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. With the internal clock it moves in steps of 1 BPM; with the external clock, in steps of 0.1.
• 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 you selected in Settings, or the one RigAstra picked automatically if you didn’t select any.
• 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 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 in which you selected them. 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 is 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, with its BPM, once it’s receiving. In portrait, clock precision statistics in milliseconds also appear below the status.

If several inputs send clock at the same time, their pulses get mixed and the tempo becomes unstable. Choose a single input in MIDI Inputs.

When you open the app, return to it or a MIDI destination connects, if the source is External MIDI and no clock is arriving, RigAstra switches back to the internal clock. If you connect the device later, tap Scan MIDI Inputs in Settings so RigAstra looks for clock sources again, and choose External MIDI once more.

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.
• The clock stops when the app goes to the background, so RigAstra can’t be the master clock while another app is on screen (see Perform).

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