Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Ok, I'll try and describe what I have an what I want to do :)  Long post warning!

I have an XL7, a TD12 drumkit, and an SPD-30 drumpad. I also have a couple of other things but they are just midi in->thru and are rather simple, so I'll ignore them from now. I have an access virus kb synth (keyboard version).

My goal is to have the xl7 sequencing the virus. The virus shall play basslines, and I will play drums over this. I do want to record the drums too though, as this certainly helps when working on the basslines, or on the overal sound production.

My studio space is extremely restricted, so I have the XL7 and virus set up directly behind my drum throne, and I turn around 180 to work with those. The TD12 (which I've been using as master clock) is located on the drum rack, and it is very convenient to adjust the tempo there (something I do all the time while practicing).


I've tried a couple of different midi routings but all of them seem flawed in some critical way. Note that all devices produce midi, and its preferred that all devices receive clock (to sync up internal fx and looping capabilities).

The TD12 has a midi IN/OUT and a soft thru. It passes everything it receives.
The SPD30 also has only an in/out and soft thru, and it does not pass the clock (it will pass the midi notes). 
The virus has an in,out,thru. And a selectable soft merge of in->out.

I have the SPD30 placed after the TD12 as I want to hit my td12, generating midi, which is passed to the spd30. It may be possible to have the spd30 before the td12, and pass midi all the way through the chain, but I haven't gotten that far yet.

My first attempt looked like this

t12 -> spd30 -> XL-7 -> virus -> td12.

This works ok for the midi notes, and i can record both drums and virus without swapping the IN cables (not a dealbreaker but nice to have). The problem is the spd30 drops the clock, so the xl7 doesnt sync with the tempo changes.

Next, I tried:

xl7 -> virus -> td12 -> spd30 -> xl7.

If I turn on all the soft thru's, this works for the clock, but when I start recording on the xl7 with REC+ and let it loop around, it starts playing back the midi, which passes through the chain and gets recorded again. This is causing flamming and phasing effects as the notes get built up.

Using REPL mode, it worked better as the xl7 automatically drops out of record mode, but this has a disadvantage that i have to stop the sequencer and select REPL every time (it keeps defaulting to REC+) and this quickly became rather tiresome. 

Suggestions would be really welcome!!!
/ Niall



--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Scott Solmonson <scosol@...> wrote:
>
> Hmm- I've used a midi merge 2x box in the past and it creates a
> noticeable transmission delay.
> I wanted to have a sequencer and a controller hitting the same chain,
> and while this worked, the sequencer's drums were audibly off-time
> with the merger in place. Perhaps newer tech is better but I don't
> know.
> Regardless, they're not meant to carry clock signal, and while my
> first suggestion would be to rethink your entire chain to eliminate
> the need for clock passing, if you must absolutely have concise clock
> going to several devices at once I think the only way to do it is to
> have a simultaneous-out MIDI-8x interface or something. There will be
> clock slew from the computer to the interface, but on the way out it
> should be clean. But you don't have a computer in the chain... neither
> do I :)
> 
> That said, maybe I missed the rest of the thread, but the command
> stations have two midi outs, which should usually be enough clock for
> any scenario. I'll go back and read the thread to see if you've
> descibed your setup but if you haven't, please do so, as well as what
> you're trying to do with it.
> 
> Cheers-
> -SS
> 
> On Fri, Sep 16, 2011 at 7:40 AM, magpieindustries <dach@...> wrote:
> > Thanks for the tip, but I only have hardware in my studio so a pc/mac midi port thing isn't going to help. I'm hoping that something like the Midi Solutions Quadra Merge will do the job. These little midi merge boxes will hopefully pass the clock signal, but I will make sure to be certain of it before buying. Thanks.
> >
> >
> > --- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Bruno <brunorc@> wrote:
> >>
> >> 2011/9/16 magpieindustries <dach@>:
> >> > Argh! Oh no, that is very bad news :(
> >> > Im trying to add another drum module and it too does not retransmit midi clock. It's starting to look like I can't get my stuff connected no matter what way I arrange it.
> >>
> >> I'm afraid that the majority of instruments does not retransmit the
> >> clock. You need a MIDI interface that can have its routing configured
> >> for a standalone mode - e.g. eMagic Unitor8, since it actually can do
> >> it, as long as the instrument sending MIDI clock sends SongStart/Stop
> >> (my Novation KS5 does not, it transmits clock though, but Unitor was
> >> not accepting it).
> >>
> >> Bruno
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
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