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Hardware Sequencers => KeyStep Pro => KeyStep Pro - Technical Issues => Topic started by: DoddyUK on May 15, 2021, 03:57:52 pm

Title: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: DoddyUK on May 15, 2021, 03:57:52 pm
Hi. Thanks for the 2.0 update first of all, there's a number of additions I like, including the arpeggiator improvements. However I've encountered a major issue when using another device as the master clock (in this case an Elektron Digitakt) and syncing via midi in.

A brief diagram of my setup:

Digitakt --(out -> in)--> Keystep Pro --(out -> in)--> Midi Thru box --> Synths

In this case the BPM on the Keystep Pro fluctuates wildly and misses notes sent by the Digitakt. Occasionally the wrong notes are forwarded too. I've made a video (https://www.reddit.com/user/DoddyUK/comments/nczj03/keystep_pro_bpm_issue/) showing this issue with just the Digitakt connected to the Keystep Pro. It's definitely the Keystep Pro at fault as when I remove it from the setup all of my synths play absolutely perfectly from the Digitakt's sequencing tracks. Changing the sync rate makes no difference as well.

This is enough of a deal killer for me to try and downgrade back to v1.3.7, hopefully Arturia can investigate and fix this issue soon enough.

EDIT - This is a v2.0 issue. Downgrading back to v1.3.7 fixes this problem.

Cheers
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: Andrew Henderson on May 15, 2021, 10:03:45 pm
Have you tried a factory reset after flashing to the new firmware, to see if this helps?
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: JackBrogan on May 17, 2021, 07:42:12 am
My setup is such that I have all my synths getting midi clock from my Pyramid  to MatrixBrute v2.0 - it simply does not respond to external midi sync.  clock issues between Pyramid and MxB after updating firmware to v2.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: monk on May 23, 2021, 08:29:14 am
Have you tried a factory reset after flashing to the new firmware, to see if this helps?


I'm also having a problem sending clock from Ableton as Master to KSP over USB, which then (should) passes clock via Midi 5 pin to synths via Kenton 5 thru. Ableton is definitely sending clock, as the drum machines are receiving it from Ableton via USB cable at the same time as clock is being sent to KSP.

I have also recently updated to FW 2.O. I'm willing to try the factory reset but I would lose all my sequences and projects on the KSP correct?
Is there a step by step guide to how we back these up prior to reset and how to reload the projects back onto the KSP?

I am also going to try a USB MIDI interface, to see if the signal works if I connect this way... https://www.andertons.co.uk/recording/audio-interfaces/usb-audio-interfaces/midisport-uno-1x1-usb-midi-interface#tab4
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: Andrew Henderson on May 23, 2021, 10:19:23 am
If you factory reset your unit, yes, you will lose all of your projects! 

You can back them up and restore them, via the Midi Control Center (MCC) Software.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: Adrien_Arturia on May 27, 2021, 02:20:59 pm
Hello there,

Just a few question:
- Have you set your clock on both unit to the same settings? (48ppq or 24)
- Is the digitakt set to send Transport (play/stop) message?

I feel that on what I'm reading it seems to be a clock issue with both the unit but I'm not able to reproduce yet.

Thanks,

Adrien
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: artao on May 29, 2021, 06:37:13 am
Seeing how I almost always use my KSP as master clock, imagine my surprise and dismay yesterday when I set my DAW to be master clock and the KSP did NOT accurately follow along.
I tried both in Reaper and in Cakewalk, and had the same problem in both. The tempo on the KSP fluctuates up and down, as if it's inconsistently sampling the tempo rather than directly reading it via the MIDI (over USB) connection.
I had planned on testing this in Ableton, FL Studio, Reason, and VCV Rack ... But then came here to discover that a bunch of other people are also having this problem.
And it is a MAJOR problem.
Reaper was set to 140bpm and the KSP insisted that it was 142bpm. (Once it settled down after bouncing up and down between like 138 to 143 or so) Exceedingly EXCEEDINGLY annoying. I've managed to rectify it somewhat by using the "No SPP/Continue" and "Open device in low latency/low precison" mode. While that caused the BPM readout to fluctuate even more wildly, the KSP actually stayed closer to on-beat with the DAW. Which seems odd. With this setting it was reading around 142bpm fluctuating up and down by like 6. That's insane.
Also, the KSP takes a moment to respond to "Play" and doesn't respond to "Play Stop" at all coming from the DAW.
I have tried setting the Sync In to Auto, USB, and MIDI, and they all act the same way.

How did no one catch this in beta testing? Especially considering how long it took for 2.0 to come out. This is a rather MAJOR bug to miss and let slip through. Seriously. This makes it virtually unusable in a software setup. ??? ::)
Despite liking the updates in 2.0, I'll hafta roll back so I can actually use the freakin thing with software. Works just fine with hardware. Altho I haven't tried making something else the master clock in that situation.
Soooo .... How do I roll back the firmware?
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: Andrew Henderson on May 29, 2021, 11:00:38 am
It is very unfortunate, that you are experiencing these issues. As for why this wasn't caught in beta testing, it is because the testers did not notice this, on their personal systems.  I am personally using Cubase and I never have such issues as you are describing. Even on the original shipped firmware, the KSP has always synced flawlessly to my DAW.  At the absolute very most, my KSP OLED screen is showing maybe one BPM off, from what Cubase is showing, but this is only a visual thing, as everything still sounds perfectly in sync,  as it should.  I'm not saying there isn't a problem, I'm just saying it isn't as widespread as you are making it seem. Everybody's system can be wildly different from another, and for whatever reason, you are experiencing issues, that lots aren't.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: tommyshelbyop on May 29, 2021, 04:09:26 pm
My setup is such that I have all my synths getting midi clock from my Pyramid  to MatrixBrute v2.0 - it simply does not respond to external midi sync.  clock issues between Pyramid and MxB after updating firmware to v2.
McDVOICE (https://www.mcd-voicex.com/) MyBKExperience (https://www.imybkexperience.com/) Liteblue (https://www.iliteblue.com/)


I really hope ive over looked something, but I don't think so. My setup is such that I have all my synths getting midi clock from my Pyramid Sequencer. All this has worked perfectly before. After the update to MatrixBrute v2.0 - it simply does not respond to external midi sync. If I load a factory patch, turn on the arpeggiator, play notes, the arp plays fine, turn on the midi-sync - nothing..Tempo readout does not reflect incoming rate either. The sequencer does the same. no playback when Midi sync is on.  Ive toggled through the settings in Midi control center, no joy. I have tried using the new system mode as well, no joy. I know midi data is getting to the Matrix Brute because if I playback a sequence on midi ch1, and set the synth ch1, it will playback the sequence notes it receives, but the midi clock is not respected, for the arp, nor sequencer. please tell me I am missing something obvious...have not reported a bug because I cannot believe this would be an oversight.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: artao on May 30, 2021, 02:20:47 am
It is very unfortunate, that you are experiencing these issues. As for why this wasn't caught in beta testing, it is because the testers did not notice this, on their personal systems.  I am personally using Cubase and I never have such issues as you are describing. Even on the original shipped firmware, the KSP has always synced flawlessly to my DAW.  At the absolute very most, my KSP OLED screen is showing maybe one BPM off, from what Cubase is showing, but this is only a visual thing, as everything still sounds perfectly in sync,  as it should.  I'm not saying there isn't a problem, I'm just saying it isn't as widespread as you are making it seem. Everybody's system can be wildly different from another, and for whatever reason, you are experiencing issues, that lots aren't.
Fair point
I myself have pointed out numerous times that you only hear from people having problems, cuz all the people NOT having problems have nothing to say LOL
I'm just very very frustrated is all.
I find it surprising that none of the beta testers experienced this. How big was/is the team? Perhaps more testers with a wider variety of systems is called for.

Also, where the heck can I find the old firmware? It's not available in the Arturia support downloads section. I very much want to roll back until this gets fixed, as it is unusable with my DAW in this condition. Well .... If I actually want to use the sequencers and arpeggiators, that is. Which, obviously, I do.

EDIT: Actually, I guess that, for now, I can use the KSP as master clock for my DAW. ... If I can figure out how to set that up, that is.

System:
Win 7 64-bit Pro
AMD FX6300 CPU
16 gigs DDR3 1333 RAM
MSI 970A-G43 motherboard
Radeon RX580 w/8gigs VRAM gfx card
Focurite Scarlett 2i4 2nd Gen audio interfact
500gig Samsung Evo SSD boot drive
Reaper, Cakewalk, Ableton ... all up to date
Perhaps important:
USB drivers for both my Behringer Neutron and Korg equipment.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: kev2525 on June 09, 2021, 09:37:20 pm
Seeing how I almost always use my KSP as master clock, imagine my surprise and dismay yesterday when I set my DAW to be master clock and the KSP did NOT accurately follow along.
I tried both in Reaper and in Cakewalk, and had the same problem in both. The tempo on the KSP fluctuates up and down, as if it's inconsistently sampling the tempo rather than directly reading it via the MIDI (over USB) connection.
I had planned on testing this in Ableton, FL Studio, Reason, and VCV Rack ... But then came here to discover that a bunch of other people are also having this problem.
And it is a MAJOR problem.
Reaper was set to 140bpm and the KSP insisted that it was 142bpm. (Once it settled down after bouncing up and down between like 138 to 143 or so) Exceedingly EXCEEDINGLY annoying. I've managed to rectify it somewhat by using the "No SPP/Continue" and "Open device in low latency/low precison" mode. While that caused the BPM readout to fluctuate even more wildly, the KSP actually stayed closer to on-beat with the DAW. Which seems odd. With this setting it was reading around 142bpm fluctuating up and down by like 6. That's insane.
Also, the KSP takes a moment to respond to "Play" and doesn't respond to "Play Stop" at all coming from the DAW.
I have tried setting the Sync In to Auto, USB, and MIDI, and they all act the same way.

How did no one catch this in beta testing? Especially considering how long it took for 2.0 to come out. This is a rather MAJOR bug to miss and let slip through. Seriously. This makes it virtually unusable in a software setup. ??? ::)
Despite liking the updates in 2.0, I'll hafta roll back so I can actually use the freakin thing with software. Works just fine with hardware. Altho I haven't tried making something else the master clock in that situation.
Soooo .... How do I roll back the firmware?

Hey artao,

I am a new owner of the KSP and this is exactly the issue I am having. I registerd on the forum to see if I could get help. I have tried in Cubase 10.5, Ableton 11 and Studio One 4.5 and the problem is the same for all with notes drifting all over the place. Such a bummer as I was looking forward to playing with my new toy. Right now its next useless to me.   :(
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: artao on June 10, 2021, 02:08:14 pm
For now you can set your DAWs to take master clock from the KeyStep Pro.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: kev2525 on June 10, 2021, 02:49:20 pm
For now you can set your DAWs to take master clock from the KeyStep Pro.

Is that done over midi cable? I assume so....
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: artao on June 18, 2021, 06:41:04 pm
Is that done over midi cable? I assume so....
Sending to a computer, USB MIDI, yeah.
It can be a pain to set up.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: artao on June 18, 2021, 06:42:24 pm
SOoooo
I see nothing about this in the patch notes for the 2.0.1 update ......
What's the status on this bug? It's quite major and should be quite high priority.
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: artao on June 21, 2021, 03:44:31 am
SOoooo
I see nothing about this in the patch notes for the 2.0.1 update ......
What's the status on this bug? It's quite major and should be quite high priority.

2.0.1 or 2.0??? I didn't know there was a second upgrade?
2.0.1 was released on Friday. You probably now know that already tho eh ;)
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: ronnieb on July 23, 2021, 10:17:03 pm
This has just happened to me out if no where? All was fine but then mid session, the ksp just loses it's mind. I swear this thing has the be the most frustrating product I've ever purchased. How are Arturia not stepping up and addressing the shitshow this thing turned out to be?
Title: Re: External midi clock sync broken in 2.0 firmware
Post by: kev2525 on July 27, 2021, 09:15:24 pm
I sent my new keystep back because of this bug and they sent it back saying they had fixed it. I tried it again and its worse than ever. The timing is all over the place and it just randomly drops notes. This thing is rapidly turning out to be my most disappointing hardware purchase ever. So much potential and it just will not work  >:(
Title: Possible FIX?
Post by: artao on July 29, 2021, 11:34:18 pm
I may have found a "fix" for this problem. It seems to be related to this new "feature" regarding how the KSP "samples" the Tap Tempo button.
Go into the Utility Menu on the KSP. Scroll all the way down to Misc and open that. Scroll down to Step Listen and enter that.
Turn OFF Step Listen. Save and exit the menu system.
This appears to have fixed the problem for me. Does it work for you?