Beat Matcher
BPM and tempo control
The Beat Matcher lets you set and adjust the tempo for your lighting show.
Related concept: Beat time.
BPM display
The large BPM readout shows the current tempo. Use the BPM number input to type a specific BPM, or use the ×2 and ÷2 buttons to double or halve it.
When Auto Beat-Sync is on, the readout switches to the detected tempo the loop is tracking and its label reads BPM (detected). The number field and Tap Tempo grey out because the loop drives the rate, but ×2 and ÷2 stay live so you can fix an octave while synced.
Offset
Fine-tune where the beat lands with the offset control. Type a millisecond value in the number input, or use the -10ms and +10ms buttons for quick adjustments. A positive value shifts the beat earlier so lights fire ahead of the music.
When Auto Beat-Sync is on, this same control shifts the sync latency instead of the raw offset, clamped to the ±150 ms range; its label reads Latency and the unit suffix next to the digits changes from Ms to Lead. A raw offset is cancelled by the lock loop while it tracks, so the widget drives latency there because that is what actually moves the beat. A positive value still fires the lights earlier, so nudging it feels the same whether or not the loop is running. MIDI-mapped offset and nudge controls follow the same routing: while synced they adjust the sync latency too.
Beat visualization
The beat display shows 4 blocks representing the current beat in the bar. The active beat flashes with the accent color and fades as the beat progresses.
Multipliers
Quickly scale the tempo:
| Button | Effect |
|---|---|
| ×2 | Double tempo |
| ÷2 | Half tempo |
Useful when the BPM is a multiple or fraction of the true tempo. These are also available as global keyboard shortcuts: ] to double BPM, [ to halve BPM.
Tap tempo
The Tap Tempo button derives BPM from your taps. Tap along with the music four or more times to set the tempo. The running average updates as long as you keep tapping, so a steady hand is more important than hitting the first downbeat.
Tap Tempo is also a MIDI input assignment type, making it easy to map a controller pad to the same action. See MIDI Input Dialog.
Cue align
The Cue Align button realigns the current moment to beat 1 of the bar. Use it to snap the beat grid to a downbeat in the music when the BPM is correct but the phase is drifting. This is a faster alternative to small offset tweaks when your target is the start of the next bar.
While Auto Beat-Sync is on, one press does two things: it sets the bar downbeat and calibrates the sync Latency from the press itself, so pressing it on a heard downbeat absorbs the microphone and room delay in the same motion. Fire it on a downbeat in the music (a drop masks the snap).
Cue Align is also a MIDI input assignment type under "Cue / Align Beat".
Auto Beat-Sync
Auto Beat-Sync listens to live music on an audio input and locks the show's tempo to it, so beat-driven effects run on-beat without you tapping. It corrects the clock's rate only, easing tempo and phase toward the music, so musical time never jumps or runs backward while it tracks. Snapping to a downbeat stays a deliberate manual action through Cue Align (see Cue align).
Its controls live on the Auto Beat-Sync row at the bottom of the panel: the status chip and confidence percentage while it runs, a microphone button that opens the Audio Input dialog, a settings popover, and the enable switch.
Turn it on with the switch at the right end of the row. A status chip appears next to the Auto Beat-Sync name: it starts at No signal until the detector hears beats in the incoming audio, reads Listening while the loop is finding the tempo or riding through an unclear passage, and turns orange with Locked once it is holding tempo and phase to the music. The lock reading is sticky, so a momentary confidence dip does not make it flicker. A chip stuck on No signal means no beats are reaching the detector: check that the right input device and channel are selected and that music is actually playing (the level meter in Edit > Inputs > Audio confirms audio is arriving). If the chip shows No model, the beat detection model is missing from the installation and auto beat-sync cannot analyze audio; reinstalling the app restores it. Turning the switch off keeps the tempo the loop was holding, so you can drop out of sync mid-show without the clock lurching.
Live readout
The tracker's tempo appears in the panel's main BPM readout while synced (see BPM display). The beat display's blocks flash on the show's own beat, so you can eyeball it against the music: matching BPM numbers do not prove the phase is right, but a flash that lands with the kick does.
Next to the status chip, an inline percentage shows how confident the tracker is of the current lock; it appears once the detector is hearing beats and hides while the chip reads No signal. The incoming audio level meter lives with the device controls in Edit > Inputs > Audio, so you can check the signal there whenever capture is running.
Setup
Beat detection runs the Beat This! neural model; there is no engine to choose.
The input device and channel come from the Audio Input dialog, shared with the Audio Spectrum visualizer: open it from Edit > Inputs > Audio or with the microphone button on the Auto Beat-Sync row. Turning Auto Beat-Sync on starts that capture on its own and keeps it running as long as either feature needs it. Prefer a direct feed from the mixer over a booth microphone.
Latency compensation for output delay lives on the Offset control at the top of the panel: while synced it shifts the sync latency, described under Offset above. Pressing Cue Align on a heard downbeat sets it for you (see Cue align).
The settings popover (the sliders button on the Auto Beat-Sync row) holds two settings. Correction strength trades tracking tightness against stability: higher tightens the lock to the music; lower rides through dropouts and blends more smoothly. Responsiveness picks how often the detector analyses the audio, choosing between Auto, High, Balanced, and Economy: Auto adapts the detection rate to the machine, and the lower rates use less CPU.
Fixing a wrong lock
A confident lock can still be wrong: the tracker can settle an octave off or land on the off-beat. The panel's own buttons fix those by hand.
- ÷2 and ×2 halve or double the locked tempo, the one-tap fix for a wrong octave. While synced they re-seat the sync tempo an octave up or down rather than being ignored.
- Cue Align snaps the beat grid to the current moment as beat 1 of the bar and, while synced, folds the press into the sync Latency (see Cue align).
- The Auto Beat-Sync switch turns sync off and keeps the tempo the loop was holding, so a bad lock never rides into a live moment.
Integration
With Timeline
The Timeline uses this BPM. The beat grid aligns to the tempo, effect timing scales with BPM, and changes apply immediately.
With effects
Beat-synced nodes use this tempo. The Time node cycles per beat, the Beat node provides the beat position, and all timing is relative to BPM.
Troubleshooting
BPM is double or half what it should be. Try the ×2 or ÷2 multipliers.
Beats feel off. Use the offset controls to adjust phase. Try ±10ms adjustments until beats align.
Related
- Timeline - Beat-based sequencing
- Beat-Synchronized Effects - Tutorial