wordclock... do I need one?

[pixeltarian]

So I'm just a home recording guy. Can someone explain what a wordclock does in layman's terms? I just have an mbox2 and midi controller - is this for syncing a bunch of rack gear? or will it even do something good to just the mbox? will it help with latency?

What benefit is there to using one?

I was thinking of getting this when it comes out because it's cheap:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=180223

or are only expensive wordclocks good?

thank you for putting up with Mr. Knowsnothing,

~ Mr. Knowsnothing

[Huntlabs]

You don't really need a word clock, at least w/ an Mbox. The 003 at least have WC in / out, if I'm remembering right. So a WC could make sense there. If you are using outboard converters then maybe. If I were you I'd spend my money on really good mics and really good preamps. They will be a bigger difference.

[Nick Sevilla]

So I'm just a home recording guy. Can someone explain what a wordclock does in layman's terms? I just have an mbox2 and midi controller - is this for syncing a bunch of rack gear? or will it even do something good to just the mbox? will it help with latency?

What benefit is there to using one?

I was thinking of getting this when it comes out because it's cheap:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=180223

or are only expensive wordclocks good?

thank you for putting up with Mr. Knowsnothing,

~ Mr. Knowsnothing

Hi,

Sample rate wordclock devices are for running more than two digital audio devices, especially different brands of devices, together.

What it does is tell all the devices connected to it, when to sample, and when to do the next sample. This is so that EVERY device has it's samples starting at the same exact time. This is independent of any SMPTE, or linear time.

The reason for this is so that when you use multiple digital devices, they all play back audio at the same time, with respect to each other. Otherwise you can have problems ranging from sample rate mismatches, to a weird "flanging" noise, to high frequency "feedback" which is caused by two digital devices feeding audio to each other WITHOUT having the same sample rate start point. All of this causes severe audio degradation, which is unusable.

This is akin to the timing belt on your car. Without the timing belt running properly, none of your engines multiple parts work TOGETHER, and you have a car that barely runs at all, all jumpy and out of whack. The fuel injection does not know when to inject fuel, the air intake does not know when to feed air, the different cylinders start firing at different time intervals, and your car shakes a lot.

Cheers

[palinilap]

Your MBox2 has an internal wordclock, it's just not a great one. In layman's terms a good wordclock means better sound quality. Check out some of the sound samples at Black Lion's site to hear the difference. I would be a little wary of a wordclock that costs $130, though.

[stompforfuzz]

I'm not too much up on wordclocks in general, but I thought I would at least share my own experience.

I was clocking internaly with my vsl2020 and use a ada8000 for a analog to digital conversion into the vsl2020 via light pipe. One day I was just mussing around, and set my card to except an external clock (the cheap ada8000) and I noticed a big difference in quality.


Perhaps if I buy a nicer word clock, like Big Ben I could get even better sound? who knows!

[I'm Painting Again]

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index. ... 324/0/0/0/

[fremitus]

Just quickly and resolutely saying that word clock is not just for multiple digital devices. A better clock can certainly make your 'one' device sound better. Time and time again i have found this to be a truth. From the Lynx clocks that sync our HD rig, to the Apogees that used to sync our MX2424, to the Tascam 1884 that kicks my 002 into sync at home, it has proven true.

Better clock = Better sound.

As for the nice price tag on the ART, let's be reasonable. Sure enough, the components/technology that made up a kickass clock all of five years ago are now available for a fraction of the cost. So realistically, the ART is probably a great little bang for the buck option for a lot of home recordists. Especially those with multiple digital devices, but not to the point of exclusion for those who are running a simple interface. Will it score as high as the Big Ben, hell no, but that's one hell of a price difference.

[palinilap]

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index. ... 324/0/0/0/

Good thread. It makes perfect sense, and Dan Lavry obviously knows his stuff, but I have to say I've heard sonic improvements when clocking consumer-grade converters to a good external wordclock. I'm guessing it's not necessarily a hard and fast rule, but dependant on the hardware.

[Huntlabs]

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index. ... 324/0/0/0/

That was a good read, at least page one and page 14. Funny how such smart talented people can argue so hard about this subject.

Pixeltarian is running an Mbox and a Midi Controller. If it is a Mbox 2 Pro there is Word Clock in. But again the slight clock improvement, if it is even there, would pale to what a good mic and a good pre would do for him.

If you gather a stack of outboard digital converters then a WC generator would make more sense. Waste of money now.

[idealfreedistribution]

An ART clock? Heck no. Unless the internal clock of your interface is horrible, even a good clock probably won't make much difference. An external ART clock will probably introduce more jitter to your system, making it sound worse.

I'd recommend buying almost ANYTHING but that.