M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro synchronisation problems

If you read any review of the M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro, it sounds like a steal. A sequencer, drum machine, and more, all packed into a hardware unit that is available for about £100 on Ebay. Steal.

The problem is, it seems that these reviewers have never actually tried to record midi output from the device. The synchronisation is totally messed up. The latency unpredictably varies between takes and the recorded output is never the same.

I was somewhat despairing at this, until I noticed that, in Bitwig, my DAW, playback was in sync when I just used play. It was not in sync when I pressed record.

This appears to be something to do with the poor way that the Trigger Finger Pro handles MIDI start vs. continue messages.

In any case, I found a solution (that works in Bitwig, while I can't vouch for elsewhere). Simply start playback before pressing record on whatever lane you have hooked up to the Trigger Finger. Tada. Back in sync.

M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro synchronisation problems was originally published by Martin Paul Eve at eve.gd: Martin Paul Eve on October 14, 2018.