KVR Audio

ZAQ Audio · Post by **ZAQ Audio** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:55 am

ZAQ Audio presents:

The Zaquencer Firmware

The Zaquencer is a unique custom firmware for the Behringer BCR2000 that will turn it into a standalone MIDI step sequencer.
It is not a preset but a new operating system for your BCR2000, effectively turning it into a whole different device.
We wanted to give everybody access to an inexpensive but powerful hardware MIDI step sequencer by simply upgrading the BCR.
The Behringer BCR2000 is the optimal hardware platform for a step sequencer.
It is very affordable, widely available and has the perfect controls and layout.

The Zaquencer is available now for EUR 69,00. There is a free time- and featurelimited demo. The overlay comes with the download to print out yourself or is available for purchase at the ZAQ Audio site https://zaqaudio.com.

Also check out the following videos:
Zaquencer Intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuwrqdzXwcY
Jacob Korn jamming on the Zaquencer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHpferTew2M

Jacob Korn on using the Zaquencer

With releases on Labels such as Uncanny Valley, Running Back, Skylax or Permanent Vacation, Jacob Korn now belongs to the spearheads of the German house scene with his tracks and remixes as well as his live sets much in demand.
Being involved in the development of the Zaquencer Firmware in the final stage, he now added it to his arsenal for creating his unique sound:
"I already use mostly hardware synths and sequencers, but the Zaquencer still brings something to the table.
It´s as fun and intuitive as an oldschool analog sequencer, but it goes much deeper with possibilities if you want it to."

What´s cool about the Zaquencer:
- no Computer needed for operation (except for the initial firmware upload)
- 32 steps
- 4 independent tracks (configurable as Drum- or Notetracks (poly- or monophonic))
- store up to 192 patterns and all global parameters in Flash,
- external/internal clock
- pattern chain
- tap write mode
- note repeat
- global scale
- transpose
- wave generator etc. etc.
(see manual for full feature list)

fabi · Post by **fabi** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 7:40 pm

I'm surprised this hasn't got more views and no comments whatsoever.

Personally I am really hyped by this custom firmware. got my first one installed and am getting a second one when money permits, since i have had two bcr's for pretty much as long as they have been on the market.

maybe everyone is keeping quiet as not to drive up bcr prices?

or it's that kvr is still mainly software focused. either way it's a shame this hasn't been getting more attention on here. so please forgive me, but i am bumping this thread.

really loving it. i might still get a beatstep just for the fun of it, but this seems vastly superior.

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:17 pm

I'm just waiting for my budget to catch up to me a bit (just got new glasses today), but I hope to pick this up very soon. I have a BCR sitting around here that really doesn't get so much use anymore. I think the Zaquencer is a fantastic way of reposing my unit into something that will be a lot more useful and a lot more fun!

Would you care to share some more of your Zaq experiences, fabi? I haven't really tried the demo yet (though I probably should), but just looking at the specs, I'm pretty impressed - especially for the money.

fabi · Post by **fabi** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:41 pm

setting up the TR style drums took me a bit to figure out, but apart from that it's been a breeze, really. I haven't tried the demo, either, just bought it 'blindly' after having looked at the specs, the manual and the youtube videos.

I have yet to experiment with tracks having different lengths and things like that, but just having one chord track, one bass line and a drum pattern, i.e. using three tracks, i have had immense fun.
In the recent 1.01 update the foot switches have been assigned functions, too. First foot switch does play/stop, replicating the dedicated button on the unit itself, while the second foot switch skips ahead to the next pattern (or to the next chain if you've been playing a chain of patterns. So if you've chained patterns 1-3, the second foot switch would switch to patterns 4-6, looping those next)
Unless I don't recall correctly.

I've voted for the first foot switch being used for previous pattern/chain instead of play/stop. I don't see the need for duplicate play/stop functions and previous/next would make a lot more sense in my opinion.

Like I said, beatstep looks like an utter toy compared to this. Probably still a fun toy, which is why i'm still eyeing it, but first I'll be getting a second Zaquencer license.

I got two Korg Volcas for my last birthday and Christmas respectively and also used those with the zaquencer successfully. They keys receiving chords from the zaquencer's first MIDI out, the bass receiving monophonic lines from the second out.
The integrated scales are a great help and the chords work wonderfully, too. They are displayed visually on the encoders. I.e. you can see the intervals by looking at the encoders and the intervals of the LEDs which are alight.

There have been bcr units with problems, but those should already have been showing issues (erroneous CC messages sent etc) before applying the firmware. At first I was scared what would happen to my bcr, but even though my bcr unit is quite old everything has been working as advertised.
The usb won't work anymore (unless you put the original behringer firmware back onto the bcr), so you have to make do with the three (one in, two outs for those who don't own a bcr) MIDI ports on the back of the unit, but it's been fun.

Authorizing worked fine, too, and in the few cases where it hasn't zaq was quick to help out the users in question.

I've been waiting for ages for someone to do this to the bcr, wouldn't have dreamed of it being so versatile and even usable without a computer, though. I even fancied getting myself dirty in Usine, for a while, to get a step sequencer vst working dedicated to the bcr hardware, but I never took on that task and now, even better, i won't have to.

Sequent · Post by **Sequent** » Fri Dec 19, 2014 8:50 pm

Sounds really cool! Thanks for sharing your experience.

I can see the start/stop being useful in a live situation, but not necessarily in the studio.

Sounds like the first thing I need to do is fire up my brc and do a thorough test to make sure everything is okay. It was okay the last time I was using it, but it's been a while.

Rodhex · Post by **Rodhex** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 9:57 pm

Very interesting, i have a BCR2000 and its cousin the BCN44...
A question: Do the 192 Patterns save/store/keep their individual Program Change/Midi Bank midi message? i mean let's say Patterrn 15 will always play a Piano, Pattern 23 will play a Guitar and so. I'll get the ZAQ manual soon...

ZAQ Audio · Post by **ZAQ Audio** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 8:13 pm

Hi Rodhex,
thanks for your question!
You can make it so if you dedicate one of the Midi Controllers (Alpha/Beta) to Program Change.
Then, for each pattern, you just put the Program Change message for the desired sound on the first step of the pattern.
This way after loading the pattern, first the Program Change message will be sent, selecting the sound on the synth, and then the note sequence will be played with that sound.

Cheers!
Christian

fabi · Post by **fabi** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:09 pm

just wanted to give everyone an update on the availability of the bcr2000. It looks like Thomann doesn't list it anymore, at all. I am quite surprised by this. Usually they have a website up saying it's not currently available, but in this case they simply got rid of the product page altogether. And that's two or so days after sending out the one I ordered (or one that was ordered for me, as a Christmas present).

Justmusic.de still lists the bcr2000, but prices have gone up.
Are Behringer going to discontinue these controllers? Anyone have an idea?

treebeard · Post by **treebeard** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:15 pm

hmm, not sure but they seem to have gone up in price here in Norway, now about £175 british pounds!! Yikes.

I recently bought one second-hand, purely to run the Zaquencer, and i'm very impressed.

Syncs up to external clock and is very tight and stable. Everything is very ergonomic and accessible without having to menu dive. It has features that are not to be found on some more "pro" sequencers such as adjustable sequence length for each track, adjustable start point, randomization and various play modes. Independant shuffle/swing on both even and odd notes! Pretty darn cool.

I would say the only negative for me is that you cannot adjust the velocity of individual steps when using the drumtracks mode AFAIK. It works in Chord mode though so you can probably work-around this by using Chord mode for some drums and just sacrifice the TR style editing.

All in all its a very usable and fun addition. Found a home in my studio instantly. ;D

Good work Zaq!

fabi · Post by **fabi** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:25 pm

treebeard wrote:hmm, not sure but they seem to have gone up in price here in Norway, now about £175 british pounds!! Yikes.
...
I would say the only negative for me is that you cannot adjust the velocity of individual steps when using the drumtracks mode AFAIK.

Yes, they definitely have gone up in price.

And about the individual drum velocity, that's true. It has to do with the BCR's limited flash memory size. By getting rid of the note velocity for individual drum steps Zaq barely managed to squeeze all the features in.

On another note, I just received two brand-new BCR2000s that were ordered before the price hike. They seem to have switched some tiny details about the bcr. For one thing it doesn't say BEHRINGER on the side panels anymore, and secondly the LED display is a little 'deeper' inside the case now. Apart from that they seem to be exactly as my two old BCRs are.

treebeard · Post by **treebeard** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:38 pm

[/quote]And about the individual drum velocity, that's true. It has to do with the BCR's limited flash memory size. By getting rid of the note velocity for individual drum steps Zaq barely managed to squeeze all the features in.[/quote]

I see, well its not a game stopper thats for sure, can definitely live with it.

[/quote]On another note, I just received two brand-new BCR2000s that were ordered before the price hike. They seem to have switched some tiny details about the bcr. For one thing it doesn't say BEHRINGER on the side panels anymore, and secondly the LED display is a little 'deeper' inside the case now. Apart from that they seem to be exactly as my two old BCRs are.[/quote]

Lol, well there you go, not etching the brand name into the sides and reducing the heigth of the LED display explains the price-hike. Must have cost quite a bit extra for these kind of advancements ;D

ZAQ Audio · Post by **ZAQ Audio** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 9:58 am

Zaquencer Version 1.02 has been released today!

This is a quick maintenance update that fixes a few bugs. It also adds a filter for the encoder input to counteract the "ghost encoder" problem (see the changelog with the download for full list of changes).

If you already own the Zaquencer, you´ll find the download of the 1.02 full version in your account.

The demo and manual have also been updated and can be found in the respective sections on the ZAQ Audio website https://zaqaudio.com/

The update won´t affect the authorization of the device and also won´t mess with your patterns. Installation should be as straightforward as uploading the new firmware to the BCR just like the old one and all should continue to work as before (except only updated).

taldt33 · Post by **taldt33** » Tue Feb 24, 2015 8:02 pm

Hello,
I have watched the tutorial videos on youtube and I am impressed.
But I have difficulties to compare specs and what suits better my needs: zaquencer with bcr2000 or beatstep pro?
I am 100 per cent software guy so stuff like cv gate is not umportant.
I want to be able to control four tracks at the same time in Live 9; including a drum rack, and send bassline sequences, notes and chord sequences, for electronic music such as synthpop or trance.
Is it also possible for example to have a dotted or offbeat sequence with an other normal one playing?
Thanks for your answers

ZAQ Audio · Post by **ZAQ Audio** » Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:10 pm

Hi taldt,
thanks for your question!
I can´t speak for the Beatstep Pro but I can tell you about the Zaquencer.

The Zaquencer:
- can sequence up to 4 independent tracks on different midi channels
(each track can be either drum or note/chord track)
- provides 32 step per pattern and 192 linkable patterns for up to 192x32 steps in sequence
- can sequence chords (select factory pre-defined chord from lookup table to be placed on basenote)
- provides crossrhythm capabilites: each track can have individual lenght, or be a division of thirds, so there are interesting combinations possible; also fun for live: have one track playing and shift another around, or select different startingpoints & shorter subpatterns etc.

Please let me know if you have more specific questions.

Cheers!
Christian

bungle · Post by **bungle** » Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:43 am

fabi wrote:just wanted to give everyone an update on the availability of the bcr2000. It looks like Thomann doesn't list it anymore, at all. I am quite surprised by this. Usually they have a website up saying it's not currently available, but in this case they simply got rid of the product page altogether. And that's two or so days after sending out the one I ordered (or one that was ordered for me, as a Christmas present).

Justmusic.de still lists the bcr2000, but prices have gone up.
Are Behringer going to discontinue these controllers? Anyone have an idea?

Thomann have it listed as stock arriving 20.03.15 here ?

Zaquencer Midi Step Sequencer Firmware for Behringer BCR2000