Spark MIDI Sync with Octatrack

[midimatik]

Hey there, i saw so much Videos about the Spark and i thought it is a real cool Drummachine...
So today i got my Arturia Spark.

I loaded the Software 1.5 and run it in Demo mode because i did not want to damage the Envolope with
the SOftware License in it because if i send the Spark back to the Musicstore it should be as new...

So iīm using the Software 1.5 in Demo Mode.
I canīt get the Spark synchronized with my Octatrack

The Spark is always just a little bit too late. Its minimal, but to much.
I cantīt fix it with the Latency Button in the Preferences... There isnīt any change equal what i do with the
Latency Button...

I have the Spark connected to my Macbook Pro via USB. MIDI Out from Octatrack to MIDI In in the Spark.

So whats the Problem? Any ideas? Is the Spark not really made to work with "real" Hardware?

Thanx for your help...

midimatik

[vaikl]

Is your Octatrack sending out MIDI clock and is Spark receiving those events? If there's no MIDI clock synchronisation, tuning any latency parameter is meaningless.

[midimatik]

Sure the MIDI Clock is activated.

Tested octatrack with other Hardware gears, works perfect.

There is a syncronisation but i canīt get the Latency that it really fits.
Is spark only a software usable Thing?

When i make a simple Progressive Trance BD & Bass Combination ( BD = 1, 5, 9, 13 and Bass 3-4, 7-8, 11-12, 15-16)
It sounds like its shuffled. Shuffle is off.

With other Hardwre gears the syncronisation is no Problem...

[midimatik]

Tried this and that today and got it running smooth in the beginning,
but then after about a 45sec. synchronisatiopn starts to drift apart...

Its really little time offset but too much to work with it.

Like two turntables are running with very small difference in the bpm...

[vaikl]

Have you linked the Octatrack and Spark's controller via a MIDI cable or only in the preferences of Spark standalone? You could try any of this options.

Your described behaviour with the "drifting" after an amount of time could also mean that one of the two devices don't use the MIDI clock sync format, but maybe the MIDI machine control format (MMC), which sends start/stop but no intermediate "follow tempo" commands.

[midimatik]

Tried almost anything...
Put it together to sent it back to the store

But than i had a idea :
Spectralis 2 as my master - from there via MIDI Out to my Macbook with Ableton thru a MIDI to USB Interface -
from Ableton via the output of the MIDI USB Interface to a MIDI Thru box -
from MIDI Thru Box to Octatrack and to Spark.

That works. No Lagging, no timing problems, no Latency Problems...

Maybe this will help someone else sometime....

Thank You!

[vaikl]

Glad to hear that things are working now

I know lot of keyboarders who are using active MIDI boxes (like the ones from Innerclock Systems) to get their armada working in sync, because MIDI sync can differ from hardware device to hardware/software device.