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MOTHER-32 FIRMWARE UPDATE V2.0
April 2020
CLOCK PRIORITY
CLOCK PRIORITY RULES
1:
With no other clock source connected, the internal clock has priority.
2:
A connected MIDI Clock will override the internal clock.
3:
A connected Analog Clock will override a connected MIDI clock, and / or the internal clock.
SWING
NEW SWING INTERVAL CONTROL
Previously, Swing simply alternated between longer and shorter timing on every sequencer step. You can
now set the sequencer to Swing at a different beat interval than the one at which it is stepping. The rhythmic
relationship between these two different intervals can create many new and interesting patterns of longer
and shorter notes.
HOW SWING WORKS GENERALLY (AND ON THE MOTHER-32)
Generally speaking, Swing involves alternating between rushing and dragging the speed of playing relative
to the tempo, creating a pattern of alternating longer and shorter notes. Here we refer to these two
alternating phases of Swing as the “onbeat” and the “offbeat.”
THE SWING AMOUNT
The Swing Amount controls the relative duration of the on beat
versus the offbeat; this is adjusted by holding
SHIFT
and turning
the
TEMPO / GATE LENGTH (SWING)
knob. With Swing Amount
at 50% (12:00 on the
TEMPO
knob), timing is precisely aligned with
the clock and there is no audible swing feel. As Swing Amount is
adjusted clockwise from 12:00, the on beat is stretched out to be
longer and the offbeat is compressed to be correspondingly shorter.
If swing is adjusted counterclockwise from 12:00 (less than 50%),
then the on beat is compressed, and the offbeat starts sooner
(before the beat) and lasts correspondingly longer.
THE SWING INTERVAL
The Swing Interval sets the interval, using musical note-length values, used to alternate between the on beat
and the offbeat. The speed of the on beat versus the speed of the offbeat is proportional; as you slow one
down, the other speeds up, so that an on beat plus an offbeat always takes the same total amount of total
time (two Swing Intervals). Because of this, every other Swing Interval is aligned with the underlying clock.
The on beat always aligns with the clock; the offbeat can start earlier or later relative to the clock tempo,
depending on the Swing Amount.
In the vast majority of sequencers, the Swing Interval is fixed to match the rate of the sequencer, i.e. every
other step alternates back and forth between long swung beat and short swung beat. This is depicted in the
diagram on the following page.
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