Re: BeatSync (was vortex info)

[Kim Flint <kflint@annihilist.com>]

At 10:35 AM +0000 11/13/97, Anthony Bowyer-Lowe wrote:

Excellent info, thanks! some questions:

>>The question is about the type of clock generated by old analog
>>arpeggiators and sequencers, from before midi. Does it send a pulse each
>>beat? A pulse at each bar? At the beginning of the sequence? Or does it
>>send many pulses for each beat, the way midi clock works?

>Well, sync24 is the most common vintage method of synchronising analogue
>equipment, as found on old drum machines (Roland TR808, TR606) and
>synths/sequencers (eg Roland MC-202).
>
>As it's name suggests, it consists of 24 voltage pulses (normally +5v, for
>around 5ms) per quarter note. Yup, just like midi clock...

ok, I thought as much. For the Echoplex BeatSync jack this would not be
appropriate. Sounds like it would be pretty easy to convert sync24 to midi
clock, though, since the frequency of the pulses is the same. There must be
some box out there that does this?


>Most analogue sequencers and arpeggiators just have a trigger in/out which
>advance the sequence by one step. Usually just a positive going pulse 
>(+5v),
>although some equipment used a negative going pulse (-5v), or a short to
>ground (S-Trig).

This might be an interesting possibility, but I'm not sure I understand. So
this pulse would come out each time the sequence restarts? Or is it each
1/8th note (or whatever is the step size of the sequencer)?

Either way, that one could work for the Echoplex BeatSync, although I don't
know what other device would use it.

>>It would be fun to figure out how to sync the old analog stuff up to 
>modern
>>loopers.
>
>I figure it'd be a great project (for people like us) to build a little
>sync utility box. It'd have a bunch of converters to convert between the
>varying types of pulse, and a clock divider which output a trigger every
>x input pulses...

With so many people using the old synths in modern setups, I'd almost think
this had already been done! Maybe not with so much versatility. I think
something that can covert the Sync24 to midi clock would be fine for any
midi sync-able loop device.

thanks,

kim

______________________________________________________________________
Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
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