HD Pro sync to MIDI clock lag

[chimp_spanner]

Hey guys! Trying to sync my HD Pro effects to the tempo of my DAW (Cubase 7.5) using a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 interface. It's sync'ing...kinda. But if the tempo in my sequencer is 160, the POD is displaying 159.8 and kinda jitters between numbers around that. Also it's behind the click quite significantly, to the point where using the pattern tremolo is kind of impossible.

 

Any idea what I might be doing wrong here?

 

Thanks!

[ChristophK]

I am working live a lot with synced delays, the Gilmour / The Edge kind of things, but also for slicer effects for some metal stuff. I find the syncing quite stable - but you have to remind: It's only clock syncing, that means that the tempo of the clock input and the tempo for the delays (or tremolo steps) are the same - but that does not mean that both run in the same phase: E.g. if you have set up an echo with quarter notes, they will have the correct ms of delay and even follow tempo changes, but they do not automatically match the beat of your song. You have to ensure additionally, that the delay starts more or less exactly with the beat. From my experience, the most reliable way is to call up the preset on the first beat of a bar, so I step on the preset footswitch in the right moment and all is fine. I am not sure if activating the delay in an already called up preset is doing the same thing. In a studio context, my suggestion would be to include a MIDI program change in a Cubase track to call up the POD preset (and with this start the delay / pattern tremolo etc.) and move this event slightly forward or behind to match the beat of your song exactly.

[chimp_spanner]

Hey man thanks for the reply - I can actually get the HD to reset the phase of beat sync'd effects when I press start/stop on my sequencer. The problem is that it lags behind it. Also the tempo on the POD is every so slightly different to the tempo on my sequencer; for example 160 BPM DAW = a jittery 159.8 BPM HD.

 

I suppose maybe a temporary work around would be to use Program Change messages to temporarily switch away from the preset and then back to it at the start of the section I need beat-sync'd. That might work, maybe?

[ChristophK]

Also the tempo on the POD is every so slightly different to the tempo on my sequencer; for example 160 BPM DAW = a jittery 159.8 BPM HD.

I would say this is normal. Because the tempo shown by the HD is just recalculated from the received beats and there is much room for rounding errors etc. Also keep in mind that MIDI clock only is a simple 24 clicks-per-quarter-note beat - so not overly exact - and without any location info like MIDI time code.

 

I suppose maybe a temporary work around would be to use Program Change messages to temporarily switch away from the preset and then back to it at the start of the section I need beat-sync'd. That might work, maybe?

Yep, that should improve it. That's the way I am using the slicer effects: Exactly at the first beat of every chorus I switch to the preset and the FX stays in good sync at least for the whole chorus.