I’m sure i’m doing something stupid, but I don’t know what it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. LPX is v10.3.2, and i’m using v1.7.5 of the YSFW driver.

We can help you. You have one major misconception about MIDI Clock and synchronizing two devices.

Pressing Play or Record in Logic Pro X will do nothing to a Motif XF Performance. The Performance mode cannot simply be "started" in this way - Arpeggios will play only when you press the Keys or send MIDI Note-On events in via MIDI.

The Motif XF has its own Clock. That Clock is responsible for all Tempo related functions including Arpeggiators, Tempo driven Effects, LFOs, and of course, the SEQUENCER (Song/Pattern Mode).

Press Play in Logic will Start the Sequencer. The sequencer runs like Logic... Performances do not "run".
_ it is required that Note-on events triggers Arpeggios - they will follow the XF's Clock... even if the XFs Clock is set to MIDI SYNC = MIDI.

If your Performance is out of sync (sic), that is the fault of misplaced trigger notes... which means *you* are playing off the beat, or the notes you are sending in are off the beat.

Your "out of sync" thing could be due to the fact that after recording data to Logic you've forgetter to disarm the Arpeggiators before playback. If you fail to do do, playing back recorded notes will trigger the Arpeggiator (again)... what a mess. That is your fault. You don't mention whether you are attempting to RECORD Arps to Logic Pro. Recording Arpeggio data to a DAW is a 9 on the ten point scale of MIDI difficulty, just FYI. Is that what you are attempting to do?

If you are recording Arpeggiator Output (why else do you mention Performance mode) remember only two things can cause the Arpeggios to trigger
1) you touch the keys
2) you send MIDI notes In

When playing back MIDI data, deactivate the Arpeggio On/Off.

You are not doing film, stay away from MTC. Stick to MIDI CLOCK.

Tell us what (specifically) you are trying to do. We can help you.

Bad Mister,

Many thanks for the response. I'm not sure that I understand, though. I'm attaching a screenshot, which hopefully you can access. It shows 4 tracks - from top to bottom, an audio track from my Kronos, a MIDI track from the Motif XF, a MIDI track from a softsynth (from Native Instruments), and another audio track from my Kronos. On the Motif XF MIDI track, there is no MIDI data until bar 8, so no MIDI data is being sent to the Motif XF until bar 8. Yet, when I press Play in LPX (which starts at bar 1), the beat (arpeggiator) assigned to part 1 of the Motif XFs current performance starts playing, even though that track has no MIDI data until bar 8. So, LPX is somehow telling the Motif XF to start.

Regarding what i'm trying to do, it's simple. I was playing with the Motif XF and LPX, and I selected one of the preset performances called "Wobbly Keys". I quite liked the sound of the electric piano (the Motif XF has _such_ beautiful sounds in this regard), so I set up a MIDI track in LPX, pressed record in LPX, and played some stuff. The Motif played the beat from part 1 of the performance as I recorded, and I timed my playing to that. All I want to do right now is press Play in LPX and have the same beat in the currently selected same performance to play with the same timing. Currently, though the tempo is the same, the timing is usually off.

Regards,

John

Hi John,
You do understand what I'm saying, right ? To explain the ARP Record Conundrum... a single MIDI note event in Logic cannot be both a staccato 16th Note event and a whole note event, simultaneously... I'll explain...

If you are recording Arpeggiator Output (why else do you mention Performance mode) remember only two things can cause the Arpeggios to trigger
1) you touch the keys
2) you send MIDI notes In

It is not clear to me what you are doing - sounds like you are trying to record the multiple Parts of the MOTIF XF to one MIDI Track. Really? How do you expect that to work? Which of the Parts of the Performance do you want to playback... which of the Parts in the Performance did you want actually Record?

I see no mention of multiple tracks for the XF
I see no mention of routing each of the Performance Parts on its own MIDI transmit channel?
If you didn't assign them - some sort of chaos will ensue.
If you did, let us know how each of your Parts are assigned to go Out via MIDI...

The important questions are: what do you expect to happen...and what do you want to happen?
We can tell what did happen based on our guesses and assumptions gleaned from what you've posted.

A MIDI Track can typically record all incoming MIDI data... when you play "Wobbly Keys" what data do YOU think is being recorded to the one MIDI Track you've tasked with recording the XF, as you have it configured?

The Performance is four Parts:
_ Drum Kit under control of an Arpeggio Hold... Touch any key on the XF the Drums will start. You know this you're playing the Wobbly Keys Performance... touch a key ... do the drums start? ARP Note Limit is set to C-2 through G8.
_ Wobbly RB (Part 2) is under control of an Arpeggio... again ARP Note Limit is set to C-2 through G8
_ Pad and Electric Piano across all keys played direct... by "You"

In your Performance
Press [EDIT]
Press Track [1] to view Part 1 parameters
Press [F2] to view the ARP Note Limits... these determine which notes can trigger/control the Arpeggiator assigned to this Part.

Press [F3] ARP OTHER
Here you will see *if* this arp Part is set to transmit its MIDI Out (MIDI Out Switch)
Here you will see the MIDI channel setting for that Arp's MIDI data.

Press Part [2] to view what's happening with your Part 2 Arpeggio.
Is it set to transmit Out via MIDI?
If yes, on what MIDI channel.

The Pad (Part 3) and the E.Piano (Part 4) are both played direct by You (not an ARP) and are transmitted on the Basic Transmit channel for your XF.

If you have not set the ARP Out Switches... this means any MIDI note routed from that track to the XF will cause the Arps to play as you know... it's just as if you touched a key. Whether or not they start from the TOP of the phrase depends 100% on you having disarmed/re-armed the Main ARP On/Off button.

Bottom line: it is far more complicated to attempt to record, as MIDI, two Parts played by "ARP" and two Parts played by "YOU" than you might think.
And you certainly have discovered that one MIDI Track is not sufficient for this task.

Question: Are you familiar with the Motif XF feature called Direct Performance Record?
If yes, you know if you attempted to record the MIDI data of this Performance to the XF's Sequencer - it would use four tracks, one per Part. And that's using the XF's own Sequencer (it has the advantage of knowing the difference between what YOU played and what ARP "played"

You are attempying to record everything to one track presumably set to one MIDI CH. Hmmm!
Obviously, we need to sort out, what exactly you wish to see on this one track of MIDI... what do you want to happen when you playback.

I can tell you as soon as a MIDI note, any MIDI note, reaches the XF, C-2 through G8, the Arpeggiators of the XF (as you've seen yourself) are going to react!

Sync issue:
Whether they start over from the beginning of their phrases will depend on where they were when you stopped them. part 2 is not ARP Hold, its in "SYNC-OFF" - it once started remains running but will only sound when Notes are held down. It run silently when no notes are held... you must RESET the Main ARP On/Off each time you wish this to re-start from the beginning...
Remember if you NOT recording the ARP event data, you should disarm and then rearm the Main ARP ON/OFF button in order to ensure that you have *reset* it... otherwise, they will simply pickup from the last beat you allowed to sound.

My suggestion:
Figure out what data you would like to actually record to Logic
Do you need to see individual Drum events?
Do you need to see the individual ARP Notes of Part 2?

Then let us know, and we'll help you deal with it... there is obviously more going on then you thought.

There are actually multiple players... "ARP" Part 1 is like a keyboard player triggering drum notes.
His cousin "ARP" Part 2 is like a second keyboard player trigger the Wobbly RB voice.
It is NOT YOU... i find musicians get in trouble when they overlook ARP - so I describe ARP as like a second and third player engaging your instrument at the same time.

You are not playing those drum events ARP is! You get in trouble when you've convinced yourself you are playing everything in that Performance 🙂

Your sequencer Track can record either YOU playing direct OR it can record the Output of an Arpeggiator. It cannot do both. Trust me.

Imagine you hitting a note on the keyboard... this might cause the Drum ARP to trigger its C1 (a Kick drum), this might cause the Wobbly RB sound to start an ARP flourish of Notes including C1 as a quick staccato burst, and you are hitting and holding a big two handed chord on the epiano/pad that includes C1... to Logic at the business end of the MIDI data, it sees the note C1 four times on Channel 1 ... how can it be staccato for the first two Parts and yet held for the two Parts you are playing? Really...? The fact is, it cannot. That would be one magical MIDI Note event. 🙂

Final thought: You may decide that you do not need to record the XF as MIDI data at all... you can record it as audio. We just want you to know that you can proceed either way. Recording multiple streams of data as MIDI from the XF when multiple Arps are involved can be done (proper configuration) but don't do it unless you need to. Audio recording is a viable option as well each Part can have its own stereo bus!

Bad Mister,

Let me begin again in the hopes that any miscommunication is cleared up. I'll use a much simpler example this time.

I have LPX set to send MIDI clock to the XF, and the XF set to sync its tempo to it.

I recorded a MIDI track in LPX (see attached screenshot) from my Motif XF. The MIDI track is an electric piano (they sound _so_ nice on the Motif), because the XF was in Performance mode when I played it, and while the XF played the ARP on part 1, I played part 3 of the performance, which was an e-piano. The MIDI track contains the events generated when I played the e-piano, which is what I expect. While I was recording, I timed my playing to the ARP it was playing on part 1.

When I play back the track, the XF starts playing the ARP immediately (at bar 1) even though there is no MIDI event until bar 8 (again, see screenshot). Furthermore, said ARP, while synced to the the tempo in LPX (as I expect with MIDI clock), is almost always early or late compared to when I recorded the MIDI track. I would like to know why this is.

The attached screenshot shows LPX, with the one MIDI track, and the event list of that MIDI track (the only track in LPX).

Regards,

John

Again, from post above:

Sync issue:
Whether they start over from the beginning of their phrases will depend on where they were when you stopped them. part 2 is not ARP Hold, its in "SYNC-OFF" - once it is started it remains running but will only sound when Notes are held down. It runs silently when no notes are held... you must RESET the Main ARP On/Off each time you wish this to re-start from the beginning...

Remember if you are NOT recording the ARP event data, you should disarm and then rearm the Main ARP ON/OFF button in order to ensure that you have *reset* it... otherwise, they will simply pickup from the last beat you allowed to sound.

Before you playback, toggle the Arp On/Off Switch. This will ensure they start from the top.
Does Logic Send clock even when stopped? (many DAWs give you a choice) if it does give you choice opt to NOT send Clock while stopped. This will ensure the Arps stop when stop Logic.

Bad Mister,

Ah, _so_ much better (not just the results, but the tone of the response). Many thanks 🙂

Regards,

John