Sequencer Tricks
See also
Precise pitches
While using the sequencer for conventionally tuned patterns, getting all the steps perfectly
tuned can be tricky at best, and downright tedious at worst. The following method (already
mentioned in the chapter about the sequencer) ensures that you only need to set integers.
Set the oscillator pitch modulation amounts to the m50 and double the transposition
you want at each step. A few examples:
minor third (3 semitones)
= 6.00
major third (4 semitones)
= 8.00
fourth (5 semitones)
= 10.00
fifth (7 semitones)
= 14.00
octave (12 semitones)
= 24.00
fifth (19 semitones) = 38.00 etc..
Jump rotation – two snapshots only
Rotation is normally smooth, but if you want to
jump
automatically between two snapshots, it’s
probably easiest to use a
Ramp
generator as a ‘square wave’ source of synchronized rotation
(unlike LFOs, ramps are always unipolar, so rotation is positive-only).
If the ramp mode is set to
4/4 sync
, you can jump twice per bar by setting the
Hold
and
Rest
parameters both to 50.00. To jump only once per bar, set
Hold
and
Rest
to 100.00 and 99.99
respectively, and
Down
to 0.01. The latter isn’t really necessary, but let’s not get lazy now!
Jump rotation – more than two snapshots
If you want the sequencer to jump between more than two snapshots, use either the Quantizer
or a Mapping Generator to process your rotation modulator:
Using the Quantizer
Load
initialize xx
, drag a cable from
ModW
to the
Quantizer
, and another from the
Quantizer
to
Rotate
. Set the
Rotate
and
Quantizer
values both to precisely 7.00. Play and hold a note, move
your modulation wheel and watch how the realtime position indicator moves. Now try LFO 2
instead of the modulation wheel... tricky, isn’t it?
Using a Mapping
Generator
This method has the advantage that you can jump between snapshots in any order you like:
Load
init
, drag a cable from Map 1 (in the MIDI & MORE panel) to the
Rotate
input and set the
Rotate value to 7.00. Go to TWEAKS & FX, right-click in Mapping Generator 1 and restrict the
map to 8 values. Right-click again and select
ramp
from the
shapes
sub-menu. Right-click once
more and select
make unipolar
. Set the source to
ModWhl
and the mode to
Map Quantize
. Go
back to the SYNTH page, hold down a note, push the mod wheel... and watch how the dial
moves through all 8 snapshots.
What was that about jumping around any order you like? Try this: Expand the map to 32 steps,
edit the values,
make unipolar
and
Quantize 8.
Set
Rotate
to 8.00. After trying the modulation
wheel, select
LFO2 Tri
as your map source. Slow LFO 2 down to 8/1 (If it needs to be slower,
change the rate to -1.00, -2.00 etc..) and set its
Wave
parameter to maximum. The sequence
will repeat after jumping 32 times.
Jump rotation - sequencer section
You can even use a section of the sequencer itself as a source of rotation. For an example,
check out the preset “HS Berlin Beauty” – the section set to 8 beats is connected to the
Rotate
input. As you can imagine, this technique can (and probably will) get crazy-complicated if
snapshots have different patterns in the section that is used for rotation.
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