Off
When ‘off,’ gate lengths always refer to the length of a clock pulse. If a
note extends beyond a single clock pulse, the note’s gate length does
not stretch, and the extra time is filled with rests.
For example, assume a stage has a GATE LENGTH = 50%, a
GATE TYPE = SINGLE, and a PULSE COUNT = 4. The gate will open at
the beginning of the stage and stay open for half a clock pulse, before
going low for the final 3.5 clock pulses in the stage. You can see an
example of this (and other) Gate interactions in
, later in the manual.
Ratchets
IMPORTANT:
This parameter applies
only
when
Gate Stretching = On
(as described above). It has
no
effect if a track’s Gate Stretching
parameter is turned off.
The Ratchets parameter affects the way ratchets are calculated, as
described below. See
, later in the manual, for more information
about ratcheting, and numerous examples regarding the use of this
parameter.
Multiply
When you assign
‘x’
number of ratchets to a stage, this option creates
‘x’
number of ratchets in
‘y’
pulse counts, where the value of
‘y’
is
determined by the stage’s PULSE COUNT switch plus the
DIV
screen’s
PULSE DIV
value (if the GATE TYPE = MULTI) .
This results in ratchet repeat rates that speed up or slow down
depending on how long the non-ratched gate would last. It can yield very
interesting rhythmic variations but may not sonically resemble
“traditional” ratchets.
Pulse
When you assign
‘x’
number of ratchets to a stage, this option ensures
that all
‘x’
ratchets will play in the amount of time occupied by a single
clock pulse. In this case,
‘x’
determines both the repeat rate of the
ratchets, and the number of total ratchets played in a gate.
This creates the ‘classic’ ratcheting effect of sequencers from the past. It
ensures that ratchets always repeat at the same rate (regardless of Gate
length), and that the requested number of ratchets are always heard.
Gated
When you assign
‘x’
number of ratchets to a stage, this option ensures
that the ratchets will trigger at the rate of
‘x’
ratchets per clock pulse.
However, the actual number of ratchets played will increase (or
decrease) as the non-ratcheted gate lengths stretch or contract. In this
case,
‘x’
determines the repeat rate of the ratchets, but the Gate Length
determines the number of total ratchets played.
This is a variation on the ‘classic’ ratcheting effect, in that it ensures the
ratchets always repeat at the same rate, but it allows for the number of
ratchets to expand or contract with gate length.
Metropolix Manual
29
