Ableton Link
Tempo and beat sync between apps on the same network. It covers the one thing timecode doesn't: the beat.
What is Ableton Link?
Ableton Link is Ableton's protocol for keeping tempo, beat phase and transport state in step between applications on one network. It is peer-to-peer: there is no master clock and nothing to configure. Apps find each other and lock together.
Ableton built it so music apps could jam together. Show control software picked it up too: Pangolin BEYOND and Resolume use it to drive BPM-based effects.
Link and timecode do different jobs
Ableton Link syncs tempo and beat phase: "we're all at 128 BPM, on beat 3 of bar 4." That keeps strobes and other beat-synced effects locked to the DJ's tempo.
TimecodeLink syncs timeline position: "we're 2 minutes 30 seconds into Track A." That drives pre-programmed timelines where a specific cue happens at a specific moment.
Run both: Link for the beat-driven effects, timecode for the programmed timeline.
How TimecodeLink joins the session
TimecodeLink has the Ableton Link SDK built in and joins the session as a normal peer. It reads the session's BPM and beat phase and uses them in its output calculations. There is no bridge or extra software.
Serato DJ Pro and Rekordbox both support Link. Turn it on in the DJ software and the tempo reaches every peer in the session, show control included.
Enabling Link in Resolume Arena and Avenue
Resolume hides the Link control by default. Open the View menu and choose Show Ableton Link, and a Link button appears in the toolbar. Click it, and Resolume joins the session and picks up TimecodeLink's tempo.
See Resolume's official Ableton Link guide for full details.
Nothing to configure
Link is peer-to-peer. Apps on the same network find each other on their own, with no master to pick and no MIDI to route.
Knows where beat 1 is
Link shares beat phase as well as BPM, so every peer agrees on where "beat 1" falls.
Widely supported
Built into Serato, Rekordbox, Ableton Live, Pangolin BEYOND, Resolume and hundreds of other music and visual apps.
Related
- SMPTE Timecode: timeline sync to run alongside Link
- OSC Triggers: event-based cue triggering
- Serato Setup Guide: enable Link in Serato DJ Pro
Ready to sync?
TimecodeLink turns whatever your DJ software is playing into timecode your show control can chase.