For iPad and iPhone, on its own or in AUM
ClockBridge
Make your iPad follow your hardware. Your sequencer’s MIDI clock becomes Ableton Link tempo, in AUM or on its own.
€4.99 on the App Store. No in-app purchases, no account.
What it does · How it works · Set up · Features · Support · Privacy policy
What it does
AUM can send clock. Now it can follow one.
AUM can send MIDI clock, but it can’t follow one. ClockBridge closes that gap. Your groovebox or sequencer sets the tempo, and pressing play on it starts AUM straight away, on the hardware’s downbeat. Stop stops it.
It’s one button, and its ring tells you what’s happening. Pull the cable mid-song and the tempo holds, so the music keeps going.
- Grey: waiting for clock
- Yellow: locked on
- Red: the clock went away
ClockBridge uses Ableton Link, so the tempo is shared with every Link-enabled app on your iPad and your local network. You don’t even need AUM: the app runs on its own too.
How it works
Your hardware leads. Every app follows.
Your hardware sets the tempo
ClockBridge reads the MIDI clock from your drum machine or sequencer and shares its tempo, start and stop with every Ableton Link app on your iPad or iPhone.
On its own: plug in and play
Connect your hardware over USB or Bluetooth MIDI and set it to send clock. Open ClockBridge and leave Sync on. It keeps following in the background while you play in other apps.
Switch on Link in your apps
Turn on Ableton Link in each app, and Start/Stop sync where the app has it. Press play on your hardware and every app starts on its downbeat.
In AUM, use the plugin
Add ClockBridge as a MIDI processor, route your hardware into it in the MIDI matrix and turn on Link in AUM. Use the plugin or the app, not both at once, so only one ClockBridge leads the tempo.
One button
Tap the big button to follow the clock, tap again to let go. Grey is waiting for clock, yellow is locked on, red means the clock went away. Link holds the last tempo until it comes back.
I’m also testing ClockBridge on Apple silicon Macs.
Set it up in AUM
Four steps
1
Add ClockBridge
In AUM, add ClockBridge as a MIDI processor and open its window.
2
Route your hardware
In AUM’s MIDI matrix, route your hardware’s MIDI into ClockBridge. That is where the clock comes in.
3
Turn on Link
In AUM, turn on Link and Link Start/Stop. AUM then takes its tempo, start and stop from ClockBridge.
4
Keep the clock one way
Don’t send AUM’s own clock back to the same hardware. The hardware leads and AUM follows.
Playing without AUM? Plug in your hardware, open the ClockBridge app and leave Sync on. The app’s guide shows both ways.
Features
Light enough to load in every project
Follows the tempo knob
Turn the tempo on your hardware and AUM follows as you turn it.
Starts on the downbeat
Press play on the hardware and AUM starts on its downbeat, without waiting for the next bar.
Steady timing
Timing stays steady even when the host delivers clock in audio-buffer steps.
Timing offset
Shift AUM by a few milliseconds to line up with your hardware’s latency.
Sync on a hardware button
Map the Sync button to a control on your hardware through the host.
Holds when the cable goes
If the clock drops out mid-song, the tempo holds and AUM keeps playing.
Runs on its own
No AUM needed. Open the app and it keeps following in the background while you play in other apps.
Saved with your presets
AUM’s preset menu saves Sync, the timing offset and the decimal tempo setting.
Decimal tempo
Experimental and off by default: shows a tempo like 105.5 once the clock has been steady for a few seconds.
€4.99, paid once. No in-app purchases, no account.
In AUM
Settings, one tap away
Also by Tanel Teemusk
More apps for making music
ClockBridge
Support
Something not working, or an idea for ClockBridge? Write to hello@teemusk.com.
Common questions
Can AUM sync to external MIDI clock?
AUM can send MIDI clock to your hardware, but it follows tempo through Ableton Link, not through incoming clock. ClockBridge sits in between: it reads the clock from your sequencer or groovebox and hands it to AUM as Link tempo, so AUM starts, stops and changes tempo with your hardware.
Link isn’t connecting
Open AUM’s Link settings and check that Link is on, along with Link Start/Stop. Then check local network access: on your iPad go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and make sure AUM and ClockBridge are switched on. Link uses the local network to share tempo between apps.
AUM doesn’t start when I press play
Check that Link Start/Stop is on in AUM, and that your hardware’s MIDI is routed into ClockBridge in AUM’s MIDI matrix. The ring turns yellow once ClockBridge has locked on to the clock.
Do I need AUM?
No. The ClockBridge app runs on its own: connect your hardware over USB or Bluetooth MIDI, open the app, and every Link app follows. In AUM, use the plugin instead. Don’t run both at once.
Does it run on a Mac?
I’m testing it on Apple silicon Macs now. Intel Macs aren’t supported.
How do I report a problem?
Write to hello@teemusk.com and tell me your hardware, the app you play in and what happened. The last slide of the app’s guide has a Send feedback button too.
ClockBridge
Privacy policy
Last updated 29 October 2026
This policy covers the ClockBridge app and its Audio Unit plugin. ClockBridge is made and published by Tanel Teemusk. In short: the app collects no data.
What the app collects
Nothing. ClockBridge has no accounts, no analytics, no advertising and no tracking. Nothing about you or the way you use it is sent to me or to anyone else.
Local network and Ableton Link
ClockBridge uses Ableton Link over your local network, and only to share tempo with apps on the same network. That is why iOS asks for local network access. Link doesn’t send anything to me.
Feedback and ratings
Send feedback opens your own mail app, and nothing reaches me unless you send that email yourself. Ratings go through Apple’s own App Store prompt. ClockBridge itself sends nothing.
Children
Since the app collects no personal data from anyone, it collects none from children either.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new date at the top.
Contact
Questions about privacy go to Tanel Teemusk at hello@teemusk.com.
ClockBridge is made by Tanel Teemusk. Also by me: NoteBridge, which remaps MIDI notes and channels in AUM, and KnobBridge, a board of named knobs and buttons for your AUM project.