Dave Smith Instruments SYNTHESIZERS

I believe it is correct behaviour for a sequencer to send MIDI clock
commands when its not running (even if most do not do this) The slave
sequencers are required to understand start and stop commands.

Step synchronisation-wise, how does the nord modular run alongside something
like a soft sequencer??

I have a micromodular, though I'll admit I hardly ever use the internal
sequencers on it, and certianly never synced to the evolver...... but since
reading a few posts about the clock mod feature I think I will try this
sometime soon....

Anyway, just wondering aloud here - Is it possible you haven't hooked reset
up properly in the modular patch?
take a MIDIGlobal module, and plug it into a clock divider module, set to 6:
Clock -> Clock
Sync -> RST^

clock divider output -> ^Clk on sequencer module,
Active from MIDIGlobal -> ^Rst on sequencer




julian

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stefan Weber" <skew@...>
To: <DSI_Evolver@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2004 9:17 AM
Subject: [Evolver] midi sync


> Hi
>
> I have been experimenting with the clock mod seqencer destination lately,
a
> truly incredible feature, but came across a few things which I just do not
> understand. I would appreciate it very much if some of you experts might
take a
> minute or so to look at my problem.
>
> It is basically about syncing evolver's step sequencer to the outgoing
midi
> clock. What I do is this: I connect the evolver to clavia's nord modular
(a
> synthesizer that has sequencing modules onboard also), use the evolver as
> master and run sequenced patterns on both synths. Now when I hit evolver's
start
> button both sequences run at the same speed, but they do not start at
exactly
> the same time. So to get them really synced I have to hit the reset button
> at precicely the moment, where the nord modular's patten starts, which
affords
> some skill. But what I really want, obviously, is to trigger them both
with
> the start button. A way around this problem is to program the sequence in
the
> nord modular in such a way, that it is started by an incoming midi start
> command. This works perfect for the moment, BUT whenever I swich to
another
> program (sound) in the nord modular, while the midimaster keeps running,
the nord
> modular has to resync itself to the ongoing midi clock stream, for which
it
> needs a pulse every fourth quaternote (e.g.). The strange thing now is,
that
> the evolver obviously provides this impulse (I can monitor that in the
nord
> modular), but this impulse is never (or only by chance) in sync with the
> evolver's step sequencer. I tried to solve this problem by programming a
midi
> event on the first step of the evolver sequence, which then triggers the
> beginning of the sequence of the nord sequence, but then the internal
synchronisation
> of multiple sequences within the nord modular does not work when switched
to
> internal sync. So this drives me really crazy!
>
> And, at last, by chance I came across this very strange behaviour indeed:
> normally the evolver sends midiclock when the start button is hit, and
stops
> when you hit it again. But when I sync the Nord Modular to the evolver,
> start the sequence by hitting the start button, then, while the sequence
is
> running, switch to intenal sync mode within the nord modular - the
sequence now
> running according to the nord modular time - then stop the evolver (which
> means: no outgoing midi clock anymore), and then swich the sync mode back
to
> external, the sequence still runs (!). And it runs according to the time
given by
> the evolver. I can even plug the midi cable - sequence stops - plug it in
> again, and the sequence runs again.
>
> But still: the clock mod sequencer destination is absolutely fantastic: my
> nord modular rhythmic patterns driven by this feature produce such weird
and
> amazing results!
>

"Stefan Weber" <skew@...> writes:
> the evolver sends midi clock all the time, and the start button only
> stops or starts the nord modular sequencers.  I am still confused by
> the different behaviour between logic audio's sequencer and evolver's
> sequencer.

I found the following somewhere via google:

   F8      11111000        Timing Clock
                           Whilst a transmitter is playing, this message is
                           sent 24 times per quarter note.
   FA      11111010        Start
                           Start the current sequence playing, from the
                           beginning. (This message should be followed with
                           Timing Clocks).
   FB      11111011        Continue
                           Continue playing the current sequence from the
                           point at which it was stopped.
   FC      11111100        Stop
                           Stop the current sequence.

With an `ordinary' sequencer (like logic or whatever), the division into
start/continue/stop makes sense, and it might also make sense to stop
midi clocks when you hit `stop'.

The evolver's sequencer is a slightly different beast though: it's not
(usually) used to play whole songs, but rather as one an element, and
hitting the start/stop button is not really the same thing as
starting/stopping a typical song sequencer -- you might very well do
this many times within a `song', and interrupting the clock sync doesn't
seem all that good idea then!

-Miles
-- 
自らを空にして、心を開く時、道は開かれる

"Stefan Weber" <skew@...> writes:
> the evolver sends midi clock all the time, and the start button only
> stops or starts the nord modular sequencers.  I am still confused by
> the different behaviour between logic audio's sequencer and evolver's
> sequencer.

I found the following somewhere via google:

   F8      11111000        Timing Clock
                           Whilst a transmitter is playing, this message is
                           sent 24 times per quarter note.
   FA      11111010        Start
                           Start the current sequence playing, from the
                           beginning. (This message should be followed with
                           Timing Clocks).
   FB      11111011        Continue
                           Continue playing the current sequence from the
                           point at which it was stopped.
   FC      11111100        Stop
                           Stop the current sequence.

With an `ordinary' sequencer, the division into start/continue/stop
makes sense, and it might also make sense to stop midi clocks when you
hit `stop'.

The evolver's sequencer is a slightly different beast though: it's not
(usually) used to play whole songs, but rather as one an element, and
hitting the start/stop button is not really the same thing as
starting/stopping a whole song -- you might very well do this many times
within a `song', and interrupting the clock sync doesn't seem all that
good idea then!

-Miles
-- 
A zen-buddhist walked into a pizza shop and
said, "Make me one with everything."