Receive MIDI clock to MPC from other devices problem

OK I am using a synths built in USB/MIDI interface and a DAW.

so Ableton Live to Fantom XR via USB and then I plug in MIDI out of Fantom into the MPC1000. Now the MPC sees note info and when I send notes to the MPC1000 it plays that note.

BUT, here is the problem, there is not any clock, or at least the MPC does not respond to the midi start and stop messages from the DAW. Its weird as I have notes being triggered and the MIDI monitor shows location markers ect as well, but no start/stop control happening.

I doubt anyone has this setup at all but hope that some one can tell me what is wrong. Its a bit of a head **** as I can see notes, and play notes, but no start/stop.

Its in sync mode and when I hit play it says EXT on the BPM, so it seems set right. I tried Machine code on and off, and no difference.

When MPC is slaved can it still start from the start button? most gear I have had that is synced will not play till i send start message, but MPC just plays and shows EXT in BPM.

I am double posting but hope a JJOSXL user out there has an idea as it might be a JJOSXL thing. THough it might be that the Fantom is stripping the clock out, but I doubt it.

I know not quite a specific answer to your question as more of a cheap solution.

err thanks typo. I guess that is a usb midi interface there. Actually at first I thought it was a midi splitter/merger, then saw usb cable.

The whole point of what I am doing is so I do not have to buy another interface, as the Fantom XR has one...... thanks though.

I can not tell if its the MPC or the Fantom though that is causing the problem. I left it today as I was not in the mood to go through it all again but in next few days I will try again to figure it out. Its so close and its annoying me a lot. I can see the data but it wont play.

I'll try to help but I'm having difficulty visualizing your setup. So you're trying to send clock from Live into the Fantom via usb midi and pass it on to the MPC, is that correct? But you only have the Fantom midi out connected to the MPC midi in, Right?

If that's so, then you would need to connect the Fantom midi thru to a MPC midi in to pass on the beat clock from Live.

exactly right ocular. But there is nothing coming out of the midi through at all unlike the midi out.

I believe that the midi through is hardwired to the midi in, so it does nothing in this set up. Now I think I have figured out that the Fantom XR actually strips out the clock. As I see no click, unlike other gear I have put into MPC.

So I am dumbfounded that the MIDI passes notes and everything else but no clock. That has to be the dumbest thing ever. Really am not impressed that an interface built into a workstation does not do midi clock. Its really dumb. Really really dumb.

I have posted this same problem onto the roland uk forum and do not expect any one to answer cos I think this is the way it is and they do not wanna admit it.

So I will have to se if i can slave Live to the MPC through the interface, that should work hopefully. Otherwise I will actually have to buy a midi interface and just ignore the Fantoms USB interface. grrrrrrrrr

Crap, you might be right ... browsed through the manual a bit, just wanted to check a couple of things with you first. Do you have the Fantom usb driver installed? What about the usb midi through setting, have you messed with that at all?

I looked at the connection examples and neither of them suggested what you're trying to do will work. Like you said, the midi thru might just be exclusive to the 5-pin din midi in connector.

yep thanks ocular. I have indeed the drivers installed and played with every setting - like midi clock over ride, soft through, ect, to no avail.

Its like most Roland gear and a pain in the fundament with midi.
I will try slaving live through Fantom XR and see if that works tomorrow, and let ya know how that goes.

I might just ditch live and stick to the MPC at this rate
I am surprised that Live can not do a lot of things like Sys ex and also change keys. I might have to try digital performer or something else, or like I say, use my brain and the MPC. But then there are a few things that I do like having like the spectrum analysis ect. and it is good to be able to edit midi to.

I use to work in DTP so looking at a mac screen is like being at work also. yuck.

If I can get Live to slave then it will be useful other wise I might have to have a less than perfect set up and shunt midi and such over the MPCs USB. Till I get another USB/MIDI interface that is.

While I don't have the fantom XR I have the fantom S. I do all sorts of midi clock, and digital clock and MMC connecting.
I know that a lot of roland gear does not sync to midi clock it may only sync to MTC and digital clock. However that is not the case with my fantom S. I have my fantom S (MMC and Midiclock) synced to my MPC and other gear. I have never used MTC as my sync.
I do not use a computer DAW in my setup so maybe that is a major differentiator between us.

cheers
Ian

bliprock wrote:The whole point of what I am doing is so I do not have to buy another interface, as the Fantom XR has one...... thanks though.

bliprock wrote:I might just ditch live and stick to the MPC at this rate :

Update when problem solved?

Per the MIDI Implementation chart in your Fantom manual, does it send MTC? BTW, MTC is what you want to be using for this, not MMC.

UPDATE - had another go this week. Now this time I went the other way and slaved Live to MPC through the Fantom XR. This worked. Yeah I never tried MMC really, just clock and MTC. There is still start/stop in clock but I think for transport controls the MTC is the one to use with Live. Live crashes a lot on my old machine but If i do not do too much then it works for a few hours. So thats my fault and need new mac. So MTC it is. Kinda cool though to see << and >> on MPC move cursor in live, though not useful if you are just playing clips.

So send MTC from MPC, slave Live to MIDI and it works. One thing that was a **** though was that I have to reboot the Fantom XR every time live crashes. Run live, then reboot XR, then it works even though that the XR is there in the device list and is receiving/sending notes, just wont sync. So that was a **** cos I can see it but it wont sync, until I boot everything up in the right order. I don't know how i figured that out even now. Just kept trying and dumb luck I guess.

Strange though as I went back and tried this the other way round - Sync MPC to Live, and I still don't get it to work. So working on that, still not clear if its Fantom or what as its same settings really and should work.

Oh and latency - I can not see why its different all the time and out a little and then next time I launch live its way out. I have gone from -30ms to +26, +128, + 175/ all these settings at one time work until reboot and it is different again?? huh I am new to DAWs can you tell? But surely it should not change this much or does it.
I think newer computer might fix this? or is this normal?

bliprock wrote:Oh and latency - I can not see why its different all the time and out a little and then next time I launch live its way out. I have gone from -30ms to +26, +128, + 175/ all these settings at one time work until reboot and it is different again?? huh I am new to DAWs can you tell? But surely it should not change this much or does it.
I think newer computer might fix this? or is this normal?

From my experience of mixing hardware with DAW's, this is normal. It's the reason I use hardware with my mpc as master sequencer. Over the last 10 years I've come up against major headaches every time I try to sync my hardware with software. When you have analogue keyboards, drum machines, etc that you want to sync up with a computer I have found it to be sloppy, with random issues that depend on the colour of the sky that day and how many pieces of gear you're syncing.

I dunno man, I just had some bad experiences with it.

Sometimes I may use my mpc as master and slave my DAW, but not very often.