How to send timecode to grandMA3

What timecode means in grandMA3

A timecoded show stores each cue against an exact position in time — an HH:MM:SS:FFstamp (hours, minutes, seconds, frames). When a timecode signal plays, grandMA3’s Timecode Pool follows it and fires the linked cues on their stored frames. Instead of hitting Go, you press play on the music and the lighting runs itself, frame-accurate, every time.

grandMA3 takes timecode through a timecode pool object set to one of eight slots, each pointed at a source. The three sources operators use are SMPTE LTC (audio), MTC (MIDI), and Art-Net timecode (network). For the official reference, see the grandMA3 timecode help.

LTC vs MTC: which should you use?

Both carry the same SMPTE position; the difference is the wire they travel on.

• LTC (Linear Timecode)is SMPTE encoded as an audio signal. Send it from an audio output into a physical console’s LTC input. Use it when you’re on a real desk with an LTC connector.
• MTC (MIDI Timecode) carries the position over MIDI. This is how grandMA3 onPC takes timecode without any audio hardware — route MTC over a virtual MIDI port and the software desk follows it.
• Art-Net timecode sends the position over the network. Useful in fully networked rigs; also works with onPC without hardware.

QTracks generates LTC into any audio device and MTC over any MIDI port, so the same project drives onPC at home and a physical desk at the venue.

grandMA3 onPC timecode without hardware

This is the question that fills lighting forums: how do you get timecode into grandMA3 onPC on a laptop with no command wing and no audio interface? The answer is MTC over a virtual MIDI port. QTracks creates the timecode and sends MTC straight to onPC — no tc2artnet, no separate LTC-to-MTC converter, no virtual audio cable.

How to program a timecoded grandMA3 show with QTracks

The traditional chain is three apps: a player to output LTC, an audio router to split channels, and an LTC-to-MTC converter when the desk wants MIDI. QTracks folds all three into one project file. Here is the whole workflow:

1. 1

   Import your song and stems

   Open QTracks, create a project, and drop in the track. Add stems (kick, vocal, click) when you want to place cues against specific sounds. The waveform and markers live on one timeline.

2. 2

   Place markers on the hits

   Mark song sections and key moments — verse, chorus, drop, hit. Markers belong to the song, so moving or swapping a stem never knocks them out of place.

3. 3

   Export the grandMA3 macro

   QTracks exports a grandMA3 macro that scaffolds the show: sequences, cues, a timecode pool, and timecode events tied to your markers. Run it once in grandMA3 and the structure is built, with empty cues ready to program.

4. 4

   Pick how timecode reaches the console

   On the routing canvas, send MTC over a virtual MIDI port to grandMA3 onPC, feed LTC into an audio device wired to a physical desk's LTC input, or both. Set the frame rate to match your show.

5. 5

   Press play and program

   Hit play in QTracks. Timecode streams into grandMA3, the cue list advances in time with the song, and you program the looks while the playhead runs. Autosave keeps your session safe every 30 seconds.

When the real show runs, QTracks steps aside — final timecode comes from the band’s rig (Ableton, Q-Lab) straight into grandMA3. QTracks is a previz and programming tool, not a playback system.

Frame rates and drop-frame, briefly

Frame rate is the one setting people get wrong. The source, the grandMA3 timecode pool, and your cues must all use the same rate, or cues drift over the length of a song. Live music shows commonly run 25 or 30 fps; broadcast contexts use 29.97 drop-frame to stay wall-clock accurate. QTracks supports 24, 25, 29.97 drop-frame (DF), 29.97 non-drop (NDF), and 30 fps, generated at sample-accurate boundaries in the audio engine.

Frequently asked questions