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genius work around, before this I basically gave up hope of syncing the two and recorded unsynced audio and later synced in in ableton's audio editor. thanks for giving that free download to save us time!
Very nice :) I'm just uploading the download package, so it should be up on the website soon. I have been using Beatstep Pro to sync the DFAM with Ableton, but I really wanted to give you guys a solution that doesn't require buying more extra gear. I'm glad it worked, and thank you for the comment.
Not only is this a free way of doing it, it's actually a much better way of doing it than midi to analogue clock conversion - sample accurate timing, no midi jitter etc. I've got a Beatstep Pro but I use an audio pulse to sync the DFAM and the rest of the modular.
+Steve Baker Hi Steve, thanks for the note! Yes I agree, as a matter of fact, my Ableton on the main studio PC behaves totally erratic when I try to send clock info via MIDI. It’s so bad that I actually have to use another laptop and a second instance of Ableton, then link the two and send MIDI from the laptop, if I wanna have proper sync. I think I might actually convert to this method instead of MIDI sync. I appreciate the comment, keep in touch ;)
@@AttilaHanak Out of curiosity, are you on Windows 10? My old Macbook had, at most, 1ms of midi jitter over USB, but when I got a new PC with Windows 10, I had up to 18ms of midi jitter over USB. It was terrible. I ended up getting an Expert Sleepers USAMO which works fine for clock and monophonic tracks, but it would be so much more convenient to just have solid midi from my computer. Just curious if you had a similar issue.
Yeah, I know what you mean.. my studio computer is a windows 8.1 and sometimes I have crazy fluctuations with that. I’m guessing it’s still the same issue with windows 10. I don’t even know if there’s a viable workaround to solve it.. it gets very annoying sometimes. I find that lowering the audio interface buffer setting will make it better, but not really perfect.
They’re not for everyone, but the Korg SQ-1 sends clock out and acts as a midi-to-cv converter- and moreover does those two things simultaneously. And if you need to know the actual bpm figure you’re at, the Volca Beats provides that service. The Beats is a great counterpart to the DFAM too...
If you have a Keystep Pro, you can do a hold on an arpeggiated note (or sequence) and run the gate out from that Keystep voice to adv/clock in on DFAM.
Thanks for the video Attila! Would love to see an updated 2022 edition now that it's so much easier to clock modular gear (such as with CV Tools, the Expert Sleepers ES-9, or the MAFD just to name a few). Although for those on a tight budget this video still works!
Hey Chris, Thanks for the note. Yeah I meant this one as a low budget solution, but you’re right; there are tons of other ways to do it now. I actually made an entire MasterClass about this subject. I think I have the link up ⬆️ here somewhere :) check it out. Cheers, Attila (oh and sorry for the super slow reply)
Hey Keith, thank you for your comment! I'm super happy this video is helping. And you can theoretically use this technique to replace a sequencer as well, just instead of an arpeggiator, you'd use a MIDI clip with programmed MIDI notes to trigger the Simpler and that way you can send out any sort of rhythm pattern, and not just whatever the arpeggiator limits you to send. Keep in touch pls ;) Cheers, Ttils
Totally.. it makes more sense this way. I haven’t bought the DFAM yet but I used to use an AS Leipzig S for these sorts of things and it has midi and a sequencer restart, but the DFAM has an edge to it
Oh the DFAM is crazy man :D I love how you think you can control it, and then out of the blue it just blurps out a sound that you never expected. One of my fav synths, and not just for drums. I highly recommend it. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see in a video about the DFAM?
It’s a bit like when we used to ‘stripe’ analog tape with a midi sync box. The output volume was really fussy making the tape stripe work too. Used to work though and jump to the right place in the song as well.
I sync my DFAM with MIDI . I trigger the DFAM from my Mother32. Place a patch cord from the ASSIGN output jack on the Mother-32 into the ADV / CLOCK input on the DFAM.
Hey Roland, Thanks for watching! Starting and stopping Ableton will also start/stop the DFAM’s sequencer, but it won’t reset it to the first step, because the DFAM doesn’t have a reset function. So to make sure your DFAM starts from the beginning of the sequence, you’ll have to jump through the sequence to the last step, then when you start Ableton, the DFAM will also start from step one. Hope this helps. Cheers, Attila
Thank you this is excellent, after 2 weeks I finally have my DFAM synced via Cubase using Maschine headphone output for the click it works really well.. I have a grandmother and i was hoping that i could sync Cubase via Grandmother to the DFAM but that only works with the GM arpeggio or sequencer enabled.. which was disappointing.. this simple tip has saved me spending any more money on other equipment. Virtual Beer to you. :D :D
Thank you, I have actually been thinking about this. I agree 100% that it would be a great course. Let's see if I can make that happen. No promises though just yet, but stay tuned ;) Cheers, Attila
I've just got myself a DFAM! It's my first bit of Hardware from Moog. I have for a while been thinking about getting into modular, but literally have no idea where to start. I literally know nothing so what would be a good few modules you'd suggest to start off with, using the DFAm as the foundation? Cheers ;)
Hey there, thanks for the question! The DFAM is a pretty good starting point for a modular setup, because it has a lot of patching possibilities. If I had a DFAM only and wanted to add a few modules, I would probably start with some nice effect modules, like the TipTop Audio Z5000 or another multi-effect module. You could also start off by creating a setup with an extra voice; so basically an oscillator, an envelope generator, a filter and a VCA and use the DFAM to modulate patches on this secondary voice and even use it to layer the DFAM's sound with another voice. That + an effect module will already give you endless possibilities with patching. I hope this helps. Cheers, Attila
Hey Daniel, No I wouldn't say that. As a matter of fact, you can just run this clock signal into a multiplier/divider and go nuts with it. Lots of possibilities there ;) Cheers, Attila
@@danielgrace7887 Indeed that is also very true. The only issue I can see with that is that you'll be limited by how many audio outs you have in your setup, because each tempo track would tie up one output. But given that you have some to spare, you can definitely create some nice patches with that method. Cheers, Attila
Hi Wolson, Thanks very much for the kind comment and feedback :) It’s all good; there are some sad ppl who have nothing better to do than..well..be sad and spread negativity. I do have to admit though, that there’s a lot of “fluff” in the video, some not necessarily useful stuff, that may be the reason for a down vote, which I understand. In any case, the video is doing quite well, despite being a few years old. Thanks again, I’m glad you enjoyed 👍🏻 Cheers, Attila
Hi! I'm very glad you asked :) I am actually working on a few videos about the Ableton CV Tools and how to use them. They will be pretty thorough, so it'll take a bit of time. I'm planning to release them sometime in the next 2 months, so let's definitely keep in touch. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see covered in these videos? Feel free to suggest anything, and I will put it in the videos ;) Cheers, Ttils
Interesting video. I dont really synch my stuff with the DAW (I use Ableton by the way) and just use the audio out on the DFAM straight into the DAW via a Scarlett 2i2. Then stereo the DFAM or add another slight variation beat. The reason is I use the Ableton for recording only and dont use any of the synths on it preferring to use to analog hardware gear. So while interesting this does seem to be a bit long winded to get a DFAM playing in Ableton. Why not just manually synch..you get far more interesting quasi polyrhythmic accidental discoveries! It was a bit like building a knife with matchsticks (a round the houses way of doing something which you could do in a simpler although less perfect way - but hey were making music here not redesigning the DAW input system))..very fascinating but I dont many will bother with this even though its interesting and infromative. I think this video is more useful if you are synching a lot of the plug in instruments/synths arpergiattors etc in Ableton (which as I said earlier I dont use because I dont think they are much cop)
Hi Manuel! Thank you very much, I really appreciate your feedback. I'm glad you're enjoying the content! Let me know if you ever have any questions. Cheers, Ttils
Has anybody had success with arturia's minifuse 4 interface? My setup is a bit different, I send CV to outputs 3 and 4 on minifuse using max. But that interface has maximum output voltage about 2.26 volts! It is not enough to trigger a DFAM. ADV/CLK works, but not the trigger. Had to build an amp to make it work. Just a simple non-inverting amp using TL072.
Thanks for a very informative and helpful video. But wouldn't it be simpler and more flexible just to cut and paste the pulse sample on your audio/control track to the position of where you want each beat? Then you can easily chop out or add an occasional beat. I guess it depends on your DAW skills, you'd add a rachet or something like that to the arpegiator?
Hey Daniel, Thanks for the comment and yes, 100%, that's another good way to do this. Nowadays though there are a lot of alternate ways of achieving the same. When I made this video, I just wanted to keep it simple, so that it's easy for everyone to understand. The idea was just to show that it is in fact possible to sync DFAM without expensive extra hardware, but I din't wanna get into all the fancy stuff. There's so much you can do both on a MIDI and an audio track, I could make a whole series about it. Maybe one day.. :) Cheers, Attila
I've got an Arturia Minibrute 2S and have no problem syncing from it's sync out to the DFAM run/clock in, but I'm running into problems with other cv signals. The Minibrute sequencer has two mod tracks that allow you to sequence various kinds of cv signals and output them to any cv input. One type of signal available is Gate, but when I send this to the trigger in on the DFAM it does nothing. However, the Minibrute also has a separate Gate out that's directly locked to the main pitch track (can't independently sequence steps) and it will trigger the DFAM through the trigger in perfectly. Also, I've tried sending 0-5v signals to the Velocity in to trigger notes on the DFAM (instead of the velocity knobs on the DFAM sequencer), which works, but is always one step late. According to the Arturia manual, setting a voltage step to active should instantaneously send that voltage out when the step plays (and that voltage remains constant until another active steps changes it), but it always triggers the DFAM on the next step (which also means you have to immediately set a 0v step if you don't want to keep triggering the DFAM). I'm trying to use the Minibrute sequencer to create patterns longer than the 8 steps available in the DFAM sequencer. So it's sort of working, but using the cv mod sequencer track on the Minibrute I'm having to offset the patterns I'm programming by -1 step, which is...annoying, lol. Finally, connecting a cv out to the DFAM velocity in does break the input from the DFAM velocity knobs, so any suggestions on how to route the DFAM velocity out back in with the external voltage signal from the Minibrute so that they will both trigger notes on the DFAM? I'm kind of new to using analog gear and cv voltages, so any tips would be much appreciated, thanks.
Hey Friend, sorry for the very slow response! Wow it sounds like you're doing some interesting stuff with the DFAM and 2S. I'll do my best to answer, but I don't own a 2S as of now, so I wouldn't know much about its operation. One thing you wrote that I'm a bit confused about..you said: "I've tried sending 0-5v signals to the Velocity in to trigger notes on the DFAM (instead of the velocity knobs on the DFAM sequencer), which works, but is always one step late." So the velocity in basically affects the 3 envelopes of the DFAM, but as far as I know, you can't actually trigger notes via the velocity in, so could you please explain what exactly you mean by "to trigger notes"? Here's how I would patch a longer than 8 step sequence form an external sequencer: - send triggers from the sequencer to the "trigger in" of the DFAM - send CV from the sequencer to different parameters on the DFAM that I want to modulate (such as VCO1/2 CV, VCA/VCF DECAY, VCF MOD, 1-2 FM AMOUNT, etc) This way you can have a sequence as long as your sequencer can do, plus this way you can send different sequences to different parameters. It might require some patching, but it'll be worth it. And for your last question about routing back the velocity: So again, the velocity CV signal is not a trigger signal; it's a continuous voltage that lasts as long as the current step/note and it's used for modulating parameters (filter cutoff position, note value, white noise level, etc) A trigger signal is a very short burst of 0-5 / 0-10v voltage and it's used to trigger time-based events, such as an envelope cycle, or the movement of a sequencer. Nevertheless, you can still route back the DFAM's velocity CV by using the velocity CV out on the bottom, but you will have to route it to every parameter that you want to modulate separately, so you may need to use a splitter, a mult, or stackable patch cables. Let me know if any of this helps :) Cheers, Attila
Just to be clear, nowadays you could use the Ableton CV tool Clock out instead of the Arp/Simpler group right? I don't have a DC coupled interface either (Focusrite 18i8).
Gonna answer my own question: yes it's exactly the same, minus the hassle of setting Simpler up. Also I used a TRS cable and it works just fine. Finally, for Focusrite interface owners: don't forget to plug in an unused output (3 or 4) and set up the volume level properly in the Focusrite Control software (it's low by default) otherwise the signal won't come thru to the DFAM.
@@Magic_carpet666 Hey Jerome, Sorry about the super slow response. So to sum it up: yup you're right about all the points you made. - You can definitely do this with the CV Tools, as a matter of fact, it'll be a lot quicker and more precise, so nowadays you'd be silly not to.. Although when I made this video in 2018, CV Tools weren't even on the horizon as much as an idea, so the method was definitely well warranted to talk about back then. Also, CV Tools is Ableton only, whereas this will work in any DAW. - This is a sharp and quick burst of sound used as a trigger, so a DC Coupled interface is not necessary. - Thanks for testing a TRS cable, it's great to know it works. - Using an unused output is a bit of a given, but thanks for mentioning that. - I'm fairly certain I also mention having to dial in the audio level to make it work properly (maybe you didn't watch that part) nontheless thanks for mentioning that as well. Thanks for the comments :) Cheers, Attila
That’s what makes it cool. Anyone can control a VST or a digital synth easily, but good luck controlling this one, it’s more likely to control you, then you get the happy accidents. Kinda like how I have 9467 +/- other, much newer videos on this channel, yet this one from 4 years ago is still the most popular one 😉 (I had to look up arduous, not one word you come across every day. Will use it from now on 👍) Cheers, Attila
Hey Lothar, thanks for the reply! Yup, from the CV Tools pack, right? They work even better and that's what I use also. When this video was made, there were no CV Tools available though, also, they don't come free with all levels of Ableton ;) I actually made an entire MasterClass on how to use the Ableton CV TOOLS, here it is if you're interested: www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/analog-meets-digital?aff=18 Cheers, Attila
@@lwpweb Yes, it's M4L and comes included with Live 10.1 Suite :) No worries, it's my pleasure. Let me know if you have any questions if you decide to enroll in the MasterClass. Cheers, Attila
Great video, really well produced. I can't seem to get this going. Followed all the steps, I have the pulsing signal going out of a spare audio interface channel but no matter what volume I select it won't trigger the DFAM at all. Very strange, I can see the meter sending a signal to the interface. I can't use the file you kindly created and provided as it's only available for version 10.2 of Live and if I had that I could use CV tools.
Hey Wax, thanks for the comment and for the kind feedback. The only thing I can think of - provided that you followed all the steps - is that maybe you didn't enable the red RUN/STOP button on your DFAM..? The DFAM has to be turned on to run, even when it's receiving a trigger signal from an external source. Yes, the new CV Tools is actually a lot more refined replacement for this method here, but this was still the best way to go when I made this video ;) Let me know if this fixes the problem, I'm curios to know. Cheers, Attila
Hey thanks for the question :) You might be able to get away with a TRS, but I can’t guarantee. I can tell you that when I tried a TRS to connect the DFAM’s rear audio out to my mixer, that didn’t work, only with a TS, but I’m not sure if the same goes for the clock input.. It won’t do any damage though, if you try it, so just give it a shot and let me know if it works ;) Cheers, Ttils
Hey Attila, thank you so much for such a great video. its finally synced. i have one little issue and i would really appriciate it if you can give me a solution. the trigger channel/wav is too loud and always in my face that i can not listen just to the DFAM. when i turn it off or down then DFAM stops. how can i get ride of this loud clicking trigger?
Hi Abed, Thanks for the comment and question, apologies for my slow response. You need to have the TRIGGER track separated form your master out. If your audio interface has more than 2 outputs, you can utilize one of those to separate the signal. What DAW do you use and what kind of Audio Interface do you have? Let me know and I'll tell you how to set it up properly. Cheers, Attila
Great video! I'd have a question: I have a dfam and a TB03. I thought I should be able to connect the Trigger out of the TB03 to the Trigger in of the DFAM to tempo sync it to the TB03s tempo, but it does not work :( also tried different other combinations and either nothing at all happens or dfams is running super fast.. I cant seem to figure ou wthats happening there
Hey sorry about the slow response. Yes that may be a bit more difficult to do than it seems. Could you please tell me exactly how you have it set up? Are you using the gate out on the tb03? The gate out is actually not a clock, but it sends a pulse at the beginning of every note the TB03 plays, so that might be an issue. Is it connected to the ADV/CLOCK input on the DFAM? Is DFAM running? (that might be the first issue, make sure DFAM is running when you're sending it the clock) Let meknow exactly how you have this wired up and I'll see if we can figure it out. ;) Cheers, Attila
Hi thanks for sharing your knowledge! I’m trying to sync my tr8 with ableton! But the first beat is all ways out , I’ve tried everything I can but no joy if you have anything information I’d appreciate thanks 😊
Hey Anthony. One potential issue I can think of is your audio buffer setting. Try to keep that as low as possible without your CPU starting to overload. Values over 2048 samples may result in MIDI messages not being sent out accurately. Here’s how you do it: help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209770985-Changing-the-buffer-size-sample-rate-of-an-ASIO-Audio-Interface Please let me know if this worked. Thank you very much for your question and for watching my videos :) Cheers, Ttils
Hey mate, thanks for the question! There are a few ways to do that, and it all depends on what gear you have. - If you have a multi-channel output audio interface and you don't mind to tie up your audio outs, than you can just simply duplicate the track where the pulse audio is coming from, and direct it to another audio out, and use this duplicated signal to clock another synth/pedal the same way we clocked the DFAM here. This way you can even play around with different clock divisions on the different tracks and create interesting rhythms. - Alternatively, you can create audio track(s) and draw their audio from the track where the pulse audio is coming from, then direct these track(s) output(s) to your audio interface's audio out(s), then to different device(s). - You could try and split the audio pulse signal by using a simple splitter, mult, or buffered mult, and direct the copied signals to other devices. (You may have to tweak the volume again if you do this) - You could feed the clock signal we made in this video into a clock divider (like a 4MS Quad Clock Distributor) and send the copied signal(s) to other device(s) ..although this requires buying stuff - The DFAM has a trigger out (bottom leftmost patchbay output) which you can use to clock another device in a daisy-chain setup where the DFAM is clocked from the DAW and passes its own clock signal to your next device, which will be the same tempo as your DAW. I hope this helps ;) Let me know how it goes. Cheers, Attila
@@spaceyaliens I use a SoundCraft Signature MTK22. The UAD ones are very nice also. If you're into Eurorack then then Expert Sleepers ES-8 or ES-9 is a king interface. But to do what's in this video, virtually any audio interface should work.
Hey, not sure if I'm understanding your question, but I think you are asking how you can drive the DFAM's sequencer with 1/8 or 1/16th notes. If you are using the method from this video, just change the speed of Ableton's arpeggiator on the trigger track to 1/8 or 1/16th, or any other division you'd like to use. I hope this helps. Cheers, Attila
The Sixteenth Bar hello and thanks for your reply You understand well , I am trying to do more speed to DFAM seq, looking if it’s possible into same DFAM with patch bay or another method .. not neccesary with ableton , meantime I resolved using my Korg monologue sequencer.. “option 1/16 advance sync ext” working good... I will try with ableton too cheers!!
Thank you, I’m wondering if your playing pretty simple techno on a cdj if the output of that steady beat would work to sync the Dfam’s tempo? Would like to integrate into a live setup with just cdj’s
Ooooooh! That’s a superb question Chris! I’ve been wanting to find out the answer for this, but I don’t own CDJs, so I wasn’t able to test it. It might work, but I think the way club tracks are mastered and limited to no ends these days may prohibit the DFAM’s clock input from being able to recognize a distinct sharp rising edge for a clock signal.. even if it sounds to our ears like there’s a proper transient on each kick drum, because of the limiting, the actual waveform is just a smashed fat sausage with no recognizable peaks, so my feeling is that it won’t work, but I’d love to be proven wrong 😆 With some tweaking it may be possible. Pleeeease do let me know if you can test it and make it work! Cheers, Attila
a bit late on this thread but would it work to sync it with abletons midi clock through Roland sh-01, tb-03 which has the cv out or volca bass which has the sync out?
Hey, sorry for the slow reply! Yes that will work, as long as these cv outs are sending a 16th note clock and not a 24PPQN or other type of clock signals. Thanks for the question, cheers, Attila
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Fuck. Thank you. Using your basic instructions, I was able to route a sample-based audio pulse into the DFAM's Adv/Clock input through one of my MPC's assignable mix outputs. Syncs perfectly. Cheers!
Hey man, thanks for the question. With a MIDI to CV interface yes there is; you'd just run the note information from your MIDI interface to the DFAM's VCO1 and VCO2's patchbay input. If you don't have a MIDI interface and you're trying to use a similar method to this one to control pitch, then it gets a lot more complicated, although theoretically possible. Because the level of the audio's volume coming out of your audio interface gets translated into differing voltages based on how loud the signal is, you would need to create a vst device that would convert your MIDI note information from your DAW to a corresponding control voltage based on volume changes, this would have to be calibrated to play actual note values based on semi-tones, then you'd send that voltage to control your pitch on the DFAM.. I actually think there was a dude who made something similar, it was a M4L device, but I can't find it for the life of me. Not impossible, but I'm not even sure how robust and reliable that would be. It'd definitely take a lot of calibrating to get it done right :) Let me know if you find something on this, I'm curious to know. Cheers, Ttils
I want to know how to play each step on the DFAM sequencer from a DAW. You can do this with the Sonoclast MAFD 2hp module. But what's it doing to allow this? It must only be voltages, I guess. Just wondering if you have a means to control DFAM, as in this video or via an Expert Sleepers module or something else, could you replicate what Sonoclast is doing in software?
I'm fairly confident that it could. You might run into some issues that the level is not "hot" enough to trigger the clock input, so you might have to crank it up as loud as it goes, but I would definitely give it a try to see if it worked. That's an awesome question btw ;) Would you please let me know if it worked? Thanks, Attila
Hey Dustin, Thanks for asking. I believe Ableton Live 10 Lite has the Simpler device included, or the DrumRack device. You can use either of those to set this up. The light version also has 8 audio outputs, so that shouldn't be a problem either. As long as you can send that audio trigger pulse out of your DAW through your Audio Interface on a separate output, you can set this up. On a more personal note; as of yet I haven't been able to come across a valid reason to use Logic instead of Ableton, so for me it's Ableton all the way (and I do own both of these DAWs) ..but again that's just a personal preference, so make sure you do proper research before committing to one of them ;) I hope this helps. Cheers, Attila
@@AttilaHanak you have a great energy on screen and your passion comes through, I’ve been hard at it since 1989 and still loving it :) got a DFAM today - my god I’m in love :)
@@AirArtStudiosOfficial Thanks Mac :) I really appreciate that super nice feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed. Strap if with your new DFAM, it’ll keep you up at night for a long time to come 😉 I’m thinking to make a full tutorial series on it, if my time ever allows. Keep in touch! Cheers
hi there. excellent work mate. this was an issue on whether i was gonig to buy a dfam. so when you are recording away and tweaking knobs etc the modulations for example opening and closing a fliter all gets recorded in with no problems?
+Mick F Hey Mick, thank you for your note! I’m glad I could help ;) If you’re asking about recording the modulations as automation into Ableton, the answer is no, Ableton won’t record the movement of your DFAM modulation knobs. For that you’d need a MIDI controller and with that you can live-record automation, but even that is only on VSTs. If you’re asking if the audio will be recorded as you’re tweaking the knobs on the DFAM, that’s a 100% yes. It’s a pretty cool way to produce a song by recording in a long take of DFAM jam, then chopping it up and making a track out of it ;) I hope this helps. Cheers, Ttils
Does this work with all audio interfaces? I saw a couple videos related to this that said that if your sound card is not DC coupled you risk damaging it, however that was when using Ableton CV tools. Is this method a valid workaround for people whose interface is not DC coupled? If it is then it's an absolute game changer
Hey Pedro, Thank you for the question, it's a great question and the official answer is "I don't know and please be careful". I'm only saying that tho, because I'm not a trained expert, I only go by self-taught experience and common sense, but I certainly wouldn't want to give you a tip that ends up damaging your equipment. The unofficial answer is: I've been using this method on my setup for years now and everything is working happily. I have a Focusrite 18i20, which is not DC coupled and it works perfectly. The trigger signal you are sending is a super quick burst, or pop of sound which will have no problem getting through your interface, even if it's not DC coupled. Sending triggers this way does not require a DC coupled interface. Only if you want to send very low frequency, or even sustained voltages through your interface, like an LFO, an envelope signal with a sustain period, or another very slowly changing modulation signal, will you need a DC coupled audio interface. But even if you do send one of those through a not DC coupled interface, you'll still not damage anything: most audio interfaces that are not DC coupled, filter out very low frequencies, in order to protect equipment such as speakers that COULD get damaged, if an LFO or a sustained voltage was sent to them. On a non-DC coupled interface this gets filtered out with a high-pass filter, so the worst thing that can happen is that the signal simply doesn't reach its intended destination. A DC coupled interface allows for these low signals to go through. (again, I'm no expert, but this is what makes sense to me) So feel free to use this method, I know I have been for years ;) I hope this helps. Cheers, Attila
amazing video, going in depth and actually explaining not just the stuff itself but how everything is linked together, thnx! im even lost in the world of midi so getting the dfam was a big step for me, bought it for the sound, not the connectivity :‘D. so currently i got a minibrute2,tr8s,dfam and a push for live. with the hardware i have would it be possible to ableton live sync with the tr8s or the minibrute easier? also i‘d need a tip for linking all the hardware as daisy chaining isnt possible, right? i guess my questions are too mich for a yt. comment, but a little helf would be much appreciated! thanks in advance!
Hey Pablo, thank you for the nice feedback and for your questions :) You are right, the answer is a bit too long for a TH-cam comment, but as a quick version: I would link the MB2 and TR8S to the computer via USB and use USB MIDI to sync them, then use the method from this video to sync the DFAM, then use Ableton as a master clock to run the whole setup. Alternatively, you can assign a clock output on the TR8S which you can use to run the DFAM, and I'm sure it's possible with the MB2 too. The good new is that I actually created an entire MasterClass on this subject (it's mostly about using Ableton to run Eurorack synths, but there's a ton of useful info in there that applies for other hardware synths, not just Eurorack) Here's the link if you're interested: www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/analog-meets-digital?aff=18 I hope this helps! Cheers, Attila
The Sixteenth Bar thanks for your answer! i‘m gonna think abou the masterclass, should be super helpful to get some extra knowledge as it can be overwhelming for a beginner sometimes. and the community always assumes you k ow everything already, at least i‘m feelig the way. i tried a few patches now linking up dfam with mb2 but i can‘t seem to patch it right. tr8 triggers dfam perfectly, but i cant seem to find the right circuit to get the mb playing in sync. i would be super gratefull for one last answer, thank so much!
@@Pablosko611 I don't own the MB2 so I'm not 100% sure, but if you run a patch cable from the Sequencer section of its patch bay to the DFAM's adv/clock in, that should sync the DFAM with the MiniBrute. Make sure that the red RUN/STOP button on the DFAM is enabled though, otherwise you can clock it from any source and it won't run.. If this was my setup though, I would clock both the TR8S and MB2 from Ableton via USB MIDI and use either the method from my video here to also sync the DFAM , or if it worked with your TR8S then clock the DFAM from the TR8S while you're clocking the TR8S from Ableton (so basically daisy-chain it). The only downside of this is that you have to have Ableton running all the time for this to work (well, not all the time, but when you wanna make Music) I hope this helps ;) Cheers, Attila
The Sixteenth Bar Thank you so so much!!!! :) you made my quarantine 10 times better! finally i‘m able to sync everything properly! and i‘m able to record seemlessly. with the second method i‘m even saving midi inputs. still gonna need more audio inputs though, as 2 obviously aren‘t enough! cheers man, all the best! :)
Hey buddy, Thanks for the super helpful tutorial. I have a question that I can't figure out how to fix it, thought maybe you can help me about that. I just bought a Presonus 1824c audio interface and trying to connect my dfam and Korg Minilogue to it. I plugged in both synths to different inputs of 1824c via 1/4 instrument cable but I can't get any signal on Ableton's audio channels even though I chose the right inputs on Ableton's audio preferences. Do you think am I missing something or not? I have signals on audio interface btw Thank you again, hope you will help me about this.
Hey Yigit, Thanks for the comment and the feedback. If the Presonus is showing it's receiving signal from the DFAM and KORG, then there might be a break in the rest of the signal chain somehow. I can't really tell you what the issue exactly is, but if it was my system, I would do some troubleshooting along the signal chain to make sure everything is correct. It might sound silly, but check if you installed the proper audio driver, check if Ableton's prefernces are set up properly (yu've chosen your Presonus as audio interface). Make sure the Ableton track(s) youre trying to record onto or monitor are either record-armed or monitoring is set to "in", make sure your interface's volume knob on the channel is turned up, make sure your Ableton track is not muted, or something else soloed, make sure the track is routed to your master buss, then from there make sure your master buss is routed to the proper outs on the presonus. Basically follow along the audio chain and check is everythign is set correctly, I'm sure you'll find the issue somewhere along the way. I hope this helps, but please do let me know if you were able to figure it out; I'd love to know what the issue was. Cheers, Attila
Yup, same here (well, most of the time) ;) works like a charm. I still made this video though, just to show that this is possible even without extra external gear. Do you use the clock out, or do you dial in a pattern and use one of the gate outs on the Beatstep? Thanks so much for your comment :) Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak You're welcome ;) I use the Clock out, because I like the sequencer on DFAM, though it's only 8 steps. I don't know, haven't even tried the actual sequencer on the BSP yet, but could I still affect the pitch and velocity in the same way? :)
+nym053 yes of course, except if you use the gate outs from the beatstep you can break away from the constant 16th note pattern of the DFAM’s internal sequencer, and you’ll be able to dial in some pretty crazy polyrhythms. (Make sure your RUN button is enabled though on the DFAM, otherwise it won’t run) As a matter of fact, you can even send note/velocity info from the beatstep to modulate more parameters via the DFAM’s cv input bay, now that’ll keep you up all night ;) Lots of fun 😁
Hi, thanks for this video! I (have been trying to) use the beatstep pro (clock out to dfam's Adv/Clock) which seems to be controlling the tempo, until I try to sync it in Ableton. On Ableton, I think I have set everything correctly, also play with the beatstep's sync delay settings which seems to help 'a bit' and it receives the tempo from beatstep pro but the tempo keeps varying (for ex. 125 to 125.01, 125.04, 125.8 etc) on Ableton's bpm counter when I set it to Ext tempo and the 4/4 drum kick and what is coming in from beatstep pro+dfam aren't in sync. Could you explain how to do this best, ie. controlling dfam's tempo with beatstep pro and being able to record in Ableton without things going out of sync. For the moment, only being able to sync is enough but wouldn't mind info also on how to be able to use beatstep pro's sequencer instead ( @nym053 also please feel free to help:) Thanks
Hey Luca, Thanks for the question. In all honesty, I haven't tested this with a stereo cable (TRS), only a mono one (TS), so I don't have that answer. In any case, it won't hurt anything if you try a stereo cable, so I would just give that a try and see if it works. I hope this helps! (Oh and let me know if it worked or not, I'm curious to know) Cheers, Attila
Hey Sebastian, thanks for the question. I don't own the MicroBrute, but I know it doesn't have a dedicated CV Clock input;. It can receive clock via USB MIDI or 5-Pin DIN MIDI, so it's not really necessary (unless you want to interface it with Eurorack modular). However! It does have a gate input, where you can send this trigger signal, then with a zero attack, zero decay, full sustain and varied release envelope, you can dial in some plucky sounds on it. I don't think this will clock its internal sequencer or arp though.. Let me know if this helps ;) Cheers, Attila
I’m getting it trigger on the off beat? So I will voice two kicks on Beats 1 and 5 but when playing to the click it voices on 3 and 7 as a hat would? Any ideas?
Hey Sureno. I think I know what the issue might be: is your DFAM's sequencer on step number 1 when you're starting the Ableton transport? Whichever step your DFAM happens to be on at the moment you hit PLAY in Ableton, is the step that DFAM will start playing from, and if it's not on step 1, then it'll play an entirely different groove. Try putting the sequencer start on step 1 by cycling the "ADVANCE" button of the DFAM until the red LED lights up over step 1, then start Ableton again. Keep in mind, every time you stop Ableton halfway through a bar, that's the step where DFAM will stop too, and it'll restart from that same step, unless you manually move it back to position 1 with the "ADVANCE" button. Let me know if this helps. Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak It's working! I sent the click track to Ext. Out 3 and 4 and routed that to the second Headphone Out of my 18i8. I listen to the DFAM through my first Headphone Out and I'm sending the click from the second Headphone Out, so those signals are separated. I use 1/4" TS to 1/8" TS from the second Headphone out to the ADV/CLOCK input of the DFAM. As I gently increase the volume of the click, the DFAM starts detecting and syncing it's sequencer to the Ableton. Thank you very much for this video, It is very much appreciated! I'm only curious to know if there's a possibility of damaging my DFAM if the volume of the click I send through it is too loud. I just got my DFAM and want to make sure I don't inadvertently damage it. Thank you man.
@@roundchaos That’s amazing!! 😁👍 I’m very happy to hear. As far as damaging your DFAM goes, I’m not a certified MOOG tech, so I can’t give you a definitive answer on that, but on a personal note, I don’t see how it could damage it and I certainly wouldn’t have a problem trying it on my own DFAM. Just perhaps keep it at the level where the DFAM starts detecting the signal and you should be fine. Thanks for the update! Cheers, Attila
Thanks for the great tutorial, super helpful!! I got an audible clicking noise from the DFAM when I tried this approach... it's as if the trigger pulse (from Logic) is somehow making it's way from the 'Adv/Clock' input to the output of the DFAM?? I'm using a 2x Rca (stereo) to 3.5mm (stereo) cable, not sure if this is causing issues but it's got me perplexed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mat
Hey Mat, thank you for your comment and the nice feedback ;) This might be silly, but I have a feeling that the clicking is not coming from the DFAM, but from your audio interface, or even from Logic while it's being sent to the DFAM. The pulse trigger is technically an audible sound, so if it's routed to your audio interface and then to your speakers, then you'll definitely hear the click itself. Could you please check the route of that pulse signal starting from the track in Logic that the signal is on, all the way through your audio interface, and then the DFAM, and make sure that there's no way it can get to your speakers, or anywhere else other than the DFAM's ADV/CLOCK input? The ADV/CLOCK input is in no way connected to the DFAM's output, so it cannot physically happen that the signal would come from your DFAM. The only other thing I can think of is that your envelope settings on the DFAM just happen to be in a way where you have a very sharp attack on either the VCA's or the Filter's envelope, which usually results in a click at the beginning of the envelope's cycle. Let me know if this helped. Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks so much getting back to me. Yep, it's very odd... I can't see how a click going into the ADV/Clock input could make it's way to the DFAM's output? The signal path is Logic sends the click to my Focusrite 2i2 (channels 3&4). The output of ch3&4 go straight into DFAM's ADV/Gate input and DFAM's output goes into input 1 of the Focusrite. There's no speakers involved, so I can't see any way the click signal could accidentally get mixed in??? I did check to see whether the clicking was due to envelope settings but as soon as I disconnected the ADV/Clock cable, set the tempo as close as I could to the bpm of the Logic project, the click went away - so I'm fairly sure this isn't the culprit either??? Maybe there's something with the direct/monitoring setting on the Focusrite that's allowing the click to make it's way into the signal path... but that also seems unlikely. I'll plug my headphones into the DFAM's output - this should help confirm whether the clicking is coming from the DFAM or due to something else... like DAW/Interface issues ;) I did wonder whether sending a stereo signal to DFAM's ADV/Clock input could be to blame but again, that seems unlikely??? Very confusing lol Thanks again for all your help!
Hey Mat, Thanks for the reply and sorry for the slow response. That's some nice troubleshooting you've done there ;) Good stuff. So did you try the headphones into the DFAM, any results with that? Focusrite 2i2 should come with the Focusrite Control software where you can change input/output assignments. After all the troubleshooting you've done, the only 2 things I can think of are: a) The pulse gets mixed in with your master out on the 2i2. If 2i2 works with the Focusrite Control software, then you'll have to make sure that doesn't happen. Just set it up so that the output of channels 3/4 doesn't get routed to the master out (1/2) b) In Logic, the output of the track where you have the pulse signal is directed to the master out of Logic. Make sure that the track doesn't send any audio to the master buss in Logic, so that it only sends it to the 2i2's channel 3/4, straight to the external world. I only use Ableton and this is very simple to achieve in Ableton, but I'm assuming you can do this in Logic also. Try these and let me know if anything changes. Also, let me know about the headphones test, that'll reveal a lot. Don't worry, we'll figure this out one way or another ;) Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks for all your help. I can't remember if the headphone test confirmed whether the click was coming out of the DFAM but changing the trigger pulse to the one in your project file, switching to a mono cable and adjusting the output volume (within Logic) has fixed the issue. I'm not sure which one of these changes fixed the issue (I should have implemented the changes one at a time really)... but I'm happy it's all working!!! Thanks again for the super helpful video and support!! Having the DFAM synced to Logic is a huge bonus!! :)
Hello guys! IM ready to buy DFAM and i was watching all this problems for sync it with ableton and its just made me realy sad. I have no idea from all this stuffs! Is it worh to buy it or i will waste my money>?> Cause i want to sync it with ableton otherwise i wont buy it! If there is a possibility that it will never sync it just let me know it guys . thank you
Hey Ellios, As this video shows, the DFAM can definitely be sinced to Ableton with a few extra steps. Plus, since I made this video well over two years ago, a lot of new things came to the market that will help you sync your DFAM to Ableton (like the Ableton CV TOOLS) or any other DAW for that matter ;) Don't worry, I don't think you would waste your money with a DFAM. Watch the video throughout and let me know if you need any help setting this up. Cheers, Attila
@@AttilaHanak Okey thank you . I trust you ... And I'm in on my way to buy it. I ll let you know the details. One more thing... I can use CV tools on cracked Ableton ? Or it needs to be original .
@@ellios349 Awesome :) I'm actually redesigning the whole website, so new packs will be available sometime early next year. As for the cracked Ableton...in all honesty I don't know. I use a legit paid version. Have fun with DFAM. Cheers, Attila
I did almost everything right, but the snap of the midi note pops at the same time as the DFAM. You cannot disable the audio as it won't trigger the gate. Any tips?
@@AttilaHanak I'm using at Roland Studio Capture, tons of ins and plenty of outs. I really just wanted to trigger the DFAM with my Mother 32, but it doesn't trigger the DFAM when I launch a pattern on the Mother in Ableton using Gate out of M32 into the Adv/Clock in on the DFAM. So, I built the simpler track. I think what it's missing is that audio clip that you used to launch the DFAM. It's all a bit tricky. Don't know why they wouldn't put a midi port on the DFAM. I so want to love it, but trying to tempo match is challenging, even for a dj.
Hey Phillip, sorry for the late reply. You can most definitely sync the DFAM with the m32, they’re designed to work together. It should work no problem and it’s explained in the manuals how to do it. Is the red Run button enabled on your DFAM when you’re trying that setup? As for the audio click; you can still use that as an alternate solution, so you never have to manually sync the DFAM with your DAW (man, that would be tough..) All you need to do is, in Ableton’s track I/O section, to send the click track’s audio out to the external audio output that the DFAM’s adv/clock is getting the trigger signal from. This way you’ll bypass the master bus in Ableton and you won’t hear the click. I hope this helps! Let me know if it worked ;) Cheers, Ttils
Nice videos mate! I just bough DFAM + Mother32 and im having problem to make this work well. My idea is to play live with DFAM + Mother32 + Ableton Push 1. Do you know if is this possible? DFAM and Mother32 has just 1 audio output behind ... how should i do? Each moog needs to be connected separately into the Audio Interface (even being connected by ADV/Clock+ ASSIGN)? This would work well?
Hey Victor, Thanks so much for your comment, feedback and question. DFAM + Mother 32 are a super combo to create some Electronic magic, so you've definitely chosen well. - So at a minimum, you should have an audio interface that has at least 2 individual instrument inputs, and it'll also be a very good thing if this audio interface has a 5-pin MIDI output. The good news is that your Mother 32 has a MIDI input, and you can sync the DFAM via the Mother 32, so you won't need to use the method that I described here in this video. At the back of the DFAM manual (page 31), there are specific instruction on how to sync your DFAM to the Mother 32, so just read and follow that setup. - Yes, you will need 2 audio inputs to connect the DFAM and the Mother 32 individually. (technically you can daisy-chain one to the other, because they both have an external audio input, but I think it's better to have them on separate inputs, unless you wanna run one through the other and use its filter to play with the sound, etc. Plus with 2 separate audio inputs, you can record both simultaneously into your daw) - So basically your MIDI setup will look like this: From your DAW you send MIDI to your audio interface (or to any MIDI hub that can take a USB coming from your computer and send MIDI through via a 5-pin MIDI cable to the Mother 32) -> from the audio interface you send MIDI via a 5-pin MIDI cable to the Mother 32 -> from the Mother 32 you send control voltage from the Mother's patchbay to the DFAM's ADV/CLOCK patchbay input (according to the instructions in the DFAM manual) -> and tha's it, you're all synced. - IF you don't have an audio interface that has a 5-pin MIDI out, or another MIDI interface, then you can use the method I described here. Send the audio pulse to the Mother 32's tempo input (to set this up is described on page 46 of the Mother 32's manual), then sync the DFAM to the Mother 32 the same way as with the previous setup. OR You can send the audio pulse to the DFAM's adv/clock input AND Then send a cloc signal from the DFAM's trigger out to the Mother's tempo input. As for the Push 1, you will definitely need a MIDI connection between your DAW and the Mother 32, and then you'll be able to use Push 1's melodic and sequencing capabilities to control the Mother 32. There isn't much you can do with Push 1 plus the DFAM, other than starting and stopping its playback when it's setup to receive clock info from your DAW (basically any of the above mentioned setups) I hope this helps, but let me know if yo have any more questions, and definitely let me know if you were able to set it up properly and it's working ;) Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thank you very much for explanation! I really appreciate and learned from it. Next week i go buy an audio interface then and when make it works i let you know :) Ah! My idea with Push is to control the channels on Ableton. Each channel i can add effects and i will be able to play with samples. I like to play minimal/techno/microhouse, so i think that can work well. I can use for sequences of sub bass and/or some ambient sounds on background... at end will be: DFAM in channel 1 of Ableton, Mother32 in chanell 2, and AbletonPsuh controling the other channels and controling basic the chanells of dfam and mother32... lets see if will bring good results this idea :)
Oh yes, that'll definitely work with your Push then, that's good stuff. You'll even be able to use Push to send sequences to the Mother 32 if you want. One suggestion, get a good audio interface with a few more in/outputs that you need right now, and definitely one with the MIDI, because you'll need the extra inputs later on (trust me hahaha) so it's better to have more and not use it, than need more but not have it. Let me know how it works ;) Cheers, Ttils
Ahh there are so many amazing ones out there. I’ve been using a Focusrite 18i20, and it’s really good. I think they have versions with less in/outputs too. It also depends on your budget ;)
Hey Alfonso, I believe the 2i4 has 4 audio outs, so as long as you have at least one available audio out, not used by speakers or anything else, you can make this work (it might even work with a headphone out, as long as you can route the click track to it, although I haven’t tested that) I hope this helps. Happy Holidays, Attila
Instead of playing around with volume on the patch bay of the DFAM, use one of these www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Digital-Multimeter-Voltage-Tester/dp/B01ISAMUA6?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1 on the 1/4 plug output to make sure you are on the spot before meddling with your synth´s inputs.
Thanks for your comment Esteban. The approximate nominal voltage level of professional audio in a peak-to-peak reading is a spread of 3.475 volts. One half of that (a peak) would be around 1.738 volts (max voltage you’re able to send to your synth’s input in this setup). Your synths inputs are calibrated to receive 0 to 10 volts, or -10 to +10 volts in a peak-to-peak configuration, so you’re well within safe levels and there’s absolutely no need to waste your money on voltage testers. In addition to that, you will have to meddle around with the audio level of your mixer to calibrate it to work in conjunction with the audio level that’s coming out of your DAW, that’s the only way to set it properly, and a voltage meter will serve you no purpose with that step. There are a lot of other - much simpler and quicker - ways to sync your hardware to DAWs, but the purpose of this setup/video here is to save you money by not having to buy extra stuff. While this may not be the most “professional” way of doing it, it’s definitely the cheapest. Cheers, Ttils
Hi Ttils, thanks so much for the video, it's certainly very interesting! I am having trouble though with getting this to work properly for me. I have CV signal outputting from my interface, I can use it to 'trigger' my DFAM, but for some reason when I plug the 1/8th-inch into my DFAM's 'adv/clock' patch nothing happens. I'm really hoping I haven't broken anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Hey Patrick, thanks for your question. No worries, let’s figure this out. A few things that may cause this: - Your RUN/STOP button has to be turned on, otherwise the DFAM won’t react to an external clock source - The volume of the trigger signal is not loud enough - Make sure that your audio interface’s audio buffer setting is not too high (if it’s too high, the trigger signal will take too long to get to the DFAM and your tempo will be off) Try any of these and let me know if it worked Cheers and Merry Christmas, Ttils
@peakofvalleys good sir, I've clocked my DFAM to my SH01A via the Gate out on the SH01A into the ADV/Clock on the DFAM. However, whenever I press play in Ableton it feels like it's playing at halftime on the DFAM. Any ideas? For ex: recorded a jam from DFAM alone, tapped out the BPM to 140, when I went to set Ableton to 140 to create a new jam, clocked at that speed it felt much slower. Even if I move Ableton up to 150 it still doesn't feel the same. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Hey Jean-Philippe, I think your buffer settings in Ableton might be too high. That induces latency and throws everything off tempo. What kind of audio interface are you using, and what settings do you have for the internal audio buffer in Ableton? Cheers, Attila
Hi, thanks for your video! Do you think if it gonna work when DAFM to conect with E-RM MIDIclock? Using MIDIclock 5-pin output from one side and 3,5 jack connecting with DAFM's ADV/CLOCK? Thank you!
Hi :) Thank you for asking. I’m not familiar with the E-RM MIDI clock to be 100% sure if that’s gonna work, but as long as you can deliver a 0-5 volt pulse signal to the ADV/CLOCK input, then there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work. I say test it out and see what happens, I don’t suppose you can damage anything this way, but just to be safe, you might wanna run the signal through a volt meter, or an oscilloscope to see what comes out at its end that goes into the DFAM. I hope this helps. Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thank you for the respond, mate. I don't realy own E-RM MIDI clock, I only have an option to get it for a very affordable price. As far as I know DFAM can accept CV cignals. Can it accept DIN sync24 (which has 0/+5 volt as well)?
No worries ;) It will definitely accept the 0-5 volt trigger signals. My only concern is the sync24 which means that the clock signal will send 24 quick pulses per every quarter note (6 pulses for every 16th note), but your DFAM's ADV/CLOCK input is built to receive 1 pulse for every 16th note, so your DFAM might run 6 times faster than the project's BPM. Check out this wiki post to see what I mean: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_sync Nevertheless, it's a good idea to have a reliable MIDI clock especially if you have other hardware gear with MIDI connections on them. So if that price is very affordable, it's probably a good idea ;)
+mb goosie Hi thank you for your question. Yes, it’ll definitely work with the Mother 32, or any other hardware synth that has a CV input to trigger its internal sequencer. Cheers, Ttils
Yeah sorry about that, that's my bad..! Though I'm currently working on a solution where you can sync external synths with a DAW, completely with no wire(s), cable(s), link(s), connection(s) and/or any other sort of communication protocol whatsoever between the two ends. Only for producers who expect their gear to "just work together" on their own, you know, sort of like in a "plug and play" configuration, except without the plugging, only the playing, where shit just communicates you know.. Stay tuned, video coming shortly! ;) Cheers, Attila
Hey Carlos. I don't have a Korg Volca, so I can't tell you if it'll work. My apologies. Please do let me know if you find out the answer, I'd love to know. Cheers, Attila
I've tried this and it nearly works for me. The dfam starts and stops and plays tempo synced to ableton but it starts about a 16th or so late and I can't seem to get rid of this latency - any suggestions? Cheers.
Hey Paul, Thank you for the question. I think your audio buffer settings might be too high, that usually results in longer latency. Try to lower your buffer settings to the minimum while still getting clean audio in Ableton. Here's how you can do that: help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209770985-Changing-the-buffer-size-sample-rate-of-an-ASIO-Audio-Interface Let me know if it made a difference. Thank you Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak thanks for your reply Ttils. I'm running live 10 on a 32gb i7 laptop. My buffer size is 64 samples, I'm using focusrite 2i4. Even with this and setting track delay on the dfam trigger channel to -300ms! I'm still not getting the dfam right on the grid. Starting the dfam from step 8, with steps 1 & 5 set to play. Looking the recording in arrangement view at 1/64 resolution, there's still a noticeable delay from the grid.
Hey Paul, hmmmmmm..that's interesting, that laptop is more than capable of handling your setup (and then some lol), so the buffer is definitely not the issue. Let's troubleshoot (some of these will be stupid and obvious, but I'll ask anyway): - Does the pulse sample in the simpler start right on time with no delay? Make sure the sample start point is exactly at the start of the pulse in the Simpler. - Are you using the ASIO driver in Ableton? - Does the MIDI note that's triggering the arpeggiator on the MIDI track start at the exact beginning of the MIDI clip? (if it starts even just slightly earlier or later, the very first 16th note hit won't be played by the arpeggiator, so make sure it goes from the beginning of the loop all the way to the end) - Does the MIDI clip itself start at the exact beginning of the intended start of your recording? - Make sure your Filter and Pitch envelopes of the Simpler are turned off and that the Amp envelope of the simpler has no attack phase at all (zero ms attack), sustain is at max, no decay and no release - Make sure that the Simpler's track has absolutely nothing else on it, so no effects, it's not routed through another track, a group buss, and/or the master buss in Ableton. Make sure it's not delayed, and that it is directed straight to your audio out on the 2i4 and from there to the DFAM - Is the volume of the pulse loud enough? Too loud perhaps? - Are you using a mono cable to send the audio pulse from the 2i4 to the DFAM? - Did you try to run the sequence with all the steps set to play, not just 1 and 5? What happens then? - Make sure the Ableton Arpeggiator is sending a straight 16th note pattern to trigger the Simpler, so no swing, no offset, no transposition, no retriggering - Is there anything in the way of the audio coming back from the DFAM into ableton, effects, track delay, etc? - What cable are you using from the DFAM's out to the 2i4's in? That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Since we're dealing with audio coming from the external world, there will always be a minimal delay in the recorded waveform, but it should definitely not be a 16th note..a few miliseconds at most. Go through these questions and see if any of these fix the issue. (I think it might be that your MIDI clip or note doesn't start at the right place) Let me know how it goes ;) Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks, Ttils - I'm actually using the project file you were kind enough to share, so I wouldn't have thought there were any issues with the arp or the pulse etc. I am using a mono cable rca to 1/8th from output 4 into the adv/clock in on the dfam and mono cable from dfam into 2i4. No effects, pedals etc on any channel or between dfam and interface. I am using asio.
Ok no worries, we keep troubleshooting. - Would you be able to recreate the project the same way it's explained in the video, but in a new and fresh Ableton Live set? To rule out that something is not all perfect with the original project file (it was made in Live 9, perhaps something went sideways between the two versions..) - Can you experiment with the audio cable from 2i4 to DFAM? Use the left or the right out only, or even try both with a stereo RCA to 1/8th cable, try all 4 unbalanced outs and their combinations, see if that makes a difference - Can you try the same setup but instead of routing the audio to the unbalanced outs, route it to the balanced 1/2 and use a mono 1/4 to 1/8 (this will eliminate one of your speakers for a moment, but I just wanna see if this fixes the issue; there may be a slight delay in processing between the balanced an unbalanced outs..) - Play with the position of the Direct Monitor knob on the front of your 2i4, see if that makes a difference Just trying to eliminate possibilities :) Let me know how it goes. Cheers, Ttils
Hey Marc, Sorry for the super slow response. I don't own a Crave, but I'm fairly confident that it can be done. If the Crave has a Gate out, a Clock out, or a Sync out that sends a 16th note clock signal, you can use that to patch into the DFAM's ADV/CLOCK input and run the DFAM in sync with the Crave. It must be a 16th note clock though, because every step on the DFAM is set to represent a 16th note. I hope this helps, let me know if you were able to make it work ;) Cheers, Attila
This is a bit off topic, but can anyone help me with playing an external synth with the Push 2 pads?? No mate what synth i connect to Push, it won't actually let me play the pads on the 64 pad layout... The most i can do is enter steps on the melodic and 32 step sequencers, but not actually play pads on the 64 pad layout... :-/
Hey Ric, Thanks for your question. It’s definitely possible to do, but it would be rather tough to explain how, only in a few lines here. I do have an entire MasterClass on how to run hardware synths from Ableton, where I use Push 2 and where this technique is explained. Here’s the link to that course: www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/analog-meets-digital?aff=18 And I also have a full MasterClass on the Push 2 which will teach you everything there’s to know about it. Here’s the link: www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/push-2-masterclass?aff=18 Luckily both of these courses are on a massive Black Friday discount, so it’s good timing too. I hope this helps. Cheers, Attila
@@AttilaHanak Thanks Attila!!!!!! I have both those courses already, but haven't found the time to watch the analog Meets Digital one yet... What chapter/module should i look for this answer? Sounds like i might have to refresh myself with the Push one as well...
Oh awesome! Thanks for enrolling in those 😊👍🏻 I believe (I’m not looking at the curriculum, so I’m hoping I remember correctly) I discussed this in the lectures titled “Making a Groove” and the “A Moog Orchestra” If those don’t give you the answer you’re looking for, feel free to email me at info@thesixteenthbar.com and I’ll help you figure it out 😉 Cheers, Attila
I'm afraid I cannot get this working with my DFAM. Have downloaded the file, plugged everything in, and no matter what volume I set Simpler to, the DFAM won't start running when I press Play in Ableton. I am using a UAD Apollo 8 interface, with Line Out 8 connected to the Adv/Clock of the DFAM. My Simpler track in Ableton is set to output to External Out 8 and I can see the pulses from it on the meters in Ableton. Nothing happens with the DFAM though. Does it make any difference if the patch cable connecting to the Adv/Clock is mono or stereo? The only cables I have which are long enough are stereo, although on both ends am using a stereo to mono adaptor. Am beginning to wonder if there is a fault with the Adv/Clock input on my DFAM. Very frustrating. EDIT: Nothing wrong with the Adv/Clock socket - I have now patched it to the Sync Out of my little Korg Volca Keys, which is synced to Ableton via the MIDI Out of my Komplete Control keyboard. It seems to be working by this method - when I change the tempo in Ableton the DFAM changes in sync. I can only assume the reason your method did not work for me is something to do with the routing of the outputs in the UAD Console setup, which is a little confusing to say the least for someone with not much experience. I simply don't think the audio coming out of Ableton was reaching the DFAM.
Hey there, thanks for the comment. The stereo cable might be the source of the issue, but before you get a mono one, check to make sure that the red "RUN/STOP" button is enabled to run the DFAM. If that is off, the DFAM won't respond to an external clock signal. Let me know how it goes. Cheers, Ttils
The Sixteenth Bar I will persevere because although I got it working via the Volca Keys, your method would be a bit cleaner and simpler if I can get it to work. First off need to check that the clock pulse audio is actually outputting from my audio interface, I have a little Zoom recorder will plug that into it first and confirm its outputting.
@@AttilaHanak OK I now have it working via your method, and am very happy! Here's how I did it. Used the download of your "DFAM MIDI Trigger" channel for Ableton (Actually, is this not mis-named? Should be "DFAM Pulse Trigger"?) Used a stereo mini-jack cable, but with stereo to mono adaptors on each end. Although when I first tried a test recording the pulses it came through loud and clear, it would NOT trigger the DFAM with a stereo mini jack at the DFAM end. Used output from Line Out 1 of my UA Apollo 8 (I was trying Line Out 8 last night). For any other UAD users; the above is set as External Out 3 in Ableton (1 & 2 are the monitor outputs) Set the volume in Simpler to -10dB. The above works great, and cost nothing. You, sir, are a star. :-)
Hahaha very nice :D You're gonna make me blush over here lol. That's awesome, I'm so happy it's working now. Enjoy! Also, keep in touch and let me know if you ever have any questions. Happy producing ;) Cheers, Ttils
hey how is it going? I have the audio complete 6 which is dc coupled, and I tried with cv tools and it worked but the dfam seq steps were not moving so I wanted to try this way and it happened exactly what it happened with the cv tools. Anyone has the same problem or any possible solution to this? thank you!
Hi Jose. I honestly don’t know, but I don’t suppose so. The DFAM will tolerate up to 10 volts in that socket, and that’s pretty high. I cranked up mine fairly loud, but when it gets that loud you’ll just get multiple triggers anyways, so you’ll know when it’s getting too loud. As long as it’s reading the clock audio burst and you don’t get multiple triggers, I think you’ll be fine. You might wanna read up on how high the actual voltage can get on you audio interface’s outputs just to be sure. I hope this helps. Thank you for the question ;) Cheers, Ttils
Hello, I just bought Arturia Beatstep Pro and Moog DFAM and I can't get it sync with Ableton. I really follow all the process but when I connect the DFAM to Beatstep Pro I got a noisy sound like an alarm, which seems to be not good :) Somebody out there can help me ? :) Thank you
Hey Friend :) Thank you for your question. The BeatStep Pro, Ableton and the DFAM are a crazy good combo, so you'll have a lot of fun with them! Keep reading ---> Now let's figure out your issue: First of, this combo has plenty of sync options, so you no longer have to use the method that I show in this video. The method in the video is a good way to sync the DFAM if you don't have another piece of hardware that'll do the job, but since you have the BeatStep Pro, I suggest you use that. Here's what you can do: - Make sure your BeatStep Pro is connected with Ableton via USB - Make sure that in Ableton's MIDI preferences the BeatStep Pro is set up properly (for syncing BeatStep to Ableton you must have the "sync" output enabled) - On your BeatStep Pro you need to have the "sync" (top left area) set to USB Now if you hit play in Ableton, your BeatStep will also start playing at the tempo that your Ableton session is set to (so basically you're using Ableton now as your master clock) and with that, now you can use the beatstep to run any external gear in sync with your project. Keep reading ---> Now you have to connect DFAM to your Beatstep Pro, there are a few ways to do that: - Use one of the patch cables and connect the "clock out" on the back of BeatStep to the DFAM's "ADV/CLOCK" input - IMPORTANT: the red "RUN/STOP" button on the DFAM must be enabled in order for your DFAM to run and follow the tempo of Ableton - Now if you start Ableton, the DFAM will also start playing alongside the BeatStep pro, all in sync, according to the tempo you set in your Ableton project A more complex setup: - Instead of using the "clock out" on the back of your BeatStep Pro, use the Drum Sequencer on it - create a pattern let's say in the first track by first hitting the bottom left pad (labelled "C Forward"), then dial in a pattern of your choice on the small pads 1-16 - Run a patch cable from GATE 1 on the back of the BeatStep pro to DFAM's "ADV/CLOCK' input This setup will give you the flexibility to create interesting patterns, and not just the usual 16th note pattern Also, make sure you read the entire DFAM manual, because that thing is a beast and it has its own mind, so it's good to understand what's under the hood. I hope this helps. Pls let me know if it worked ;) Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Hey Ttils, Thank you for the fast and full information reply. I will try your suggestion tomorrow in the studio and let you know how is going. One more question, since I'm waiting also a Korg Minilogue, Tr8s and Moog Phatty, what would be the best setup in order to have everything smoothly sync and recordable in Ableton and able to do crazy patterns? Sorry for all of this but until now I just worked on VST and not really with modular/semi-modular and analog machines, so I'm trying to understand how to switch my digital style to the analog world :) cheers Luca
@@diego030178 Hey Luca, WOW that's a nice setup you have on its way to you :D good stuff No worries about the questions, I'm here to help ;) - Definitely connect the TR8s with the USB, you'll need that to load samples in it from your computer - The DFAM doesn't have MIDI or USB, so just run it from the BeatStep as discussed before You need to ask yourself a few question before setting everything up, because with all the gear you have coming towards you, you'll have a lot of different options to connect/sync them: - Do you want to use Ableton mostly to control your hardware? If yes, then connect everything with USB (if available) that way you'll have full control from Ableton - Do you want to use BeatStep to control everything else, and just have Ableton as a master clock? If yes, then do what we discussed before, and connect the rest of the gear with MIDI cables to your Beatstep (you'll need a MIDI signal splitter) - Do you want to have a hybrid setup where you control some devices from Ableton and use some for live jamming? Let's say: TR8s is running a drum pattern, DFAM running a bassline, you have some stabs sequenced from Ableton on the Phatty and you want to live improvise your lead playing the Minilogue. In any case, you'll have to make sure you don't have two or more MIDI signals running into one device, because that'll mess things up; let's say you have your Minilogue connected to Ableton via USB and you're sending a note sequence to it from Ableton, but it's also connected to the Beatstep via MIDI splitter and the Beatstep is also sending it some MIDI info. That won't be good. I'm not sure how advanced your knowledge is with MIDI setups, so assuming that you're just starting out now, I'd suggest to connect everything with USB (if availabe) and sequence them from Ableton. This will negate the use of most features on BeatStep, although you'll still use that to run DFAM. I definitely suggest that you do some reading, and watch some videos on how MIDI works, there's never too much you can learn about Music ;) Good subjects that'll help you: What's a MIDI clock? MIDI via USB vs. 5-PIN MIDI Cable, What's the difference between a gate and a trigger? Learn everything you can about Envelopes, Understand how Ableton's MIDI preferences tab works, What's control voltage? I hope this helps. Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Hi Ttils, I just tried your suggestion of "clock out" from BSP to ADV/CLOCK of DFAM and it sync yes but the moog goes to top speed, what is making the steps so fast ?
@@diego030178 I was afraid that might happen..No worries, this is happening because the "clock in/out" settings of your BeatStep is set to 24 or 48 ppqn. You need to install and use the Arturia MIDI Control Center software on your computer, then go to the sync settings and change the "clock in/out" to the "1step" option. I believe that will fix the issue (well, one of those settings will work, I think it's the 1 step one) Page 81 of the Manual: downloads.arturia.com/products/beatstep-pro/manual/BeatStepPro_Manual_1_0_0_EN.pdf If this doesn't fix it, then you'll have to use one of the 8 channels of your drum sequencer, create a straight 16 step sequence and patch the gate out of that channel into the ADV/CLOCK input of the DFAM. Let me know if this worked ;) Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak The arpeggiator is set to 1/16 note division. Which makes the bursts of sound repeat very quickly. Souldnt the tic sound you make match the snapping sound of the metronome so it matches your bpm? so a 1/4 note division? To get correct sync with your daw? No? I don't own dfam, but thinking to get one and sync with my digitakt and a cv.ocd.
@@samanderiss Oh yes, now I understand. Thanks for clarifying that. It's an awesome and valid question, and the answer is: that depends on what you wanna do with the DFAM. Technically you need to send a 16th note trigger to the DFAM, because the steps on the DFAM's sequencer represent 16th notes. If you were to send the DFAM a 1/4 note trigger, then the DFAM's sequence would be 1/4 the speed of your Ableton project. This is if you want to use the DFAM as intended by default. BUT! ..if you wanna get creative with it, technically you can set the arpeggiator to any speed you wish. It's not a carved in stone rule that the DFAM must follow a 16th note pattern. If you want to experiment with slower/faster tempos, or even something syncopated, even trips or dotted values, you can come up with some interesting rhythms. To take it even further, you can get rid of the arpeggiator altogether and dial in a MIDI pattern in a MIDI clip on the Ableton track where your simpler is, and send any variations of rhythm patterns to the DFAM that way. You can create some super crazy poly-rhythms that way ;) I hope this helps. Cheers, Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Ah now i understand your thought process :) Yeah that sounds really cool :) Was just thinking that it should be somewhat representive of your DAW clock so everything is synced with other vsts or tracks in that Daw. :) But true indeed it is possible to experiment with this. Thanks for your answer :)
No worries, it’s my pleasure. Let me know if I can help with anything else. I hope you get your DFAM soon, you’ll have tons of fun with it ;) Cheers, Ttils
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genius work around, before this I basically gave up hope of syncing the two and recorded unsynced audio and later synced in in ableton's audio editor. thanks for giving that free download to save us time!
Very nice :) I'm just uploading the download package, so it should be up on the website soon. I have been using Beatstep Pro to sync the DFAM with Ableton, but I really wanted to give you guys a solution that doesn't require buying more extra gear. I'm glad it worked, and thank you for the comment.
The free download package is up on my website now ;) Enjoy!
Not only is this a free way of doing it, it's actually a much better way of doing it than midi to analogue clock conversion - sample accurate timing, no midi jitter etc. I've got a Beatstep Pro but I use an audio pulse to sync the DFAM and the rest of the modular.
+Steve Baker Hi Steve, thanks for the note! Yes I agree, as a matter of fact, my Ableton on the main studio PC behaves totally erratic when I try to send clock info via MIDI. It’s so bad that I actually have to use another laptop and a second instance of Ableton, then link the two and send MIDI from the laptop, if I wanna have proper sync. I think I might actually convert to this method instead of MIDI sync. I appreciate the comment, keep in touch ;)
@@AttilaHanak
Out of curiosity, are you on Windows 10? My old Macbook had, at most, 1ms of midi jitter over USB, but when I got a new PC with Windows 10, I had up to 18ms of midi jitter over USB. It was terrible.
I ended up getting an Expert Sleepers USAMO which works fine for clock and monophonic tracks, but it would be so much more convenient to just have solid midi from my computer. Just curious if you had a similar issue.
Yeah, I know what you mean.. my studio computer is a windows 8.1 and sometimes I have crazy fluctuations with that. I’m guessing it’s still the same issue with windows 10. I don’t even know if there’s a viable workaround to solve it.. it gets very annoying sometimes. I find that lowering the audio interface buffer setting will make it better, but not really perfect.
They’re not for everyone, but the Korg SQ-1 sends clock out and acts as a midi-to-cv converter- and moreover does those two things simultaneously. And if you need to know the actual bpm figure you’re at, the Volca Beats provides that service. The Beats is a great counterpart to the DFAM too...
If you have a Keystep Pro, you can do a hold on an arpeggiated note (or sequence) and run the gate out from that Keystep voice to adv/clock in on DFAM.
Priceless - thank you
Thanks for the video Attila! Would love to see an updated 2022 edition now that it's so much easier to clock modular gear (such as with CV Tools, the Expert Sleepers ES-9, or the MAFD just to name a few). Although for those on a tight budget this video still works!
Hey Chris,
Thanks for the note. Yeah I meant this one as a low budget solution, but you’re right; there are tons of other ways to do it now. I actually made an entire MasterClass about this subject. I think I have the link up ⬆️ here somewhere :) check it out.
Cheers,
Attila (oh and sorry for the super slow reply)
Brilliant idea. Less hassle than getting a Beatstep Pro.. Thank you. I’ll be doing this with Logic X using EXS24
Hey Keith, thank you for your comment! I'm super happy this video is helping. And you can theoretically use this technique to replace a sequencer as well, just instead of an arpeggiator, you'd use a MIDI clip with programmed MIDI notes to trigger the Simpler and that way you can send out any sort of rhythm pattern, and not just whatever the arpeggiator limits you to send. Keep in touch pls ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
Totally.. it makes more sense this way. I haven’t bought the DFAM yet but I used to use an AS Leipzig S for these sorts of things and it has midi and a sequencer restart, but the DFAM has an edge to it
Oh the DFAM is crazy man :D I love how you think you can control it, and then out of the blue it just blurps out a sound that you never expected. One of my fav synths, and not just for drums. I highly recommend it. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see in a video about the DFAM?
It’s a bit like when we used to ‘stripe’ analog tape with a midi sync box. The output volume was really fussy making the tape stripe work too. Used to work though and jump to the right place in the song as well.
Brilliant mate!
I sync my DFAM with MIDI . I trigger the DFAM from my Mother32. Place a patch cord from the ASSIGN output jack on the Mother-32 into the ADV / CLOCK input on the DFAM.
Hello. Thanks for the video! Does start/stop sync also work? Best Roland
Hey Roland,
Thanks for watching! Starting and stopping Ableton will also start/stop the DFAM’s sequencer, but it won’t reset it to the first step, because the DFAM doesn’t have a reset function. So to make sure your DFAM starts from the beginning of the sequence, you’ll have to jump through the sequence to the last step, then when you start Ableton, the DFAM will also start from step one.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
Thanks
Thank you this is excellent, after 2 weeks I finally have my DFAM synced via Cubase using Maschine headphone output for the click it works really well.. I have a grandmother and i was hoping that i could sync Cubase via Grandmother to the DFAM but that only works with the GM arpeggio or sequencer enabled.. which was disappointing.. this simple tip has saved me spending any more money on other equipment. Virtual Beer to you. :D :D
Hahaha very nice and thank you for the virtual beer 😁👍🏻I’m glad the video was helpful! Keep in touch ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
U should make a dfam only course would be amazing
Thank you, I have actually been thinking about this. I agree 100% that it would be a great course. Let's see if I can make that happen. No promises though just yet, but stay tuned ;)
Cheers,
Attila
I need that 😮
I've just got myself a DFAM! It's my first bit of Hardware from Moog. I have for a while been thinking about getting into modular, but literally have no idea where to start. I literally know nothing so what would be a good few modules you'd suggest to start off with, using the DFAm as the foundation?
Cheers ;)
Hey there, thanks for the question! The DFAM is a pretty good starting point for a modular setup, because it has a lot of patching possibilities. If I had a DFAM only and wanted to add a few modules, I would probably start with some nice effect modules, like the TipTop Audio Z5000 or another multi-effect module. You could also start off by creating a setup with an extra voice; so basically an oscillator, an envelope generator, a filter and a VCA and use the DFAM to modulate patches on this secondary voice and even use it to layer the DFAM's sound with another voice. That + an effect module will already give you endless possibilities with patching.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
You just saved me a lot of time and money, mate. Thank you so much for this.
Hey Michel! I'm super happy to hear that :D Thank you very much for the comment. Let me know if you have any questions ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
just buy a behringer EDGE
@@geet77777 ..again; wrong channel.
A related topic. Does this technique make clock multipler/divider modules just a convenience?
Hey Daniel,
No I wouldn't say that. As a matter of fact, you can just run this clock signal into a multiplier/divider and go nuts with it. Lots of possibilities there ;)
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak hmm, what I meant is that using your technique you could run two different clocks/pulse signals in and you could do without a divider.
@@danielgrace7887 Indeed that is also very true. The only issue I can see with that is that you'll be limited by how many audio outs you have in your setup, because each tempo track would tie up one output. But given that you have some to spare, you can definitely create some nice patches with that method.
Cheers,
Attila
Really nice. Thanks
You’re welcome. Thanks for the feedback :)
Cheers,
Attila
Pretty cool. Eurorack...love it. I can't help but wonder why someone would vote this down.
Hi Wolson,
Thanks very much for the kind comment and feedback :)
It’s all good; there are some sad ppl who have nothing better to do than..well..be sad and spread negativity. I do have to admit though, that there’s a lot of “fluff” in the video, some not necessarily useful stuff, that may be the reason for a down vote, which I understand. In any case, the video is doing quite well, despite being a few years old.
Thanks again, I’m glad you enjoyed 👍🏻
Cheers,
Attila
Hi! Could you teach us something about new ableton’s CV instruments???
Hi! I'm very glad you asked :) I am actually working on a few videos about the Ableton CV Tools and how to use them. They will be pretty thorough, so it'll take a bit of time. I'm planning to release them sometime in the next 2 months, so let's definitely keep in touch.
Is there anything in particular you'd like to see covered in these videos? Feel free to suggest anything, and I will put it in the videos ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
Excellent!!! I will wait for it!!
Thank you, very helpful!
You're very welcome Andrew. I'm glad you enjoyed!
Cheers,
Attila
Interesting video. I dont really synch my stuff with the DAW (I use Ableton by the way) and just use the audio out on the DFAM straight into the DAW via a Scarlett 2i2. Then stereo the DFAM or add another slight variation beat. The reason is I use the Ableton for recording only and dont use any of the synths on it preferring to use to analog hardware gear. So while interesting this does seem to be a bit long winded to get a DFAM playing in Ableton. Why not just manually synch..you get far more interesting quasi polyrhythmic accidental discoveries! It was a bit like building a knife with matchsticks (a round the houses way of doing something which you could do in a simpler although less perfect way - but hey were making music here not redesigning the DAW input system))..very fascinating but I dont many will bother with this even though its interesting and infromative. I think this video is more useful if you are synching a lot of the plug in instruments/synths arpergiattors etc in Ableton (which as I said earlier I dont use because I dont think they are much cop)
how do you manually sync it?
Fantastic Videos!!! Proffesional and Helpfull !!! Just important info and theory!! Thank you so much. Suscribed!!!
Hi Manuel!
Thank you very much, I really appreciate your feedback. I'm glad you're enjoying the content! Let me know if you ever have any questions.
Cheers,
Ttils
Has anybody had success with arturia's minifuse 4 interface? My setup is a bit different, I send CV to outputs 3 and 4 on minifuse using max. But that interface has maximum output voltage about 2.26 volts! It is not enough to trigger a DFAM. ADV/CLK works, but not the trigger. Had to build an amp to make it work. Just a simple non-inverting amp using TL072.
I plug it to ADV/CLOCK and it stays in the same step it doesn't advance, any idea what could it be? I try different volumes and it stays there
Is the red PLAY button enabled? If it's not, the DFAM won't advance even when receiving a clock signal. Let me know if this helped.
Cheers,
Attila
Thanks for a very informative and helpful video. But wouldn't it be simpler and more flexible just to cut and paste the pulse sample on your audio/control track to the position of where you want each beat? Then you can easily chop out or add an occasional beat. I guess it depends on your DAW skills, you'd add a rachet or something like that to the arpegiator?
Hey Daniel,
Thanks for the comment and yes, 100%, that's another good way to do this. Nowadays though there are a lot of alternate ways of achieving the same. When I made this video, I just wanted to keep it simple, so that it's easy for everyone to understand. The idea was just to show that it is in fact possible to sync DFAM without expensive extra hardware, but I din't wanna get into all the fancy stuff. There's so much you can do both on a MIDI and an audio track, I could make a whole series about it. Maybe one day.. :)
Cheers,
Attila
Very cool!
Thanks Korey!
Thanks a lot! Very clear and usefull!!
Thank you :) I appreciate the feedback.
Cheers,
Ttils
I've got an Arturia Minibrute 2S and have no problem syncing from it's sync out to the DFAM run/clock in, but I'm running into problems with other cv signals. The Minibrute sequencer has two mod tracks that allow you to sequence various kinds of cv signals and output them to any cv input. One type of signal available is Gate, but when I send this to the trigger in on the DFAM it does nothing. However, the Minibrute also has a separate Gate out that's directly locked to the main pitch track (can't independently sequence steps) and it will trigger the DFAM through the trigger in perfectly.
Also, I've tried sending 0-5v signals to the Velocity in to trigger notes on the DFAM (instead of the velocity knobs on the DFAM sequencer), which works, but is always one step late. According to the Arturia manual, setting a voltage step to active should instantaneously send that voltage out when the step plays (and that voltage remains constant until another active steps changes it), but it always triggers the DFAM on the next step (which also means you have to immediately set a 0v step if you don't want to keep triggering the DFAM). I'm trying to use the Minibrute sequencer to create patterns longer than the 8 steps available in the DFAM sequencer. So it's sort of working, but using the cv mod sequencer track on the Minibrute I'm having to offset the patterns I'm programming by -1 step, which is...annoying, lol.
Finally, connecting a cv out to the DFAM velocity in does break the input from the DFAM velocity knobs, so any suggestions on how to route the DFAM velocity out back in with the external voltage signal from the Minibrute so that they will both trigger notes on the DFAM? I'm kind of new to using analog gear and cv voltages, so any tips would be much appreciated, thanks.
Hey Friend, sorry for the very slow response!
Wow it sounds like you're doing some interesting stuff with the DFAM and 2S. I'll do my best to answer, but I don't own a 2S as of now, so I wouldn't know much about its operation.
One thing you wrote that I'm a bit confused about..you said:
"I've tried sending 0-5v signals to the Velocity in to trigger notes on the DFAM (instead of the velocity knobs on the DFAM sequencer), which works, but is always one step late."
So the velocity in basically affects the 3 envelopes of the DFAM, but as far as I know, you can't actually trigger notes via the velocity in, so could you please explain what exactly you mean by "to trigger notes"?
Here's how I would patch a longer than 8 step sequence form an external sequencer:
- send triggers from the sequencer to the "trigger in" of the DFAM
- send CV from the sequencer to different parameters on the DFAM that I want to modulate (such as VCO1/2 CV, VCA/VCF DECAY, VCF MOD, 1-2 FM AMOUNT, etc)
This way you can have a sequence as long as your sequencer can do, plus this way you can send different sequences to different parameters. It might require some patching, but it'll be worth it.
And for your last question about routing back the velocity: So again, the velocity CV signal is not a trigger signal; it's a continuous voltage that lasts as long as the current step/note and it's used for modulating parameters (filter cutoff position, note value, white noise level, etc) A trigger signal is a very short burst of 0-5 / 0-10v voltage and it's used to trigger time-based events, such as an envelope cycle, or the movement of a sequencer. Nevertheless, you can still route back the DFAM's velocity CV by using the velocity CV out on the bottom, but you will have to route it to every parameter that you want to modulate separately, so you may need to use a splitter, a mult, or stackable patch cables.
Let me know if any of this helps :)
Cheers,
Attila
Just to be clear, nowadays you could use the Ableton CV tool Clock out instead of the Arp/Simpler group right? I don't have a DC coupled interface either (Focusrite 18i8).
Gonna answer my own question: yes it's exactly the same, minus the hassle of setting Simpler up. Also I used a TRS cable and it works just fine. Finally, for Focusrite interface owners: don't forget to plug in an unused output (3 or 4) and set up the volume level properly in the Focusrite Control software (it's low by default) otherwise the signal won't come thru to the DFAM.
@@Magic_carpet666
Hey Jerome,
Sorry about the super slow response. So to sum it up: yup you're right about all the points you made.
- You can definitely do this with the CV Tools, as a matter of fact, it'll be a lot quicker and more precise, so nowadays you'd be silly not to.. Although when I made this video in 2018, CV Tools weren't even on the horizon as much as an idea, so the method was definitely well warranted to talk about back then. Also, CV Tools is Ableton only, whereas this will work in any DAW.
- This is a sharp and quick burst of sound used as a trigger, so a DC Coupled interface is not necessary.
- Thanks for testing a TRS cable, it's great to know it works.
- Using an unused output is a bit of a given, but thanks for mentioning that.
- I'm fairly certain I also mention having to dial in the audio level to make it work properly (maybe you didn't watch that part) nontheless thanks for mentioning that as well.
Thanks for the comments :)
Cheers,
Attila
such cool technology why does it have to be so arduous.
That’s what makes it cool. Anyone can control a VST or a digital synth easily, but good luck controlling this one, it’s more likely to control you, then you get the happy accidents. Kinda like how I have 9467 +/- other, much newer videos on this channel, yet this one from 4 years ago is still the most popular one 😉 (I had to look up arduous, not one word you come across every day. Will use it from now on 👍)
Cheers,
Attila
Brilliant! Thank you ❤️🎧❤️
Thanks for the note Michelle :)
Cheers,
Ttils
i use the cv-in cv-out plugins in Ableton via audio interface.
Hey Lothar, thanks for the reply!
Yup, from the CV Tools pack, right? They work even better and that's what I use also. When this video was made, there were no CV Tools available though, also, they don't come free with all levels of Ableton ;)
I actually made an entire MasterClass on how to use the Ableton CV TOOLS, here it is if you're interested:
www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/analog-meets-digital?aff=18
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak cv... its part of MAX for live. Thanks for the interesting link of your offering mastering Ableton with extn. synths.
@@lwpweb Yes, it's M4L and comes included with Live 10.1 Suite :) No worries, it's my pleasure. Let me know if you have any questions if you decide to enroll in the MasterClass.
Cheers,
Attila
Just curious, would it not be the same sending a click track out and skip the step of making a click with a square wave?
Moog mp201 midi pattern to cv , I have lots patterns with varying degreees of swing etc
Great video, really well produced. I can't seem to get this going. Followed all the steps, I have the pulsing signal going out of a spare audio interface channel but no matter what volume I select it won't trigger the DFAM at all. Very strange, I can see the meter sending a signal to the interface. I can't use the file you kindly created and provided as it's only available for version 10.2 of Live and if I had that I could use CV tools.
Hey Wax, thanks for the comment and for the kind feedback. The only thing I can think of - provided that you followed all the steps - is that maybe you didn't enable the red RUN/STOP button on your DFAM..? The DFAM has to be turned on to run, even when it's receiving a trigger signal from an external source. Yes, the new CV Tools is actually a lot more refined replacement for this method here, but this was still the best way to go when I made this video ;)
Let me know if this fixes the problem, I'm curios to know.
Cheers,
Attila
Awesome stuff. Is it necessary for the cable to be a TS? I only have a TRS right now
Hey thanks for the question :) You might be able to get away with a TRS, but I can’t guarantee. I can tell you that when I tried a TRS to connect the DFAM’s rear audio out to my mixer, that didn’t work, only with a TS, but I’m not sure if the same goes for the clock input.. It won’t do any damage though, if you try it, so just give it a shot and let me know if it works ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
Thank you!
Hey Attila, thank you so much for such a great video. its finally synced.
i have one little issue and i would really appriciate it if you can give me a solution.
the trigger channel/wav is too loud and always in my face that i can not listen just to the DFAM. when i turn it off or down then DFAM stops. how can i get ride of this loud clicking trigger?
Hi Abed,
Thanks for the comment and question, apologies for my slow response.
You need to have the TRIGGER track separated form your master out. If your audio interface has more than 2 outputs, you can utilize one of those to separate the signal.
What DAW do you use and what kind of Audio Interface do you have? Let me know and I'll tell you how to set it up properly.
Cheers,
Attila
Great video! I'd have a question: I have a dfam and a TB03. I thought I should be able to connect the Trigger out of the TB03 to the Trigger in of the DFAM to tempo sync it to the TB03s tempo, but it does not work :( also tried different other combinations and either nothing at all happens or dfams is running super fast.. I cant seem to figure ou wthats happening there
Hey sorry about the slow response. Yes that may be a bit more difficult to do than it seems. Could you please tell me exactly how you have it set up? Are you using the gate out on the tb03? The gate out is actually not a clock, but it sends a pulse at the beginning of every note the TB03 plays, so that might be an issue. Is it connected to the ADV/CLOCK input on the DFAM? Is DFAM running? (that might be the first issue, make sure DFAM is running when you're sending it the clock)
Let meknow exactly how you have this wired up and I'll see if we can figure it out. ;)
Cheers,
Attila
Hi thanks for sharing your knowledge! I’m trying to sync my tr8 with ableton! But the first beat is all ways out , I’ve tried everything I can but no joy if you have anything information I’d appreciate thanks 😊
Hey Anthony. One potential issue I can think of is your audio buffer setting. Try to keep that as low as possible without your CPU starting to overload. Values over 2048 samples may result in MIDI messages not being sent out accurately. Here’s how you do it:
help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209770985-Changing-the-buffer-size-sample-rate-of-an-ASIO-Audio-Interface
Please let me know if this worked. Thank you very much for your question and for watching my videos :)
Cheers,
Ttils
You made my day
Sweeeeet 😁 I’m glad it helped 👍🏻
Cheers,
Attila
Hello mate great video! I have a question, how would I do this with multiple synths and pedals? Thanks a lot
Hey mate, thanks for the question! There are a few ways to do that, and it all depends on what gear you have.
- If you have a multi-channel output audio interface and you don't mind to tie up your audio outs, than you can just simply duplicate the track where the pulse audio is coming from, and direct it to another audio out, and use this duplicated signal to clock another synth/pedal the same way we clocked the DFAM here. This way you can even play around with different clock divisions on the different tracks and create interesting rhythms.
- Alternatively, you can create audio track(s) and draw their audio from the track where the pulse audio is coming from, then direct these track(s) output(s) to your audio interface's audio out(s), then to different device(s).
- You could try and split the audio pulse signal by using a simple splitter, mult, or buffered mult, and direct the copied signals to other devices. (You may have to tweak the volume again if you do this)
- You could feed the clock signal we made in this video into a clock divider (like a 4MS Quad Clock Distributor) and send the copied signal(s) to other device(s) ..although this requires buying stuff
- The DFAM has a trigger out (bottom leftmost patchbay output) which you can use to clock another device in a daisy-chain setup where the DFAM is clocked from the DAW and passes its own clock signal to your next device, which will be the same tempo as your DAW.
I hope this helps ;) Let me know how it goes.
Cheers,
Attila
Top man! Thanks very much for the very informative, descriptive reply. Will do. Thanks mate
Sorry also mate as a newbie what audio interface would you recommend?
@@spaceyaliens I use a SoundCraft Signature MTK22. The UAD ones are very nice also. If you're into Eurorack then then Expert Sleepers ES-8 or ES-9 is a king interface. But to do what's in this video, virtually any audio interface should work.
Hello ... good video!!.. someone know about how can do 2ble speed into adv/clock for DFAM??.. means 1/8 or 1/16 steps sync with external gear
Thnks
Hey, not sure if I'm understanding your question, but I think you are asking how you can drive the DFAM's sequencer with 1/8 or 1/16th notes.
If you are using the method from this video, just change the speed of Ableton's arpeggiator on the trigger track to 1/8 or 1/16th, or any other division you'd like to use.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
The Sixteenth Bar hello and thanks for your reply
You understand well , I am trying to do more speed to DFAM seq, looking if it’s possible into same DFAM with patch bay or another method .. not neccesary with ableton , meantime I resolved using my Korg monologue sequencer.. “option 1/16 advance sync ext” working good... I will try with ableton too cheers!!
Do I have to adjust anything special on DFAM ? How do I get rid of the click ? nothing happens - new to Ableton ?! thx.
Amazing!!
Thank you :)
Thank you, I’m wondering if your playing pretty simple techno on a cdj if the output of that steady beat would work to sync the Dfam’s tempo? Would like to integrate into a live setup with just cdj’s
Ooooooh! That’s a superb question Chris! I’ve been wanting to find out the answer for this, but I don’t own CDJs, so I wasn’t able to test it. It might work, but I think the way club tracks are mastered and limited to no ends these days may prohibit the DFAM’s clock input from being able to recognize a distinct sharp rising edge for a clock signal.. even if it sounds to our ears like there’s a proper transient on each kick drum, because of the limiting, the actual waveform is just a smashed fat sausage with no recognizable peaks, so my feeling is that it won’t work, but I’d love to be proven wrong 😆
With some tweaking it may be possible. Pleeeease do let me know if you can test it and make it work!
Cheers,
Attila
a bit late on this thread but would it work to sync it with abletons midi clock through Roland sh-01, tb-03 which has the cv out or volca bass which has the sync out?
Hey, sorry for the slow reply!
Yes that will work, as long as these cv outs are sending a 16th note clock and not a 24PPQN or other type of clock signals.
Thanks for the question, cheers,
Attila
Could you not just use a click and send it into the dfam?
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Fuck. Thank you. Using your basic instructions, I was able to route a sample-based audio pulse into the DFAM's Adv/Clock input through one of my MPC's assignable mix outputs. Syncs perfectly. Cheers!
Hehe excellent! I’m glad it’s working 👍🏻 Enjoy
Amazing man! Is there a way to quantize the pitch of both VCO with a daw? Thank you!
Hey man, thanks for the question. With a MIDI to CV interface yes there is; you'd just run the note information from your MIDI interface to the DFAM's VCO1 and VCO2's patchbay input. If you don't have a MIDI interface and you're trying to use a similar method to this one to control pitch, then it gets a lot more complicated, although theoretically possible. Because the level of the audio's volume coming out of your audio interface gets translated into differing voltages based on how loud the signal is, you would need to create a vst device that would convert your MIDI note information from your DAW to a corresponding control voltage based on volume changes, this would have to be calibrated to play actual note values based on semi-tones, then you'd send that voltage to control your pitch on the DFAM.. I actually think there was a dude who made something similar, it was a M4L device, but I can't find it for the life of me. Not impossible, but I'm not even sure how robust and reliable that would be. It'd definitely take a lot of calibrating to get it done right :) Let me know if you find something on this, I'm curious to know.
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks a lot man! :-) Keep doing Dfam vids please!
@@murekian3677 No worries ;) I'm on it
@@AttilaHanak I think the plug in you are talking about is this one? th-cam.com/video/P7w9V2qL5Os/w-d-xo.html
Yessssss! That’s the one! This guys is a genius :D Thanks for finding it!
I want to know how to play each step on the DFAM sequencer from a DAW. You can do this with the Sonoclast MAFD 2hp module. But what's it doing to allow this? It must only be voltages, I guess. Just wondering if you have a means to control DFAM, as in this video or via an Expert Sleepers module or something else, could you replicate what Sonoclast is doing in software?
My Setup is Ableton -> Squarp Pyramid -> Hardware
Thanks for sharing that. Their hermod modular brain looks pretty enticing to me :D
Could the headphone out be used as the additional output from the interface in order to trigger the DFAM?
I'm fairly confident that it could. You might run into some issues that the level is not "hot" enough to trigger the clock input, so you might have to crank it up as loud as it goes, but I would definitely give it a try to see if it worked.
That's an awesome question btw ;) Would you please let me know if it worked?
Thanks,
Attila
Can I do this on Ableton Live 10 Lite for MAC. I’m not sure if I want to go with that software or Logic Pro. Trying to figure out which route to go..
Hey Dustin,
Thanks for asking. I believe Ableton Live 10 Lite has the Simpler device included, or the DrumRack device. You can use either of those to set this up. The light version also has 8 audio outputs, so that shouldn't be a problem either. As long as you can send that audio trigger pulse out of your DAW through your Audio Interface on a separate output, you can set this up.
On a more personal note; as of yet I haven't been able to come across a valid reason to use Logic instead of Ableton, so for me it's Ableton all the way (and I do own both of these DAWs) ..but again that's just a personal preference, so make sure you do proper research before committing to one of them ;)
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
ThaNK YOU SO MUCH
You’re very welcome 😉
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak you have a great energy on screen and your passion comes through, I’ve been hard at it since 1989 and still loving it :) got a DFAM today - my god I’m in love :)
@@AirArtStudiosOfficial Thanks Mac :) I really appreciate that super nice feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed. Strap if with your new DFAM, it’ll keep you up at night for a long time to come 😉 I’m thinking to make a full tutorial series on it, if my time ever allows.
Keep in touch!
Cheers
Spektro Audio's CV toolkit (max plugin) should do the job no ?
Yeah that thing is amazing. I haven’t had time to check it out yet. Is it a free device?
@@AttilaHanak There is a free and a full version i guess
hi there. excellent work mate. this was an issue on whether i was gonig to buy a dfam. so when you are recording away and tweaking knobs etc the modulations for example opening and closing a fliter all gets recorded in with no problems?
+Mick F Hey Mick, thank you for your note! I’m glad I could help ;) If you’re asking about recording the modulations as automation into Ableton, the answer is no, Ableton won’t record the movement of your DFAM modulation knobs. For that you’d need a MIDI controller and with that you can live-record automation, but even that is only on VSTs.
If you’re asking if the audio will be recorded as you’re tweaking the knobs on the DFAM, that’s a 100% yes. It’s a pretty cool way to produce a song by recording in a long take of DFAM jam, then chopping it up and making a track out of it ;) I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Ttils
Does this work with all audio interfaces? I saw a couple videos related to this that said that if your sound card is not DC coupled you risk damaging it, however that was when using Ableton CV tools. Is this method a valid workaround for people whose interface is not DC coupled? If it is then it's an absolute game changer
Hey Pedro,
Thank you for the question, it's a great question and the official answer is "I don't know and please be careful". I'm only saying that tho, because I'm not a trained expert, I only go by self-taught experience and common sense, but I certainly wouldn't want to give you a tip that ends up damaging your equipment.
The unofficial answer is: I've been using this method on my setup for years now and everything is working happily. I have a Focusrite 18i20, which is not DC coupled and it works perfectly.
The trigger signal you are sending is a super quick burst, or pop of sound which will have no problem getting through your interface, even if it's not DC coupled. Sending triggers this way does not require a DC coupled interface.
Only if you want to send very low frequency, or even sustained voltages through your interface, like an LFO, an envelope signal with a sustain period, or another very slowly changing modulation signal, will you need a DC coupled audio interface.
But even if you do send one of those through a not DC coupled interface, you'll still not damage anything: most audio interfaces that are not DC coupled, filter out very low frequencies, in order to protect equipment such as speakers that COULD get damaged, if an LFO or a sustained voltage was sent to them. On a non-DC coupled interface this gets filtered out with a high-pass filter, so the worst thing that can happen is that the signal simply doesn't reach its intended destination. A DC coupled interface allows for these low signals to go through. (again, I'm no expert, but this is what makes sense to me)
So feel free to use this method, I know I have been for years ;)
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
Does the cable need to be TS to TS or will TRS for both ends work?
Hey Kurt,
I haven't tested TRS only TS, so I can't say with confidence that both will work. TS works for sure.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
Thanks!
+Кирилл Осадчий You’re welcome :) 👍🏻
amazing video, going in depth and actually explaining not just the stuff itself but how everything is linked together, thnx! im even lost in the world of midi so getting the dfam was a big step for me, bought it for the sound, not the connectivity :‘D. so currently i got a minibrute2,tr8s,dfam and a push for live. with the hardware i have would it be possible to ableton live sync with the tr8s or the minibrute easier? also i‘d need a tip for linking all the hardware as daisy chaining isnt possible, right? i guess my questions are too mich for a yt. comment, but a little helf would be much appreciated! thanks in advance!
Hey Pablo, thank you for the nice feedback and for your questions :)
You are right, the answer is a bit too long for a TH-cam comment, but as a quick version: I would link the MB2 and TR8S to the computer via USB and use USB MIDI to sync them, then use the method from this video to sync the DFAM, then use Ableton as a master clock to run the whole setup. Alternatively, you can assign a clock output on the TR8S which you can use to run the DFAM, and I'm sure it's possible with the MB2 too.
The good new is that I actually created an entire MasterClass on this subject (it's mostly about using Ableton to run Eurorack synths, but there's a ton of useful info in there that applies for other hardware synths, not just Eurorack) Here's the link if you're interested:
www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/analog-meets-digital?aff=18
I hope this helps!
Cheers,
Attila
The Sixteenth Bar thanks for your answer! i‘m gonna think abou the masterclass, should be super helpful to get some extra knowledge as it can be overwhelming for a beginner sometimes. and the community always assumes you k ow everything already, at least i‘m feelig the way. i tried a few patches now linking up dfam with mb2 but i can‘t seem to patch it right. tr8 triggers dfam perfectly, but i cant seem to find the right circuit to get the mb playing in sync. i would be super gratefull for one last answer, thank so much!
@@Pablosko611 I don't own the MB2 so I'm not 100% sure, but if you run a patch cable from the Sequencer section of its patch bay to the DFAM's adv/clock in, that should sync the DFAM with the MiniBrute. Make sure that the red RUN/STOP button on the DFAM is enabled though, otherwise you can clock it from any source and it won't run..
If this was my setup though, I would clock both the TR8S and MB2 from Ableton via USB MIDI and use either the method from my video here to also sync the DFAM , or if it worked with your TR8S then clock the DFAM from the TR8S while you're clocking the TR8S from Ableton (so basically daisy-chain it). The only downside of this is that you have to have Ableton running all the time for this to work (well, not all the time, but when you wanna make Music)
I hope this helps ;)
Cheers,
Attila
The Sixteenth Bar Thank you so so much!!!! :) you made my quarantine 10 times better! finally i‘m able to sync everything properly! and i‘m able to record seemlessly. with the second method i‘m even saving midi inputs. still gonna need more audio inputs though, as 2 obviously aren‘t enough! cheers man, all the best! :)
@@Pablosko611 Amazing!! I'm so glad to hear it's working now :D Good stuff! Enjoy and keep making lots of Music.
Cheers,
Attila
Is it possible to sequence the DFAM using Push 2??
instant like
Thank you Sebastian!
Hey buddy,
Thanks for the super helpful tutorial. I have a question that I can't figure out how to fix it, thought maybe you can help me about that.
I just bought a Presonus 1824c audio interface and trying to connect my dfam and Korg Minilogue to it. I plugged in both synths to different inputs of 1824c via 1/4 instrument cable but I can't get any signal on Ableton's audio channels even though I chose the right inputs on Ableton's audio preferences. Do you think am I missing something or not? I have signals on audio interface btw
Thank you again, hope you will help me about this.
Hey Yigit,
Thanks for the comment and the feedback.
If the Presonus is showing it's receiving signal from the DFAM and KORG, then there might be a break in the rest of the signal chain somehow. I can't really tell you what the issue exactly is, but if it was my system, I would do some troubleshooting along the signal chain to make sure everything is correct.
It might sound silly, but check if you installed the proper audio driver, check if Ableton's prefernces are set up properly (yu've chosen your Presonus as audio interface). Make sure the Ableton track(s) youre trying to record onto or monitor are either record-armed or monitoring is set to "in", make sure your interface's volume knob on the channel is turned up, make sure your Ableton track is not muted, or something else soloed, make sure the track is routed to your master buss, then from there make sure your master buss is routed to the proper outs on the presonus.
Basically follow along the audio chain and check is everythign is set correctly, I'm sure you'll find the issue somewhere along the way.
I hope this helps, but please do let me know if you were able to figure it out; I'd love to know what the issue was.
Cheers,
Attila
I use the Beatstep Pro synced to Ableton :)
Yup, same here (well, most of the time) ;) works like a charm. I still made this video though, just to show that this is possible even without extra external gear. Do you use the clock out, or do you dial in a pattern and use one of the gate outs on the Beatstep?
Thanks so much for your comment :)
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak You're welcome ;) I use the Clock out, because I like the sequencer on DFAM, though it's only 8 steps. I don't know, haven't even tried the actual sequencer on the BSP yet, but could I still affect the pitch and velocity in the same way? :)
+nym053 yes of course, except if you use the gate outs from the beatstep you can break away from the constant 16th note pattern of the DFAM’s internal sequencer, and you’ll be able to dial in some pretty crazy polyrhythms. (Make sure your RUN button is enabled though on the DFAM, otherwise it won’t run) As a matter of fact, you can even send note/velocity info from the beatstep to modulate more parameters via the DFAM’s cv input bay, now that’ll keep you up all night ;) Lots of fun 😁
@@AttilaHanak - Great! Thanks a lot ;)
Hi, thanks for this video! I (have been trying to) use the beatstep pro (clock out to dfam's Adv/Clock) which seems to be controlling the tempo, until I try to sync it in Ableton. On Ableton, I think I have set everything correctly, also play with the beatstep's sync delay settings which seems to help 'a bit' and it receives the tempo from beatstep pro but the tempo keeps varying (for ex. 125 to 125.01, 125.04, 125.8 etc) on Ableton's bpm counter when I set it to Ext tempo and the 4/4 drum kick and what is coming in from beatstep pro+dfam aren't in sync. Could you explain how to do this best, ie. controlling dfam's tempo with beatstep pro and being able to record in Ableton without things going out of sync. For the moment, only being able to sync is enough but wouldn't mind info also on how to be able to use beatstep pro's sequencer instead ( @nym053 also please feel free to help:) Thanks
Great tutorial
one question: I need a jack stereo o mono? I would use phone output from my UAD Arrow... Thank you so much
Hey Luca,
Thanks for the question. In all honesty, I haven't tested this with a stereo cable (TRS), only a mono one (TS), so I don't have that answer. In any case, it won't hurt anything if you try a stereo cable, so I would just give that a try and see if it works.
I hope this helps! (Oh and let me know if it worked or not, I'm curious to know)
Cheers,
Attila
Would it work with the Arturia Microbrute?
Hey Sebastian, thanks for the question.
I don't own the MicroBrute, but I know it doesn't have a dedicated CV Clock input;. It can receive clock via USB MIDI or 5-Pin DIN MIDI, so it's not really necessary (unless you want to interface it with Eurorack modular). However! It does have a gate input, where you can send this trigger signal, then with a zero attack, zero decay, full sustain and varied release envelope, you can dial in some plucky sounds on it. I don't think this will clock its internal sequencer or arp though..
Let me know if this helps ;)
Cheers,
Attila
Doesn't work. When I plug my cable from the soundcard into the DFAM the sequence on the DFAM stops running and can't be retriggert :-(
I’m getting it trigger on the off beat? So I will voice two kicks on Beats 1 and 5 but when playing to the click it voices on 3 and 7 as a hat would? Any ideas?
Hey Sureno. I think I know what the issue might be: is your DFAM's sequencer on step number 1 when you're starting the Ableton transport? Whichever step your DFAM happens to be on at the moment you hit PLAY in Ableton, is the step that DFAM will start playing from, and if it's not on step 1, then it'll play an entirely different groove. Try putting the sequencer start on step 1 by cycling the "ADVANCE" button of the DFAM until the red LED lights up over step 1, then start Ableton again. Keep in mind, every time you stop Ableton halfway through a bar, that's the step where DFAM will stop too, and it'll restart from that same step, unless you manually move it back to position 1 with the "ADVANCE" button. Let me know if this helps.
Cheers,
Ttils
The Sixteenth Bar yeah I read somewhere that I need to reset the beat to 8 every time so when I press play it drops on beat 1 making it in time
I have an 18i8 first gen, can I use the headphone output to send audio to the dfam? Might that damage it?
I think that should be fine to try. Just make sure you start at a low level and dial it up slowly.
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak It's working! I sent the click track to Ext. Out 3 and 4 and routed that to the second Headphone Out of my 18i8. I listen to the DFAM through my first Headphone Out and I'm sending the click from the second Headphone Out, so those signals are separated. I use 1/4" TS to 1/8" TS from the second Headphone out to the ADV/CLOCK input of the DFAM. As I gently increase the volume of the click, the DFAM starts detecting and syncing it's sequencer to the Ableton. Thank you very much for this video, It is very much appreciated! I'm only curious to know if there's a possibility of damaging my DFAM if the volume of the click I send through it is too loud. I just got my DFAM and want to make sure I don't inadvertently damage it. Thank you man.
@@roundchaos That’s amazing!! 😁👍 I’m very happy to hear. As far as damaging your DFAM goes, I’m not a certified MOOG tech, so I can’t give you a definitive answer on that, but on a personal note, I don’t see how it could damage it and I certainly wouldn’t have a problem trying it on my own DFAM. Just perhaps keep it at the level where the DFAM starts detecting the signal and you should be fine.
Thanks for the update!
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak Thanks again my man, just called a Moog store in my city and they said the same thing you did. All the best!
Thanks for the great tutorial, super helpful!!
I got an audible clicking noise from the DFAM when I tried this approach... it's as if the trigger pulse (from Logic) is somehow making it's way from the 'Adv/Clock' input to the output of the DFAM?? I'm using a 2x Rca (stereo) to 3.5mm (stereo) cable, not sure if this is causing issues but it's got me perplexed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mat
Hey Mat, thank you for your comment and the nice feedback ;)
This might be silly, but I have a feeling that the clicking is not coming from the DFAM, but from your audio interface, or even from Logic while it's being sent to the DFAM. The pulse trigger is technically an audible sound, so if it's routed to your audio interface and then to your speakers, then you'll definitely hear the click itself. Could you please check the route of that pulse signal starting from the track in Logic that the signal is on, all the way through your audio interface, and then the DFAM, and make sure that there's no way it can get to your speakers, or anywhere else other than the DFAM's ADV/CLOCK input? The ADV/CLOCK input is in no way connected to the DFAM's output, so it cannot physically happen that the signal would come from your DFAM.
The only other thing I can think of is that your envelope settings on the DFAM just happen to be in a way where you have a very sharp attack on either the VCA's or the Filter's envelope, which usually results in a click at the beginning of the envelope's cycle.
Let me know if this helped.
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks so much getting back to me. Yep, it's very odd... I can't see how a click going into the ADV/Clock input could make it's way to the DFAM's output?
The signal path is Logic sends the click to my Focusrite 2i2 (channels 3&4). The output of ch3&4 go straight into DFAM's ADV/Gate input and DFAM's output goes into input 1 of the Focusrite. There's no speakers involved, so I can't see any way the click signal could accidentally get mixed in???
I did check to see whether the clicking was due to envelope settings but as soon as I disconnected the ADV/Clock cable, set the tempo as close as I could to the bpm of the Logic project, the click went away - so I'm fairly sure this isn't the culprit either???
Maybe there's something with the direct/monitoring setting on the Focusrite that's allowing the click to make it's way into the signal path... but that also seems unlikely. I'll plug my headphones into the DFAM's output - this should help confirm whether the clicking is coming from the DFAM or due to something else... like DAW/Interface issues ;)
I did wonder whether sending a stereo signal to DFAM's ADV/Clock input could be to blame but again, that seems unlikely???
Very confusing lol
Thanks again for all your help!
Hey Mat,
Thanks for the reply and sorry for the slow response. That's some nice troubleshooting you've done there ;) Good stuff.
So did you try the headphones into the DFAM, any results with that?
Focusrite 2i2 should come with the Focusrite Control software where you can change input/output assignments. After all the troubleshooting you've done, the only 2 things I can think of are:
a) The pulse gets mixed in with your master out on the 2i2. If 2i2 works with the Focusrite Control software, then you'll have to make sure that doesn't happen. Just set it up so that the output of channels 3/4 doesn't get routed to the master out (1/2)
b) In Logic, the output of the track where you have the pulse signal is directed to the master out of Logic. Make sure that the track doesn't send any audio to the master buss in Logic, so that it only sends it to the 2i2's channel 3/4, straight to the external world. I only use Ableton and this is very simple to achieve in Ableton, but I'm assuming you can do this in Logic also.
Try these and let me know if anything changes. Also, let me know about the headphones test, that'll reveal a lot.
Don't worry, we'll figure this out one way or another ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks for all your help. I can't remember if the headphone test confirmed whether the click was coming out of the DFAM but changing the trigger pulse to the one in your project file, switching to a mono cable and adjusting the output volume (within Logic) has fixed the issue. I'm not sure which one of these changes fixed the issue (I should have implemented the changes one at a time really)... but I'm happy it's all working!!! Thanks again for the super helpful video and support!! Having the DFAM synced to Logic is a huge bonus!! :)
Yessss :D I'm very happy to hear it's working now. Have fun recording some nice sounds with your setup, and keep in touch pls ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
Hello guys! IM ready to buy DFAM and i was watching all this problems for sync it with ableton and its just made me realy sad. I have no idea from all this stuffs! Is it worh to buy it or i will waste my money>?> Cause i want to sync it with ableton otherwise i wont buy it! If there is a possibility that it will never sync it just let me know it guys . thank you
Hey Ellios,
As this video shows, the DFAM can definitely be sinced to Ableton with a few extra steps. Plus, since I made this video well over two years ago, a lot of new things came to the market that will help you sync your DFAM to Ableton (like the Ableton CV TOOLS) or any other DAW for that matter ;)
Don't worry, I don't think you would waste your money with a DFAM.
Watch the video throughout and let me know if you need any help setting this up.
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak Okey thank you . I trust you ... And I'm in on my way to buy it. I ll let you know the details. One more thing... I can use CV tools on cracked Ableton ? Or it needs to be original .
@@AttilaHanak plus I'm definitely gonna buy your patches when it will come :D so fucking excited
@@ellios349 Awesome :) I'm actually redesigning the whole website, so new packs will be available sometime early next year.
As for the cracked Ableton...in all honesty I don't know. I use a legit paid version. Have fun with DFAM.
Cheers,
Attila
I did almost everything right, but the snap of the midi note pops at the same time as the DFAM. You cannot disable the audio as it won't trigger the gate. Any tips?
Hey Phillip! What kind of audio interface are you using?
@@AttilaHanak I'm using at Roland Studio Capture, tons of ins and plenty of outs. I really just wanted to trigger the DFAM with my Mother 32, but it doesn't trigger the DFAM when I launch a pattern on the Mother in Ableton using Gate out of M32 into the Adv/Clock in on the DFAM. So, I built the simpler track. I think what it's missing is that audio clip that you used to launch the DFAM. It's all a bit tricky. Don't know why they wouldn't put a midi port on the DFAM. I so want to love it, but trying to tempo match is challenging, even for a dj.
Hey Phillip, sorry for the late reply. You can most definitely sync the DFAM with the m32, they’re designed to work together. It should work no problem and it’s explained in the manuals how to do it. Is the red Run button enabled on your DFAM when you’re trying that setup?
As for the audio click; you can still use that as an alternate solution, so you never have to manually sync the DFAM with your DAW (man, that would be tough..) All you need to do is, in Ableton’s track I/O section, to send the click track’s audio out to the external audio output that the DFAM’s adv/clock is getting the trigger signal from. This way you’ll bypass the master bus in Ableton and you won’t hear the click.
I hope this helps! Let me know if it worked ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
Nice videos mate! I just bough DFAM + Mother32 and im having problem to make this work well. My idea is to play live with DFAM + Mother32 + Ableton Push 1. Do you know if is this possible? DFAM and Mother32 has just 1 audio output behind ... how should i do? Each moog needs to be connected separately into the Audio Interface (even being connected by ADV/Clock+ ASSIGN)? This would work well?
Hey Victor,
Thanks so much for your comment, feedback and question. DFAM + Mother 32 are a super combo to create some Electronic magic, so you've definitely chosen well.
- So at a minimum, you should have an audio interface that has at least 2 individual instrument inputs, and it'll also be a very good thing if this audio interface has a 5-pin MIDI output. The good news is that your Mother 32 has a MIDI input, and you can sync the DFAM via the Mother 32, so you won't need to use the method that I described here in this video. At the back of the DFAM manual (page 31), there are specific instruction on how to sync your DFAM to the Mother 32, so just read and follow that setup.
- Yes, you will need 2 audio inputs to connect the DFAM and the Mother 32 individually. (technically you can daisy-chain one to the other, because they both have an external audio input, but I think it's better to have them on separate inputs, unless you wanna run one through the other and use its filter to play with the sound, etc. Plus with 2 separate audio inputs, you can record both simultaneously into your daw)
- So basically your MIDI setup will look like this:
From your DAW you send MIDI to your audio interface (or to any MIDI hub that can take a USB coming from your computer and send MIDI through via a 5-pin MIDI cable to the Mother 32) -> from the audio interface you send MIDI via a 5-pin MIDI cable to the Mother 32 -> from the Mother 32 you send control voltage from the Mother's patchbay to the DFAM's ADV/CLOCK patchbay input (according to the instructions in the DFAM manual) -> and tha's it, you're all synced.
- IF you don't have an audio interface that has a 5-pin MIDI out, or another MIDI interface, then you can use the method I described here. Send the audio pulse to the Mother 32's tempo input (to set this up is described on page 46 of the Mother 32's manual), then sync the DFAM to the Mother 32 the same way as with the previous setup. OR You can send the audio pulse to the DFAM's adv/clock input AND Then send a cloc signal from the DFAM's trigger out to the Mother's tempo input.
As for the Push 1, you will definitely need a MIDI connection between your DAW and the Mother 32, and then you'll be able to use Push 1's melodic and sequencing capabilities to control the Mother 32. There isn't much you can do with Push 1 plus the DFAM, other than starting and stopping its playback when it's setup to receive clock info from your DAW (basically any of the above mentioned setups)
I hope this helps, but let me know if yo have any more questions, and definitely let me know if you were able to set it up properly and it's working ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thank you very much for explanation! I really appreciate and learned from it. Next week i go buy an audio interface then and when make it works i let you know :)
Ah! My idea with Push is to control the channels on Ableton. Each channel i can add effects and i will be able to play with samples. I like to play minimal/techno/microhouse, so i think that can work well. I can use for sequences of sub bass and/or some ambient sounds on background... at end will be: DFAM in channel 1 of Ableton, Mother32 in chanell 2, and AbletonPsuh controling the other channels and controling basic the chanells of dfam and mother32... lets see if will bring good results this idea :)
Oh yes, that'll definitely work with your Push then, that's good stuff. You'll even be able to use Push to send sequences to the Mother 32 if you want. One suggestion, get a good audio interface with a few more in/outputs that you need right now, and definitely one with the MIDI, because you'll need the extra inputs later on (trust me hahaha) so it's better to have more and not use it, than need more but not have it.
Let me know how it works ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Great advices!! i definitely gonna do it! do u have ny suggestion for audio interface?
Ahh there are so many amazing ones out there. I’ve been using a Focusrite 18i20, and it’s really good. I think they have versions with less in/outputs too. It also depends on your budget ;)
Hey! Is it possible to sync the dfam to live 10 with only a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 !?
Hey Alfonso,
I believe the 2i4 has 4 audio outs, so as long as you have at least one available audio out, not used by speakers or anything else, you can make this work (it might even work with a headphone out, as long as you can route the click track to it, although I haven’t tested that)
I hope this helps.
Happy Holidays,
Attila
Instead of playing around with volume on the patch bay of the DFAM, use one of these www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Digital-Multimeter-Voltage-Tester/dp/B01ISAMUA6?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1 on the 1/4 plug output to make sure you are on the spot before meddling with your synth´s inputs.
Thanks for your comment Esteban. The approximate nominal voltage level of professional audio in a peak-to-peak reading is a spread of 3.475 volts. One half of that (a peak) would be around 1.738 volts (max voltage you’re able to send to your synth’s input in this setup). Your synths inputs are calibrated to receive 0 to 10 volts, or -10 to +10 volts in a peak-to-peak configuration, so you’re well within safe levels and there’s absolutely no need to waste your money on voltage testers. In addition to that, you will have to meddle around with the audio level of your mixer to calibrate it to work in conjunction with the audio level that’s coming out of your DAW, that’s the only way to set it properly, and a voltage meter will serve you no purpose with that step. There are a lot of other - much simpler and quicker - ways to sync your hardware to DAWs, but the purpose of this setup/video here is to save you money by not having to buy extra stuff. While this may not be the most “professional” way of doing it, it’s definitely the cheapest.
Cheers,
Ttils
Can i synchronize my dfam using iphone APP "Korg SyncKontrol for Monotribe"?
I tried in logic pro but no results so far. Someone has already tried ? thanks
Hi Ttils, thanks so much for the video, it's certainly very interesting! I am having trouble though with getting this to work properly for me. I have CV signal outputting from my interface, I can use it to 'trigger' my DFAM, but for some reason when I plug the 1/8th-inch into my DFAM's 'adv/clock' patch nothing happens. I'm really hoping I haven't broken anything. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
SORTED IT OUT! - I didn't realise I had to 'Run' the sequencer. BRILLIANT thanks!! ... Now, off to jamming!!!!
Hey Patrick, thanks for your question. No worries, let’s figure this out. A few things that may cause this:
- Your RUN/STOP button has to be turned on, otherwise the DFAM won’t react to an external clock source
- The volume of the trigger signal is not loud enough
- Make sure that your audio interface’s audio buffer setting is not too high (if it’s too high, the trigger signal will take too long to get to the DFAM and your tempo will be off)
Try any of these and let me know if it worked
Cheers and Merry Christmas,
Ttils
Oh hahahaha I was too late with the answer :D I though that was the issue ;) I’m glad it’s working now. Happy jamming
@peakofvalleys good sir, I've clocked my DFAM to my SH01A via the Gate out on the SH01A into the ADV/Clock on the DFAM. However, whenever I press play in Ableton it feels like it's playing at halftime on the DFAM. Any ideas? For ex: recorded a jam from DFAM alone, tapped out the BPM to 140, when I went to set Ableton to 140 to create a new jam, clocked at that speed it felt much slower. Even if I move Ableton up to 150 it still doesn't feel the same. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Hey Jean-Philippe,
I think your buffer settings in Ableton might be too high. That induces latency and throws everything off tempo.
What kind of audio interface are you using, and what settings do you have for the internal audio buffer in Ableton?
Cheers,
Attila
Hi, thanks for your video! Do you think if it gonna work when DAFM to conect with E-RM MIDIclock? Using MIDIclock 5-pin output from one side and 3,5 jack connecting with DAFM's ADV/CLOCK? Thank you!
Hi :) Thank you for asking. I’m not familiar with the E-RM MIDI clock to be 100% sure if that’s gonna work, but as long as you can deliver a 0-5 volt pulse signal to the ADV/CLOCK input, then there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work. I say test it out and see what happens, I don’t suppose you can damage anything this way, but just to be safe, you might wanna run the signal through a volt meter, or an oscilloscope to see what comes out at its end that goes into the DFAM.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thank you for the respond, mate. I don't realy own E-RM MIDI clock, I only have an option to get it for a very affordable price. As far as I know DFAM can accept CV cignals. Can it accept DIN sync24 (which has 0/+5 volt as well)?
No worries ;) It will definitely accept the 0-5 volt trigger signals. My only concern is the sync24 which means that the clock signal will send 24 quick pulses per every quarter note (6 pulses for every 16th note), but your DFAM's ADV/CLOCK input is built to receive 1 pulse for every 16th note, so your DFAM might run 6 times faster than the project's BPM. Check out this wiki post to see what I mean:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_sync
Nevertheless, it's a good idea to have a reliable MIDI clock especially if you have other hardware gear with MIDI connections on them. So if that price is very affordable, it's probably a good idea ;)
@@AttilaHanak Thank you so much! All clear now!
will this work with my moog mother-32 as well or no?
+mb goosie Hi thank you for your question. Yes, it’ll definitely work with the Mother 32, or any other hardware synth that has a CV input to trigger its internal sequencer.
Cheers,
Ttils
You don't need to purchase any gear. Except you need to purchase this gear (sound card with multiple channels).
Yeah sorry about that, that's my bad..! Though I'm currently working on a solution where you can sync external synths with a DAW, completely with no wire(s), cable(s), link(s), connection(s) and/or any other sort of communication protocol whatsoever between the two ends. Only for producers who expect their gear to "just work together" on their own, you know, sort of like in a "plug and play" configuration, except without the plugging, only the playing, where shit just communicates you know.. Stay tuned, video coming shortly! ;)
Cheers,
Attila
Hi! Does anybody has a Korg Volca and a DFAM? I would like to know if the Sync out sends a clock useful for live performances. :)
Hey Carlos.
I don't have a Korg Volca, so I can't tell you if it'll work. My apologies. Please do let me know if you find out the answer, I'd love to know.
Cheers,
Attila
I've tried this and it nearly works for me. The dfam starts and stops and plays tempo synced to ableton but it starts about a 16th or so late and I can't seem to get rid of this latency - any suggestions? Cheers.
Hey Paul,
Thank you for the question. I think your audio buffer settings might be too high, that usually results in longer latency. Try to lower your buffer settings to the minimum while still getting clean audio in Ableton.
Here's how you can do that: help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209770985-Changing-the-buffer-size-sample-rate-of-an-ASIO-Audio-Interface
Let me know if it made a difference. Thank you
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak thanks for your reply Ttils. I'm running live 10 on a 32gb i7 laptop. My buffer size is 64 samples, I'm using focusrite 2i4. Even with this and setting track delay on the dfam trigger channel to -300ms! I'm still not getting the dfam right on the grid. Starting the dfam from step 8, with steps 1 & 5 set to play. Looking the recording in arrangement view at 1/64 resolution, there's still a noticeable delay from the grid.
Hey Paul,
hmmmmmm..that's interesting, that laptop is more than capable of handling your setup (and then some lol), so the buffer is definitely not the issue. Let's troubleshoot (some of these will be stupid and obvious, but I'll ask anyway):
- Does the pulse sample in the simpler start right on time with no delay? Make sure the sample start point is exactly at the start of the pulse in the Simpler.
- Are you using the ASIO driver in Ableton?
- Does the MIDI note that's triggering the arpeggiator on the MIDI track start at the exact beginning of the MIDI clip? (if it starts even just slightly earlier or later, the very first 16th note hit won't be played by the arpeggiator, so make sure it goes from the beginning of the loop all the way to the end)
- Does the MIDI clip itself start at the exact beginning of the intended start of your recording?
- Make sure your Filter and Pitch envelopes of the Simpler are turned off and that the Amp envelope of the simpler has no attack phase at all (zero ms attack), sustain is at max, no decay and no release
- Make sure that the Simpler's track has absolutely nothing else on it, so no effects, it's not routed through another track, a group buss, and/or the master buss in Ableton. Make sure it's not delayed, and that it is directed straight to your audio out on the 2i4 and from there to the DFAM
- Is the volume of the pulse loud enough? Too loud perhaps?
- Are you using a mono cable to send the audio pulse from the 2i4 to the DFAM?
- Did you try to run the sequence with all the steps set to play, not just 1 and 5? What happens then?
- Make sure the Ableton Arpeggiator is sending a straight 16th note pattern to trigger the Simpler, so no swing, no offset, no transposition, no retriggering
- Is there anything in the way of the audio coming back from the DFAM into ableton, effects, track delay, etc?
- What cable are you using from the DFAM's out to the 2i4's in?
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Since we're dealing with audio coming from the external world, there will always be a minimal delay in the recorded waveform, but it should definitely not be a 16th note..a few miliseconds at most.
Go through these questions and see if any of these fix the issue. (I think it might be that your MIDI clip or note doesn't start at the right place) Let me know how it goes ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Thanks, Ttils - I'm actually using the project file you were kind enough to share, so I wouldn't have thought there were any issues with the arp or the pulse etc. I am using a mono cable rca to 1/8th from output 4 into the adv/clock in on the dfam and mono cable from dfam into 2i4. No effects, pedals etc on any channel or between dfam and interface. I am using asio.
Ok no worries, we keep troubleshooting.
- Would you be able to recreate the project the same way it's explained in the video, but in a new and fresh Ableton Live set? To rule out that something is not all perfect with the original project file (it was made in Live 9, perhaps something went sideways between the two versions..)
- Can you experiment with the audio cable from 2i4 to DFAM? Use the left or the right out only, or even try both with a stereo RCA to 1/8th cable, try all 4 unbalanced outs and their combinations, see if that makes a difference
- Can you try the same setup but instead of routing the audio to the unbalanced outs, route it to the balanced 1/2 and use a mono 1/4 to 1/8 (this will eliminate one of your speakers for a moment, but I just wanna see if this fixes the issue; there may be a slight delay in processing between the balanced an unbalanced outs..)
- Play with the position of the Direct Monitor knob on the front of your 2i4, see if that makes a difference
Just trying to eliminate possibilities :)
Let me know how it goes.
Cheers,
Ttils
I can send a sync pulse to the DFAM from my Behringer Crave.? Has anyone successfully done that m?
Hey Marc,
Sorry for the super slow response. I don't own a Crave, but I'm fairly confident that it can be done. If the Crave has a Gate out, a Clock out, or a Sync out that sends a 16th note clock signal, you can use that to patch into the DFAM's ADV/CLOCK input and run the DFAM in sync with the Crave. It must be a 16th note clock though, because every step on the DFAM is set to represent a 16th note.
I hope this helps, let me know if you were able to make it work ;)
Cheers,
Attila
The Sixteenth Bar yes it does! Thanks!
This is a bit off topic, but can anyone help me with playing an external synth with the Push 2 pads?? No mate what synth i connect to Push, it won't actually let me play the pads on the 64 pad layout... The most i can do is enter steps on the melodic and 32 step sequencers, but not actually play pads on the 64 pad layout... :-/
Hey Ric,
Thanks for your question. It’s definitely possible to do, but it would be rather tough to explain how, only in a few lines here.
I do have an entire MasterClass on how to run hardware synths from Ableton, where I use Push 2 and where this technique is explained. Here’s the link to that course:
www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/analog-meets-digital?aff=18
And I also have a full MasterClass on the Push 2 which will teach you everything there’s to know about it. Here’s the link:
www.productionmusiclive.com/collections/courses/products/push-2-masterclass?aff=18
Luckily both of these courses are on a massive Black Friday discount, so it’s good timing too.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak Thanks Attila!!!!!! I have both those courses already, but haven't found the time to watch the analog Meets Digital one yet... What chapter/module should i look for this answer? Sounds like i might have to refresh myself with the Push one as well...
Oh awesome! Thanks for enrolling in those 😊👍🏻 I believe (I’m not looking at the curriculum, so I’m hoping I remember correctly) I discussed this in the lectures titled “Making a Groove” and the “A Moog Orchestra”
If those don’t give you the answer you’re looking for, feel free to email me at info@thesixteenthbar.com and I’ll help you figure it out 😉
Cheers,
Attila
I can't do it and I'm gonna cry
Hey Tyler. Do you have the red Run/Stop button enabled on the DFAM?
I'm afraid I cannot get this working with my DFAM. Have downloaded the file, plugged everything in, and no matter what volume I set Simpler to, the DFAM won't start running when I press Play in Ableton.
I am using a UAD Apollo 8 interface, with Line Out 8 connected to the Adv/Clock of the DFAM. My Simpler track in Ableton is set to output to External Out 8 and I can see the pulses from it on the meters in Ableton. Nothing happens with the DFAM though.
Does it make any difference if the patch cable connecting to the Adv/Clock is mono or stereo? The only cables I have which are long enough are stereo, although on both ends am using a stereo to mono adaptor.
Am beginning to wonder if there is a fault with the Adv/Clock input on my DFAM. Very frustrating.
EDIT: Nothing wrong with the Adv/Clock socket - I have now patched it to the Sync Out of my little Korg Volca Keys, which is synced to Ableton via the MIDI Out of my Komplete Control keyboard. It seems to be working by this method - when I change the tempo in Ableton the DFAM changes in sync.
I can only assume the reason your method did not work for me is something to do with the routing of the outputs in the UAD Console setup, which is a little confusing to say the least for someone with not much experience. I simply don't think the audio coming out of Ableton was reaching the DFAM.
Hey there, thanks for the comment.
The stereo cable might be the source of the issue, but before you get a mono one, check to make sure that the red "RUN/STOP" button is enabled to run the DFAM. If that is off, the DFAM won't respond to an external clock signal.
Let me know how it goes.
Cheers,
Ttils
The Sixteenth Bar
I will persevere because although I got it working via the Volca Keys, your method would be a bit cleaner and simpler if I can get it to work. First off need to check that the clock pulse audio is actually outputting from my audio interface, I have a little Zoom recorder will plug that into it first and confirm its outputting.
Yes that sounds good. Troubleshoot to see if the audio gets to the DFAM. Let me know how it goes, I'm curious to see what the issue is.
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak OK I now have it working via your method, and am very happy! Here's how I did it.
Used the download of your "DFAM MIDI Trigger" channel for Ableton (Actually, is this not mis-named? Should be "DFAM Pulse Trigger"?)
Used a stereo mini-jack cable, but with stereo to mono adaptors on each end. Although when I first tried a test recording the pulses it came through loud and clear, it would NOT trigger the DFAM with a stereo mini jack at the DFAM end.
Used output from Line Out 1 of my UA Apollo 8 (I was trying Line Out 8 last night).
For any other UAD users; the above is set as External Out 3 in Ableton (1 & 2 are the monitor outputs)
Set the volume in Simpler to -10dB.
The above works great, and cost nothing. You, sir, are a star. :-)
Hahaha very nice :D You're gonna make me blush over here lol.
That's awesome, I'm so happy it's working now. Enjoy! Also, keep in touch and let me know if you ever have any questions. Happy producing ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
hey how is it going? I have the audio complete 6 which is dc coupled, and I tried with cv tools and it worked but the dfam seq steps were not moving so I wanted to try this way and it happened exactly what it happened with the cv tools. Anyone has the same problem or any possible solution to this? thank you!
Hey Gus, is the big red RUN/STOP button enabled on your DFAM?
Cheers,
Attila
@@AttilaHanak it is! And actually it sounds different like the amplitude isn’t enough but still struggling
What i mean is it’s just playing the 8th step. But when i unplugged the adv/clock and hit trigger to see how it sounds it’s just different
if the volume is too loud, could i damage the dfam?
Hi Jose. I honestly don’t know, but I don’t suppose so. The DFAM will tolerate up to 10 volts in that socket, and that’s pretty high. I cranked up mine fairly loud, but when it gets that loud you’ll just get multiple triggers anyways, so you’ll know when it’s getting too loud. As long as it’s reading the clock audio burst and you don’t get multiple triggers, I think you’ll be fine. You might wanna read up on how high the actual voltage can get on you audio interface’s outputs just to be sure. I hope this helps. Thank you for the question ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
The Sixteenth Bar thx!!! I’ll try it and let you know. I’ll use the headphone out of my interface.
Awesome :) Let me know how it worked for you! Thanks Jose.
Cheers,
Ttils
@Jose Haya Any luck with the headphone out as the pulse generator?
Dan Brownlowe i am using my Korg Monologue for clock so I haven’t tried it yet
Hello, I just bought Arturia Beatstep Pro and Moog DFAM and I can't get it sync with Ableton. I really follow all the process but when I connect the DFAM to Beatstep Pro I got a noisy sound like an alarm, which seems to be not good :)
Somebody out there can help me ? :)
Thank you
Hey Friend :) Thank you for your question. The BeatStep Pro, Ableton and the DFAM are a crazy good combo, so you'll have a lot of fun with them! Keep reading --->
Now let's figure out your issue:
First of, this combo has plenty of sync options, so you no longer have to use the method that I show in this video. The method in the video is a good way to sync the DFAM if you don't have another piece of hardware that'll do the job, but since you have the BeatStep Pro, I suggest you use that.
Here's what you can do:
- Make sure your BeatStep Pro is connected with Ableton via USB
- Make sure that in Ableton's MIDI preferences the BeatStep Pro is set up properly (for syncing BeatStep to Ableton you must have the "sync" output enabled)
- On your BeatStep Pro you need to have the "sync" (top left area) set to USB
Now if you hit play in Ableton, your BeatStep will also start playing at the tempo that your Ableton session is set to (so basically you're using Ableton now as your master clock) and with that, now you can use the beatstep to run any external gear in sync with your project. Keep reading --->
Now you have to connect DFAM to your Beatstep Pro, there are a few ways to do that:
- Use one of the patch cables and connect the "clock out" on the back of BeatStep to the DFAM's "ADV/CLOCK" input
- IMPORTANT: the red "RUN/STOP" button on the DFAM must be enabled in order for your DFAM to run and follow the tempo of Ableton
- Now if you start Ableton, the DFAM will also start playing alongside the BeatStep pro, all in sync, according to the tempo you set in your Ableton project
A more complex setup:
- Instead of using the "clock out" on the back of your BeatStep Pro, use the Drum Sequencer on it
- create a pattern let's say in the first track by first hitting the bottom left pad (labelled "C Forward"), then dial in a pattern of your choice on the small pads 1-16
- Run a patch cable from GATE 1 on the back of the BeatStep pro to DFAM's "ADV/CLOCK' input
This setup will give you the flexibility to create interesting patterns, and not just the usual 16th note pattern
Also, make sure you read the entire DFAM manual, because that thing is a beast and it has its own mind, so it's good to understand what's under the hood.
I hope this helps. Pls let me know if it worked ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Hey Ttils,
Thank you for the fast and full information reply.
I will try your suggestion tomorrow in the studio and let you know how is going.
One more question, since I'm waiting also a Korg Minilogue, Tr8s and Moog Phatty, what would be the best setup in order to have everything smoothly sync and recordable in Ableton and able to do crazy patterns? Sorry for all of this but until now I just worked on VST and not really with modular/semi-modular and analog machines, so I'm trying to understand how to switch my digital style to the analog world :)
cheers
Luca
@@diego030178 Hey Luca, WOW that's a nice setup you have on its way to you :D good stuff
No worries about the questions, I'm here to help ;)
- Definitely connect the TR8s with the USB, you'll need that to load samples in it from your computer
- The DFAM doesn't have MIDI or USB, so just run it from the BeatStep as discussed before
You need to ask yourself a few question before setting everything up, because with all the gear you have coming towards you, you'll have a lot of different options to connect/sync them:
- Do you want to use Ableton mostly to control your hardware? If yes, then connect everything with USB (if available) that way you'll have full control from Ableton
- Do you want to use BeatStep to control everything else, and just have Ableton as a master clock? If yes, then do what we discussed before, and connect the rest of the gear with MIDI cables to your Beatstep (you'll need a MIDI signal splitter)
- Do you want to have a hybrid setup where you control some devices from Ableton and use some for live jamming? Let's say: TR8s is running a drum pattern, DFAM running a bassline, you have some stabs sequenced from Ableton on the Phatty and you want to live improvise your lead playing the Minilogue.
In any case, you'll have to make sure you don't have two or more MIDI signals running into one device, because that'll mess things up; let's say you have your Minilogue connected to Ableton via USB and you're sending a note sequence to it from Ableton, but it's also connected to the Beatstep via MIDI splitter and the Beatstep is also sending it some MIDI info. That won't be good.
I'm not sure how advanced your knowledge is with MIDI setups, so assuming that you're just starting out now, I'd suggest to connect everything with USB (if availabe) and sequence them from Ableton. This will negate the use of most features on BeatStep, although you'll still use that to run DFAM. I definitely suggest that you do some reading, and watch some videos on how MIDI works, there's never too much you can learn about Music ;) Good subjects that'll help you: What's a MIDI clock? MIDI via USB vs. 5-PIN MIDI Cable, What's the difference between a gate and a trigger? Learn everything you can about Envelopes, Understand how Ableton's MIDI preferences tab works, What's control voltage?
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Hi Ttils,
I just tried your suggestion of "clock out" from BSP to ADV/CLOCK of DFAM and it sync yes but the moog goes to top speed, what is making the steps so fast ?
@@diego030178 I was afraid that might happen..No worries, this is happening because the "clock in/out" settings of your BeatStep is set to 24 or 48 ppqn.
You need to install and use the Arturia MIDI Control Center software on your computer, then go to the sync settings and change the "clock in/out" to the "1step" option. I believe that will fix the issue (well, one of those settings will work, I think it's the 1 step one)
Page 81 of the Manual: downloads.arturia.com/products/beatstep-pro/manual/BeatStepPro_Manual_1_0_0_EN.pdf
If this doesn't fix it, then you'll have to use one of the 8 channels of your drum sequencer, create a straight 16 step sequence and patch the gate out of that channel into the ADV/CLOCK input of the DFAM.
Let me know if this worked ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
Sorry, but isnt that arpeggio to fast to get the result you want? Dont u want the click of the metronom? a regular clock tic?
Hey Saman, thanks for the note. My apologies but I'm not quite understanding what you mean. Could you please elaborate?
Thanks,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak The arpeggiator is set to 1/16 note division. Which makes the bursts of sound repeat very quickly. Souldnt the tic sound you make match the snapping sound of the metronome so it matches your bpm? so a 1/4 note division? To get correct sync with your daw? No? I don't own dfam, but thinking to get one and sync with my digitakt and a cv.ocd.
@@samanderiss Oh yes, now I understand. Thanks for clarifying that. It's an awesome and valid question, and the answer is: that depends on what you wanna do with the DFAM. Technically you need to send a 16th note trigger to the DFAM, because the steps on the DFAM's sequencer represent 16th notes. If you were to send the DFAM a 1/4 note trigger, then the DFAM's sequence would be 1/4 the speed of your Ableton project. This is if you want to use the DFAM as intended by default.
BUT!
..if you wanna get creative with it, technically you can set the arpeggiator to any speed you wish. It's not a carved in stone rule that the DFAM must follow a 16th note pattern. If you want to experiment with slower/faster tempos, or even something syncopated, even trips or dotted values, you can come up with some interesting rhythms.
To take it even further, you can get rid of the arpeggiator altogether and dial in a MIDI pattern in a MIDI clip on the Ableton track where your simpler is, and send any variations of rhythm patterns to the DFAM that way. You can create some super crazy poly-rhythms that way ;)
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Ttils
@@AttilaHanak Ah now i understand your thought process :) Yeah that sounds really cool :) Was just thinking that it should be somewhat representive of your DAW clock so everything is synced with other vsts or tracks in that Daw. :) But true indeed it is possible to experiment with this. Thanks for your answer :)
No worries, it’s my pleasure. Let me know if I can help with anything else. I hope you get your DFAM soon, you’ll have tons of fun with it ;)
Cheers,
Ttils
you could explain this in 2-3 minutes long video
Lol thank you my friend; you’re right, I could have. And yet I didn’t.. Thanks for the comment 👍🏻
is this working for anyone? not for me though lol
OMG! LOL
Hahahaha yup, I had a moment there ;)
That kind of sucks... and sounds like an annoyance 😪 and for the price... such a money grab so you can go buy there mother 32 and play it that way