Ableton/Live/UG/37 Sync with Link Tempo Follower and MIDI/03 Synchronizing via MIDI

• 37.3 Synchronizing via MIDI

  • Devices without Link can sync over MIDI. Both MIDI methods use a sync host that sends the signal and devices that follow it.
    • MIDI Clock — ticks at a tempo-dependent rate, like a fast metronome, plus song position messages. Live can be host or device.
    • MIDI Timecode — the MIDI form of SMPTE, giving time in seconds and frames. Live reads it as an Arrangement position. It carries no tempo, so tempo changes are not tracked and the tempo must be set by hand. Live can only follow Timecode, not send it.
  • Ableton/Live/UG/37 Sync with Link Tempo Follower and MIDI/03 Synchronizing via MIDI/01 Synchronizing External MIDI Devices to Live

    • 37.3.1 Synchronizing External MIDI Devices to Live

      • Live can send MIDI Clock to an external sequencer or drum machine. Set the device up to receive sync, then turn it on as a sync destination in the Tempo & MIDI Settings.
      • The lower LED beside the Control Bar's EXT button flashes while Live sends sync.
  • Ableton/Live/UG/37 Sync with Link Tempo Follower and MIDI/03 Synchronizing via MIDI/02 Synchronizing Live to External MIDI Devices

    • 37.3.2 Synchronizing Live to External MIDI Devices

      • To follow an external sequencer, set it up to send sync and enable it as a sync source in the Tempo & MIDI Settings. An EXT button then appears in the Ableton/Live/UI/Control Bar; turn it on, or use Options → External Sync. The upper LED beside EXT flashes when usable sync arrives.
      • Live accepts song position pointers, so it jumps when the host jumps. With Ableton/Live/UI/Control Bar/Toggle/Arrangement Loop on, positions wrap into the loop.

      • 37.3.2.1 MIDI Timecode Options

        • Set per MIDI device by selecting it in the MIDI Ports list of the Tempo & MIDI Settings. Both options apply only when the MIDI Sync Type is MIDI Timecode.
        • MIDI Timecode Rate — the SMPTE frame rate to follow. "SMPTE All" detects the format automatically. The Arrangement's display format is set separately under Options → Time Ruler Format.
        • MIDI Timecode Offset — a SMPTE time that Live treats as the Arrangement's start.
  • Ableton/Live/UG/37 Sync with Link Tempo Follower and MIDI/03 Synchronizing via MIDI/03 Sync Delay

    • 37.3.3 Sync Delay

      • Each MIDI device has a Sync Delay control, shown when the device is selected in the MIDI Ports list, that shifts Live's time base against the sync signal to make up for transmission delay.
      • To set it, have both Live and the other sequencer play a strongly percussive pattern and adjust until the two line up.