Getting an accurate MIDI Clock Tap Tempo

If you are using the MIDI Clock Tap message type to tap in a tempo, you may find that you might not be able to tap a very fast tempo (i.e. > 150BPM). This is related to the switch sensitivity setting (under the Controller Settings tab), where a higher setting will let you tap in a faster, more accurate tempo. The Switch Sensitivity setting exists to allow the controller to do dual switch presses (to bank up/down etc). A lower setting will allow dual switch presses to execute more accurately, at the expense of latency between a switch press and when the preset executes.

Solutions

Use a higher switch sensitivity

Setting the Switch Sensitivity setting to 5 will allow you to tap in the quickest and most accurate tempo. However, this is at the expense of the accuracy of executing dual switch presses as explained earlier.

Use the MIDI Clock menu

You can use a preset to engage the MIDI Clock menu. in this menu, you will be able to tap in a tempo very accurately and then exit the menu after. You even have the top of increasing/decreasing the BPM.

Use a Looper Mode message type

You can add an Engage Looper Mode message type together with your MIDI Clock Tap message, so that Looper Mode will be engaged while you are tapping in a tempo. In the example above, I am using Preset A for this, so in my Looper Mode message, I only applied it to Switch A. I also have a Disengage Looper Mode message to disable Looper Mode when I select another preset. Alternatively, you can just have another switch to engage/disengage Looper Mode.

Updated on: 07/06/2024