iClick - How to synchronize your modular synthesizer with your iPad, iPod or iphone using iDrum

YouTube via Beatprisoner — April 08, 2010 — "In this video i demonstrate how to synchronize your iDrum beats from your iPod, iPad or iPhone with your modular synthesizer system (here i synchronize the new Tame-machine from Flame) using a clicktrack mechanism. You'll need at least the following components:
* an iPhone, iPad or an iPod Touch
* Izotope's iDrum software for the iPod (also other software will work) and (recommended) for your Mac or PC
* a mini-stereo headphone plug connector to two mono mini plug connectors adapter cable
* a Doepfer A-119 Input module (if you are using Eurorack modules)
* a sequencer, quantizer or other module you want to synchronize with your iPod drumtracks
* a clicksound file in .wav or .aiff format

The most important thing is to create a clicksound wavefile first. Use a soundeditor like Audacity for this. It has some signal- and clicktrack generating option. What you'll need is a short sinewave sound. A frequency between 2 and 6 KHz should be fine. It is important that the length of this sound/file is very small. I created a sound with a length of only 10 milliseconds! If the sound exceeds a length of 70ms it might lead to problems with synchronization of fast tracks. So, stay below 15ms and you're save. Finally the sound has to be normalized to full volume.

Next i used iDrum to create a drumkit. For the sound of pad #16 i used the clicksound. Set the panorama for all sounds to fully left except for the clicksound. This has to be set to fully right and to full volume. After saving the kit it has to be transfered to the iPod using iDrum (check manual for details).

A default pattern has to be created on the iPod. Choose the last pattern of your Kit on your iPod's iDrum software. Set a beat on every step of the clicksound (full volume!). This pattern can be used as a template for every new pattern. Just copy the pattern to a new one by just moving it arround. As iDrum handles empty pattern as a "reset to first pattern" signal, your template pattern on the last cell will not be played if there is an empty one before.

Connect the iPod's headphone jack and the mono plug for the right channel into the Doepfer "A-119 Ext. In" module. Turn the gain knob fully CW and the Thres. knob fully CCW. Use either the envelope or gate output of the A-119 to connect to the device you want to synchronize (i.e. A-155, SEQ-02 or Z-8000 sequencer, a Cwejman BLD, a clock divider or Flame Tame machine). The left channel can be plugged elsewhere into your modular system (mixer, a filter, a vca, another A-119 or the external input of a Doepfer Dark Energy). The only disadvantage using this method is that your drumtrack is mono now.

Now the fun starts! Set the volume of your iPod to max and create patterns however you like and press play on iDrum. You'll hear that your modular will follow the speed of your iDrum track perfectly! Change the tempo during play and you will see that your modular will stay in sync.
But that's not all. Why not copying your existing drum patterns but modifying the "clicktrack" in that way that you'll only set every second beat? So you can immediatly set your synchronized modularsynth to half of the speed but keeping the tempo for the drums!

It's even getting better! Why should you set every or every second beat on your clicktrack? You can go as wild as you want and create some real weired rythm-/syncpatterns.

If you don't have an envelope follower and you think you can just plug the right channel output directly into your trigger input i'm afraid i have to disappoint you: normaly the level of the headphone output is not "hot" enough to drive any trigger input of your modular system. Also using "velocity" on the clicktrack to use the envelope follower of the A-119 will not work as the signal has to come into the A-119 with full volume to create an usable trigger signal.

You can also create songs in iDrums (which is a sequence of patterns) with different synchronizations (like the last song in the video). You can have breaks where only the drums are playing but the clicktrack is empty so the modularsynth will not play anyting.

You can also use this technique with other devices and/or iPod software. Use every iPod beatbox app you like. As long as you can change the panorama settings it should work. Also other devices with external trigger inputs will work.

If you want you can also setup your iElectribe on your iPad to have a clicktrack on one channel and all the other sounds on the left. So you will be able to synchronize your modularsynthesizer from your iPad. Maybe a good option for a live performance!?
Your imagination is the limit!"