Synching 2 computers with Ableton!

Wanna hook up with your buddies computer running Ableton and have the two synch up? Of freaking course you do! Here's some info from a wiki I found...word! Can't wait to try this one!

MIDI Sync
From TeraWiki

* Both of your machines have to have some type of midi interface. For my example I will be using computer A, with an M-Audio Quattro USB, and computer B, with an M-Audio midi sport 2x2. Computer A will be the master, and computer B will be the slave.

* Plug one end of a midi cable into the output of the midi interface connected to computer A. So, in my case I plug the cable into the midi out of my Quattro USB. The other end of the cable gets plugged into the input of the interface attached to computer B. In my case I choose IN-A on my midi sport 2x2.

* It is very logical to set this up. If you get confused remember that computer A is controlling computer B. In-order to do this computer A must be able to send commands to computer B, this is why the midi cable is connected to the output of computer A and to the input of computer B. Computer A is outputting commands and computer B is inputting them.

* Once your cables are connected, on Computer A, your master machine, go to Ableton/Prefs. Choose the midi/sync tab - and in the output section find your interface that will be sending midi to the slave. In my case I find the Quattro. Click the sync button so that it reads "on". Make sure you are in the output section. This tells ableton that it will be outputting sync data through the midi interface that I have chosen.

* On Computer B, your slave machine, go to Ableton/Prefs. Choose the midi/sync tab - and in the input section find your interface that will be receiving midi from the master. In my case I find the 2x2, port A. Click the sync button so that it reads "on". Make sure you are in the input section. This tells ableton that it will be inputting sync data through the midi interface that I have chosen.

* Again, very logical if you think about it. We have properly connected our cables, now we must tell the two computers how to communicate with each other. We are telling Ableton on computer A, "hey, I want to control another computer, to do this we will be sending sync data from a usb Quattro". And we tell the copy of ableton on computer B, "hey, we are being controlled by another computer, to do this we will be receiving sync data through a midi-sport 2x2".

* Close ableton prefs on both machines.

* Finally, on your slave machine activate the external sync switch. This is to the left of the tempo indicator and is marked EXT.


You should be all set. When you run your master machine the slave should follow.

For sync type I use midi clock. To "tighten" the sync up run the metronome on both machines and in Ableton / prefs - midi/sync adjust the sync delay until the machines are matched. Generally I will increase the sync delay on one machine while decreasing it on the other, until the metronomes match up.

I hope this helps and good luck!

ps. This works the same using 2 pcs, 2 macs, or a mac and a pc.
[edit] Syncing via Network MIDI

If you do not have an external MIDI interface, but still want to sync two computers running live, then the best way to do this is over a network using MIDI over TCP/IP. To do this, you will need a crossover cable (which you can find at most any electronics store) to connect the two computers together, and software to drive the network connection. There are a few different software solutions for MIDI over TCP/IP, including MIDIoverLAN, which can be used to connect PC to PC and Mac to PC. If both computers are running Mac OSX 10.4, then MIDI over TCP/IP support is included with the operating system.

First, though, the network must be correctly configured so that both computers may see each other. In the following example, computer A will be the master, and computer B will be the slave.

* Set computer A's IP address to be 10.0.0.1 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0. Under Windows, this is done by going to the control panel -> Network Connections -> Your LAN adapter. Go to "Properties", and then "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)", and then "Properties". Under Mac OSX, this is done by going to the System Preferences -> Network -> Your LAN adapter -> Configuration. You may safely ignore the DNS server and gateway fields, as they will be unused by this type of network.
* Set computer B's IP address to be 10.0.0.2 with a netmask of 255.255.255.0.
* Make sure that if either computer has a firewall that you disable it during this configuration

If both computers are running OSX Tiger (10.4.x), then set up the network MIDI within the Audio/MIDI configuration utility:

* On computer A, under "MIDI devices", double click "Network". In the top panel under "My sessions", click the plus button to create a new session. Check the box next to this session, and make sure it is activated.
* On computer B, open up "MIDI devices" and double click "Network". The name you typed on computer A should appear in the lower left panel with a green button. Click "Connect". You should see the network name in the right hand side panel.
* Now, on computer A, open up ableton live and go to the preferences. Under the "MIDI/Sync" tab, you should see "Network (your network session name)" in the device list. Select MIDI sync for the outgoing network connection.
* On computer B, open up live and go to the MIDI/Sync preferences. Select Sync for the Incoming network session
* Now, on computer B, select the "EXT" button next to the metronome. You should be connected.

See related screenshots of the network master and the network slave.

Disruptions in the network stream may cause the MIDI clock to drift out of sync. This does not happen often, but when it does, live will give an error message and the two machines will run independently. To fix this, deactivate the "EXT" button on computer B, stop playback on computer A, re-select "EXT" on B, and then resume playback from computer A.