LP3 Sync via external MIDI, was: Looperlative LP3 on ModDuoX. First impressions

Hi. Herewith my first impression trying to use LP3 on my ModDuoX with Mod Footswitch.

My main purpose is to use it in sync with the rest of my studio equipped with an E-RM Multiclock as master clock distributing clock signal to all my outboard gear (bunch of arpegiator/sequencer equipped synth and rhythm boxes) acting as slave.

So TP3 is set to sync to Midi as suggested on this forum as it is more reliable than host sync with current Mod Device firmware. When I record (set to play after recording) it relably syncs to current set tempo on my master clock and it stays in tight permanent sync and does not drift after some time (like it does if synched to host tempo). So far so good.

Then it starts to become temperamental. Following tests are done with clock set on a specific BPM,
and leave it running. I used what they call the Full looper controls in the documentation.

  • When I try to record a second part on same track or to record on track 2 it seems that track and part buttons have a life of their own. Sometimes it works but most of the time it does not record on the expected part/track. Looks like buttons do not always trigger and sometime with a unusable lag.

  • Then, if I store current loop say in slot 1, erase all (erase button) and recall slot 1, the stored loop does indeed play again but not at same tempo and hence no way to get it in sync with current beat on my rhythm box and arpegiators.

  • Pressing Half Speed or Reverse works but never on the expected Track/part

All in all I’m still scratching my head on how to use LP3 reliably in that setup and not sure whether working properly or buggy

Any help would be appreciated.

Here a screen shot of the board.

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Any updates regarding this issue?

Hello @Luke101 Luc and @joaehun,

thanks for bumping this topic.
As it is more like a usage question, I’d like to re-categorize it as such.

Although I haven’t used the LP3 yet, there are some things I want to know.
Have you set the MIDI Transport Control (wiki) at the bottom of the screen to sync via MIDI and started transport?

About usage in common: Some forum members had to re-think about the LP3 usage because of a slightly different approach.
There is video content about looperlative products on youtube that explains the approach of his products.
Some more experienced forum members might lead you in the right direction.

Greetings and God bless, Marius

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Thanks for your reply. When set to external midi (prefered) LP3 does not rely on system midi clock and transport.
Usability of the product on the mod platform is in question here. I’m an experienced studio engineer and spent an entire afternoon trying to make it work whith all the flaws explained in my post. I’d like to know from someone who has made it work successfully if anyone, how he did it. My feeling is that the product has not thoroughly been tested in real life situation and still lacks in many areas. If a video exist about lp3 on mod device I’d like to know where to find it.

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Hello @Luke101 Luc,

Thank you for answering.
Forum tells member @solobasssteve Steve Lawson might tell you more about lp3 usage.

As Bob Ahrnstadt aka @looperlative is a part of the forum, you might ask himself, maybe he can give advice here, too.

Greetings and God bless, Marius

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I’ve reported the button press issue to MOD Devices.

Storing and loading has never resync’ed to MIDI. The problem here is that the loop was recorded with a particular MIDI clock coming in. If the MIDI clock is at a different tempo when you restore the loop, then it will never be able to sync to it as the LP3 does not stretch or shrink the track significantly. I could update the store and load to save the MIDI sync information, but it will have to reject it if the clock is a different tempo when the track is loaded.

Can you give a sequence that you are doing with the track and part buttons, I’ll take a look.

Half speed and reverse operate on the current track. I’ll verify that this is working correctly. Perhaps you can provide a video or a sequence that demonstrates what you are seeing.

Thanks,
Bob

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Hi Bob. Thanks for your support. I’ll be glad to provide steps to reproduce but I won’t be able to answer immediatelly as it will require to record the sequence of events to show you what is not working as expected.
Thanks!!
Luc.

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Hey I noticed the rec buttons sometimes not working as well on a mod dwarf here as well. Are there any updates on this issue?

This is not a plugin issue, but I know that Dwarf requires a complete button press to recognize the press. Is it possible that you aren’t pressing all the way?