Leaderboard

The second chapter of the user manual draft. The relevant section of the table of contents is: 2. Basic settings 2.1. Track EVENT 2.1.1. Track types 2.1.1.1. Note tracks 2.1.1.2. Chord tracks 2.1.1.3. CC tracks 2.1.2. Port 2.1.3. MIDI Channel 2.1.4. Track Event and Track Instrument 2.1.5. Setting parameter layer functions 2.2. Track LENGTH 2.3. Track DIVIDER and tempo 2.3.1. Tempo 2.3.2. Divider Drum tracks are left out of the Track types because they have their own separate section later. The information on predefined chords for the chord layer is probably going to change before this manual is finished, but I'll change them at some point before that and when it's official. It can be argued whether messing around with the divider is "basic" settings or whether it should rather be included in the advanced features section, but at the moment it's included here as it was originally one of the more difficult concepts that I first started writing about. As before, the "Example" paragraphs are unchecked at the moment, and have to be rewritten for consistency later. The feedback I'm interested in at the moment is whether the text is 1) accurate, and 2) understandable. A question for TK (or others with the information). Below, I write about importing presets: "On the left LCD, you can recall saved presets. Selecting one of them brings up a menu where you can delimit which track data you want to import. Name and Chn. are self-explainatory, Maps means mixer maps (see section 6.5.), Cfg. means ***check, and finally Steps means trigger layer and parameter layer data." What exactly are the configurations that can be imported this way? And does importing Steps mean trigger layer and parameter layer data, and nothing else? -----------------------------8<-------------------------- ----------------- 2. Basic settings ----------------- 2.1. Track EVENT ---------------- The track EVENT page is the central page for track settings. In a new session, each track will have some default settings, but it's likely that you will have to change them to match your setup. Changing the track type settings on the EVENT page require you to *initialise* the track for the changes to take effect. The sequencer will tell you when this is needed by displaying a message in the right LCD. A track is initialised by pressing GPB16 ('INIT') on the EVENT page for a few seconds. Initialising the track erases all data in the track's parameter and trigger layers and replaces them with default initialisation values for the chosen track type. Initialisation won't affect Port, MIDI channel, and Program Change command (on the Track Instrument page), but all other settings such as length, divider value, name etc. are reset to default values. By default, initialisation switches the gates 'on' for each fourth step. On the options menu (UTILITY -> Opt. -> Option #11) you can disable the gates, so that initialisation inserts no notes in the track. Initialisation works for only one track at a time, even if you have several tracks selected. Only the track that's being displayed on the LCDs will get initialised. Example: Let's suppose for the moment that you're only interested in the first two tracks in group 1 (i.e. G1T1 and G1T2). At the very least you need to set their type, length, port and MIDI channel. These settings are made on the EVENT page (MENU + EVENT). The following settings should be made for G1T1 and G1T2: – Track type should be "Note" – Maximum length should be 128 steps – Port should be "Def." (or "OUT1") – the MIDI channel should be whatever your synth is listening to (you must know the right channel yourself) The port (that's where your synth is physically connected to) is going to be the same for both tracks in this example, but it still has to be set separately for each track. As to the MIDI channel, the simplest solution is that you set both tracks to the same channel, so they're both playing the same (polyphonic) synth, and this is what is going to be done here. If you have a multitimbral synth, you could use G1T1 to play a lead sound on one synth and G1T2 to play a bass sound on another, but it's ok if both tracks are playing the same sound (as long as your synth is polyphonic). If your synth is monophonic, you will have to apply the following according to your best judgement, because it's written for, and has been tested with, a polyphonic synthesizer. For the tutorial, you need a track that is of the type "Note" and 128 steps long, so on the EVENT page, turn GPK2–4 until the type is "Note" and "Steps" is 128. This will automatically set the correct layer numbers as well. Initialise the track by pressing GPB16 for a few seconds. Next, select the correct port and MIDI channel. Use the GP knobs to set Port to "Def." and Chn. to whatever channel your synth is listening to (you will have to know yourself what the right channel for your equipment is). Then push track selection button #2 to select G1T2. You will notice that you stay in the same menu page (the EVENT page), but the information you see now pertains to track G1T2. Make the same Type, Steps/Layers, Port and MIDI channel selections for G1T2 as you did for G1T1, and initialise the track. 2.1.1. Track types On the MBSEQv4, track selection possibilities are organised into several predefined options based on track type, length (number of steps), number of parameter layers, and number of trigger layers (the options are listed below). Changing the track type allows you to select different kinds of track presets that best suit your purposes. The track types are Note, Chord, CC and Drum, and each of these types has subtypes based on a combination of maximum track length, number of parameter layers and number of trigger layers. (For the difference between parameter layers and trigger layers, see sections 3.1. and 3.2.) Because of memory limitations it's not possible to have the longest possible track (256 steps) with the maximum number of parameter and trigger layers (16 and 8 respectively), so each subtype is a compromise within the overall limitations. Note, Chord and CC tracks always have 8 trigger layers, so in effect the track has to be balanced between maximum length and the number of parameter layers. Drum tracks are somewhat different from the other types, so they are dealt with separately. (See section 3.3.). [chart of track types and lengths] When changing track type, the track needs to be *initialised* for the changes to take effect. Press GPB16 for a few seconds to initialise the track. Initialisation erases all data on the track's layers! Note that even though initialising a track to the selected preset fixes the number of parameter layers, you can freely change what *kind* of parameter layers you have. The difference between Note, Chord and CC type tracks is just in what the *default* parameter layer functions are; a CC type track contains only CC parameter layers, while Note type tracks contain none of them, but nothing stops you from from changing the parameter layer functions to whatever you like after initialisation (naturally within the maximum overall number set at initialisation). Only drum type tracks are different in this respect. (See section 3.3.) Indeed, you will have access to many parameter layer functions (like Pitch, Delay and Probability) only this way, as they won't be available in any of the presets. On the EVENT page, use GPK9 to choose which parameter layer you want to edit (from A to H), then turn GPK10 to set which function you want to control with that parameter layer. You need to confirm the change of function by pressing GPB10. 2.1.1.1. Note tracks In a default session, all tracks are of the same type: they are Note tracks that are 256 steps long and have four parameter layers. This kind of Note type tracks have one velocity layer (parameter layer B), one length layer (parameter layer C, for note length, not track length!), one roll layer (parameter layer D), and at least one note layer (parameter layer A). If you initialise a shorter Note track, you just get more note layers (parameter layer E and onwards); if you want other kinds of parameter layers, you have to set them manually on the EVENT page (see section 2.1.1.). Maximum length of 128 steps gives you four extra note parameter layers compared to the default, allowing you to enter up to five note chords, and should already be enough for most purposes. The setting Sustain on the MODE page is good to keep in mind when setting up a track to play chords or long single notes. Sustain holds each note/chord until another one is played, and this spares you the trouble of having to set the length of each individual note/chord. 2.1.1.2. Chord tracks Chord tracks are set up length and layer wise just like note tracks. However, in a chord track parameter layer A is a chord layer instead of a note layer. The chord layer doesn't take normal notes as input, but instead a value from A-P to a-p (plus octave value from 0 to 3), each of which represents a pre-defined chord. The list of the predefined chords is found below. The advantage of this to using several note layers on a note type track to play chords is that you can have the chord data on a single layer, even if the chords are made up of 4 notes. Because you only need a single parameter layer for chords, you can increase your track's maximum length to 256 steps. A disadvantage is that the value names don't make musical sense, though the names of the chords do appear on the right LCD (top row). A bigger disadvantage is that in order to play chords with different root notes (and not just different chords of the same root note, like C major, Cm, Csus4 etc.), you need to set up a loopback track to transpose each chord. (See section 6.1.) List of predefined chords A-C: Major I, Major II, Major III (transposed variants) D-F: Root note, 3rd note, 5th note (single notes) G,H: Root+3rd, Root+5th I-N: Maj6, Maj7, Maj8, Maj9, Maj10, Maj12 (4-note chords) O,P: Sus4 and Maj+ a-c: Minor I, Minor II, Minor III (transposed variants) d-f: Root note, 3rdMin note, 5th note (single notes) g,h: Root+3ndMin, Root+5th i-n: Min6, Min7, Min8, Min9, Min10, Min12 (4-note chords) o-p: Co7 and Min+ If the length of a chord track allows for more than 4 parameter layers, by default all the extra ones will be note layers. However, it is not really possible to play chords and melodies simultaneously on the same track, because each parameter layer shares the one and only gate trigger for that track. Thus you cannot trigger individual gates for the notes of the melody in a note layer, while leaving the gate untriggered for the chord layer at the same time. If you go to Layer View (press & hold EDIT + GPB3), you can insert notes in the note layers by turning a knob, but it's only feasible in the same steps where there is already a chord and where the gate is already on. The setting Sustain on the MODE page is good to keep in mind when setting up a track to play chords (whether transposed or not). Sustain holds each note/chord until another one is played, and this spares you the trouble of having to set the length of each individual note/chord. Given the disadvantages of the chord track, for the beginner it is easier to just initialise a note type track with four or more note layers (maximum length 128 steps or less), and record the required chords there as several simultaneous notes. (For recording, see section 4.) 2.1.1.3. CC tracks CC tracks allow you to send Control Change messages to your MIDI equipment. By default, all parameter layers of a CC type track are CC layers that do the same thing, i.e. send a CC message. By default, each newly initialised CC layer is off. On the EVENT page you can switch them 'on' and set which CC number each layer is sending. Use GPK9 to choose a CC layer and GPK11–13 to choose which CC number that layer sends. Confirm your selection by pressing GPB10. Example: For example, if you want the first CC parameter layer (layer A) of your newly initialised CC track to send modulation wheel messages, select layer A with GPK9. Then turn GPK11–13 all the way to the left to choose CC number 001, and then confirm the selection with GPB11–13. Then go back to the EDIT page and choose the CC layer you just set up (press parameter layer selection button A). You can see your CC number selection on the top row of both LCDs: "PA:#001" (instead of PA:COff) on the left, and "CC# 1" (instead of "CC#off") on the right. Now you can use the knobs to enter a CC value for each step, simulating the position of the modulation wheel at that step. Note that you don't necessarily have to have an independent CC track to send CC messages. Instead you can change one of the note layers on a "normal" note type track into a CC parameter layer on the EVENT page. 2.1.2. Port Port value on the EVENT page defines which physical port the track's data is sent to when the sequencer is running. The default value is "Def.", which means the track gets its port value from another page. To get to that page, press MENU + MIDI and select Midi Router on the left LCD. The right display will now show the default port on the right edge. Example: For the examples in this manual, the default port on the MIDI Router page should be OUT1. Back on the EVENT page, in addition to the Def. (or OUT1) port options, there are several others, the (real) availability of which depends on the hardware choices made when your sequencer was put together. However, if you scroll to the end of the value list, you will find values Bus1–4. These are *virtual* outputs that can be routed *inside* the sequencer, so that one track of the sequencer sends its data on, say, Bus2, which is listened to by another track. (See section 6.1. for details.) 2.1.3. MIDI Channel MIDI Channel (Chn.) defines the MIDI channel on which the track's data is sent. Naturally you want to match this with the MIDI channel(s) of your synth(s). The options are straightforward: channels 1–16. If Port is set to one of the Buses, MIDI channel setting has no effect. 2.1.4 Track Event and Track Instrument While on the EVENT page, you can switch between two pages by pressing GPB8: Track Event, which is the default when entering the EVENT page, and Track Instrument. On the Track Instrument page, the port and channel settings will be the same as on the Track Event page (and will be automatically copied between the pages), but in addition you can set a Program Change command and name for the track so that you remember better which synth and what kind of line the track is playing, for example. Example: When you've reached a point where you have many songs saved on the sequencer, it would be awkward to dial in the right synth patches by hand on every synth whenever you change to another session, so it's super handy that you can use this page to set program change messages to switch to those patches automatically, when you press PLAY and start the sequencer. The Program Change command is saved with the track when you save a pattern, so when you chain patterns into a song, the Program Change command can be used to change the patch on the synthesizer that is listening to that track at the same time as the pattern is changed. Note that smooth live functioning of this feature depends on how quickly your synths can load new patches. If you press GPB9 on the Track Instrument page, you go to the Edit Name page. Naming the track has two components. The first component of the name is a *category* like lead, bass, pad, FX, drums, keys, synth, or whatever you can fit into 5 letters. The second component is a more detailed name for the actual sound/patch/whatever that is played on that track. Example: For example, the tracks could be named with the categories Lead (tracks 1–4), Keys (tracks 5–8), Bass (9–12) and Drums (13–16). As to the second component, they could be named them after the synths that are played by that channel, including the MIDI channel that track is sending on, and let the Program Change messages take care of the patch change (many synths snow the patch names on their diplays). Punching in the letters works the same way as writing an SMS on a mobile phone. For example, one of the tracks could be called "Lead – Synth So-and-so ch6", and this information would be visible when you're on the EDIT page (left LCD, top row). It is handy to have the MIDI channel there too, because the track numbers don't necessary match the MIDI channels they are sending on (it depends on your setup). It's not necessary to name the tracks at all, though. If you don't, you will just see "[Port] [MIDI channel]" as the name, and "NoCat" as the category. Back on the Track Event page there is finally 'PRESETS', which can be used to save and load content and settings for tracks. Presets are not session dependent, so this is a way to move tracks and track settings between sessions. (This is especially useful for drum tracks, if you've changed the default name and note settings for all 16 drum instruments.) Another way is to prepare and save a "basic" session with common/standardised settings, and then every time you want to start a new session, you can open the basic session and save it under a new name. Presets can be saved on the right LCD by pressing GPB14–15 ('PRESETS'), then GPB11­­-12 ('SAVE AS NEW PRESET') and then giving it a descriptive 8-character name. On the left LCD, you can recall saved presets. Selecting one of them brings up a menu where you can delimit which track data you want to import. Name and Chn. are self-explainatory, Maps means mixer maps (see section 6.5.), Cfg. means ***check, and finally Steps means trigger layer and parameter layer data. 2.1.5. Setting parameter layer functions Finally, the EVENT page allows you to customise your parameter layers. Use GPK9 to select the layer and GPK10 to select the function for this layer. The default sessions has four parameter layers, and by default parameter layer A controls notes, layer B controls note velocity, layer C controls gate length, and layer D controls roll. (For parameter layer functions, see section 3.2.) You can set these functions to any of the available options, if you don't like the defaults. 2.2. Track LENGTH ----------------- The maximum length of a track is determined when the track is initialised, and cannot be changed unless you reinitialise the track. However, it is possible to make the track play *shorter* than the maximum length. This can be done on the LENGTH page. Turn GPK2–3 to set the length, or alternatively you can press GPB9-16 to quick-select a common length. Unless otherwise specified, all 16 tracks in the four active patterns will run independently of each other, sharing only the tempo. Different track lengths mean thus that eventually the tracks will end and restart at different times, and the effect is cumulative: a track that is four steps shorter than the others will restart four steps before the others, and on the next round, 8 steps before the others etc. For more on this topic, see sections 2.3. (Track DIVIDER and Tempo), 5.2. (Phrase mode and song mode), and 5.4. (Measure) with its subsections. Example: Select G1T1 and go to the LENGTH page. Set the length of the track to 16 (so the display will show 16/128), then select G1T2, and set the length to 8 (so that the display will show 8/128). Now you have two tracks that are of different length. Select G1T1 and press EDIT. Track initialisation has entered some notes in the track which are not wanted, so press CLEAR to get rid of them. Punch in some notes with the GP buttons under the displays. I propose that for the first track you punch in every other button, i.e. steps 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15. Each GP button press will produce the note C-3, and if you press again, you can delete it. Let's leave the notes there for now, though, so press a GP button for another time if you deleted any notes. Next, select G1T2, CLEAR the track and punch in the notes as with the first track, but then use the GP knobs under the notes to adjust the value of each note so that the first two become E-3, the next two become G-3, and the four last ones become G-2. Remember that the second track is only 8 steps long. If you punched in the notes on the right LCD as well (like you did with G1T1), it does no harm, but they will not get played unless the track length is set to 16 steps. However, let's keep the track length at 8 for the purposes of this demonstration, and despite the shortened length, let's keep the notes on the right LCD. Everything should now be ready. Press PLAY on the front panel to start the sequencer. If you still have G1T2 selected, you will see a red indicator LED running from left to right. It will go up to the eighth step and then start again from the first. Now select G1T1 (while the sequencer is still running), and you will see how the red cursor is running all the way up to step 16, and then starts from the beginning. Try turning one of the GP knobs to change one note one up or down on each track. You can also press MENU + LENGTH while the sequencer is playing and use the quick select buttons on the right display to change the length of a track live. You can change the length with the knobs as well, but there you'll run a higher risk of making the tracks go out of sync. If this happens, you can always stop the sequencer and hit PLAY again. The idea of this was to demonstrate in a concrete way that the tracks are running independently of each other, even if they are within the same pattern. You could press STOP, change G1T1's length to some strange value like 11, press PLAY again, and each track would run its length and then wrap back to the start, regardless of where the other track is going. 2.3. Track DIVIDER and tempo ----------------------------- 2.3.1. Tempo Even though by default the tracks are running independently of each other, they share the same tempo for reference. This can be set by pressing MENU + BPM. The BPM (beats per minute) setting can be adjusted with GPK3 and GPK4, or alternatively with Tap Tempo by pressing GPB16 five times in a row. Alternatively, pressing & holding MENU and pressing PLAY five time can be used for the same purpose. In both cases, the fifth press will also start the sequencer. Toggling on FAST (left side, bottom row on the frontpanel) you can change how the GP knobs for adjusting BPM behave. An LED on the front panel, above the datawheel, will flash every quarter note. 2.3.2. Divider You can make your track(s) run faster or slower in relation to the others by changing the divider/timebase value. If you want *all* of your tracks to run faster or slower, it makes better sense to just change the tempo (MENU + BPM), but if you need only a few individual tracks to run faster or slower than the rest, then changing the divider/timebase value for those tracks is a good idea. The DIVIDER page offers two ways to change the divider value: either by changing it directly with GPK2 (and GPK3 for normal/triplet), or by quick-selecting a common timebase value with GP button. The former allows for great precision, but the latter makes more human sense and is probably the more useful option for most situations. Normally you would use timebase 16 (divider value 16), which in simple terms means that when you're on the EDIT page, every step on the two displays (8 steps per display = 16 steps altogether) represents a 16th note, allowing for four note events per quarter note. If, on the DIVIDER page, you select timebase 8 (divider value 32), each of the 16 steps on the EDIT page now represents an 8th note, allowing for two note events per quarter note. Timewise, the track lasts twice as many seconds as before, but what is gained in duration is lost in resolution (possible events per quarter note). In the same vein, quick-selecting timebase 4 (divider value 64) means that each step represents a quarter note, and so on. The divider value can be set to normal or triplet (in the quick select menu triplet is denoted with a T). Triplet option can be used to effect "triplet timing" for that track, but in that case you might want to have the track set to "sync to measure". (See section 5.4.) Of course, you can realise triplet timing with the "normal" divider setting as well and without "sync to measure", provided that the resolution of the track is enough to allow the adequate placement of notes. If you change the timebase value while the sequencer is running, you risk the track becoming out of sync with the others unless you're right on the beat. This is even more true of changing the divider value *directly* with GPK2, as by default the tracks won't sync automatically when you've reached the right divider value. For ways to fix this asynchrony, apart from simply stopping the sequencer and then pressing PLAY again, see section 5.4. on Measure. It is probably a good idea to limit divider/timebase changes to a limited number of tracks, otherwise you won't remember which ones were playing a custom timebase (and which custom one). Example: Two cases where changing the divider/timebase value is useful are 1) fast melody tracks and 2) slow chord tracks. You might have a lead track where the default 16th notes are not enough for the melodies you want. If the other tracks are 64 steps long and their timebase is the default 16 (divider value 16), you could set the lead track to 128 steps, running at timebase 32 (divider value 8). This way the longer track would reach its end at the same time as the other tracks, but you could effectively write your melody with 32th notes. If you need 64th notes, quick select options have run out and you have to use GPK2 to change the divider value to 4. You'd get 128th notes with divider value 2, and 256th notes with value 1. Slow divider settings, on the other hand, are useful e.g. for tracks which play chords that don't change very often. For example, if your "chord track" is 64 steps long, you could set its timebase to 4, i.e. four times as slow, and fit all your chord changes in the two displays on the EDIT page. This way you can see the relevant note information easily, without the need to scroll back and forth around the track. Example: Set G1T1 and G1T2 dividers to timebase 16, and press PLAY. If you switch between G1T1 and G1T2 with the track selection buttons, you will see they are running at equal speed. (It's good to be on the EDIT page for the best demonstration of this.) STOP the sequencer and select G1T2, then go to the DIVIDER page and quick-select timebase 32 (divider value 8) by pressing GPB16. Press PLAY. You can see the red cursor running twice as fast as before for G1T2, and playing the notes twice as fast. Each step on the EDIT page for G1T1 now represents a 32th note, and G1T1, which has 16 steps, will now run from start to end as quickly as G1T2, which is only 8 steps that represent 16th notes. If you want the tracks to last equally long and end at the same time, you will have to double G1T2's length (or halve it for G1T2). Now let's make G1T2 run twice as slow compared to the original speed. You can change the timebase when the sequencer is playing, but unless you're right on the beat, the tracks will go off beat (and even more certainly with changing the divider value live with a knob). So, press STOP and change G1T2's timebase to 8 (divider value 32). Press EDIT and PLAY again, and you can see how the cursor is running slower, and the notes are playing slower.

Ok, like I mentioned in passing over there on the MBSEQ forum, I've been writing a beginner's user manual for the MBSEQv4 (firmware 4.090) since last December. This is the second draft and I'm perhaps halfway through, so it's looking alright. I'm not planning on touching every function and detail in it, as I don't even use all the functions myself that actively, and some – like the button-LED matrix – not at all, so I couldn't write anything about them even if I wanted to. The original idea was to make a pdf layout of all this with a few images thrown in to clarify some of the concepts and functions, i.e. something you can print and keep next to your workbench for reference away from the computer, and I still think I'm going to do that. The layout job is going to be child's play compared to the work of writing the text and trying to check that everything I write is accurate and that I've understood everything myself :-) I'm not going to dump the whole text here at once, so here's just the table of contents, 0. Introduction, and 1. The basics. If someone has the time to read this through, great, and even greater if someone has the time to comment and/or try out whether what I'm written actually holds any water. Or if something should be added, or if something doesn't make sense the way it's written. All I ask at this point is that this not be copied anywhere (like the wiki) yet, as it's not really finished. For example, almost all the paragraphs beginning with "Example:" have to be rewritten completely so that they're consistent all the way through, now I've just left them there as place holders. However, once the whole thing is finished, anybody can do anything they like with it :-) The information here is mostly based on the "official" user manual, the wiki entries (I think they're mostly Borfo's) and my own experiences. Maybe I'll post the next part in a week's time or so. ============================================ | | | Midibox SEQv4 user manual for the basics | | for firmware version 4.090 | | | ============================================ Table of contents ----------------- 0. Introduction 1. The basics 1.1. User interface 1.2. Basic concepts 1.2.1. Groups, tracks and patterns 2. Basic settings 2.1. Track EVENT 2.1.1. Track types 2.1.1.1. Note tracks 2.1.1.2. Chord tracks 2.1.1.3. CC tracks 2.1.2. Port 2.1.3. MIDI Channel 2.1.4. Track Event and Track Instrument 2.1.5. Setting parameter layer functions 2.2. Track LENGTH 2.3. Track DIVIDER and tempo 2.3.1. Tempo 2.3.2. Divider 3. Trigger layers and parameter layers 3.1 Trigger layers 3.1.1. Gate 3.1.2. Accent 3.1.3. Roll 3.1.4. Glide 3.1.6. Random gate (R.G.) 3.1.7. Random value (R.V.) 3.1.8. No FX 3.1.9. Roll gate (RollG)***check 3.2 Parameter layers 3.2.1. Note 3.2.2. Velocity 3.2.3. Length 3.2.4. Roll and Roll2 3.2.5. Chord 3.2.6. Control Change (CC) 3.2.7. Pitch 3.2.8. Probability (Prob) 3.2.9. Delay 3.2.10. Nth1 and Nth2 3.3. Drum tracks 3.3.1. Drum track instrument layers 3.3.2. Drum track trigger layers 3.3.3. Drum track parameter layers 4. Entering notes 4.1. The Jam page 4.1.2. Step recording 4.1.3. Live recording 4.1.4. Edit recording mode 4.2. Working on the EDIT page 4.2.1. Copy, paste, duplicate 4.2.2. Clear, Move, scroll, undo 5. Working with patterns and songs 5.1. Saving a pattern 5.2. Phrase Mode and Song Mode 5.2.1. PATTERN page 5.2.2. Chaining patterns into a song 5.3. Copying Patterns 5.4. Measure 5.4.1. Sync to Measure in phrase mode 5.4.2. Sync to Measure in song mode 5.5. Guide Track 6. Some advanced features 6.1 Using a bus to control a track 6.1.1. Setting up sending and receiving tracks 6.1.2. Receiving track mode: Transposer 6.1.3. Receiving track mode: Arpeggiator 6.2. Force to Scale 6.3. Random generator***completely unwritten 6.4. Euclidean rhythm generator***completely unwritten 6.5. Mixer maps***completely unwritten Appendix 1. Customising function buttons 1–4.***completely unwritten --------------- 0. Introduction --------------- This user manual is intended to cover the basic operation of the MBSEQv4. It does not include instructions on how to make the most out of all the features of the sequencer, or what each of the options on every menu page means, but I believe it does give a good overview for the new user. Most of this manual is based on what can already be found on the ucapps.de website's MBSEQv4 section, and it's not intended to replace that. But I believe this manual will nevertheless be of value for new users who are not looking for information on some particular detail, but instead would prefer to have an *overview* of the basics, organised in the manner of a printed manual which you can take to your synthesizer workbench in the other room – you have a hardware sequencer so that you can get away from the computer, at least for a moment, right? :-) What this manual does *not* cover, however, is building the unit, the control surface, where to get the parts etc. It is intended to be useful when you have a completed and working unit at your disposal, preferably with Wilba's front panel design. Also, this manual is based on the premise that you have a MIDI controller connected to the sequencer's MIDI IN1 and a polyphonic synthesizer (mono- or multitimbral) connected to MIDI OUT1 of the sequencer. If you don't, I believe the manual will still be useful, but you'll have to find out yourself where you need to do things differently. ----------------- 1. The basics ----------------- Before starting with the basics, it's useful to create a new session so that you're be able to explore the sequencer's functions in practice. After switching the sequencer on, press EXIT until you reach the top menu, where you can choose options like Open and New on the right LCD. Choose 'New', and then wait until the sequencer has created the session. The default new session has sixteen tracks that are almost similar. - All tracks are Note tracks - Track length is 16/256 steps ­- Timebase setting is 16 Only the MIDI channel setting is different, each track having its own MIDI channel (1-16) on which the track is sending data. 1.1. User interface ----------------------- The physical user interface consists of buttons, indicator leds, two LCD displays, and 17 knobs. In this manual the buttons are referred to with their names in ALL CAPS, i.e. MENU means the menu button, STEP VIEW mean the step view button etc. The sixteen numbered buttons immediately below the LCDs and knobs are referred to either with their button names (LENGTH, DIVIDER, FX etc.) if they are used together with the MENU button; or if they are used without the MENU button, they are called general purpose buttons, or GPBs for short (usually with a number, e.g. GPB7 for the 7th GPB). Likewise, the knobs are called general purpose knobs, or GPK for short (also with numbers) with the exception of the big knob in the middle of the panel, which is called the datawheel. The displays are called the left LCD and right LCD. The unit should have at least one physical MIDI IN and one physical MIDI OUT port, and that's taken for granted in this manual. These will be called MIDI IN1 and MIDI OUT1, or just IN1 and OUT1. Any menu can be reached by pressing EXIT (once or a few times, depending on where you are) to get to the top menu, then using the datawheel to browse the options on the left LCD and finally pressing a GPB to select the menu you need. But with Wilba's frontpanel layout most menus are only one or two button presses away. Some menus/functions have their own dedicated button, while many others can be summoned by pressing MENU together with one of the GP buttons. The MENU button, along with several others, can be configured in the HW setup file (see Appendix 1) to be momentary or toggle. You can choose whatever you prefer; the notation in the manual will be of the form MENU + [BUTTON_NAME]. Many buttons have indicator LEDs associated with them. These LEDs will tell you whether something (out of many possible options) is selected, or whether some mode or function is toggled 'on' or 'off'. The 16 LEDs directly below the knobs are step indicator LEDs which will tell you something of the state of the step. In addition, when the sequencer is running you will see a red cursor LED indicating which step is being played and how fast the progression from one step to another will be. Above the datawheel, there is a tempo LED, blinking quarter notes. On the left side of the front panel there's two groups of buttons which deserve special mention. The eight buttons on the top left are the *group and track selection buttons*. The left column selects a group, the right column selects a track within the selected group. (More on groups and tracks in section 1.2.) The LEDs indicate which group and track is currently selected, though the information is often available on the LCDs as well. You can select multiple tracks within a group at once by pressing & holding one track selection button and then pressing the others one by one; press another time to deselect. Below the group and track buttons there are six more buttons for *layer selection*. The left column is used to select *trigger layers* of the selected track, and the right column is used to select *parameter layers* of the selected track. (More on layers in section 3.) In a new session, the trigger layer button A selects the gate trigger layer, button B selects the accent trigger layer and button C summons a menu or all the trigger layers, allowing you to choose the one you need with the GP buttons. You can have a maximum of 8 trigger layers, except on drum tracks, where the maximum is two. In a new session, parameter layer button A selects the note parameter layer, button B selects the velocity parameter layer, and button C alternates between length and roll parameter layers. Each of the default session's tracks has four parameter layers, but if your track has more than four parameter layers, button C summons a menu, allowing you to choose the layer you need with the GP buttons. You can have up to 16 parameter layers, except for drum tracks where the maximum is two. 1.2. Basic concepts ------------------- 1.2.1. Groups, tracks and patterns MBSEQv4 is organised into *groups*, *tracks* and *patterns*. There are four *groups* of tracks, and *each group has four tracks*, so all in all there is 16 tracks. Group 1 always holds the tracks 1–4, group 2 always holds the tracks 5–8 and, group 3 the tracks 9–12 and group 4 the tracks 13–16. In MBSEQv4 shorthand language, groups and tracks are referred to with the formula GxTx. For example, G1T3 means "Group 1, Track 3" (i.e., track 3 out of 16), and G3T4 means "Group 3, track 4" (i.e., track 12 out of 16). [image of patterns divided into tracks] Tracks contain the data – gates, accents, notes, note velocities, CCs etc. – that you've programmed in them and that is sent over to your MIDI equipment. The data is in *trigger layers* and *parameter layers*. (For details, see section 3.) In addition to the musical data, tracks also contain settings data. Defining the settings for each individual track is one of the most complicated operations a new user has to face, because of all the interconnections that are not immediately self-evident. The flipside is that track setup offers a lot of possibilities. Most of the time one track is selected and visible on the screen. This is the *active track*, the track that's ready for editing. You can always tell which track is selected by looking at the group and track selection LEDs (on the left of the frontpanel); most of the time the active track is also named on the left edge of the left LCD (G1T1, G2T4 etc.). By selecting several tracks simultaneously (with the track selection buttons) you can also edit several tracks simultaneously, e.g. to set their length. In this case the selected track on the left LCD will be of the form GxTM, where 'M' stands for 'multiple'. It is not possible to selected multiple groups simultaneously. *A pattern* is a collection of musical and other *data on four tracks*. Each group always has one *active pattern* in it. Because there are four groups, you will always have four simultaneous active patterns. (Whether or not all the active patterns have any practical data in them is another matter.) Groups and patterns overlap in the sense that a pattern in group 1 will always be made up of tracks 1–4, a pattern in group 4 will always be made up of tracks 13–16 etc. But the group is just an organisational concept, a receptacle, and the pattern is the content that fills it. The same pattern can be played in any of the groups, also simultaneously. Patterns can be chained to form *songs*. Songs are several patterns played one after the other. A maximum of four patterns can play in parallel (one in each group). It is not possible to put *individual tracks* one after the other; a pattern is made up of four tracks, and that is the smallest unit that can be chained. A totality of tracks, patterns, songs and settings (and a few other things like groove patterns and mixer maps) is called a *session*. One session can have a maximum of 256 different patterns (64 per group) and 64 different songs (i.e. different sequences of the patterns in the session). Example: It makes sense to organise your groups (and hence the four tracks they contain) around a principle. For example, group 1 could be for lead sounds, group 2 for keys and pads, group 3 for bass, and group 4 for drums. This way it is possible to just switch the pattern in group 1 if you want to have a different lead line while keeping the other groups playing the same patterns. If you had only four tracks in use (say, one for lead melody, one for a pad or arpeggio, one for bassline and one for drums), you could, in principle, put them all in one pattern in group 1. But if you then wanted to change just the lead melody, you couldn't change just the lead melody track, because tracks can be changed only in bundles of four; you would need to have a second pattern where the lead melody would be different and all the other tracks were the same as in the first pattern. However, if the whole group 1 is dedicated to lead melodies, you just need to add one track (the new lead melody) to a new pattern in group 1 (the group I've dedicated for lead melodies), and all the other patterns in the other groups could remain untouched. [kuva: song1: pattern1 – pattern2 – pattern3 tms.] However, this is just one way to organise things, and ultimately it's up to you to decide which setup makes the most sense to you. For example, maybe you will find it easier if everything you need *is* focused in one group.