The problem is Link can’t be sample accurate like Propellerheads Rewire was. The compromise is to grey out/disable all Cubase functions relying on sample accuracy while Link is enabled.
Its the same reason you have no way of slaving Cubase to a Roland TR-8s like you can in those other Link Enabled DAWs
I see ReWire mentioned a lot here and just wanted to point out that Ableton Link isn’t really a replacement for ReWire. ReWire was designed to synchronize and bus audio and MIDI between applications running on the same machine. One application acted as the host and clock source, and the synchronized applications could route audio and MIDI back to it.
Link, on the other hand, is designed to keep multiple devices in time over a local network without a designated host/leader. Devices can start and stop freely or change the tempo. Link also doesn’t provide audio or MIDI buses.
The two protocols were designed for different purposes. If your objective is to sync up Ableton Live to Cubase for example, I don’t see how Link is much of a benefit compared to something more traditional like MIDI Clock or MTC e.g.
I personally think ReWire left a big hole when it was retired that has yet to be filled. (Nudge, nudge Steinberg!)
I strongly assume that the people here who are familiar with ReWire know what ReWire was intended for.
“Link, on the other hand, is designed to keep multiple devices in time over a local network without a designated host/leader. Devices can start and stop freely or change the tempo. Link also doesn’t provide audio or MIDI buses.”
→ That’s precisely the point here; ReWire was only mentioned (with all its limitations) due to a lack of alternatives.
I also used it back then to use Reason as a sound module in Cubase (I was just starting out with Reason and had so many sounds).
“If your objective is to sync up Ableton Live to Cubase, for example, I don’t see how Link is much of a benefit compared to something more traditional like MIDI Clock or MTC, for example.”
→ Ableton Link – the advantages over MIDI Clock
No master/slave constraint
All participants have equal rights. Any device can change the tempo, and all others follow immediately.
Very stable timing (less jitter)
Link works beat-based over a network (LAN/WLAN) instead of with individual clock ticks → feels musically more “solid” than MIDI Clock.
Plug & Play
No complicated routing, no clock settings, no channels. Link on → it works.
Dynamic joining and leaving
Devices or apps can join or leave at any time without everything falling apart.
Network-compatible
Works over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, even across multiple computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Shared tempo and phase
Not only BPM, but also the musical position (bars/beats) remains synchronized.
Anyone with a compatible DAW on a laptop, a (not too old) MPC, an iPad, etc., can immediately join a session and even change the tempo.
These are the advantages users here would appreciate, which is why this thread exists.
To stream audio and MIDI from DAW to DAW, I use (the already mentioned “Blue Cat’s Connector”). With it, you can fully utilize the connected DAWs (unlike with ReWire). I used it to stream audio from my Mac Mini with Ableton Live to a computer with Cubase via network cable, and then record in Cubase.
It would have been fantastic if Cubase were also Ableton Link compatible.
I think his point was that it’s a different product entirely, and not really an “alternative.” I wouldn’t say that “using RME loopback channels is an alternative to Ableton Link” either, though I guess in a way it could be considered that in a limited context.
I use Connector as well, and I like its hybrid-media support (MIDI/audio) but I’m not thrilled with its performance, latency, or stability. My setup may be a bit different than most, but since I use Ableton Live as the “creative front end” to Nuendo (and Bitwig more and more), and the fact that I’ve got multiple studio workstations, I switched to a combination of MADI and RME Loopback for inter/intra system audio streaming. I have a UAD Apollo x8 stack that I basically decommissioned after the latest UA Connect fiasco and overall UAD dependency missteps, but it’s actually an OK ADAT-based loop solution as well if you don’t mind the output-only UAD Console limitations and the fact that you can only use 1/2 the ADAT ports since they’re hardwired to mirror port 1. I mean, there’s other issues with UAD, but there are some really decent alternatives to shared audio streaming both locally and over the network (I used Dante for this as well, but only via my RME 1620 Pro D and Digiface Dante devices, NOT the DVS for performance reasons. I still don’t understand why RME doesn’t release a Fireface with Dante, but that’s another story).
Totally agree. Even Bitwig supports Ableton Link, and they’re “direct competitors.” For me, it would be a perfect feature addition. I can get around it, but Link + physical solution audio streaming would be great for me. My guess is that the remote control network stack for Cubendo introduces non-trivial challenges, otherwise we’d have seen it. Cubasis reportedly supports it, so they know how to implement it. OSC would be nice too, but I think we’re in the same boat there. Maybe over the next few years we’ll see small, iterative additions to these kinds of feature sets.
Live 12.4 adds Link Audio, letting you and your peers stream audio between Link Audio-enabled devices on a local network in real time. Audio from other players appears directly as an input in Live, letting you monitor and record external devices and apps without additional hardware, cables, or manual latency compensation.
Not sure if this will help linking with Cubase though?
Yeah, the Link Audio function will be interesting for “supported devices” in the Ableton ecosystem, but AFA integrating with other DAWs, it doesn’t sound like anything different than BlueCat Connect.
Ableton Link is a mature, widely adopted intra-app solution synch between multiple apps via multiple protocols/media. And not just DAWs but other apps like TouchDesigner, Resolume, and Camelot Pro - all very capable and powerful apps adjacent to the DAW space. To me, there’s really no reason to try and reinvent the wheel on this when Link has basically become a “standard” (though that term gets thrown around a lot).
Link Audio is certainly interesting though. The fact it will be embedded into 12.4 - ahem, a free update for 12 users, ahem - is also interesting. They did the same thing with stem separation when they released 12.3 - no upgrade needed.
Ableton Link Audio is looking more like the true successor to Propellerheads Rewire. The standard Ableton Link (without audio) still works for syncing up discontinued apps
I allow myself to bump this tool again in the topic .
The next disgrace that Steinberg commits is that only their own software exists for “them”.