Ableton-Link
Ableton-Link is a protocol designed and developed by Ableton, originally intended to help keep multiple musical instruments and sequencers in sync with each other, but it has since become the industry-standard for any BPM-related synchronization between different systems.
Ableton took a very open and collaborative approach to this protocol, open-sourcing it and releasing it under GPLv2+, along with publishing a reference C++ implementation of the protocol, and extensive documentation. As a result, many hardware manufacturers and software developers have been able to implement it with very little effort, and the list of Ableton-Link enabled products is extensive.
In the Lighting & Visuals world, Ableton-Link is regularly used to ensure that BPM-based effects, (such as chases, strobes, etc...) are kept in sync-with the music. Some examples of Ableton-Link enabled products in the Lighting & Visuals world include:
- MadMapper
- Resolume Arena
- Pulse by Hybrid Constructs - Realtime BPM analysis using audio inputs
- Wolfmix via WTOOLS
- ShowKontrol
- ProDJLink (not to be confused with Pioneer DJ's proprietary "Pro DJ Link" protocol)
Comparison with MIDI-Clock
MIDI clock was originally invented as part of the MIDI spec in the early 1980s, and has not seen many significant updates since then. Comparatively, Ableton-Link was released in 2016, takes advantage of modern networking technologies and conditions, and has been continuously updated and improved since then.
As a result there are a number of significant differences:
- Network-Based: Ableton uses a network-based protocol, whereas MIDI-Clock requires either a physical MIDI cable, or another MIDI-based transport such as a USB-MIDI connection or RTP-MIDI.
- Zero-Setup: Ableton-Link is designed to be plug-and-play, and does not require any configuration or setup. MIDI-Clock requires that the user manually configure the correct MIDI input and output ports on each device, which can be confusing for non-technical users.
- Tempo Control: In MIDI-Clock, the tempo is always controlled by a single device, and all other devices must follow that tempo. In Ableton-Link, any device can change the tempo, and all other devices will automatically follow that new tempo.