Ableton Sync Time Delay

Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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Ableton Sync Time Delay

By beatsbycetty Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:25 am
Hello ive been tracking out beats on my xl into ableton using ableton as the master and my mpc as the slave, but its extremely frustrating because it doesnt sync up properly. I use a blank 2 bars because i thought that could help but its still off so i have to manually adjust it and it just doesnt sound the same as it does on the mpc. Very huge headache. Any ideas on how i can fix this? It also is very quiet once tracked into Ableton..

Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By beatsbycetty Fri Jan 27, 2017 7:30 pm
Wal Martian wrote:For the quiet signal, make sure the pad -10dB button is off


-10db button?
Also what about the sync issue? Its killing me having to manually line them up **** the beat up
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Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By Wal Martian Fri Jan 27, 2017 7:39 pm
beatsbycetty wrote:
Wal Martian wrote:For the quiet signal, make sure the pad -10dB button is off


-10db button?

Scarlett 6i6 User Guide wrote:5. PAD – a 10 dB pad may be inserted in each of the input signal paths; these are controlled via
software from Scarlett MixControl. The pad increases the headroom of the input stage, and
should be used to reduce mic or line level signals which are ‘too hot’. It is not intended for use
with the Instrument inputs. The red LEDs illuminate when PAD is selected.
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Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By tapedeck Sat Jan 28, 2017 6:09 pm
google midi clock drift. basically it's not easy to get a good sync signal out of a normal computer.

if you can do it the other way around with mpc as master and ableton as slave, that will work a lot better.

Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By beatsbycetty Sun Jan 29, 2017 12:17 am
tapedeck wrote:google midi clock drift. basically it's not easy to get a good sync signal out of a normal computer.

if you can do it the other way around with mpc as master and ableton as slave, that will work a lot better.



I was having trouble getting the mpc as master and live as slave which is why i have live as master, when i did it with MPC as master the bpm kept changing constantly.... **** this sucks.. so basically theres no easy way to track out beats without having to deal with total headaches? :WTF:
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Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By SEMS Sun Jan 29, 2017 9:28 pm
For the record I tested a bunch of different DAWs syncing w the MPC for multitracking in all sorts of configurations and Ableton was by FAR the worst. Logic was pretty stank too. Pro Tools & Cubase were the tightest. I use PT now myself, no complaints.

Reaper is supposed to be pretty tight too... maybe give that a try?
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Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By tapedeck Mon Jan 30, 2017 7:28 pm
beatsbycetty wrote:I was having trouble getting the mpc as master and live as slave which is why i have live as master, when i did it with MPC as master the bpm kept changing constantly.... **** this sucks.. so basically theres no easy way to track out beats without having to deal with total headaches? :WTF:

yes there is a very easy way - forget sync and set the bpms manually. it will work perfectly.

there's also a device called the syncgen that was designed specifically to combat this problem, i think it is like $400.

Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By beatsbycetty Mon Jan 30, 2017 8:27 pm
tapedeck wrote:
beatsbycetty wrote:I was having trouble getting the mpc as master and live as slave which is why i have live as master, when i did it with MPC as master the bpm kept changing constantly.... **** this sucks.. so basically theres no easy way to track out beats without having to deal with total headaches? :WTF:

yes there is a very easy way - forget sync and set the bpms manually. it will work perfectly.

there's also a device called the syncgen that was designed specifically to combat this problem, i think it is like $400.


When i use Live as my master i do set the bpm manually... its still not syncd up to the start of a bar.. when i use live as slave the bpm jumps around when im recording.. very interested in this sync gen never heard of it.
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Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By tapedeck Mon Jan 30, 2017 9:15 pm
so to sync to the start of the bar you got options:
1) build in like a click track for like 2 bars and then manually trigger the mpc in time. with practice you'll get good at this.
2) if all your sound is coming from outside ableton, just dont worry about syncing to the start of the bar and then shift the recording to the right point later. some people will trigger like a rimshot or something a bar before the actual beat so they know they can put that rimshot at the beginning, and everything will be synced up.

i just looked and i dont think they actively make the syncgen anymore, but i'm sure you could find one used. it's pretty clever - you put an audio sync track in your project, send that to the hardware device, and the device generates midi click from there. really ingenious and works well.

also - even if the bpm appears to be fluctuating, does it actually make an audible difference? i know i often see the clock jump around in small increments, but it rarely affects the sound for me.
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Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By Wal Martian Mon Jan 30, 2017 10:47 pm
tapedeck wrote: just dont worry about syncing to the start of the bar and then shift the recording to the right point later. some people will trigger like a rimshot or something a bar before the actual beat

This is what I do, but instead of a rimshot I just highlight Count In and press open window then change from In Rec to In Rec + Play

Re: Ableton Sync Time Delay

By beatsbycetty Wed Feb 01, 2017 12:17 am
tapedeck wrote:so to sync to the start of the bar you got options:
1) build in like a click track for like 2 bars and then manually trigger the mpc in time. with practice you'll get good at this.
2) if all your sound is coming from outside ableton, just dont worry about syncing to the start of the bar and then shift the recording to the right point later. some people will trigger like a rimshot or something a bar before the actual beat so they know they can put that rimshot at the beginning, and everything will be synced up.

i just looked and i dont think they actively make the syncgen anymore, but i'm sure you could find one used. it's pretty clever - you put an audio sync track in your project, send that to the hardware device, and the device generates midi click from there. really ingenious and works well.

also - even if the bpm appears to be fluctuating, does it actually make an audible difference? i know i often see the clock jump around in small increments, but it rarely affects the sound for me.


Manually shifting my recording is what I DONT want to do. It never sounds the same as on my MPC. Shifting the recording screws it up which is what im trying to avoid. And yes with the BPM fluctuating it does affect the sound it seems like. I tracked a beat out by shifting (which takes forever too) and the drums did not sound the same. Very minimal difference but enough to drive me insane.
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