Syncing different instrument tracks from the same device

Loxley

New member
Hey everyone,

I'm recording in Pro Tools 10. I have a Korg Electribe EMX which I am trying to record a number of songs off of. Every song has various percussion instruments and synth parts. I want to record every instrument separately, but I'm running into trouble.

I had thought that at first, using MIDI out from the device into my Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 would be the way to signal when to record. The idea is that theoretically, every time I push play on the Electribe when the recording track is armed, every track should all start recording at the same time as the rest. I'm quickly realizing through my tests that recording the same percussion track over and over yields a different position in the session every time. The MIDI out simply isn't perfectly consistent (to my surprise). The difference is slight, but if I'm going to do this right, it needs to be exact.

My only other option I can imagine is to record the built-in metronome through the 3/4 outputs of the Korg, recording two separate tracks, one instrument and one metronome, for every single part. Then going back and aligning each one with the corresponding metronome recordings. This is an enormous pain in the ass. :cursing:

I really hope I can find another way. Any ideas?
 
An update:

I just tried everything with the metronome going out the 3/4 output, recording that track alongside my instrument tracks. Even when aligning the tracks together by each one's respective metronome track, the instrument tracks still don't line up. It's as if every track is just ever so slightly off time with the others, regardless of when they were recorded, which seriously makes no sense at all. :confused:
 
Someone please help. I can't do any recording until I figure this out.

I'm noticing that the tracks are simply not proportional. Even lining up multiple takes of the same track from my Electribe in one place will still set them 2-8ms off-set elsewhere in the song.

I have tried this with both my EMX and ESX units, both have a similar result. Either something is royally screwed up with my PC or these Electribes are just inconsistent.
 
I wonder if there are other ways of doing it?

Can you save your Korg midi somehow?

Or can you play the Korg, playing all sequences and record the midi in PT via the korg's midi out to the scarlet's midi in?

Once you have recorded the midi, you should be able to disaggregate the midi file into its separate channels. From there you can do some editing on the midi if it needs it.

The you can get PT to play the midi (either all tracks together or each separately) back through scarlet into korg . . .i.e. PT plays the Korg.

Then you can record the Korg's audio output, channel by channel
 
I wonder if there are other ways of doing it?

Can you save your Korg midi somehow?

Or can you play the Korg, playing all sequences and record the midi in PT via the korg's midi out to the scarlet's midi in?

Once you have recorded the midi, you should be able to disaggregate the midi file into its separate channels. From there you can do some editing on the midi if it needs it.

The you can get PT to play the midi (either all tracks together or each separately) back through scarlet into korg . . .i.e. PT plays the Korg.

Then you can record the Korg's audio output, channel by channel

I don't think I can save the MIDI. That other approach is interesting.. painful, but interesting. I haven't been able to get Pro Tools to play the Korg before, but let me see if I can give it another whirl. How do I get Pro Tools to play each MIDI track separately if they're all recorded into one MIDI track?
 
I'm not a PT user, so I don't know how it works.

However, the general idea is this: the Korg has multiple tracks of midi, each with its own channel. When this gets sent to and recorded by PT, it (most likely) will appear as a single recorded midi track. Embedded in the midi will be the channel information.

When you play this back into the Korg, that channel information will be transmitted as well, so the Korg knows which note goes to which channel.

Once you've got it in PT, with luck there will be a way of separating the channels out. I use Reaper. When I import a mid file into Reaper, Reaper asks me if I want it on one track or on separate tracks.

To get PT to play the Korg, you need to go into options somewhere and select the scarlet as the output midi device.
 
If you haven't already tried, use a long pre roll and set record to start at (guessing) 4 - 6 bars not at zero. This my give enough time for middi sync to happen before the pre roll triggers record.
I'll check back, I would like to know the solution. I use PT since version 6 but not very much midi.
 
I'm not a PT user, so I don't know how it works.

However, the general idea is this: the Korg has multiple tracks of midi, each with its own channel. When this gets sent to and recorded by PT, it (most likely) will appear as a single recorded midi track. Embedded in the midi will be the channel information.

When you play this back into the Korg, that channel information will be transmitted as well, so the Korg knows which note goes to which channel.

Once you've got it in PT, with luck there will be a way of separating the channels out. I use Reaper. When I import a mid file into Reaper, Reaper asks me if I want it on one track or on separate tracks.

To get PT to play the Korg, you need to go into options somewhere and select the scarlet as the output midi device.

I'll have to look into that - I'll report back. I hadn't had much luck with this in the past, but I'll do some more digging.

If you haven't already tried, use a long pre roll and set record to start at (guessing) 4 - 6 bars not at zero. This my give enough time for middi sync to happen before the pre roll triggers record.
I'll check back, I would like to know the solution. I use PT since version 6 but not very much midi.

Yeah, I'm already doing that. I basically have every song starting out with a bar that has all of the parts muted. That way nothing gets cut off at the beginning.
 
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