Tempo and clock

RigAstra has a single global clock that sets the tempo for every engine: the Arpeggiator, the Drum Player, the LFO in Sync mode and the Drone Pad refresh. The clock runs at 24 pulses per quarter note (PPQN 24, the MIDI Clock standard) and can be internal, when RigAstra sets the tempo, or external, when RigAstra follows MIDI Clock from another device.

With it you can set the song tempo so every engine plays together, send MIDI Clock to drum machines, synths or your DAW, or follow the tempo of a DAW or any other device that sends MIDI Clock.

Open the Tempo screen

In Perform, tap the tempo pill in the top bar (the one that shows the BPM and pulses to the beat). The Tempo screen opens, laid out from top to bottom like this:

1. The BPM dial.
2. The Tap and Sync Tap buttons.
3. The Retrig All button.
4. The Clock section, with the Internal | External MIDI selector and a line of text showing the clock status.
5. The red Stop All button at the bottom.

Tap Done to close it.

Change the tempo with the dial

• Drag the dial to change the tempo. If you start to the left of the decimal point, it changes in steps of 1 BPM; to the right, in steps of 0.01.
• Tap the number to type the tempo. A typed value accepts up to 2 decimals.
• Double-tap the dial to remove the decimals.

The range is 20 to 500 BPM. The BPM is remembered between sessions.

Tap and Sync Tap

Tap works out the tempo from your taps:

1. Tap Tap several times along with the music.
2. RigAstra averages up to the last 8 intervals between taps (it only counts intervals from 0.25 to 3 seconds) and rounds the result to a whole number.
3. The screen shows the tapped BPM.

Tap only works with the internal clock.

Sync Tap realigns the beat to the moment you tap, without changing the BPM. Use it to come in on time with a band or an external click: tap Sync Tap right on the downbeat.

Retrig All and Stop All

Internal clock

The internal clock is the default. With it, RigAstra sets the tempo and sends it to your gear:

• It sends MIDI Clock (24 pulses per quarter note) and Start/Stop messages to a single destination: the first one in the Settings list among the ones you selected, or the one RigAstra picked automatically if you didn’t select any. If that destination is a network one and another selected and connected destination isn’t, the clock goes to that other one.
• Notes and CCs go out to every selected destination; only MIDI Clock goes to a single destination.
• Network destinations ([NET]) receive Start and Stop, but not the clock pulses, so the network isn’t flooded.

Automatic clock fallback

If the first selected destination in the list isn’t connected, the clock moves to the next selected destination that is. RigAstra prefers a cable connection first (or IDAM to a Mac, on iPhone and iPad), then network, then Bluetooth; for the same connection type, it follows the order of the list. When the first destination comes back, the clock returns to it.

The switch doesn’t restart the tempo. The device that picks up the clock in the middle of playback doesn’t receive Start: it locks straight onto the pulses.

External clock (External MIDI)

Choose External MIDI in the Clock section to make RigAstra follow another device’s tempo:

• RigAstra listens for MIDI Clock (pulses, Start, Continue and Stop) on the inputs chosen in Settings > MIDI Inputs. By default it listens to all of them.
• It keeps adjusting its tempo to follow the incoming clock, which is why the BPM may show decimals.
• When it receives Start, Arpeggiators, Drum Players and LFOs in Sync restart aligned. When it receives Stop, they stop.
• Tap and Sync Tap are disabled.
• While it follows an external clock, RigAstra doesn’t send clock out, to avoid loops.

The status text reads Awaiting external MIDI clock while nothing arrives, and External clock detected once it’s receiving; as soon as it works out the tempo, it shows the incoming BPM (for example, External 120.0 BPM). In portrait, clock precision statistics in milliseconds also appear below the status.

If several inputs send clock at the same time, RigAstra follows the first one and ignores the others until it stops sending for 500 ms. A Stop on its own doesn’t change the source. To decide which one sets the tempo, choose a single input in MIDI Inputs.

External MIDI stays on even if no clock arrives, including when you return to the app or a MIDI destination connects. When you open the app, the clock starts on Internal: choose External MIDI again. If you connect the device later, tap Scan MIDI Inputs in Settings so RigAstra looks for clock sources again.

Tempos per scene

Each scene stores a list of up to 48 tempos, which you pick live with the Macro Tempo module. Choosing one of those tempos changes the global BPM.

Limitations

• There’s no Ableton Link.
• MIDI Clock goes out to one destination at a time.
• There’s no configurable time signature: everything is measured in quarter notes and their subdivisions.
• In the background the clock keeps running while some engine is playing, so RigAstra can stay the master clock with another app on screen. With nothing playing, the system suspends it (see Perform).

If the clock doesn’t arrive or the tempo behaves oddly, check Troubleshooting.