How to Sync Hardware with Your DAW Using Nome II and U-SYNC

The easiest way to sync hardware with your DAW is to use Nome II as master clock with the U-SYNC plugin. U-SYNC locks the Nome to your DAW over a USB cable, and the Nome sends MIDI clock, DIN Sync or analog clock to your gear, so you can record it right on the grid. U-SYNC runs on macOS and Windows.

This guide walks you through setting up U-SYNC with your DAW through the Nome: connecting your hardware, syncing the DAW, and tweaking the latency so every take lands on the grid.

In the demo video below we use an Akai MPC and Bitwig Studio on Windows, as an example scenario:

The short version

• Step 1: Connect a MIDI output of the Nome II to your hardware's MIDI input, and set the hardware to follow incoming MIDI clock.
• Step 2: Connect the Nome to your computer with a USB cable, install U-SYNC, and load the U-SYNC plugin in your DAW. Press play in the DAW, and the Nome and your hardware start with it and follow every tempo change.
• Step 3: Record your hardware once, and let the plugin's latency auto-detect measure the offset.
• Step 4: Save the latency as a preset. Load it in any new session and your recordings stay on the grid.

Why not just send MIDI clock from the DAW?

You can, however in most cases that doesn't resolve the recording issues and accompanying jitter.

Your drum machines, grooveboxes, and sequencers can all follow the MIDI clock your DAW sends. Yet, when you record two takes and then zoom in on the same grid line, the two takes usually land in different places. Sometimes the timing also wanders over the length of a take.

The cause is jitter. MIDI clock is a stream of 24 ticks per quarter note, and the drum machine sets its timing from them. A DAW generates those ticks in software and pushes them through a MIDI driver and interface, so they don't leave at perfectly even intervals. Uneven ticks make an uneven beat, and you can feel it before you see it.

→ Read more about MIDI jitter

The difference is measurable. For example, in Sim'n Tonic's tests of U-SYNC 2.0, Bitwig's own MIDI clock on Windows had 830 µs of RMS jitter, about 40 samples at 48 kHz. A Nome following Bitwig over U-SYNC had 0.039 µs.

Across the 15 DAW and OS combinations tested, U-SYNC with Nome II had median RMS jitter under 0.05 µs, around 20,000× lower than the DAW's own MIDI clock.

Median RMS jitter across 15 DAWs on Mac and Windows, against the DAW's MIDI clock through a USB audio interface. Every DAW and the full method are in the U-SYNC 2.0 jitter analysis.

The fix is to put a Nome between the DAW and your hardware. The Nome syncs to the DAW, and your hardware takes its clock from the Nome.

Step 1: Sync your hardware to the Nome

Connect a MIDI output on the Nome to your hardware's MIDI input with a MIDI cable, and set the hardware to follow incoming MIDI clock. Your hardware's manual shows where that setting is.

Press play on the Nome and your hardware starts. Change the tempo on the Nome and the hardware follows. This is already a complete setup, with no computer involved (DAWless).

Step 2: Connect your DAW with U-SYNC

U-SYNC is the sync technology that connects the Nome to your DAW. It's developed by Sim'n Tonic and Reliq Instruments, with installers for macOS and Windows.

1. Download the U-SYNC installer from the Support page.
2. Follow the instructions to install U-SYNC on your device.
3. Connect the Nome to the computer with a USB cable.
4. In your DAW, load the U-SYNC plugin. It automatically detects and connects to the Nome.
5. Press play in the DAW. The Nome and your hardware start together.

Change the tempo in the DAW and everything follows. Most compatible DAWs also support bi-directional control: change the tempo on the Nome and the DAW follows. The table below shows which DAWs support this feature.

Which DAWs does U-SYNC support?

U-SYNC supports all of the DAWs below, and in every one of them the Nome follows the DAW's tempo, play and stop. Two-way tempo control, where changing the tempo on the Nome also changes it in the DAW, works in eight of them.

DAW	Supported	Two-way tempo control
Ableton Live	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Bitwig Studio	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Cubase	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Nuendo	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
FL Studio	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Logic Pro	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Reaper	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Reason	Yes ✅	Yes ✅
Pro Tools	Yes ✅	❌ BPM Control from DAW only
Studio Pro	Yes ✅	❌ BPM Control from DAW only
Luna	Yes ✅	❌ BPM Control from DAW only

The U-SYNC manual always has the current list.

Step 3: Put your recordings exactly on the grid

Record your hardware onto an audio track in the DAW. Out of the box, U-SYNC gets the latency almost right: zoom in and the recording is close to the grid line, but not exactly on it. The remaining offset is your setup's own delay, influenced by your audio interface, the hardware your are recording, and your DAW settings.

You set the latency in the U-SYNC plugin. You can measure it by hand, but the plugin can measure it for you. Click on the auto-detect options and the plugin will guide you through the steps.

1. Record the hardware. The take you just recorded works.
2. Route that audio to the U-SYNC plugin and play the recording back. The plugin detects the latency and sets it.

Record a new take. Zoom all the way in to single samples and the hit sits right on the beat.

Step 4: Save the latency as a preset

The latency value belongs to your setup. As long as the setup stays the same, the value doesn't change, so you only need to measure it once.

Save it as a preset in the U-SYNC plugin. After you restart the DAW or the computer, or open a new session, load the preset and your recordings land on the grid again. If you change your setup, run the auto-detect again and save a new preset.

Going further: DIN Sync, modular and more devices

Vintage drum machines with DIN Sync

Machines like the Roland TR-606 have no MIDI. They use DIN Sync (also called Sync24). Connect the Nome's ANLG port to the 606's DIN Sync input with the DIN Sync Adapter Cable, and set the Nome's AnL setting to din. The 606 then follows the Nome, and the Nome follows the DAW.

Eurorack modular

To clock a modular rig, use the TRS ANLG Splitter Adapter. It splits the Nome's ANLG output into its two channels, An.1 and An.2, so one cable carries clock and the other carries run. Patch both into your clocking module's inputs and the whole case follows the DAW.

Get individual latency setup by routing several U-SYNC devices at once

With more than one U-SYNC device, such as a second Nome II or a Reliq, load one U-SYNC plugin per device. Each device gets its own latency setting, which means you can 1) sync even more devices and 2) split them into groups so you have more control over their individual latency. Change the tempo on one Nome and every connected device follows.

Get a step-by-step guide specific to your setup

For a more tailored guide based on your setup, check out the Quick Start Guide where you can input your setup and get custom step-by-step instructions.

If you have more questions about how U-SYNC works, check out the manual.

Questions about your own setup? Post your rig in the Sim'n Tonic forum or the community.