MIDI beat clock is a clock signal that is broadcast via MIDI to ensure that several synthesizers stay in synchronization. It is not MIDI timecode.
Unlike MIDI timecode, MIDI beat clock is sent at a rate that represents the current tempo. It is used to maintain a synchronized tempo for synthesizers that have BPM-dependent voices and also for arpeggiator synchronization. It does not transmit any location information (bar number or time code) and so must be used in conjunction with a positional reference (such as timecode) for complete sync.
Because of limitations in MIDI and synthesizers, devices driven by MIDI beatclock are often subject to clock drift. For this reason, it is a common practice on equipment that supports another clock source such as ADAT or wordclock to use both that source and MIDI beatclock.
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