MPC as MTC master or slave: Does it matter?

I understand that when it comes to midi beat clock, it does make a difference with the MPC set to master because beat clock is dependent on tempo and as we all know tempo is interpreted differently amongst the spectrum of machines out there. Therefore it only makes sense for the MPC to be driving the tempo.

However, seeing as midi time code is independent of tempo and is based on frame rate and absolute time, does it make a difference if the MPC is set to either master or slave? I used to think so, but now I'm not so sure. I've read claims that a MTC master wth the MPC slaved messes with the swing settings or does some kind of quantize to the sequences but I'm not so quick to believe that. Is there any evidence or truth to these claims? What's the general consensus here?

Personally, I don't think everybody is on the same page with this sync & timing thing, although they'll say they are.

If you listen to my music it's based on the 4k being slaved by cubase/nuendo. Plus I have my daw dedicated to its one purpose, and that's to make music.

So anything that I consider detrimental to the wellfare of the daw isn't welcomed (ie: unnecessary programs/games, harmful links, etc).

Either way of sync'n should work for you. You'll just have to decide which one works best for you & your situation.

But one think I found & IMHO was that timecode keeps things tighter than clock...but that's just me.

Im just experimenting with this right now. Just got an MPC2kxl a few days ago.


1. Sending a midi clock to any DAW is not a great idea. Your DAW's audio engine is very much linked to the master clock and I will bet any DAW manufacturer would give you many good reasons why the DAW should be master. Do you want your MPC's midi clock to mess around with the audio engine?

2. In saying that, sending a midi clock from you DAW to your MPC isn't that great either. You would think a DAWs midi clock would be bang on these days. Its not. I would wager a bet this could create issues with the groove. Subtle perhaps, but there.


Mid Time Code:
I reckon would be the best choice.
MTC is more stable than midi clock though, I can see that my self from my little experiments. But what I'm not sure yet if its OK to have the MPC as the master. I'm leaning toward it should be OK, but I will probably err on the side of caution when it comes to tracking individual parts from my MPC to the DAW and have the DAW as the master.
I only have a stereo out on my MPC so I have to make sure Im bang on for overdubbing tracks and so far MTC is the best.

The difficulty I'm having just now is syncing up virtual instruments played by the DAWs sequencer along with the MPC in real time. For example I have a plugin I live from Sugarbytes which must use a midi clock to work so at times I will need to use the DAWs sequencer as well. All of the MPC vidoes I have seen only show people triggering VSTis from the MPC sequencer. But thats only half the game.

There's no fault with either the DAW or the MPC, the fault lies in the minuscule amount of latency I have between the live MPC signal and the Virtual instrument signal even when I monitor through my soundcards software meaning zero latency...but its there, I can hear it.. Even with a buffer size of 32 or 64 I can hear the timing is off a little. I'm a bit of a sync freak though but I must get this right. I need to delay the MTC code from the DAW and this is easier said than done, even though they have a facility to do just that its not really working out that well. Ableton live surprisingly is the worst at working with any kind of code, its a total mess. Logic, Cubase and Pro tools are all in the same ballpark but much better than live.

yeah I ramble

dabmeister wrote:Personally, I don't think everybody is on the same page with this sync & timing thing, although they'll say they are.


But one think I found & IMHO was that timecode keeps things tighter than clock...but that's just me.

yeah your right about that. The info on this forum regarding sync is a mess. I searched every post with teh word sync in it and not a single one mentioned the issue Im having above. Its presumed all the music will come from the MPC, or the MPC will trigger VSTI's from its own midi. Ok cool, but even then there will still be a delay between the VSTI's sounds and the MPCs. Heck I can even hear this on those youtube MPC sync demonstrations.

Am I the only one to notice this?

Your right about MTC being tighter. Thats what I've noticed over the last couple of days.

I am running MPC 3000 LE a Slave to Logic Studio 8 using MTC ,
it works .... kindah
BUT there is a sound silence for couple of beats .... before MPC
sound starts playing - i know everyone on many forums talking about that
problem .... its very annoying... its probably Logic's fault ... not MPC's ?

When tracking to DAW my 5000 is set as slave. Master when using the 5000 sequemcer to record vsti.