Does tracking audio out real time avoid the tempo bug?

Tracker
1

So I had to use Export to get stems of a song out of my Tracker Mini, but I’ve since learned (after finding this Bug report) that when using the Export function, it tracks out at slightly the wrong tempo. This means that when I’m trying to add instruments in Bitwig, everything is off-grid because the original WAVs are not dead on 130bpm.

That being the case, is tempo affected if I simply record the stems into my DAW live? Or does the same issue persist?

(I’d try this myself, but I’m also having a nightmare with getting the Mini to output to Bitwig without dropping the connection but that’s one for another post!)

thanks

2

Hi mr_trick,

the tempo is not affected, when you press play and record the single tracks into your DAW live. It is just an flaw of the internal chip, when you render the tracks inside the tracker. This applies at least for the Tracker OG.

3

Fantastic - thanks for confirming. I’ll use that to track stems out to my DAW then. Appreciate the help!

5

Hmm - I think I have to politely disagree on this one. I’ve just tracked out the same song at 130bpm and it isn’t holding to that tempo in Bitwig. It’s totally off the grid and anything quantised is out of sync because it’s quantised to the actual 130bpm.

Sorry but this is ridiculous. All I want to do is track out some stems into Bitwig to overlay some bass and then render this stuff out for mastering. Instead I’m stuck trying to get stuff to play in sync because the whole track is NOT actually at the designated BPM.

If that’s the case - and I am sincerely hoping someone can correct me on something here - then it makes creating music on the Mini completely hopeless if you want to do anything other than just render stuff out without adding anything to it.

What am I missing here? I have recorded all the stems into Bitwig having set the tempo for the project at 130bpm. It is all recorded in, but if I then program in a bassline, then duplicate that bar for a few bars, it all drifts off-tempo.

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This illustrates the point. This is just the 4/4 kicks, recorded in at 130bpm. If I manually move them to line up so that the kicks are perfectly looping (as shown here on bar 25) then by the time you get to bar 81 you can see that it’s already out of sync.

Given I had the Mini setting the tempo when recording in, and am just using the files in Raw mode in Bitwig (ie with no stretching), I think I’m right that this is just clearly not tracking out at a consistent tempo, and as a consequence it’s creating all manner of problems when you try and track in new instruments etc.

I guess I can work around it with things like the bassline by just playing it in live and not quantising, but when adding stuff like shakers etc it all goes south pretty quick if the shakers are not actually moving in tempo.

Really, really disappointed by this all - feels like basically the Mini is now a toy that’s good to use on its own, but of zero value when tracking out into a DAW to build a track from.

Quietly hoping I’ve got something fundamentally wrong here, but I’m struggling to see how. Welcoming any input from the mods as to what I might be missing. Thanks.

6

Hi mr_trick,

did you MIDI-sync your Tracker Mini with Bitwig Studio? In general if you record synths into Bitwig Studio, i highly recommend syncing Bitwig Studio with your synth (i.e. Tracker Mini). For a short Bitwig Studio tutorial have a look at:

For your Tracker Mini you can use your USB-Cable and Bitwig Studio will recognize your Tracker Mini as a MIDI Device. Then you have to set your Tracker Mini as a “MIDI-Slave” in the MIDI config Menu of the Tracker Mini for following Bitwig Studios MIDI Clock.

This configuration works very well with my two Tracker OGs and the syncing is always proper.

7

Yeah I’ve been using midi clock sync now to get audio out. It works, provided Bitwig is the master clock. The problem I’ve had since is that the audio has pops and clicks on it, so whilst the sync issue is mostly solved (I’m finding it’s still not perfect), I’m now battling the pops etc.

All very tedious.

9

Hi Mt_trick,

I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe when the Tracker Mini is the MIDI Master Clock and Bitwig is in Midi-Slave mode, it works.

Or you can solve the problem without MIDI. Configure Bitwig Studio with the Tracker MINI as Sounddevice. Have a look here:

10

That’s what I’ve been doing (sorry if that wasn’t clear). I have been connecting my Mini over USB and tracking stuff in that way. If you use the Mini as the master clock it drifts something chronic. If you use Bitwig as the master clock it works (well, on my Linux laptop, but not on my Mac for reasons we can’t figure out), but you then get pops and clicks so need to do multiple takes to work around that.

And then if you try and export the stems in the Mini and just copy the WAVs in, you find that because it renders out at something like 44,117hz instead of 44,100hz, the files aren’t to the tempo you’ve set.

Hate to say it, but it’s a royal pain. Really takes the fun out of composing on these if, like me, you’re planning to pull stems into your DAW and add other instruments etc to it. If you’re staying fully in the Tracker box and just exporting to mix down etc, you are fine. But I’m not - hence all the frustration.

11

I had this issue to start with. I think the render abnormality can’t be changed cos of tracker architecture. On DnB forums I frequent the tempo issue is well known and accepted. Tracking via audio seems to work ok in Logic on a Mac. Would be nice to actually finish a song to export!
I think in my experience Ableton was the easiest to render too because it would automatically flex to grid.

1 Like
12

I usually export tracks and put them in Logic, it converts them to 44100

13

Well that was something I was curious about: how do you convert it from 44117 to 44100 without affecting either tempo or pitch?

(And that’s where Live has one over Bitwig: warping tracks! Bizarrely, Bitwig is pretty bad on that front)

14

Logic does it automatically, i just set the project to 16bit/44100hz, i think it affects tempo and/or pitch, but basically stems go back to the original

15

Really?! That sounds almost too good to be true - I was under the impression it needed all manner of conversion to work.

I think there’s got to be some means to do it more generally. Time to get searching I guess… (I did try before but never got a decent answer)

I did ask GPT but when I tried resampling in Audacity it didn’t work: ChatGPT - Resample 44117Hz to 44100Hz

Annoying though as that would be ideal if it prevented clock drift or the other issues.

16

Yep, i usually create on the T+ and finishing in Logic, I don’t sync one to the other, but in this way once i have all song stems in Logic i can add additional loops or even full tracks (recorder or imported) and everything works seamlessly

17

i can recommend ocenaudio (as a audio editor and for this particular use case).
It’s free, availabe for Mac/Win/Linux and often overlooked. But i prefer it over Audacity by a long shot.

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Edit → Adjust Sample Rate → Choose 44100 → Press OK → Profit :partying_face:

1 Like
18

This didn’t work for me in Logic, files stated 44100 but still tracked off grid. Have you got any additional settings on? Flex Time etc

19

no additional settings on, just “keep tempo” for the project, but I think this is not what prevent the files to be out of sync.

20

I don’t think i tried converting to 16bit? How are you doing this conversion in the project settings or are you bouncing out the stems to suit

21

the exported stems from the T+ are already 16bit, my Logic project settings are 16bit /44.1khz, it converts automatically to the correct frequency, I can send to you a Logic file project later if you want

22

Yes please mate, be great to export it time!