MPC X, MPC Live, MPC One & MPC Key 61 Forum: Support and discussion for the MPC X, MPC Live, MPC Live II, MPC One & MPC Key 61; Akai's current generation of standalone MPCs.
By GeeGee Mon Aug 08, 2022 4:23 pm
I'd like to control the tempo of external gear using the MPC One to send clock messages only. I have my Sync Send settings as follows:

Send - MIDI Clock
Send MMC - Unchecked

The Output Port section has Sync and Track checked against MPC (which I take to be the MPC's MIDI Out port).

Sure enough, when I have the MPC running, say to play a drum pattern or audio sample, the other gear picks up the tempo, but those that are sequencers in their own right, such as the Model:Samples, and the Roland TB-3 also start and stop in line with the MPC transport controls. Is there any way to send only MIDI Clock and no other MIDI message such as Start/Stop? I had assumed leaving MMC unchecked would do exactly that but apparently not.

Any suggestions gratefully received.
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By mrmarbury Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:40 am
On my external gear I can set a Clock In source and a separate Transport In source individually. Have you checked there? For my TD-3 (which has only rudimentary midi settings) it is sufficient to switch the Sync in the MPC settings off if I don't want to start it's sequencer but use it as a sound module only.

One problem though when you don't send transport: how do your other devices know where the 1 is and where they should start playing again in sync?
By HouseWithoutMouse Thu Aug 11, 2022 7:18 pm
The thing with MIDI Clock is, it is only a pulse: ... tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick ... The problem is, you can hear the tick tick tick tick tick tick, but you don't know which tick is on the BEAT. The tick message does not contain any information about WHICH tick it is. It's just a tick. There are 24 ticks per beat, so you can figure out the BPM speed, but you can't really sync to music. It's like having a clock that goes at the perfectly right speed, but not knowing what time it is. That's what the Start and Stop messages are for: when you get the System Real-Time Start message, then you can reset your clock to 0, and after that your clock is in time.

It is possible to implement only MIDI Clock (System Real-Time Messages / Timing Clock) without Start/Stop/Continue. The Boss RC-10R looper receives clock pulses only, but it does not react to or send start/stop. What were they thinking? You get BPM speed but no sync. That's only useful for something like a delay effect with musical note based delay lengths that needs the speed, but doesn't care about your actual beats.
By GeeGee Fri Aug 12, 2022 7:26 pm
HouseWithoutMouse wrote: ... That's only useful for something like a delay effect with musical note based delay lengths that needs the speed, but doesn't care about your actual beats.


That's pretty much my use case. For some stuff I'm less worried about beat precision than staying close enough in time. Think Baba o' Riley note repeat, or 'tuning in' a rotary speaker to produce a more organic phasing effect.

Thanks all for the replies.
By GeeGee Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:05 am
Rank31 wrote:Hi Geegee,

Did you finally get your answer ? I’m interested too to understand how to do (send midi sync but not transport messages)

Well 'yes' and 'no' I guess. Despite what Akai themselves say in the extract below (my emphasis on the "and/or"), MIDI clock and transport controls cannot be sent separately from the MPC One, although I'd still love to be corrected on that point:

"When Sync is enabled, the MIDI output port will send MIDI sync messages according to the selections made under MIDI / Sync > Sync Send > Send. This is useful if you only want to send MIDI Clock and/or transport controls to an external device."

So, it does seem to be a question of workarounds, such as switching the Sync option on and off in Preferences, although that is sub-optimal for me. Right now I've dug out my ancient non-USB MOTU Micro Express which has a true clock only send, and I've got that as a timing hub. It's MIDI spaghetti but it works, after a fashion.