Pam’s is now in the library!
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The ALM bundle pricing seems very odd. It suggests the price is $55 but because I own all the other ALM products other than Pam’s Pro and Axon-2 I can get a whole five bucks off at $50. When the two modules I don’t have are listed at $20.
Wow that’s amazing
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The discount is for everyone — it means “buying all of these modules individually would cost $55 but if you buy the bundle you only pay $50”
Oh ok, wasn’t clear. Thanks.
Has anyone figured out how to sync VCV PPW to an external primary clock (e.g. Impromptu Clocked)? I’ve tried a bunch of different things, but I can’t get PPW to consistently sync. Thanks.
I didn’t get much joy linking it to CLOCKED, it was consistently jittery and out of sync at a slightly lower BPM than CLOCKED was pushing, but I am using the VST via a DAW so I did get better sync when I linked the CLK out on MIDI->CV to the Clk input on Pam’s Pro
Edit: I just tried again with CLOCKED. If you take one of the lower outputs e.g. CLK3 and set it to Ratio x48 you can then take that out to the Clk input on Pam’s Pro and if you right click and select show output = BPM and Screen Select = Params then you can drag the encoder to set Ext Clock PPQN to x48 and it’s as stable as it gets via the MIDI->CV method I mentioned above. I can still see it fluctuate a little but for a 120 BPM input it now only fluctuates visually between 119 and 121 and not, say 119 and 126.
FWIW I have my setup like below. I don’t know if there’s a better recommended way of handling Run/Stop syncing with the DAW but the binary gate method seemed to work for me.
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Actually better way to sync with CLOCKED as it doesn’t use up an output. Right click on CLOCKED and make sure that “BPM out is CV when ext sync” is unticked then use BPM out into Pam’s Pro and set the input for the clock to Ext clock PPQN x24.
This works fine and I just realised it is really stable provided I don’t try and externally sync CLOCKED with the DAW via MIDI->CV as it is that introducing the visual jitter I was seeing.
This is stable for me…
…this is using CLOCKED as the main source so toggling RUN on the CLOCKED toggles Start/Stop on Pam’s Pro.
Edit: I don’t know if there’s a bug in Pam’s or not, but the behaviour of Pam’s Pro picking up the tempo via BPM out from CLOCKED seems inconsistent. It was working fine for me one minute then not the next. Dedicating one of CLOCKED’s outputs to send, say x24, does work all the time even if there’s some minor fluctuations.
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I suppose what this highlighted for me is a need for a more stable clock if I try and sync to my DAW. I may need to try some different techniques out to find something better than the MIDI->CV method I was using.
Thanks for looking into this! Yeah, the gate on the Run input needs to stay high, so the binary gate works well.
The last example you show – does it stay synced if you change the BPM on Clocked to something other than 120? If I replicate your setup and I change the Clocked BPM, PPW stays at 120.
I can get PPW to change tempo to match Clocked if I send the 24x CLK1 from Clocked into CLK on PPW. But the clock outputs are not syncing consistently. Have you tested the sync with two different drum hits or on a scope?
Not yet, but yes I suspect the clock is drifting in and out of sync. Because I personally don’t tend to want to make pieces of music with more than one time signature (on purpose), ideally I would look for a more robust way to ensure everything matches up and that may mean utilising an external hardware clock to sync up with is a better bet.
Need to do more testing, but the easiest way i’ve found to sync to PPW to Clocked is by following settings on PPW.
–Set the Input Clock to Clock –Set the Input Run to Reset –Set Clock rate to x1 not x24
Then
–Connect Clock out from Clocked to PPW Clock Input –Don’t connect anything to PPW Run Inputs
When I did this, start/stop from Clocked to PPW is working fine as is running Clocked outputs at different rates.
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Sorry ALM your module ui for the VCV port is garbage.
Why not improve the UI for this? so many improvements could be made. instead it feels like a lower class version of the real module.
There isn’t a proper way to control it via external midi either. All of it could be done with a bit of creativity. instead you basically ported it over and then rely on the right click menu to do anything meaningful.
This will be going into the bin of paid unused modules along with MFX simply because of the UI.
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Yes, this seems to be the best solution. I did find that it took a while for them to sync up at x1, but if you set the clock rate to x24 and set that as the PPQN on PPW, they sync up immediately. Thanks!
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Well the sync issue with clock drifting up and down renders this module unusable for me. I have wasted 20 euros for a module that doesn’t work as it should. Hopefully this gets fixed asap.
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Hi Steve,
I’d argue ShapeMaster Pro is probably the closest single module to Pam’s…
IMHO, in term of functionality, I consider ShapeMaster Pro as better than Pam’s Pro! in particular the ablility to create/use custom shapes.
Now, mid-October 2023, ShapeMaster Pro stays one of the best modules for VCV Rack 2.
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I haven’t used Shapemaster in a while but I’m not aware that it • is a euclidian rhythm sequencer • has logic operations • or cv controllable humanisation/swing of trigger events.
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Of course, you’re seeking only cons… These modules are different, I admit it was an error to “compare” them. I’m not owner of ALM Pam’s PRO module for VCV Rack (I’m developping mine, will have comparable euclidean feature - but actually in intensive development), and as I can see here, Pam’s PRO for VCV Rack 2 isn’t enough mature (perhaps better after issues fixes).
Also, I’ve mentioned ShapeMaster Pro.
Some missing features can be done by another modules (like humanize, swing, logic ops, cross ops…).
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… I guess I’m just a bit confused about the animosities towards this module in here. I’ve played around with it for some hours now and enjoyed myself. Packs a ton of features and possibilties, many of which, yes, are somehow available elsewhere but by patching other things together and certainly not in, what is it 7, 8 HP? And when it’s all in one package (bonus: that does not feel like part of a DAW) I tend to explore those more easily. Also jitter/swing control via CV is new to me.
my only complaint would be that dialing in values with that knob feels sluggish at times.
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To clarify: it’s not animosity (from me), anyway! But by your reply: +1 complaint… 
It’s a discussion forum, aren’t? You opinion is respectable, but opinions from other users are respectable, too!
Remember: initially, my reply was addressed to… Steve. 
Happy if this module is fine for you, voila!
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