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I am trying to program a tempo using tap tempo. The track needs a free feeling tempo with rubatos and accelerandi, etc.

SO:

I set the MIDI event to C3
Record enabled he conductor rack
Set receive sync to tap tempo
Slaved to external sync (reminds me of the days when I would slave DP to the code on the 3/4" video cassette and have the multi track deck chase the time code thru the fostex 4050 syncronizer but that is a story for another day)
Hit record/play
Start hitting C3 to enter the tempo

Nothing happens.

I have it set for 4 countoff beats. Nothing ever goes down.

I have done this several times, referencing the manual.

No go.

Any help?

I remember reading threads about this in general, but I need an answer for this problem specifically.

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You won't hear any count-off clicks. I think those "count-off clicks" are taps you play for yourself. So they would be self-tapped "count-off" taps. The idea is that you give yourself time and precision to establish the initial tempo.

If you set it to 4 of them, then the 5th tap would be your first beat, if I remember correctly.

Also, has the music been sequenced already, or are you going to record a tempo track and THEN record music based on that tempo?

For the former, I'd use Record Beats instead. For the latter, what you are doing is perfect.

Does it work now?

FM - thanks for hitting me back - no I can't get it to work - I'll get DP on the phone tomorrow and see if they can't sort it out and post afterwards...

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My pleasure, man.

I think you are missing a critical step, but I could be wrong (because it may relate only to my setup)... you may want to give it another shot:

I'm not in my studio now, but you must record-enable not only the CT, but also a MIDI track with its output set to your keyboard (this depends on your particular setup). To do this, you need to set (check) Multi Record in the Studio Menu. Also, you must reflect this in the Transmit Sync dialog box (where the tapping will come from) in the Source box.

I do this all the time. I can't believe I don't know for sure if I don't see DP in front of me...

At least this is how I do it, because I usually tap the tempo with the sustain pedal while I record sketch melodies with my hands.
In your case this extra step might be redundant, but it's worth you give it a shot.

I don't think you need to record-enable a MIDI track. I only record-enable the Conductor Track. As long as you enslaved DP to the Tap (Command 7) you should be good to go.

• Set up Tap Tempo in the Receive Sync Prefs
• Record Enable the Conductor Track
• Slave DP to the Receive Sync specs (Command-7)
• Hit Record
• Start Tapping.


But there is one other step that is crucial to making it work properly. Before you start:
• go to the Conductor Track and delete all tempo markings you find in the area you plan to conduct (tap)
• set ONE marker at the starting point of your tapping, where the cursor begins
• set that Tempo Marker for 400 BPM (maximum tempo)

NOW do the steps outlined the first time.

Shooshie

PS: I'm not sure whether I've tap-tempo'd anything in DP 7.02. I hope it's not broken, but last I used it, it worked.

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Yeah. Shooshie is right about not needing to record enable a MIDI track for this to work the way you want.
For what you describe, it should work as he suggests.

In my case, I must record-enable the CT AND a MIDI track because I record music while tapping at the same time.
I wonder what is going wrong with this feature in your system...

If you call MOTU, please let us know what they tell you and if you get it to work.

Shooshie, FM,

Thanks. I took screen shots of both your replies and will try them later today, if time provides.

I remember that 400 bpm thing from an earlier post now.

I have two projects going, tracking vocals and drums on one today - and don't know if I will get to the rubato track afterwards. Excited to try this stuff though. I absolutely have to get this working for this other track.

Tanx again.

Will

Remember, not just a 400 bpm tempo marker at the starting point, but NO OTHER tempo markers in the range that you're going to tap-conduct. This is a work-around, and we should not have to do it this way. I'm anxious to see if they fixed it in 7.1, yet I don't want to try it, because I'm afraid it'll still be the way it always was. But I will. And I'll report on it.

Shooshie

Got it - thanks - gonna look at it Monday - 7.02 was rock solid for 20 hours of tracking drums guitars vocals and bass without one crash, btw...a joy to drive, really...

UGH. Tap tempo seems definitely broken in DP7.02. Have the exact same problem as wilheim... Simply dead. No go at all.

Anyone care to verify?

Bummer, because I use this all the time.

Posting a thread in the troubleshooting forum now.

I apparently didn't use TT in 7.02, so I don't know how it is there. But I've used it in 7.1, and it's working very well. (with the above-mentioned work-around, of course)

Shooshie

I think there's another thread on this... but my question as if the keyboard you're using as the Tap Tempo source is connected via USB and if so, did you create a dummy instrument in AMS so that you can select that keyboard by name as tap tempo source? Just a shot in the dark.

James Steele wrote:I think there's another thread on this... but my question as if the keyboard you're using as the Tap Tempo source is connected via USB and if so, did you create a dummy instrument in AMS so that you can select that keyboard by name as tap tempo source? Just a shot in the dark.

Hmm... I vaguely remember a post about USB keyboards and naming them in AMS. Is there an issue with USB keyboards? Or is it just the fact that you have to set them up separately in AMS, as opposed to connecting them to a MIDI interface like MTP-AV?

I still haven't had time to check it out - will be getting to it...interesting. Yah - I really need it -

Shooshie wrote:

James Steele wrote:I think there's another thread on this... but my question as if the keyboard you're using as the Tap Tempo source is connected via USB and if so, did you create a dummy instrument in AMS so that you can select that keyboard by name as tap tempo source? Just a shot in the dark.

Hmm... I vaguely remember a post about USB keyboards and naming them in AMS. Is there an issue with USB keyboards? Or is it just the fact that you have to set them up separately in AMS, as opposed to connecting them to a MIDI interface like MTP-AV?

It's an issue that AFAIK is unique to DP. It won't see USB keyboards as inputs unless you create a "dummy instrument" and connect it up as shown in the illustration below. This is also necessary if you want to use more than one USB input device (keyboard + Drum pad controller for example) and be able to specify only a particular input device for a particular MIDI track, like in "Multi-Record."