I need to set BPM to values like 68.5
Is this on the roadmap?
Its in our backlog but not prioritised yet
Glad to hear it is in the backlog. This feature for sure has my vote.
Without decimals I have to do some weird stuff like double the tempo and use larger divisions like half notes instead of quarter. However, this method introduces issues with finding the right settings on my pedals when using dual delay, where the second tap uses subdivisions.
Looks like this was first mentioned in 2019 in the old forum:
I’ve ran into this as well and would love this feature.
I’ve also done what you mentioned - doubled the tempo and changed the subdivisions to reflect the doubling.
If it helps, my fix lately has been rather than 72.5 BPMs I would simply set it to 73 BPMs. I’m primarily needing BPMs for delays more than anything else and I find the difference is not felt, or even audible even when playing with a click track or backing tracks. I mean we’re talking about a half beat difference every sixty seconds. If you play with a drummer or click you’ll just play in time with them and not drift.
If you crunch the numbers you’ll see what I mean…
Dotted 1/8th notes:
72.5 BPMs is 620.69ms
73 BPMs is 616.44ms
A difference of 4.25ms or roughly 0.68% difference.
1/4 Notes the difference is a bit bigger:
72.5 BPMs is 827.59ms
73 BPMs is 821.92ms
A difference of 5.67ms and still roughly 0.68% difference.
The slower the BPMs the more noticeable this would become, the faster the BPMs the smaller the difference. Unless the BPMs are much slower than this, or you have delays that ring out with nearly infinite repeats or maybe a tremolo that sustains for a very, very long time it’s going to be nearly impossible to hear or feel the difference.
I do always round up the BPM’s though rather than round down and go slower because I feel it’s better to speed up rather than drag no matter how small.
I would still love this feature, but I hope this helps put things in perspective. One song we do is 68.75 BPMs which is so frustrating…lol
I wish it were that simple for me but I would definitely feel the drift if I rounded up or down. I don’t want to introduce any variables that could change the feel of the song and affect my ability to focus.
As you pointed out, this becomes an even bigger issue with slower songs, which is what I need this for.
One more thing to note about doubling the bpm is that it adds complexity to programming. Not only do I need to add an additional note for half notes but when I play with a dual delay I have to send an additional message to set the division of the second tap.
Lastly, when I double the bpm I hear my delay pedal shortening the length of the feedback so I have to compensate by sending another message to increase the feedback to get longer repeats.
For tapping of tempo, I think realistically it has to be a whole number for now.
But for the pre-set BPM, we should be able to add decimal places there.
That would be perfect!
I’ve got this working with a + 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 setting. But just wondering how will this be used, as not all devices sync to the decimal point. Works fine in Ableton (although the BPM will always be adjusting). I tested with the Timeline but it only syncs to the nearest whole number.
Looks like Strymon is aware of the issue but hasn’t or can’t fix it: Timeline Decimal Point BPM Issue | RJM Music Technology Forum
I tested on my Source Audio and there appears to be some latency from my MC8 to the Nemesis. The Neuro app is reading 85.7 BPM when I send 86 BPM (so I might be implicitly the method @countstoneula mentioned). However, this leads me to believe that pedal should be able to receive decimals. I’d have to actually test it out to be sure.
So this may just have to be a “close enough” scenario.
By the way I tend to switch the midi clock off as soon as possible to avoid drift and clock noise. I used to noticed the time shifting when using my MC6MKII but that doesn’t seem to be the case now.
I would personally get a lot of use from this feature. I have recently integrated my MC8 into a scoring to picture workflow, which often necessitates a “skyline” of tempo changes to hit picture changes. It’s not uncommon to have odd decimals like 123.36 or 87.18. Even if some BPM rounding happens with my current midi pedal set-up, I wouldn’t be surprised if these types of features will be implemented down the road with firmware updates. Would help to future proof the MC8.
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