MIDI Sync w/Boomerang = Drift

Aeros Loop Studio
#1

I have a Boomerang III that I have set up to sync with my BeatBuddy. Initially it works well, but over time it drifts. My MIDI path goes from BeatBuddy >> TimeFactor >> ModFactor >> Boomerang.

  1. If I simply record a basic 4-beat loop synced to the BeatBuddy, over the course of about 5 minutes you can start to hear that it is a tiny bit off. After 10 minutes it is clearly noticeable, and at the 30 minute mark it sounds like sneakers in a dryer. I understand most of us aren’t playing over the same loop for 30 minutes; But if this is MIDI sync, shouldn’t I be able to come back in a couple of days and have these two devices still in sync?

  2. I find sometimes when playing live if I have a loop going (and it is well-synced) that after I hit a few fills or transition to different parts, the Boomerang and BeatBuddy start getting out of sync. It is difficult to reproduce on demand but is clearly happening across different beats/songs/tempos.

Is there some setting I might be missing that could fix this?

Is anyone else with a Boomerang experiencing this? Am I better off (sync-wise) selling my Boomerang and getting an Infinty?

#2

If you take both Eventide units out of your chain, does the Boomerang stay in sync with the BB?

#3

Ah, you are a good troubleshooter, I should have thought of that… Thanks!

Recording a sample right now, will report back here a little later.

#4

I excluded the TimeFactor and ModFactor from my MIDI chain, going directly from the BeatBuddy to the Boomerang. I ran it for an hour with no drift, which means one of those Eventides is butchering the message stream or otherwise introducing inaccurate midi clock.

Upon closer scrutiny both the Eventides were set to output “THRU+C” which means MIDI thru plus any MIDI clock generated by the Eventides…

But even after disabling that setting (changing the Eventides to plain “Thru”) I am still seeing drift.

I will have to play with the sequence of devices in my MIDI chain. Thanks again for pushing me in the right direction!

#5
  1. Your midi chain does not have to match your audio chain, You could put the Eventides after the BB on the midi side, but still have them in front on the audio side.
  2. I would use a midi splitter, so that the Boomerang and both Eventides get the same midi signal. I believe Midi Solutions makes a 1 in 4 out midi splitter.
#6

Thank you, sir.

I am experimenting with #1.

For #2, I have a MIDI Solutions “Thru” pedal that is essentially a 1-in 2-out MIDI splitter which might just do the job.

But if the MIDI out from the Boomerang is unadulterated, I will probably send that on to the Eventides. And then my MIDI flow will be exactly the opposite of my audio flow. :sunglasses: