when we designed and released both the original sync-shift in 2004 and the sync-shift mark ii in 2006 we had real needs that required a real solution - fixing start lag time in tempo-synchronized
systems.
one long-term issue of continual frustration over many years for us has been the poor stability of external midi clock tempo synchronization in a software/computer environment. a
full analysis of this problem is way beyond the scope of this introduction of course but the issue is an old and familiar one to all of you of that i am certain.
in our experience, electronic music producers these days usually fall into two main groups - those that choose all hardware over software and those that choose to do everything
inside a single computer using plug-ins and softsynths.
there are a number of reasons for this of course but a major one is the difficulty in achieving reliable synchronization and rhythmic feel between computer music applications and
hardware in the outside world.
why?:
eighteen months ago we set about trying to find a no-compromise solution to this problem so that we could close the gap between computers and external hardware in tight, rhythmic
electronic music production.
our new sync-lock lets you still use a pc/mac - any application of your choice - and generate sample/grid/tempo-accurate simultaneous midi clock, din sync and voltage triggers for
your analogue gear too.
all of this is done without firewire, usb or legacy serial midi clock generation from the software itself and is therefore immune to any jitter/slop and because the sync is
provided via your soundcard audio outputs there is effectively zero latency offset between your computer's internal audio and the start times and tempo sync of your external
equipment.
no need for dc coupled hardware or modification of your existing audio interface either.
the sync-lock works off any standard hardware.
sync-lock trig i/o conversion time is under 20 microseconds!
the above video demo shows ableton live driving a roland tb-303 and an mv-8000 via simultaneous midi clock and din sync from the sync-lock and a standard edirol fa-101 firewire
soundcard. the audio loop playing in live is an unwarped 4 bar recording of the identical pattern playing in the mv-8000. the click you hear is an audio metronome from live as a
timing reference so you can hear the audio loop in sync with the tempo grid as well as the mv-8000 running off external midi clock. you should be able to hear the live loop and the
external midi phase when playing together quite clearly. the tb-303 is in perfect sync also. radical tempo changes from 20 bpm up to 300 bpm do not compromise the sync. the
sync-gen plug-in allows external sync swing which is passed on to the sync-lock midi clock, din sync and analogue trigger outputs.
please click here to visit the manufacturer's webpage for more info.
