Ableton Live And ESX MID SYNC

hazK · Post by **hazK** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 7:00 am

Hey guys, please i need ur help i dont how to set up my esx with ableton,
Here's my setup

Korg Esx
Ableton Live
Access Virus Snow (Soundcard)

I want to use the Korg as master clock and sync ableton with it via access virus.
I want to play the drums from the esx and audio in from ableton to play synth ( bass , lead pads)
i only want them to sync ..
please help

keydet · Post by **keydet** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:39 am

same thing. gonna buy esx-1 today in order to play drums and fx from it.
i want esx-1 to be the midi sync master, and ableton - slave, and i have a profire 610 with akai mpk mini also. please, tell me how can i setup this variant?

also, im interested in routing the signal both to soundcard and mixer, in order to live switch between channels with different effects

sauce · Post by **sauce** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:16 am

Hello. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..

I have been trying since Ableton Live 5 to slave to *any* hardware sequencer, including the ESX of course, but to no avail. I can get it to sync if Live is the master, but even then it's precarious and tends to drift over time. It is a known issue, and has been discussed on the Ableton forum ad nauseum. I sure hope they fix it with a future upgrade..

EuroHobbes · Post by **EuroHobbes** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:47 am

I use my EMX-1 as master for Ableton, KP3, K-PRO and my ESX-1.

No daisy chaining, I use this device:

It splits the midi signal to 4 different paths and it works like a charm.

To get Ableton to play along nicely you have to get your buffer size as low as possible. The bigger the buffer, the bigger the problems.

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:03 am

From my experience, the only working setup is that you use your ESX/EMX to trigger samples, loops or software instruments. This works flawlessly, as there is no delay at all.
Especially for EMX users this is a very cool option, because they can replace the onboard drums with samples, and they can use software synths which replace one onboard synth part.

hazK · Post by **hazK** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:39 am

Thanks you guys but i still didnt get any help, i need to know what configurations to put on the esx or the software please.

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:08 pm

hazK wrote:Thanks you guys but i still didnt get any help, i need to know what configurations to put on the esx or the software please.

Ok, set Midi Clock on your ESX to Int. (Manual)

Connect your Electribe to Ableton with your midi to pc hardware (interface, soundcard, whatever)

In the Preferences, choose Midi and select the input signal (midi adapter, audio interface...)

In the top left corner of Ableton, there should be a flashing yellow light. Do you see it?

hazK · Post by **hazK** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:07 am

Oki i connected midi out from korg to midi in to access virus ( soundcard)
and i did what you told me i turn sync on but still nothing happening between ableton and korg.
any help

hazK · Post by **hazK** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:29 am

Olivander12 wrote:
hazK wrote:Thanks you guys but i still didnt get any help, i need to know what configurations to put on the esx or the software please.

Ok, set Midi Clock on your ESX to Int. (Manual)

Connect your Electribe to Ableton with your midi to pc hardware (interface, soundcard, whatever)

In the Preferences, choose Midi and select the input signal (midi adapter, audio interface...)

In the top left corner of Ableton, there should be a flashing yellow light. Do you see it?

Thanks man it finally worked. the tempo box in ableton is locked , but there is a slight skipping the tempo keeps moving in smal decimals or 1 percent
should i change the buffering size or any configuration to make it sync perfectly

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:52 pm

I do not know anybody how successfully fixed this bpm drift. The problem is that Ableton waits for the Electribe to send its bpm clock, and then adjusts its BPM to the Electribe's. It should estimate a bpm number rather than measuring a way to accurate number which constantly changes.

Another problem is that if you press "play", the bpm will bump up to about +5bpm, because Ableton is somehow limping behing the Electribe.

If you only have the bumpy bpm number, you can be glad. Things may even be worse.

hazK · Post by **hazK** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:35 pm

Thanks olivander you helped me alot.
am using ableton for synth and i think despite the drift everything is good speciall when i play pad and bass from ableton.
But i hope they can fix it
thanks again buddy

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:17 am

hazK wrote:Thanks olivander you helped me alot.
am using ableton for synth and i think despite the drift everything is good speciall when i play pad and bass from ableton.
But i hope they can fix it
thanks again buddy

So you compose a clip which starts in time with the electribe? If you do not need more than note and gate time, your may also use the Electribe to trigger soft synths in Ableton. This produces absolutely no delay and is perefctly tight.

You just have to load a instrument in Ableton, assign it to a midi channel ( channel 2 is synth part 2 on the Electribe ....) and then you can use the Electribe's sequencer to play notes in Ableton.

hazK · Post by **hazK** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:56 pm

Olivander12 wrote:
hazK wrote:Thanks olivander you helped me alot.
am using ableton for synth and i think despite the drift everything is good speciall when i play pad and bass from ableton.
But i hope they can fix it
thanks again buddy
So you compose a clip which starts in time with the electribe? If you do not need more than note and gate time, your may also use the Electribe to trigger soft synths in Ableton. This produces absolutely no delay and is perefctly tight.

You just have to load a instrument in Ableton, assign it to a midi channel ( channel 2 is synth part 2 on the Electribe ....) and then you can use the Electribe's sequencer to play notes in Ableton.

but am using this setup so i can play more than 2 synth part.
if i make the korg play synth from ableton. it only takes to parts. am i right ?

Olivander12 · Post by **Olivander12** » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:10 pm

Yes ok, your setup is more senseful than my approach. I forget that the ESX only has got two synth parts, whereas the EMX has got 5.