Any DAW that supports one of the plugin formats VST, VST3, AudioUnits or AAX and some combination of MIDI Clock, MTC (MIDI Timecode), MMC or ReWire in slave mode should work fine with Synfire. Add your own setup to the table if it's missing.
Important: Synchronization with a DAW is optional and is not necessary for working with Synfire. Every DAW we know of supports MIDI file import (or drag & drop), which is required to export your work to a DAW for production.
Legend
- √ Tested and working
- No Not compatible
- ? or empty: Assumed to be working but not tested
Reported Setups
Tutorial | MTC, MMC, Clock | Drones | MIDI Drones | Drag & Drop Export | Load as a Plug-In |
Ableton Live | MTC | √ | √ | √ | |
Logic Pro | MTC, MMC | √ | √ | √ | |
Cubase Pro | MTC, MMC | √ | No * | √ | |
Nuendo | ? | √ | ? | √ | |
Pro Tools | ? | √ | ? | √ | |
Studio One | MTC, MMC | √ | ? | √ | |
BitWig | Clock | √ | √ | √ | |
Digital Performer | ? | √ | ? | √ | |
Reaper | Clock | √ | √ | ||
Reason | ? | √ | √ | ||
Tracktion | ? | √ | ? | √ | |
Sonar | √ | √ | √ | ||
Samplitude | √ | ? | |||
FL Studio | Load as plug-in | √ | √ | √ | |
Harrison Mix Bus | √ | √ | ? | ? |
This document is maintained collaboratively and may not be complete. For the latest official information, please contact Cognitone support.
Here's how to setup your DAW for external synchronization with Synfire.
Cubase 12 *
Cubase 12 also does no longer support MIDI FX plug-ins. It may work if you manage to drop a VST2 MIDI Drone though, which however cannot be selected in the user interface.
With a Cubase 12 license it is still possible to download install version 11 and run them side by side. For the time being this is a workaround you may consider.
ReWire
ReWire is no longer supported or updated by Propellerhead. Most DAWs have removed or replaced it already. Where it is still available it provides a reliable transport control. Since transport control is not very sensitive to latency, it also works fine with MIDI Clock or MIDI Time Code, sometimes in conjunction with MMC. With Synfire Pro you can configure a mix of protocols that works best.
Comments
Do., 14.09.2023 - 17:56 Permalink
Ableton link is working with Akai MPC hardware and MPC v2.12 software on PC. The play pause is working direct.
Without Ableton link (Reaper DAW) it is more work with midiclock. Result have to adjust delay and play pause?.
Not sure if Cubase 12 can sync with Ableton Link
Do., 28.09.2023 - 10:55 Permalink
Nuendo 12.0.70 tested:
Reason 12.6.2 tested:
Digital Performer 11.22.93 tested:
Logic Pro X 10.7.9 tested:
Ableton Live 11.3.10 tested:
FL Studio 21.1.1 tested:
Sa., 30.09.2023 - 16:07 Permalink
Thanks for taking the time to test and report.
The Load as Plugin column however has a different meaning. Not sure what your assumption was. Most DAWs are not available also as a plugin, so they can't load as such (e.g. Logic Pro).
Drones only make sense together with a synchronized transport. If a DAW is unable to run in slave mode with either MTC, MMC or MIDI Clock, it is not compatible.