want it the play all the time just when u want to record the audio or midi pattern

I..... can't... breath........ please..........u...s..e.... some....... periods...

You should be able to use the USB audio at the same time as the direct MIDI connections. So if you're having troubles with MIDI over USB definitely try a standard MIDI cable.

Actually on the TB-3 if you try and use USB and 5-pin din MIDI at the same time the USB will take priority.

Make sure to have the MIDI clock source set to auto which is "Pad C" when it's lit up.

The TB-3 can receive MIDI Clock (F8) data to synchronize its tempo. It can also receive MIDI Start (FA) and MIDI
Stop (FC) to start/stop itself.

Doesn't say anything about MTC so it may not be receiving start and stop messages from the MPC.


As far as the audio goes, you could try and make an aggregate device but unfortunately this cannot include the Ren audio interface because for whatever reason it doesn't show up as an aggregate device.

You could always plug some 1/4 cables directly into the Ren inputs and record the TB-3 that way. Honestly, I kind of like what digital to analog to digital conversion does for audio, sometimes it sounds more dirty in a good way.

Sorry dude .
Was on my ipad and trying to get ready for work .
Im positive the midi works ,should I set the ports to omni ,Im sure this means it will send midi to every channel .
Right audio , when I go into analog ins on ren , both sets , I get a hiss / scream , thinking could be leads but I've tried to different sets but from the same era ,the rec gain knob is just on the first dot and I can still hear a hiss.
I see the aggregate device don't work any more why is that,
I've got the tb connected to the USB on mic mini, I then have Mac mini digital out to ren digital in I use to record from iTunes this way with a multi output set up
If I do a multi output now there's no ren in there now and there used to be , but if I then select that mult out in the output in the ren all sound comes through the ren including the ren but its all on the input side of the knob and no sound coming from computer side of the knob , and when I click monitor the sound go's mental like if u hold down note repeat on a 64 quantise ,
what I want is to record the tb and iTunes etc

If I select the tb to output for the mac itunes will play out of the tb but only if its connected to the speakers it dont send the iTunes signal (out)to the same place as it sends its own signal (in) correct
If I do a multi output with Mac mini out and the tb out and then in the ren software I can select the ren from the main output and select ren input 3/4 when I want to record I tunes and tb3 for input for recording the tb3 , I can def hear tb 3 like this not sure if I can hear iTunes tho
I finish work soon so ill have a play about when I get in

This is what I've done
Tb usb to Mac mini
Ren to mini
Max to ren
Mac mini digital out to convertor to ren digital in
Create an multi output device on mac containing , built in output and the tb
Question ,resample is on the built in output I can switch it to the tb ,what does that mean also what is drift correction .
I go to mpc software now if I want to record or hear the tb I select tb in input under pref audio ,then go sample record and select monitor on , the direct monitor knob has to be turnt all the way to comp
all good apart from sometimes the audio go's a bit glitchy , crackles like theirs a bit rate crusher like effect ,happens now and again ,
now at this point if iTunes is playing or anything from my computer like browser etc I can hear this if the direct mon is turnt to towards input , if I want to sample anything from that output which is the built in output
I just change the input under mpc software pref audio back to mpc ren 3/4 I can then record/ sample whatever is coming out my digital built in output .
Cool
So I can pretty much leave the input set to the tb play it record the midi then sample the midi track and put the sample on its own track ,
this may take up a lot of space ?until maybe we get audio tracks
,then I just switch it to the ren input when I want to sample from the computer .
If I turn the tb off during I find I have to set the ren input back to 3/4 as it jumps to 1/2 for some reason

It's good enough for me I suppose the digital inputs sound a lot better ,bugs me why I get so much noise on my analog inputs ,pretty crap sounds like something's not earthed

maybe we need to be able to select more inputs at once ,u can do this in other daws right ,

Next question how do I control the tb from the ren pads or max keys
Tho I like that touch screen and with the slide u can make some interesting patterns but I would like to control it with the keys or pads sometimes
Do I just need to use 1 midi cable out to in on the tb bit like midi Thur let the USB send midi to daw
Thanks for the replies and help

Weird now it works without a multi output setup
Just got normal mac input ,mac output which is set to play sound , ren which is set to input , tb set to nothing
go in mpc do the same as last post ren for the out change the input back and forth
Still getting that bit rate crackle
Lol
Come on akai
Still wanna control tb with max or ren any info

If I adjust audio buffer size the bit rate noise seems to go or get worse I've set it to 1024 samples will this be a problem for latency

Gotta say tho it's a funky little piece of equipment
I recorded a preset pattern ,whilst it's playing if u start hitting other notes u get some mad wobble effect lol class

The noise came back

it could be the lead you're using, i was using a lead for about a month thinking my guitar had all sorts of wiring problems because of the awful noise it generated, it was just the lead i was using the whole time. for what it's worth, my ren inputs are clean as i'm sure they are for most users.

check the leads, try out different equipment other than the tb-3 to find out where the problem in the audio chain is. if your inputs are super noisy on everything no matter what you might have a faulty unit and i guess you should take it up with akai ?