Help needed: Generate midi sync start from incoming audio signal

Maarten

Does anyone know if there is an app that lets me do this:

I have a Tascam DP32SD that I both love and hate. The big problem is that it doesn’t have midi sync capability.

Is there an app (Drambo perhaps...) that lets me build a signal chain that sends a midi start message when it registers incoming audio?

This would let me start the Tascam when its outgoing audio is registered by the iPad which in turn sends a midi start signal to my Elektron Digitakt.

Gravitas

@Maarten said:
Does anyone know if there is an app that lets me do this:

I have a Tascam DP32SD that I both love and hate. The big problem is that it doesn’t have midi sync capability.

Is there an app (Drambo perhaps...) that lets me build a signal chain that sends a midi start message when it registers incoming audio?

This would let me start the Tascam when its outgoing audio is registered by the iPad which in turn sends a midi start signal to my Elektron Digitakt.

dRambo doesn't have midi start/stop yet.

What you could do is record midi sync onto one of the channels of the Tascam DP32D.
MiRack can respond to external midi clock and then you could use a combination of that an Ableton Link to get everything happening.

I think using a combination of MiRack and Midi Link sync to
convert it to Ableton link you could get sync happening.

So basically record a pulse signal on an
audio track on the Tascam DP32D
Send that audio track out to the iPad as audio.
MiRack converts that into a midi clock using the Clock'd module
to which you can then send out multiple midi clock signals
out to everything else.

Something like that.

Here's a link for a midi clock start/stop on patchstorage
to get you started if you already have MiRack.

I'm going to give the midi thing a think in regards to dRambo,

https://patchstorage.com/midi-clock-start-stop/

rs2000

@Maarten My quick response would have been "no" but thinking more about it, I have an idea using custom audio signals, a signal detector built in Drambo and Streambyter or MidiFire to convert that to clock, SPP and sttaus messages like start/stop/continue. It might involve recording a reference audio track to your tascam but I have yet to think about a proper proof of concept. Interesting idea.

If what @Gravitas wrote works out for you then even better!

Maarten

@Gravitas @rs2000 thank you both for your tips and tricks! I’ll do
Some testing soon.

Gravitas

@Maarten

No worries.

@rs2000

The Clock'd module in MiRack can accept an external audio pulse and sync to that.
I tested it by sending out a pulse signal from dRambo using the ,'graphic module',
from one iPad into the audio ins on the other one, directly into the Clock'd module
in MiRack set to P2 mode.
MiRack then sends a midi clock from Clock'd using the midi output module.

It tracks well when using Midi Link sync.

I don't know if it will start/stop but it's syncable for sure.

Here's the graphic module settings I used to create
the audio pulse in dRambo which can be recorded.

Here's the settings I used in MiRack to test the flow.
I didn't connect up start/stop which I should've done.

and then Midi sync link to convert the midi sync to Ableton Link
and that syncs dRambo which I tested on my iPhone
but I don't think it will start it automatically.
That would have to be done manually.

If you can get dRambo to respond to start/stop using StreamByter or midifire?
Then it's sorted.

rs2000

@Gravitas Starting the receiver is one thing but starting it at the correct position is another.
The miRack screenshot only shows how to generate clock messages but wouldn't the STRT port send a MIDI status start message when fed with a trigger signal? MidiLinkSync will understand that and adjust the beat offset for LINK members correctly.
In other words, we need a few more miRack modules that will generate a trigger once as soon as the first audio pulse is received, and also generate one trigger (routed to STOP) when no more pulses are received.
MIDI STATUS=Stop implies jumping back to the pattern/song start so the next playback will again start at the correct position, given that @Maarten is fine with always beginning from the start of the tracks.
Back in the days we wrote SMPTE on tape track #24 which, when routed through a little box, was converted to a MIDI time code (MTC) signal.
I still have such a box, maybe I should consider writing some Streambyter code to convert MTC to clock 😅

Anyway, we have mostly stopped using hardware for linear multitrack recording, that's what a DAW is made for.

Gravitas

@rs2000 said:
@Gravitas Starting the receiver is one thing but starting it at the correct position is another.
The miRack screenshot only shows how to generate clock messages but wouldn't the STRT port send a MIDI status start message when fed with a trigger signal? MidiLinkSync will understand that and adjust the beat offset for LINK members correctly.
In other words, we need a few more miRack modules that will generate a trigger once as soon as the first audio pulse is received, and also generate one trigger (routed to STOP) when no more pulses are received.
MIDI STATUS=Stop implies jumping back to the pattern/song start so the next playback will again start at the correct position, given that @Maarten is fine with always beginning from the start of the tracks.

Yeah, I hear ya.

I needed to see if Clock'd would actually respond to an audio signal and it does.

One moment screenshot turning up

With this one it does send midi clock start/stop.
That's the one I shared on patchstorage but using
the audio in module instead of the host sync module.

Back in the days we wrote SMPTE on tape track #24 which, when routed through a little box, was converted to a MIDI time code (MTC) signal.

Yeah myself also.
I used the Atari to do the honours in that regards.
I used the one built by Emagic.
I actually still have it.
That box cost more than the iPad I'm typing on.

I still have such a box, maybe I should consider writing some Streambyter code to convert MTC to clock 😅

That's a challenge but do you really want to???? 😂

Anyway, we have mostly stopped using hardware for linear multitrack recording, that's what a DAW is made for.

DAW's were a blessing when they arrived.
I was like thank God for that.
It's a whole New World....

😁

rs2000

@Gravitas Looks good!! 👍🏼☕️☕️