So I think it might be entirely possible to implement a plug-in to give the SSP Abelton link capabilities.
For this, it would be most beneficial for it would work with Wi-Fi. Obviously, it could also work USB however, primarily want to use it with Wi-Fi using a WiFi dongle
i considered this a couple of times, technically its trivial,
Ive done it for other similar hardware
the main āissueā with the ssp/xmx is theres no access for a user to set it up, or resolve issues if it doesnāt work. (not uncommon)
so, though Ive provided details on how to do it, I dont think many have been that interested to do it.
that said, it be reasonably easy to create a module, that includes a UI to setup it up.
you can even do it with messing with scripts, which is what I did for the nebulae.
but yeah, if it doesnāt work for a user, from experience it can be tricky to resolve / supportā¦ as theres no access to terminal etc. (*)
also, Ive noticed, I seem to get timeouts/drops occasionally on both ssp and xmx, mostly on wifi, but sometimes on ethernet too.
fine for a terminal session it just reconnects, but if you were trying to sync using link, that would be a bit crapā¦
Ive a suspicion its probably usb power management, but I think i tried to bypass that.
ā¦ that said, Id didnt spend long looking at it, as it doesnt really negatively affect me.
overall, I decided it probably was more hassle than the benefits it provides, at least for non-technical usersā¦
its funny, Im an Ableton user, and I do really like Link, its such a cool protoocol.
But I hardly ever use it, I guess because its just not supported widely enough, so if Im routing midi clock anyway to others, I might as well use it for everyone.
also with eurorack, I tend to use cv anyway, with a dc coupled interface its as tight as youāre going to get 
( * ) I had this with both nebulae and also organelle users, for a few, the setup just didnāt like their particular network.
I personally, found, whilst not quite as convenient, it was better to setup as an AP, less vagueries that way.
but i cant remember, if the SSP/XMX had all the binaries required to do this, would need to double check thatā¦
There are a very few Ableton Link to clock converters out there. The Circuit Happy Missing Link line come to mind. Though not particularly cheap ($260 for the desktop, $250 for the 2HP Eurorack version), I have heard that they work excellently. https://www.circuithappy.com
here, I threw together a SSP moduleā¦
this assumes you have already setup your wifi/ethernet connection.
details on that here
link.zip (3.0 MB)
thisāll be in TBPlugins next release, Iāll probably tweak it a bit before.
also, IF people use it, then I might add link support to CLKD , its kind of a natural fit
notes:
this is receiver only.
I could have made it bidirectional, but seems likely most will use something like live as master
you canāt select network interface, itāll use default, should be fine
Ive done limited testing, just threw together a patch, started ableton , checked it was in sync as I changed things around etc.
basic functionality
outputs:
beat = beat trig
bar = bar /measure trig
phase = a phasor , as a division of the link phasor.
(playing is there, but not functionally, will be on release)
params, these may not be āobviousā perhaps will rename.
beat / bar really are a time sig
bar = sub division of measure(bar), so defines length of a ābeatā
i.e. 4 = 1/4 notes, 32 = 1/32 notes
beat = number of beats (see bar)
phase is independentā¦ allows you to run subdivisions of the link phasor
(perhaps on release, I might rename this,
generally it should be ok, 4/4/4 would be your four on the floor.
but you can express times sigs like 3/4 or something less boring like 7/6
accuracy, in testing it seemed pretty good, as link usually is.
ofc, dont āpixel peekā, when using multiple modules as timing between modules is not guaranteed, so you can get unexpected buffer delays.
tl;dr; if you want really tight timing you many need delay compensation.
(and if you are using multiple modules, potentially different on different outputs)
anyway something to play with, the fundamentals were pretty easy to throw together and give 90% of what most would need.
Iāll be honest, I think very few have network adapters, so not sure itāll get usedā¦
but a nice to haveā¦
this is quite confusing (for me)
bar=bar=beat
?
yeah, as I said, nomenclature is not fixed yetā¦
essentially, its time signature numerator and denominator, but thats a bit ātechnicalā
perhaps better - beats per measure, beat size (not exactly catchy ;))
I guess, I can also fix beat size to things like 1/32,1/16, 1/8 (i.e. display as fraction choices), that may make it easier to understand.
EDIT: (for completeness)
phase output, phase parameter.
these are unrelated to above, rather they expose the ārawā nature of Link.
which is, frankly, tricky to explain and understand (correctly ;)) ā¦
though, I should i should rename phase parameter to quantum, as this how its referred to in Link.
its a really cool area, thinking about the timeline as a continous cycle is very āmodularā, off grid
could possibly be in different module, but its nice to keep in one place?
basically, I just threw this together quickly, trying out different ideas.
mainly because I was prevaricating on another coding task thats a bit complex ( hardware ādriverā for a gigperformer, a live performance app)
as is, whilst nomenclature is not 100% clear, it does give 90% functionality that most would want, so ālow hangingā fruit, and easy to extend should their be a demand.
no point spending hours on the UI, if no one actually uses it, esp. as Ive so many other projects I should be working on, that have an active user baseā¦
but hey, its fun to do stuff sometimes, just because you can
btw, I did look āMissing Linkā as per @Ersatzplanet post,
but its interface is kinda primitive ,
just clock + reset, sure this is a eurorack (and kinda midi clock) norm,
but has huge limitations - and those limitations, were why Ableton created Link in the first place.
so, I didnāt want to fall into that trap, of just replicating the status quo, rather support Link as its meant to beā¦
hell, modular excels where you want to get away from the conventional. (4/4 120 bpm ;))
but, for conventional use,
LINK ā CLKD, pretty much gets you āconventional clock, with dividerā
(Ive been thinking of adding a simple ālinkā button to CLKD, to make this even simpler)
with alt CLKD modes and LINK also allow for some really interesting stuff, that adapt but stay in sync.
also the phase output is very interesting in modularā¦
I do think itād be nice to have LINK also alllow clock control (so changing it), its one of the unique aspects of ableton link, and having a modular mess with Ableton Live clock could be really fun
so lots of ideasā¦
note: Link is more aimed at sequencers, that have opinionated design, rather than just āa clockā,
e.g. they are concerned with sync a pattern, a musical construct, that has its own TS / grid etc.
which is why if feels a bit less āobviousā on mapping to something low level, like a clock module.