InTime™ FAQ

InTime™ works very well when tracking drums and percussion. MIDI drum kits work directly with InTime™. For acoustic drum kits and percussion, you'll need to setup either hardware MIDI triggers or audio triggers to convert what you play into MIDI messages for InTime™ to track. There are more details in the discussion Acoustic Drum kits and InTime™. Feel free to email us if you have other questions.

Yes! Your license and Authorization String is valid for use on three of your computers. If you want to use InTime™ on another machine of yours, just send us an email to get another Authorization String.

To control another piece of software running on the same machine as InTime™, you can use a Virtual MIDI Device, or you can physically connect one of your computer's MIDI output devices to a MIDI input. This allows you to send out MIDI events (notes, beat clocks, etc.) to another piece of software. For example, InTime™ can control your sequencer during a live performance so it follows your tempo changes.

Using InTime™ with a Virtual MIDI Device to drive your sequencing software:

1. Install a MIDI Virtual Device Driver

• Windows: see below
• Mac: use the built-in Mac IAC Driver (see InTime™ Help File for details)
• When properly installed, you will see the Virtual Devices listed in the choice boxes in the InTime™ MIDI Devices window.

2. Setup your MIDI Devices in InTime™

• The InTime™ "Input" MIDI device should be set to receive the input from your instrument, which usually will be coming from your hardware MIDI In port.
• Set the InTime™ "Beat Clock (Sync Master)" device to a Virtual Output Device. This allows your sequencer to be controlled by and follow the tempo from InTime™.

• Set the input device on your sequencer (or other MIDI software) to the Virtual Input Device corresponding to the Virtual Output Device you used in the previous step. There may be a separate device setting for sync.

• TIP: If you use one of the virtual devices suggested below, you can simply select the same-numbered device for the InTime™ output devices and your sequencer's input device. For example, set everything to use "MiditYoke Junction: 1" (using Midi Yoke's default naming).

• Setup your sequencer to act as a Sync Slave (also know as "Sync to External Source" or "Sync to External Clock", or "External Beat Clock Sync", etc).
• You may need to hit start on your sequencer (e.g. for Ableton Live). It should pause as it waits for the Sync Master's "Start" command from InTime™.
• Start InTime™. It will send out the "Start" message and MIDI Beat Clocks, and your sequence should start playing.

Windows Virtual MIDI Devices Here are some that available for free over the Web, and some associated help pages. TIP: We recommend LoopBe1. Otherwise, Windows XP users have reported better experiences with Maple Midi than with Midi Yoke and Hubi's.

• LoopBe1 (http://www.nerds.de/en/loopbe1.html)
  For 2k/XP/vista/7. Low-latency kernal mode driver.
  A good free one-port device. You'll usually just need on port for InTime™.
  There's an inexpensive upgrade for more ports.
  The company seems active, at least as of 2010.
• Maple Midi Tools (for Windows XP in particular)
  No longer in development. Get it from the archive site here: web.archive.org...
  Setup tip: After installing, run Maple Midi Tools and in the "Options | Midi Settings" dialog, choose the 'Accept input from sequencer' option.
• Midi Yoke
  A classic VMD, from the maker of the excellent MIDI-OX tool.
• Hubi's LoopBack Device (only for 95/98/ME least recommended)
  Get it here: http://www.sionsoft.com/hubi.html
  Help for Installing
  Using Hubi's LBD

You can do this. See the InTime™ Help File that installs with InTime™, accessible from the Help menu or Windows Start Menu.

If you see large tempo flucuations in Live while it's slaved to InTime™, and especially if they look pretty crazy, try adjusting the soundcard latency settings in Live's preferences to a greater latency. The users that have reported this problem have fixed it this way.

Otherwise, small tempo flucuations of 1-2 bpm in Live's tempo display is normal, even while you're playing and trying to keep a steady beat. Partly it's because you're not likely playing as precisely as a metronome (that can be a good thing), and partly it's from small system latencies and Live's synchrnoization method, which has to always be averaging what's happening.

It's best not to watch the tempo display while playing with InTime™. It will only distract you from hearing the music.

Open the MIDI Devices window and choose a device for and enable the Beat click. You must listen to a click while playing.

You can change the sound of the click in the Beat Click window.

Enable Tempo Tracking on the Main window.

Use one of the following methods for your countoff:

• If you want an automatic countoff from InTime™, open the Tempo and Start Controls window. Enable "Countoff", select "auto" from the drop down menu,and enter the number of countoff beats in the "N:" window. Set your initial tempo in the window. Enable the Record button on the Main window. Enable the Start button on the Main window. After InTime™ clicks the assigned number of countoff beats, recording begins.
• If you want to countoff manually, open the MIDI Remote Control window,  enable the "Tap", assign a MIDI event to be the tap trigger, and enable "Initial and Countoff". Then, in the Tempo and Start Controls window, enable Countoff, enter the number of beats you want to tap for a countoff in the "N:" window, and choose Manual. Enable the Record button on the Main window. Enable the Start button on the Main window. Tap the indicated number of beats on the MIDI Tap Trigger and begin recording.
• If you want to record as soon as you begin playing, open the Tempo and Start Controls window and enable Wait Note. Enable the Record button on the Main window. Enable the Start button on the Main window.  InTime™ will begin recording as soon as you begin playing.

In the MIDI Remote Control window, (the button in the main window) enable the Tracking Toggle. Assign a MIDI event to the Tracking Toggle to switch between Steady Tempo and Tempo Tracking.

Before or while performing, switch between Steady Tempo and Tempo Tracking at any time using the MIDI event you assigned to the Tracking Toggle

In the MIDI Remote Control window (click the button in the main window, or open from the menu), enable the Tap, assign a MIDI event to be the Tap trigger, and enable the Performance option.

Optionally, enable Tempo Tracking on the Main window.

While you are playing, you can tap any tempo using the MIDI Event you assigned to the Tap trigger, and the new tempo will immediately take effect.

TIP: You can use this sudden tempo change method in conjunction with the Tracking Toggle (above) to make a sudden tempo change from one Steady Tempo to another. When you want to make the change, toggle the tracking on, tap the new tempo, and toggle the tracking off.

Open the Advanced Tracking Options window, and enable Groove Tracking.

If you are recording, decide which method you want to use to Record your track.

InTime™ will keep you close to your chosen tempo. The tempo indicator will remain at your chosen initial tempo, however you will be able to play around that tempo, and these tempo changes will be reflected in your tempo map.

Open the MIDI Devices window, Enable File Out and choose the proper MIDI device.

Enable Tempo Tracking on the Main window.

In the Open MIDI File Window, load the existing MIDI file you want to play along with.

If you are recording, decide which method you want to use to Record your track.

You must listen to, and play along with, the file as you play. When you have finished recording, the new file will have a tempo map reflecting your performance.

NOTE: See also How do I control another program on my computer with InTime™?

Open the MIDI Devices window, Enable Beat Clock (Sync Master) and choose the proper MIDI device to send the tempo messages to the external device. If you know the proper MIDI device is set, you can click the enable button under the Clock icon to activate the Sync Master. The light should glow green.

Setup your external MIDI device to act as a Sync Slave (also know as "Sync to External Source" or "Sync to External Clock", or "External Beat Clock Sync", etc). Make sure your external device's input is receiving messages from the InTime™ output you selected. You can now play with the freedom of tempo tracking, and still have another keyboard, drum machine, sequencer, or any MIDI device that can slave to MIDI clocks, follow your playing.

If you are having trouble with the tempo running away from you, there are a few options to help keep things under control.

Use a lower Sensitivity Setting, found on the Main window. This will make InTime™ put up more resistance to your tempo changes.

Use the Tempo Limiter found in the Tempo and Start Controls window. Set the tempo limits to the maximum and minimum tempo you want to be allowed to stray from your initial tempo.

Change the Tracking Bias found in the Advanced Tracking Options window. Some people find that changing the Tracking Bias Setting makes it easier (or harder) to change tempos in one direction or the other. This is a setting that is different for each individual's playing, and some people notice no difference, so try different setting to find a comfortable setting for your playing.

Logic 8: Unfortunately, Logic 8 no longer supports sync via Midi Clock. So you can't use it for live sync with InTime™. We'll be adding ReWire support for the next major release of InTime™, so that will make it usable with Logic again. In the meantime, you can still use InTime™ to record your performances and get a natural tempo map, which you can save and import into Logic.

Logic 7 or earlier: If you use Apple Logic with InTime™ on the same computer and have them connected via a Virtual MIDI Device (VMD), for example if you use Apple OS X's built-in IAC Bus, you might experience freezing or very slow playback when playing MIDI instruments/tracks in Logic, and you might see a "Core Audio System Overload" message.

If this happens, it's because Logic is sending its MIDI ouput to the same VMD that is being used for MIDI input. This causes an instant feedback loop through the VMD and the system gets overloaded. By default, Logic will listen to all available MIDI devices/ports for input, and send output to all MIDI ports as well.

To fix this, make sure Logic is NOT sending MIDI output to a VMD that is being used for input. The quick way to fix this is in the Instrument Settings panel - make sure each instrument/track is sending MIDI out only to a single port, and is NOT set to send out to "All" ports. Another option is to setup your environment so that MIDI is more selectively routed.

Cakewalk Sonar has a bug which makes it stop listening for MIDI Sync input after you've hit Stop once already in InTime™. To get around this problem, put Sonar into Loop mode (it won't actually loop while sync'ed to InTime™), and make the end loop point the end of the song. Then, when you enable external MIDI Sync in Sonar and hit play in Sonar, it will keep listening to InTime™ as you start and stop using InTime™. If you have a moment, email Cakewalk and ask them to fix this bug.

If InTime™ seems to want to slow down (or speed up) when you're playing at a steady tempo, adjust the Tracking Bias, in the Advanced Tracking window. For details, look for "Tracking Bias" in the InTime™ Help file index.

Some programs, when slaved to InTime™, will sometimes sound jerky when they startup. This is because they don't know the starting tempo ahead of time. Read the discussion on Slaved Software Startup for more details.

Certain styles of drum fills can sound good, but actually be very off-tempo. InTime™ cannot follow such styles if they are too far off-tempo, but there are two things you can do to make InTime™ track better:

1. Make sure Rate Filter is enabled (Advanced Tracking window). This filters out rapid events, anything faster than (very approximately) a 32nd note.
2. Try enabling Sub Tracking in the Advanced Tracking window. This will help in particular with 16th-note triplet fills and some off-tempo fills with 16th-note feels. NOTE: your overall effective tracking sensitivity will drop when you enable Sub Tracking. You can increase the Tracking Sensitivity to accomodate this to some degree.

There are some compatibility problems with InTime™ and some software and hardware products.

• Some versions of Cakewalk sequencers don't record tempo changes when it's being driven in sync mode as a Slave. You should use InTime™ tor record while you're playing, save as a MIDI file, then import into Cakewalk.
• Cakewalk Sonar doesn't keep 'listening' for midi control messages in sync slave mode after a stop message is received. But, there's a workaround—see the entry above in the FAQ for Sonar.
• Mark of the Unicorn's Micro Express MIDI router box muddles the MIDI Clock (Sync Master) messages that InTime™ outputs, making the messages unusable.

We are requesting that these companies address these issues as we become aware of them. If you find problems using InTime™ and other software, please email us with your problem, and contact the manufacturer of the software you are using.