the return of the step sequencer

[Frank123]

Inspired by acidose's great project: demand for analog synthesizers
I'm starting a similar project but just for a step sequencer.

That is I'm definitely building a Kleinserie of a microprocessor based step sequencer.
Nothing can discourage me from this project, even if we get the result that nobody needs another sequencer.

So here comes the question to you:
What kind of features do you like to have in such a gear?
Some suggestions:
- General: Must be inexpensive (about 300 Euros) or feature-rich (more than 1000 Euros)
- Housing: Desktop or 19 inch
- Housing: Does a desktop sound better with wooden cheeks?
- Controls: 8, 12 or 16 steps in a row?
- Controls: Individual rows for octave and scale step? Think synthanorma from Kraftwerk.
- Controls: How many additional layers (velocity, filter, gate)
- Output: Midi is mandatory, what about CV (would be expensive)
- Input: Midi is mandatory, do you need CV Pitch and Gate inputs?
- Input: Which extra parameters do you want to control by midi (or cv/gate)

Let's collect and discuss your opinions, later on I try to make some statistics about this.

Due to the digital possibilities there also will be some extra features which were not possible with the plain old step sequencers.
One feature is a type of arpeggio per step. You
don't have just one note (pitch) per step but an intelligent series of notes anchored to the current musical scale.
Details about this technology will stay secret until release.

I did a lot of research and preparation.
This baby will get into the daylight in the next 3 months.
I'm eager to hear about your suggestions and hope to build a machine
tailored to your demand.

Frank

[contrast]

There is a thread about this very topic over at www.livepa.org that you might want to take a look at particularly if you are interested in ideas for the functionality of the sequencer itself, a number of suggestions were made in response to a similar query (with a more indefinite timeframe; the thread was made more than a year ago but was recently bumped up).

[ckatrun411]

Inspired by acidose's great project: demand for analog synthesizers
I'm starting a similar project but just for a step sequencer.

That is I'm definitely building a Kleinserie of a microprocessor based step sequencer.
Nothing can discourage me from this project, even if we get the result that nobody
needs another sequencer.

So here comes the question to you:
What kind of features do you like to have in such a gear?
Some suggestions:
- General: Must be inexpensive (about 300 Euros) or feature-rich (more than 1000 Euros)
- Housing: Desktop or 19 inch
- Housing: Does a desktop sound better with wooden cheeks?
- Controls: 8, 12 or 16 steps in a row?
- Controls: Individual rows for octave and scale step? Think synthanorma from Kraftwerk.
- Controls: How many additional layers (velocity, filter, gate)
- Output: Midi is mandatory, what about CV (would be expensive)
- Input: Midi is mandatory, do you need CV Pitch and Gate inputs?
- Input: Which extra parameters do you want to control by midi (or cv/gate)

Let's collect and discuss your opinions, later on I try to make some statistics
about this.

Due to the digital possibilities there also will be some extra features
which were not possible with the plain old step sequencers.
One feature is a type of arpeggio per step. You
don't have just one note (pitch) per step but an intelligent series of notes
anchored to the current musical scale.
Details about this technology will stay secret until release.

I did a lot of research and preparation.
This baby will get into the daylight in the next 3 months.
I'm eager to hear about your suggestions and hope to build a machine
tailored to your demand.

Frank

Frank, I am all 4 it. I hear they are terribly complicated to build. I would appreciate it if it was kept inexpensive.

I am in desperate need of a hardware step sequencer. I wish you the best of luck

if you build it, they will come trust me.

[Frank123]

I am in desperate need of a hardware step sequencer...

Thanks, ckatrun411

What do you want inside your sequencer? Here is the chance to get
a piece of gear with your dreams built-in

Frank

[Frank123]

There is a thread about this very topic over at www.livepa.org that you might want to take a look at particularly if you are interested in ideas for the functionality of the sequencer itself, a number of suggestions were made in response to a similar query (with a more indefinite timeframe; the thread was made more than a year ago but was recently bumped up).

Yes - indeed very interesting! I just started reading.
Thank you for this link.

Frank

[napalmbob]

Well, I have an MS2000 and an EMX, so a step sequencer would be rather redundant.

But I do like how the MS2000 has a knob above each step so you can, for instance, set the cutoff, resonance and pan of each step.

But as an absolute must, you have to have step buttons that light up.

[ckatrun411]

I am in desperate need of a hardware step sequencer...

Thanks, ckatrun411

What do you want inside your sequencer? Here is the chance to get
a piece of gear with your dreams built-in

Frank

Right Mate


I need, 32 steps, with an easy way of changing from 16 to 32

10 octave span

ability to program 4 different step sequencers in one box. with ability to program pattern on sequencer D, while A, B, and C are playing.

send midi

built in gate + velocity

easy logical way of switching RooT note, for example, each sequencer is set to middle C, on C3 octave... so a click button to bring that octave down and up. and Rotary nobs to make each note...

UM....

I need to daw you a picture BRB

[ckatrun411]

Ok, well I am a really bad graphic designer, but basically it should not look like this at all, but it kinda expresses what I want in step sequencer.

Thank you, any questions lemme know

http://www.box.net/shared/243jt8hkw8

[rosllow]

i'd really like a pre-built one of these midibox seq as they don't seem to be available in either a kit (which would still be way to much for me) or as a finished article (i did see one guy sell one on ebay once, but the price !!)

the doepfer one is available for about 700 euros or so which still seems kinda pricey.

if you could get one built for approx £300 (~400 euros), even if it was a little less feature rich and had no cv/gate output, i'd probably be a customer.

good luck,

rosllow.

[Frank123]

i'd really like a pre-built one of these midibox seq as they don't seem to be available in either a kit (which would still be way to much for me) or as a finished article (i did see one guy sell one on ebay once, but the price !!)
...

Yes the midibox stuff is amazing. Thorsten Klose has given a big contribution to the community with his open source MIDIbox Hardware Platform. I like this system very much, it is based on PIC processors
my sequencer will operate with an AVR processor.

Building just for the purpose of selling midibox gear is not allowed by TK,and he is right there. As he says it is very demotivating, when greenhorns are trying to make quick money with the open source contributions of other people.

Frank

[ckatrun411]

the doepfer one

Hi Mates


This is exactly what I meant But the big problem, if you are an american, this is 1000 dollars right now.

BIG FAT PROBLEM!!!

so, I will gladly take less features. and 300 euro, maybe even a special poor american dollar discount of 40 euro give or take...

[Frank123]

Thank you for the picture, ckatrun411

If you think 19 inch, then 32 switches in one row would be very narrow
(43 cm /32 = 1.3 cm). But for a 60 cm wide desktop it would be ok.

Do you want also 32 rotary encoders for each layer? No way in 19 inch,
but doable as desktop.



What you draw as an octave selector looks more like a scale step selector. I prefer to have the octave (12 semitone skips) and the scale step (chromatic)as an individual knob.

The idea of having multiple parts (A,B,C,D) or at least A,B is logical.
Live editing is a must and having a current playing and a next sequence which is editable is the way to go.


Thank you for contributing,
Frank

[ckatrun411]

Frank, whatever you can come up with will be far better than anything I can think of. I have very little idea on how to do it. but you have a customer waiting here.

cheers mate

[napalmbob]

Spent the last few hours working on my DREAM SEQUENCER:

PrioTech USS-16iR

Has rotary encoders for all the knobs and a 3-position rotary switch for the mode switch. A 4-digit LCD, 16 LED's and 16 step buttons. 2 light-up buttons and 2 toggle switches on back.

Modes are:
Pattern Mode: can switch between channels (16 total) and edit patterns as others are playing.
Song Mode: chain patterns together into songs upto 256 patterns long. Play button locks in a pattern, mute button removes it.
MIDI Mode: turns unit into a MIDI splitter, sending each channel from the global in to its corresponding out.

Function:
Holding play and mute writes to current pattern. 256 patterns total.
Holding mute erases current pattern

[AndreasKrebs]

About 25 years ago, I had much fun with this one:
http://www.korganalogue.net/korgms/manu ... panel.html

Cheers,
Andreas