MIDI Time Code

MIDI Time Code, an overdue MIDI sync standard or a missed opportunity for musicians and manufacturers alike? Vic Lennard finds out what time it is.

The pro-standard SMPTE sync code is now working itself down to many semi-pro and amateur studios - but even the best systems bring their problems. Vic Lennard presents a SMPTE troubleshooters' guide.

A Series By Warren Cann.

Having problems connecting instruments together? Our new series on syncing should solve your problems. This month, John Harris looks at syncing gear to tape.

Steve Howell (again) continues our series on interconnection by describing solutions to problems that arise from interfacing synths from different eras and manufacturers.

We conclude our series on synchronisation by looking at Time Code and its applications in the video and music industries. Film editor Richard Atherton is your guide.

Having trouble syncing your sequencer to your drum machine or vice versa? Steve Howell (probably) has the answer.

Is video a mystery to you? Would you like to dip a toe into its murky waters, or are you worried about getting out of your depth too quickly? In this new series David Mellor explains the essentials of synchronising audio to video, and finds out what it is like to upgrade a home studio to audio post-production standard.

PART 5: In this final installment of the series, David Mellor looks at sophisticated timecode generators and readers in the Fostex range, and at complex timecode systems.

In the fourth part of this series, David Mellor looks at the Fostex 4030/4035 synchroniser system, and how it is set up and operated.

PART 2: Timecode - much talked about but little understood - is of increasing importance to musicians and recording engineers. Whether you are synchronising audio to video, or MIDI to multitrack, at least a working knowledge of SMPTE/EBU is required. In the second part of this series, David Mellor explains what timecode is and how it is used.

PART 3; David Mellor looks at how the requirements of different types of music for TV and film can dictate the sophistication of your synchronising capabilities, and at how machine synchronisation works in practice.

Thoughts on MIDI's Next Decade

The missing sync?

Control your sequencers and drum machines from tape.

In part four of this series Bob O'Donnell deals with rhythm by linking a drum machine into the expanding MIDI system.

MIDI-To-Tape Synchronisation

MIDI-to-tape sync: why you need it, what it does and how you use it.

Another piece of the MIDI puzzle

That syncing feeling

Beat box basics

Syncing Again

Song Position Pointers

Sound On Sound's MIDI Doctor Jay Chapman, returns with a new series that concentrates on specific aspects of MIDI and explores their relevance and use in a musical set-up. This month: the Song Position Pointer.

The marriage between MIDI and SMPTE is now complete, but the burning question remains: how will musicians and engineers benefit from it? Chris Meyer traces the link from its source to its users.

Using Sequencers with Modular Systems

Steve Howell looks at different methods of triggering modular sequencers from click-tracks on tape.