If you switch between two different applications(cake,cubase) but your setup(os,hardware) stays the same then the conclusion is very simple,isn't it ? ;)

1-Sometimes a different framerate will help.Sometimes.

2-Install the Audigy WITHOUT all those media-center software it came along with.Only install the drivers,NOT the apps for that Audigy.

3-Tweak! Tweak the system(s) so you got no unnessesarily tasks running in the background-or disable a couple of Services you're never gonna use.There's a sh*tload
of resources on the internet how and which services can be disabled.

4-Change the midi-out port of your Vegas setup.If you have another option than that extigy midi,do it.Or buy a dedicated midi-interface just for the sake of proper syncing.

Good luck,Gerard

You must tell Vegas to use the audio clock for its MTC generation, otherwise it will use an internal PC timer and this could vary considerably over time with the sound hardware crystal clocking.

If you have two PC's sync'd through MTC, then the audio cards used on each PC must have the exact same sample clock otherwise they will drift. I don't believe Cubase will resample its audio output on the fly to due to variations of the MTC clock, even then it would never be sample accurate.

If you are using Cubase for MIDI through softsynths, then I would recommend you have Vegas send MIDI clock, not MTC as MTC is not "tempo" based, but merely a "clock on the wall" time.

Peter

thanks all...

"You must tell Vegas to use the audio clock for its MTC generation"
How do I do this?
If you mean the clock of the Motu 2408 then I use the PCI324 it's clock internally and my mixer a TMD8000 is slave to that.

I can't use the midi clock because I also use MTC to sync my TMD8000 for it's automation.
I use Cubase pure as a sequenzer with hardware synth's and samplers.

Most of the time I only have to select the recorded event(clip) and place it in time with for example the kick.
Its more like the starting moment is different each time when I recording something.

THX,
Dide

"You must tell Vegas to use the audio clock for its MTC generation"
How do I do this?

Good question, actually I remember this being under the advanced settings button under the sync options tab, but I no longer see that as an option under V4, unless it's been moved somewhere else?


"I can't use the midi clock because I also use MTC to sync my TMD8000 for it's automation."

If you have a midi interface with 2 available ports, you could send MTC out one, with Midi Clock out the other. Vegas will also allow you to send both out the same port, I'm just not sure how well this will work depending on the midi interface for the amount of midi data getting sent to a single port, but you could give it a try none the less, and the TMD8000, should be able to filter out the MTC, while Cubase can read the Midi Clock.

In your particular setup, what I would do is make the TMD8000, the master and send MTC to Vegas and have Vegas chase the MTC. Then I would have Vegas generate MIDI clock and have Cubase sync to external Midi clock. This may give better results. I've done this type of setups in the past, where I would have MTC/Smpte coming from a DA-88, while Vegas followed that, and then my sequencer on another PC, would follow the Midi clock from Vegas. I'm not sure what the TMD8000 has for sync out abilities though. I have used a similar setup also where I have Vegas as the master and send MTC to my Yamaha digital mixer for automated fader moves, and also have Vegas send Midi clock out another port, that my sequencer on another PC follows.

My sync is not sample accurate, but it doesn't drift drastically either, so it's still musically ok. I recently ran some tests with my setup having Vegas generate midi clock to my external sequencer on another PC. I recorded the same snare drum track on 2 seperate passes and found that I could get upto a 7mS difference in snare hits. This is most likely not due to Vegas, buy my midi interfaces on the 2 PC's. Peter and I have had some recent discussions on this topic. I'm looking into getting some newer midi interfaces and just realized Steinberg makes midi interfaces, which I read some interesting information about this on their website and a new technology they have called "LTB", which they describe as being the same technology as ASIO for midi sync. Here's the information from Steinberg's site, that might be useful. I'm interested in hearing if anyone own's one of Steinberg's midi interfaces and what you've found using midi sync.

From Steinberg site:

To LTB or not to LTB
This is an experiment to show Steinberg's new high-speed MIDI timing protocol LTB (Linear Time Base). It has already been integrated into the MIDEX series of Steinberg's MIDI interfaces MIDEX 3 and MIDEX 8, Nuendo, Cubase VST and Cubase SX/SL range of programs. LTB is a MIDI Time Stamping technique which differs from other formats in that it bypasses the computer's operating system. This is similar in concept to Steinberg's ASIO specification for audio card communication which significantly reduces latency.

High-speed MIDI timing is becoming more important in the age of virtual instruments. These offer sample-accurate timing and when combined with hardware MIDI devices, the timing differences can quickly become apparent. LTB solves this problem by tightening up MIDI communication to other external devices.


The following is a practical example of LTB's benefits
To ensure a stable reference point, a quarter-note click track on a rimshot with the sample accurate LM 4 VST drum machine was used. MIDI information was played through a typical, non-LTB interface and the audio output of the sound module was recorded as a stereo digital audio file. This was repeated using the MIDEX 8 MIDI interface which employs LTB.

Two audio files were exported out of Cubase. One combined the click track with the typical MIDI interface and the second file combined the click track with the LTB interface.

A third file was created that included the audio of the typical MIDI interface combined with the LTB interface.

The results were clear. The audio example with the typical MIDI interface resulted in a flam between the click track and drums. This was clearly audible and varied in time whereas there was no flam at all in the LTB example. When the LTB and typical MIDI interface are combined, there is a definite chorusing effect present showing the timing differences. The audio files were loaded into WaveLab to see if there were any visual differences in the waveform.

The timing differences can be visually seen as well. Figure 1 is the typical MIDI interface example. The arrow points to the click track. The gap between the click and the rest of the MIDI information is visible as well as audible. Figure 2 is the LTB example and no gap is visible or audible.

Please listen to the attached MP3 file (4.77 MB) to actually hear to LTB in action. Note the flams with the typical MIDI interface, the tightness of the LTB example and the distinct chorusing effect of both files combined.

Cubase does not accept midi clock as a external sync source.
only MTC, Asio positioning protocol ans VST system link.

Br,
Dide

issue 38 oct.2001 of Computer Music Magazine describes how to sync Vegas to cubaseVST/24 on one computer where cubase runs the MIDI, Vegas the audio and they run in sync. This involves the use of a virtual midi router such as Hubis' loopback device. As your setup seems more complicated this may be of no interest. If it is and you cannot find or access the issue online I will post the six steps described.

Thanks for your reply but I don't think this will solve my problem because I use 2 computers.

Yesterday I have try the software "MidiViaNet", its a Lan midi driver/connection.
And it worked very well, cubase was running in sync with Vegas.
But I still having the same problem, so it's not a midiInterface problem.
I think it's something with the stabillity of the clock(what peter also told me).

If I'm fast enough to record 2 tracks after each other then the timing is acceptable but the timing/drift of each recorded track after this is not accepteble anymore.

I want to know how to change the clock of the MTC.

Dide

I don't believe you can change the resolution of the clock. I believe that's what the LTB technology does, to bypass the OS kernel and standard midi clock resolution.

If I use my old Cakewalk 3.0 Pro instead of Cubase SX then the timing is much better !? Not perfect, sometimes a very very small time-startpoint difference but very accepable.
Could it be a Cubase issue? Something with it´s MTC locking maybe.

Dide

Just curious - but wouldn't the solution be to just get a master clock and have it generate to all the digital gear in the studio?

drbam