MIDI Blinking Light Metronome

[MacDog172]

Is there a product out there that will receive the tempo info from a DP file and blink a light in tempo (visible metronome) for musicians to follow rather than an audible click?
Thanks...macdog172

[cuttime]

Perhaps MIDIBlinker will do the trick?

https://www.larrymtaylor.com/software.php

[James Steele]

Didn't DP at one time have this built in? It might have been all the way back in the Performer days. Seems like this should be something they should consider putting back in. I can't imagine it would be that difficult to program.

[bayswater]

Didn't DP at one time have this built in? It might have been all the way back in the Performer days. Seems like this should be something they should consider putting back in. I can't imagine it would be that difficult to program.

You mean punches and flutters, etc? You can set the metronome to output visual punches to a Movie window. You'll probably want a long blank movie. I don't think it works unless there is a movie loaded.

[James Steele]

No... I don't mean the film scoring features. But I am reaching WAY back to prehistoric times when Performer was running on Mac Pluses and Mac SEs. I vaguely recall there was a little window you could open up called "Flash" or something and it was simply a rectangle with one side black and the other side white and they would alternate on the beat? It was a visual metronome, essentially. There's a chance I might have this confused with a feature in Vision, but for some reason I was thinking this was in Performer. Yeah... LOL... we're talking around FOUR DECADES ago!

[mikehalloran]

Look up Visual Punches in the DP Manual, illustration 25-1 — see if that gives you what you are looking for.

[James Steele]

It looks like those options either require some sort of external hardware or are for overlaying onto a QuickTime movie when bouncing it from DP. I think the OP is looking for a solution that will show a visual pulse on the screen that's in time with the tempo. Perhaps there might be some sort of light that flashes with audio input and you could route the metronome audio to it?

[James Steele]

Here's something that I found. It's an expired listing on Reverb for something called the Photuris Click Light.

https://reverb.com/item/2197721-photuri ... tracks-etc

Seems like a good solution, but I couldn't find a website. But they do have a shop on Reverb and it looks like a one man (Jim?) operation that makes custom gadgets. Here's a link to that and you could try sending a message to see if he's the guy who builds these and could sell you one.

https://reverb.com/shop/shop-803

[bayswater]

It looks like those options either require some sort of external hardware or are for overlaying onto a QuickTime movie when bouncing it from DP.

Yes, it just makes flashing circles in the movie window. But you need a movie open in the DP Movie window. No external hardware is required.

[stubbsonic]

... But I am reaching WAY back to prehistoric times when Performer was running on Mac Pluses and Mac SEs. I vaguely recall there was a little window you could open up called "Flash" or something and it was simply a rectangle with one side black and the other side white and they would alternate on the beat? It was a visual metronome, essentially. There's a chance I might have this confused with a feature in Vision, but for some reason I was thinking this was in Performer. Yeah... LOL... we're talking around FOUR DECADES ago!

When I first saw this first post, I pictured that rectangle going from side to side that James described and went looking for it in DP. Couldn't find it. I suppose it is possible I'm remembering it from some other sequencer, but then James kind of made me think I might be remembering it correctly. And "flash" also sounds kinda familiar. But I was also thinking it may have been an option within the "bigger counter".

[James Steele]

I think it was in Performer and at some point many years ago MOTU removed it from the app. It may not have even made the leap from Performer to Digital Performer.

[MacDog172]

Thank you Mike and James! I can always count on you guys for timely, helpful info. Using "Punches" is going to do the job! I had no idea DP had that feature. I create an .MOV file which is totally black screen for the length of the song. Open in DP and dedicate a monitor screen for the .MOV and make the pulsating circles huge. Turn it towards the drummer and "BOOM"! No more cow bell click drilling his eardrums! He is going to be very grateful. His tinnitis was getting so bad that the audio click was killing his hearing and he was going to have to give up recording. This is a Godsend for sure. Thank you so very much....macdog172

[HCMarkus]

"DP Saves Lives"... film at 11.

Great news!

[James Steele]

Thank you Mike and James! I can always count on you guys for timely, helpful info. Using "Punches" is going to do the job! I had no idea DP had that feature. I create an .MOV file which is totally black screen for the length of the song. Open in DP and dedicate a monitor screen for the .MOV and make the pulsating circles huge. Turn it towards the drummer and "BOOM"! No more cow bell click drilling his eardrums! He is going to be very grateful. His tinnitis was getting so bad that the audio click was killing his hearing and he was going to have to give up recording. This is a Godsend for sure. Thank you so very much....macdog172

That's a good workaround, but seems like might be a good idea for MOTU to bring back a visual metronome of some type. I will definitely write to them and suggest it. Honestly, it doesn't seem like it would be a very complicated feature to implement.

[stubbsonic]

It would be cute if the counter window could be zoomed so hard that you could have a 12" x 4" colon flashing the beats.


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