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SMPTE/MIDI time code synchronization
Synchronizing your gear
SMPTE/MTC sync and full chase lock
When using SMPTE/MTC Sync with full chase lock, the first time you play any audio the pitch may
fluctuate wildly for up to 30 seconds. Also, you may occasionally note the pitch of the audio sounding
consistently high or low pitch.
A simple analogy makes this behavior easy to understand: Synchronizing audio to SMPTE/MTC is a
lot like trying to get even and stay neck-and-neck with another car on the freeway. If the car is ahead
of you, you need to drive faster to catch up to it. If it's behind you, you have to slow until the car
catches up to you. Once the two cars are neck-and-neck, you can simply keep going at the same
speed, unless the other car changes its speed. If the other car speeds or slows, you must speed or
slow too.
The first time you play audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync, the audio clock has to get even with the
external clock. This could mean racing ahead, which raises the pitch of the audio, or stepping on the
brakes, which lowers the pitch of the audio. These fluctuations continue until SONAR matches its
playback speed to the external clock, which usually takes no more than 30 seconds. The stable
playback speed, by the way, may be slightly faster or slower than the normal audio playback speed,
resulting in a slight change in the pitch of the audio. Here’s the best way to address this problem:
• Start each new SONAR session by playing some audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync.
• Let the audio play for 30 seconds or until all audio pitch fluctuations stop.
Once this procedure is complete, SONAR knows the difference in rates between the external time
code and the audio clock on your sound card. For the rest of the session, SONAR will start playback
closely in sync, without any drastic pitch changes.
If the external timing source were 100 percent stable, the audio would stay in sync with the external
clock. Unfortunately, no timing source is perfect. Therefore, every once in a while after playback has
started, SONAR may need to vary the playback speed by a tiny amount to stay even with the time
code. If the time code signal is unstable (as might be the case from an analog source), these
variations can cause noticeable changes in audio pitch, which can in turn cause audible audio
distortion.
Summary of Contents for sonar x3
Page 1: ...SONAR X3 Reference Guide...
Page 4: ...4 Getting started...
Page 112: ...112 Tutorial 1 Creating playing and saving projects Saving project files...
Page 124: ...124 Tutorial 3 Recording vocals and musical instruments...
Page 132: ...132 Tutorial 4 Playing and recording software instruments...
Page 142: ...142 Tutorial 5 Working with music notation...
Page 150: ...150 Tutorial 6 Editing your music...
Page 160: ...160 Tutorial 7 Mixing and adding effects...
Page 170: ...170 Tutorial 8 Working with video Exporting your video...
Page 570: ...570 Control Bar overview...
Page 696: ...696 AudioSnap Producer and Studio only Algorithms and rendering...
Page 720: ...720 Working with loops and Groove Clips Importing Project5 patterns...
Page 820: ...820 Drum maps and the Drum Grid pane The Drum Grid pane...
Page 848: ...848 Editing audio Audio effects audio plug ins...
Page 878: ...878 Software instruments Stand alone synths...
Page 1042: ...1042 ProChannel Producer and Studio only...
Page 1088: ...1088 Sharing your songs on SoundCloud Troubleshooting...
Page 1140: ...1140 Automation Recording automation data from an external controller...
Page 1178: ...1178 Multi touch...
Page 1228: ...1228 Notation and lyrics Working with lyrics...
Page 1282: ...1282 Synchronizing your gear MIDI Machine Control MMC...
Page 1358: ...1358 External devices Working with StudioWare...
Page 1362: ...1362 Using CAL Sample CAL files...
Page 1386: ...1386 Troubleshooting Known issues...
Page 1394: ...1394 Hardware setup Set up to record digital audio...
Page 1400: ...1400 MIDI files...
Page 1422: ...1422 Initialization files Initialization file format...
Page 1463: ...1463 Misc enhancements New features in SONAR X3...
Page 1470: ...1470 Comparison...
Page 1518: ...1518 Included plug ins Instruments...
Page 1532: ...1532 Cyclone Using Cyclone...
Page 1694: ...1694 Beginner s guide to Cakewalk software Audio hardware sound cards and drivers...
Page 1854: ...1854 Preferences dialog Customization Nudge Figure 518 The Nudge section...
Page 1856: ...1856 Preferences dialog Customization Snap to Grid Figure 519 The Snap to Grid section...
Page 1920: ...1920 Snap Scale Settings dialog...
Page 2042: ...2042 View reference Surround panner...