LP Synced to MIDI Beat Clock in Pro Tools (YES!)/Ableton

[gabestigmatic]

Ok, I finally figured out why my LP was not syncing to Pro Tools. I was just trying to play with it not playing or recording. Basically it doesn't receive beat clock until you hit record. Anyway, I decided to start a song since I have been trying to get this to work for forever.

Here is what I did so far: http://soundcloud.com/gabrielstigmatic/synth-dissonance

[Amos]

Congrats! If it helps your understanding, it's more accurate to say that Pro Tools does not output MIDI beat clock unless its transport is running. Most DAWs behave the same way when it comes to outputting clock; it's tied to the transport controls.

Now that you've got that down, go nuts!

Oh wait, you already did what the heck time signature is that in?

[gabestigmatic]

7/4 With a 21 step drum sequence laying under it. So it sounds more complicated than it is. I like layering rhythms. I would never have thought about doing stuff like that had I not come across King Crimson when I was younger.

[avj]

Glad you finally got that sorted. I did a bit of MIDI-through-the-Phatty last week for some tracking and was going to make note of all the PT settings for you, but I would have likely forgot to mention the part about record-arming the track.

Very cool sounds on that track!

[gabestigmatic]

It's not as simple as just record arming the track. I tried doing it while the track was just in record arm many times (you can get audio when in record arm via guitar or other live instruments that do not run off of MIDI Clock). I tried while in play mode as well and that also does not work (which makes sense because even if you're in record arm with instruments like guitar, it does not let audio go through while in play mode). It must be actually recording or it does not send MIDI Clock at all. Which is actually kind of irritating for live situations.

Pro Tools isn't exactly designed for live performance, so it's understandable. I've thought about getting Ableton, but I don't really want to fork out the cash right now... Or rather, can't because I'm broke. Thanks for the props, with phrases like going nuts and cool nonetheless.

[Amos]

Ableton is free to demo for 30 days or so, I think there's a 1-click unlock process that lets you use the full version for the allotted time. Although if you're broke you might not want to go there... it became a "must-have" for me within about a day or so.

Now that the honeymoon is over, there are definitely some things I wish it did better... but... facilitating live jams in a hardware/software integrated studio is one of the things it does best.

[gabestigmatic]

Does it integrate with Pro Tools very well? I'm so used to editing in that environment audiowise that I will most likely still use it. I've heard the looper is really bad ass in Ableton, which would be amazing for me as well. I've also been using Omnisphere, does that work in Ableton?

I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to Ableton. I've heard good things, but the only videos I've seen about it are about the looper and videos that pertain to using the Little Phatty with it. It must be pretty damned nifty if it became a must have within the first day of using it. I am downloading the trial now.

I saw a video where someone used Ableton as a CV output. I have a DIGI 003 Rack and was wondering if I could do the same thing. I'm pretty sure the outputs on it are balanced.