Problem syncing MRCC MIDI clock to DAW (Reaper)

[secretknowledge]

Hi All - I have been using the MRCC in a medium sized dawless setup and have been very pleased at how intuitive and reliable the functioning has been, including with regard to using the MRCC as a master clock for my hardware synths.

I occasionally use a DAW (Reaper) and have been recently trying to sync the DAW to MRCC clock without success.  I have read both the MRCC and Reaper manuals, watched the relevant videos, and searched multiple forums, but can't seem to find a solution to this problem.  

I am able to successfully output midi clock via the PC port on the MRCC to my MacBook Pro, and confirmed using Mac MidiMonitor that the clock is being received.  Within Reaper, I can select MRCC on the appropriate port in "External Timecode Synchronization", but can never get past the "waiting for timecode" error message when I try to play/record.

As near as I can tell, MRCC can only send MIDI clock (MidiMonitor does not show any MTC or SPP messages incoming to my computer), but Reaper will only sync to MIDI Time Code (MTC), SPP, or LTC.  I can't for the life of me figure out a way to either 1. have the MRCC send MTC, SPP, or LTC or 2. Reaper receive MIDI clock.

Has anyone been successful syncing Reaper as a slave to the MRCC?  I have a few VSTs (Scaler, Cthulu) that I would like to use to send chord progression/arp patterns to my hardware through MRCC, but can't figure out how to do this while staying synced to the MRCC clock for my other devices.

Is it possible for MRCC to send MTC or SPP?  Would getting an external MIDI clock like an ER-M solve the problem?  

Thanks for your assistance and please forgive any technical ignorance (I'm trying to read manuals and better understand MIDI but its still hazy).

Ted

[oldgearguy]

An external clock will solve your problems more effectively. You will be able to tightly sync an E-RM to the DAW and use the MRCC to route clock signals from either the DAW or any of the E-RM ports easily.

You'll also get full start/stop/tempo control over the clock as well.

I'm running 2 MRCCs and an E-RM here with no issues.

[secretknowledge]

An external clock will solve your problems more effectively.  You will be able to tightly sync an E-RM to the DAW and use the MRCC to route clock signals from either the DAW or any of the E-RM ports easily.

You'll also get full start/stop/tempo control over the clock as well.

I'm running 2 MRCCs and an E-RM here with no issues.

I appreciate the quick response!  It sounds like the E-RM multiclock may be a good answer but doesn't come cheap.  

Is the Expert Sleepers USAMO an option to sync Reaper with the MRCC?  From what I can gather I'd have to use Reaper's clock, but would it be possible to pass this along to the MRCC and downstream to hardware in a similar fashion to the E-RM?  

I'd also still be curious if anyone knows if the MRCC can send SPP or MTC, and if not if this is something that may be forthcoming in firmware updates.

Thanks again!

[Dark Waves]

There's another device you could consider, the Midronome, that isn't as expensive as the ERM.  Sadly most, although not all, DAWs seem to require something like MTC as a sync source, whereas most hardware sticks with MIDI clock.  The DAWs can generate clock, too, so syncing the other direction is easier.

As for syncing the MRCC, from what I recall, it just passes through clock, but doesn't sync to it, so you either would use the internal clock as the master, or just route clock from your upstream source to whatever needs it.

[secretknowledge]

Thanks for your response - I'll do some more research on the Midronome - the price is certainly a lot more attractive.

To clarify, with either the ERM or the Midronome, must the clock be established on the DAW and then passed through the MRCC to downstream hardware? I'm fairly certain from checking out the Midronome forums that this is true for that device w/ Reaper, but is it also the case with the ERM? I.e. in neither case can Reaper act as a slave to an external clock?

[Dark Waves]

So, I'm not familiar with any DAW, really, than Studio One, but word on the Midronome pages is that only about 3 DAWs will track external MIDI clock, even though they all generate it.  Ableton Live is one that will, supposedly.  I had hoped you could sync two DAWs together, and apparently there used to be a program, ReWire, to facilitate that, which has been abandoned.  I can't comment on ERM, although I believe most of the basic structural process is similar to the Midronome, i.e. you generate an audio sync pulse in your DAW (either specially generated audio track, or plug-in generated signal) that uses an output of your interface to feed the device, which then feeds everything else downstream.  In the case of MIDI it would be merged in the MRCC with any other sources to clock your synths.  Although I haven't tried this yet, a recent update on the Midronome also uses its USB connection to act as a MIDI interface for the two DIN outputs.  Hope that helps, I'm far from the world's expert on these things.

[oldgearguy]

Thanks for your response - I'll do some more research on the Midronome - the price is certainly a lot more attractive.

To clarify, with either the ERM or the Midronome, must the clock be established on the DAW and then passed through the MRCC to downstream hardware?  I'm fairly certain from checking out the Midronome forums that this is true for that device w/ Reaper, but is it also the case with the ERM?  I.e. in neither case can Reaper act as a slave to an external clock?

Yes, the MRCC will not sync to incoming clock of any type.
Not sure why you'd want that anyway,  but that's neither here nor there. 

Point is,  the MRCC will cleanly pass clocks through it from any device to any device,  so use the DAW or some external master clock and treat the MRCC like a patchbay routing ins to outs.