MIDI SYNC: THE SYNC

Once you’ve got sync going, you may need to spend some time
adjusting the quality of the synchronization. It’s not uncommon for there to be a bit of lag, causing the Slave computer to be a bit behind the Master. Due to some of the wacky things that can happen with delay compensation, it’s even possible for the Slave to end up ahead of the Master.

You’ll be fixing this problem by ear, so the most important thing is to pick a clear, steady audio source on both computers to listen to. For example, on the Master computer turn on Live’s metronome. On the, slave load up a rimshot or a click of some kind and trigger it with MIDI clip playing straight quarter notes.  (Using the metronome on both computers is too confusing in my experience.)

Press play and listen closely. The metronome and the rimshot hits should sound at exactly the same time. If they don’t, open up Live’s Preferences on the Slave computer and hit the unfold switch next to the Input port that you’re recieving sync on.

Picture 11

Use MIDI Clock Sync Delay to offset the sync signal and correct the timing problem. Click on it and use the down arrow key to nudge it into negative values to correct lag, or the up arrow to enter positive values while listening closely. Get it as close as you can.