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DIN sync, also called Sync24, is a
synchronization Synchronization is the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. For example, the conductor of an orchestra keeps the orchestra synchronized or ''in time''. Systems that operate with all parts in synchrony are said to be synchronou ...
interface for
electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...
s. It was introduced in the early 1980s by
Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has fact ...
and has been superseded by
MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
.


Definition and history

DIN sync was introduced in the early 1980s by
Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has fact ...
for the synchronization of
music sequencer A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...
s, drum machines,
arpeggiator A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
s and similar devices. It was superseded by
MIDI MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
, in the mid to late 1980s. DIN sync consists of two signals, clock (tempo) and run/stop. Both signals are
TTL TTL may refer to: Photography * Through-the-lens metering, a camera feature * Zenit TTL, an SLR film camera named for its TTL metering capability Technology * Time to live, a computer data lifespan-limiting mechanism * Transistor–transistor lo ...
compatible, meaning the low state is 0 V and the high state is about +5 V. The clock signal is a low-frequency pulse wave suggesting the tempo. Instead of measuring the waveform's frequency, the machine receiving the signal merely has to count the number of pulses to work out when to increment its position in the music. Roland equipment uses 24
pulses per quarter note In a music sequencer and MIDI clock, pulses per quarter note (PPQN), also known as pulses per quarter (PPQ), and ticks per quarter note (TPQN), is the smallest unit of time used for sequencing note and automation events. If the resolution is t ...
, known as Sync24. Therefore, a Roland-compatible device playing sixteenth notes would have to advance to the next note every time it receives 6 pulses. Korg equipment uses 48 pulses per quarter note. The run/stop signal indicates whether the sequence is playing or not. If a device is a DIN sync sender, the positive slope of start/stop must reset the clock signal, and the clock signal must start with a delay of 9 ms. A detailed description on how to implement a DIN sync sender with Play, Pause, Continue and Stop functionality was published by E-RM Erfindungsbuero.


Pinouts

DIN sync is so named because it uses 5-pin
DIN connector The DIN connector is an electrical connector that was standardized by the ' (DIN), the German Institute for Standards, in the early 1970s. The male DIN connectors (plugs) feature a 13.2 mm diameter metal shield with a notch that limits the ...
s, the same as used for MIDI. DIN sync itself is not a
DIN standard This is an incomplete list of DIN standardization, standards. * The "STATUS" column gives the latest known status of the standard. ** If a standard has been withdrawn and no replacement specification is listed, either the specification was withdra ...
. Note that despite using the same connectors as MIDI, it uses different pins on these connectors (1, 2, and 3 rather than MIDI's 2, 4 and 5), so a cable made specifically for MIDI will not necessarily have the pins required for DIN sync connected. In some applications the remaining DIN sync pins (4 and 5) are used as ''tap'' and ''fill in'' or ''reset'' and ''start'', but this differs from one device to another. Some manufacturers offer DIN sync over a 3.5 mm TRS mini-jack connection. Similar to the MIDI standard over TRS minijack, the aim is to reduce space in the device with a smaller connector.Beatstep Pro review
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Relation to other clock systems


Other clock systems

The MIDI interface uses the same 5-pin DIN connectors but is electrically not compatible with DIN sync. The MIDI protocol features a
MIDI beat clock {{No footnotes, date=January 2020 MIDI beat clock, or simply MIDI clock, is a clock signal that is broadcast via MIDI to ensure that several MIDI-enabled devices such as a synthesizer or music sequencer stay in synchronization. Clock events are sen ...
. MIDI beat clock also works with 24 ticks per quarter note.
MIDI timecode MIDI time code (MTC) embeds the same timing information as standard SMPTE timecode as a series of small 'quarter-frame' MIDI messages. There is no provision for the user bits in the standard MIDI time code messages, and SysEx messages are used to ...
is used for more general
timecode A timecode (alternatively, time code) is a sequence of numeric codes generated at regular intervals by a timing synchronization system. Timecode is used in video production, show control and other applications which require temporal coordination ...
synchronization applications. ''Analog clock'' signals are equivalent to the clock signal at pin 3 of DIN sync interface. The clock rate is usually higher than the DIN sync's rate. Typical values are 48, 96 or 192 pulses per quarter note (examples:
Oberheim DMX The DMX is a programmable digital drum machine manufactured by Oberheim. It was introduced in 1980 at a list price of and remained in the company's product line until the mid-1980s. The Oberheim DMX was the second digital drum machine ever to b ...
, DX, DSX;
LinnDrum The LinnDrum, also referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Its high-quality samples, flexibility and affordability made the LinnDrum popular; it sold far mo ...
1 and 2). ''Analog trigger'' signals transfer a pulse per musical event. For instance, a trigger corresponds to a step of an analog sequencer or an arpeggiator, a step in a rhythm pattern. Typical analog triggers run at four pulses per quarter note.


Combining with other clock systems

The combination of DIN sync with a different clock system can be achieved either by converting the format or the clock rate (see list below) or by using a central unit (so-called master clock), which provides multiple clock formats. The approach with a master clock is usually chosen, especially if synchronization with absolute time is required, such as synchronization with a tape recorder or with video footage. Typical devices which can act as a master clock and provide DIN sync include the Roland SBX-80, Roland SBX-10, Friendchip SRC, E-RM midiclock⁺ and Yamaha MSS1. Many drum machines which have DIN sync and MIDI clock outputs can act as master clock for those two formats.


Converting from and to other clock systems

Though DIN sync and MIDI clock have the same clock rate, they require a conversion of the format within a microprocessor or similar. The conversion from MIDI clock to DIN sync is available in many industrial devices. For the conversion from DIN sync to MIDI clock there is at the moment only the device 'Sync-Split2' of the company Innerclock Systems. Also two no longer produced devices do this type of conversion: Roland SBX10, Korg KMS30. On September 1st 2014, Roland introduced the SBX-1 which provides MIDI to sync24 or sync48 conversion. To get an analog trigger or clock from the DIN syncs clock signal one has to use digital frequency division or frequency multiplication. There are no dedicated industrial devices that provide a division. The Roland SBX10 can convert into a 48, 96, and 120 PPQN clock.


Devices

Some devices have a DIN sync input as well as DIN sync output, other devices have only a single DIN socket which sometimes can be switched between input and output. Note that sync48 devices can be combined with sync24 devices if 32nd notes are programmed instead of 16th notes.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Doepfer general FAQ: Sync specificationE-RM Erfindungsbuero DIN Sync implementation reportSync Unit DC - freeware DIN Sync generatorByteNoise: DIN sync
Synchronization Electronic musical instruments