I will second the Max class. Crow and arc have been my motivations to get up to speed with Max and that course have changed everything. Crow to the ER-301 and TXo have been immensely gratifying and I’ve not had much issue at all getting everything to go exactly where I want it!

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really enjoying crow with max and max for live, thanks for great work @dan_derks :wink:

I have a question regarding a second crow. I have found some information but not enough.
is it possible now, or in the future, to have a second crow connected via i2c to the first crow and control it via max/max4live? basically use a second crow without plugging it to another usb port. my main interest is using it with max/max4live. any insight would be much appreciated :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi there!
Maybe a stupid question but:
Is it possible to play JF synth+W/ synth with the same Crow in M4L mode right?
Mines stop working if I try to play ‘em together or JF freeze on a single note. Sometimes I’m able to solve the issue refreshing Crow connection.
MacBook Pro+ Hig Sierra here, JF and Crow are updated to the last firmwares. Is it relevant that Ableton is the trial vr?
Current i2c bus (powered by Clank Modular power system):
Crow, JF, W/, Er-301

EDIT: Also JF alone stops working or freeze even if I don’t dedicate a track to W/ synth🤔

Thank you🙂

hey y’all!

not yet possible with crow regardless of environment, but configuring a crow as a follower to another is on the roadmap for 3.0 and has some groundwork covered. once it’s possible, it’ll trickle down to the max/m4l devices :slight_smile:

should be possible, but since the w/synth firmware isn’t out of beta it might cause unexpected issues.

does this happen reliably? any additional steps to reproduce this issue would be :pray:

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Thanks for the reply!

By now JF stops working/freeze when I “overload” the polyphony: the issue starts when I play several chords or when I play a melody on a pre-recorded JF melody on another Ableton midi track.
So JF stops working or freeze himself on a droning note🤔
JF is a gold clouds version, updated to 4.0

So the problem could be JF and W/ (beta) on the same i2c bus??

that shouldn’t cause trouble, but it’d be worth testing if you have time.

also, if you can share the Ableton Live Set or a screenshot of the exact setup for the M4L device, then I can try to repro on my hardware :revolving_hearts:

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Thank you!
Ableton set up is the current (and super basic):

•midi track1: command center + Jf synth
•midi track2: command center + W/ synth

In my recent tests I can say that JF crush due to “polyphony overload”, when I play several chords or rich and fast melodies.
Removing the midi track 2 -and refreshing the connection several times- ,seems that Jf restarts working, but I need to test more.
Maybe the i2c bus (Crow, JF, W/, Er-301)?

EDIT: Unfortunately the issue persists also removing the command W/synth, seems that only JF is involved

Hello there,
Today I had the chance to make several test and here the results:

•changing i2c bus modules order or taking of other modules (Er-301, W/), JF keeps freezing/stops working after “polyphony overload”.
•JF perfectly works with Norns: all the scripts which support i2c connection via Crow work well.
•I tried to re-update JF to 4.0 but issues with M4L persists.

So I think that the issue depends on M4L BUT only when Keystep is connected to the Mackbook: when I load midi notes from the Mac keyboard, JF goes smooth also with “polyphony overload”.
I know that Keystep had velocity/midi issues also with Just play script, but I think they’re solved now. Keystep is updated to last firm.
Any suggestion? Anybody has the same problem?
Thanks🙂

EDIT: The problem appears in the low register of the Keystep keyboard (-1 octave):thinking:

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ah! these are such helpful repro steps! thank you :slight_smile:

just to confirm, this is what you’re experiencing:

  • you can play JF polyphonically without trouble when you’re using the Mac keyboard
  • you experience overload issues only when triggering notes from a Keystep
  • when the Keystep is in lower registers, that’s when it becomes problematic

right?

i’ll take a peek at the just play script, as any changes made to that script to accommodate the Keystep would need to be made to the M4L devices as well – i don’t have one on hand, but i’ll give it a shot and report back here with any improvements.

please do keep me updated if you can further narrow the issue! thanks again for the communication, super appreciated.

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You could try removing ER301 from the i2c bus to see if that helps. Hung notes on JF suggests an unstable bus to me (though that doesnt explain why its affected by lower notes only etc).

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All that you have mentioned is correct! So it should be a cc/velocity issue as it was on Just play (always related to the Keystep).
Thank you for the commitment! I scheduled to buy a second Crow entirely dedicated to M4L, I’ve found it super useful!

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Morning guys,
Just completed some other tests this morning:

•Under suggestion of Andrea (Clank Modular, the builder of the i2c busboard) I connected directly Just Friends to Crow to exclude issues comes from the busboard as @Galapagoose assumed.
I had confirmation of the previous behavior:
JF goes well, despite pushing the polyphony to the edge, on the middle register of the Keystep but when you go -1 octave, it freeze himself on a note or stops working.

This was the set-up :
•1 Ableton midi track: Command center + JF synth
•Crow directly connected to JF via i2c

@dan_derks hope it helps🙂

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this definitely helps — thank you for additional testing!

sounds like the keystep might be outputting midi messages that mess with the voice release logic — i’ll be able to look at the Just Play code tomorrow and if that’s it, it should be a quick fix :slight_smile:

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If it’s not a pain, could you record the simplest MIDI input that causes the issue, and post it here. Or better yet, record the offending MIDI and upload the whole ableton project?

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For sure! This is a sequence of notes/chords that always freeze my JF:M4l freezing JF Project.zip (24.1 KB)
@Galapagoose
@dan_derks

Hi all,
the issue was my old Macbook USB port! It was a 2010 one and now I had the chance to use a newer Retina.
All goes smooth: JF and W/ work perfectly in all conditions, also with the entire polyphony, also with a super wild polyrithm in 32th, in conclusion: always!
These M4L plug-in s are absolutely impressive :comet:

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one question, has the “round robin” play mode of ^^jf_synth been removed? I have not played around with ^^jf_synth for quite some time but I remember it had the “round robin” kind of play, or am I missing something? :thinking:

hey hey :slight_smile:

yes, the new devices are a different type of play. the old one still works though! more detail here: ^^ crow: max for live + max v2.0

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thanks for the info @dan_derks! :slight_smile:

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Hey @dan_derks - is there a way to map “ins” triggers to crow input 2 to control Ableton tempo? I see it can control pitch and trigger notes but was hoping to use it to clock Ableton from euro.

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