LEN (LENGTH)
This button opens the LENGTH screen, which controls the sequence length
(using a combination of both stage and pulse counts) for the currently
selected track.
There are three main parameters accessible by the button:
●
STAGES
: The top-left parameter sets the number of stages used by the sequence. If highlighted
( symbol is beside the
STAGES
parameter), turn the encoder to set the sequence length
(expressed as the ‘number of stages’). If the
PULSES
parameter is highlighted instead, press the
encoder to return encoder control to the
STAGES
parameter.
●
OFFSET
: The top-right parameter sets the stage offset, which is accessed by holding
ALT
while
turning the encoder. This setting offsets Metropolix’ definition of “Stage 1.” For example, if the
OFFSET = ‘1’
, then Metropolix starts (and resets) playback on Stage 2, rather than Stage 1
(since the starting stage is offset by a count of one).
●
PULSES
: The bottom parameter sets the number of pulses the sequence will play before
resetting (from 1-64 pulses, or ‘Auto’, as described below).
If highlighted ( symbol is beside the
PULSES
parameter), turn the encoder to set the number
of pulses. If the
STAGES
parameter is highlighted instead, press the encoder to return encoder
control to the
PULSES
parameter.
STAGES
and
PULSES
interact with each other (and with the playback
allowing for the creation of some surprisingly complex patterns and polyrhythms.
Specifically:
● If
PULSES
is set to a number, then that number defines the length of the sequence (in clock
pulses). The sequence progresses through the selected number of
STAGES
, following the
chosen playback
ORDER
, and honoring the
PULSE COUNT
of each stage until the chosen
number of pulses has been reached — at which point the sequence resets automatically back to
the beginning.
EXAMPLE : Assume you set a sequence to
STAGES = 3
and
PULSES = 4
, and that each Stage
has a PULSE COUNT = 1 and
DIRECTION = ’Forward’
on the ORDER screen. The sequence
would play Stage 1 for one pulse; Stage 2 for one pulse; Stage 3 for one pulse, then go back to
Stage 1 for the fourth pulse. The playback pattern would be:
S1 S2 S3 S1 S1 S2 S3 S1 S1 S2 S3 S1, etc..
Next, assume you change the PULSE COUNT of Stage 2 to “4”. The sequence would play
Stage 1 for one pulse; then Stage 2 for only three of its four pulse counts (since the sequence
will have reached its four pulse limit), then reset. So the pattern would be:
S1 S2 S2 S2 S1 S2 S2 S2 S1 S2 S2 S2, etc.
Metropolix Manual
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