The Missing Link – Bringing Ableton Link to Hardware Devices
Knobcon 2018 just happened recently in Chicago, Illinois where people gathered to share their latest and greatest in the world of hardware synthesis and experimental music-making tools. Ed Guild of Happy Circuit shared his incredible creation – The Missing Link which is a box that lets you connect your analog gear to other Ableton Link compatible devices. What’s especially useful about this device is that it operates over Wi-Fi so you no longer have to worry about all those cables clunking up your workflow. We were fortunate enough to get some questions answered by Ed, our interview is below!
2. Where along the line did you come up with the idea for the Missing Link? Was the idea inspired by Ableton Link or did you have the concept of a wireless sync box prior to Link’s release?

_A list of the features found with The Missing Link are below.
- Ableton Link integration for wireless sync with compatible devices
- 5V clock output with user-setable PPQN (pulses per quarter note)
- 5V pulse output at the start of loop
- Push encoder for editing user settings (tempo, PPQN, Loop size)
- Tap tempo for quickly setting tempo
- Built on a Raspberry Pi Zero W platform with custom circuits for the interface and analog outputs
- Built-in web interface for easily connecting to your WiFi network
- Can be powered by any 5V USB power source including USB batteries!
- Open source software and hardware designs
You can use the Missing Link to connect your devices to each other whether it is a hardware synthesizer, drum machine, iOS device, etc.! Any compatible device can be linked! It looks like it can transmit MIDI clock info via 5pin so that opens the door wide for connection possibilities! For those of you unfamiliar with Ableton Link, we wrote two posts on the technology already here and here. In a nutshell, Link is a much more stable form of maintaining and communicating Tempo and loop phrase information between musical devices than MIDI clock or anything else previously used.
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First beta box assembled and tested! Going to a happy beta tester this weekend.
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Circuit Happy’s big move here is based on the strength of Ableton Link, and it is wicked strong. “The Missing Link runs open source software built around Ableton’s Link technology. This means you share tempo and loop information amongst all the Link-enabled devices. So when you hit play, it waits to start the clock on the downbeat, in time and on time.” In the video below Ed demonstrates The Missing Link seamlessly linking devices, making tempo adjustments when there partners do and self-correcting any timing issues. Watch below!
The Missing Link is made on order and available for purchase for $200, request yours at the Circuit Happy website.