[FR] Step Clip Requests/Ideas

[spoontechnique]

I've used step clips a lot and have some ideas. Updated for W12.

Features Tracktion Added in W12.

• Move channels up or down button. Click and Drag works!
• Option to "Render To Midi to a new track" or "Render to Midi replacing the existing clip". Converted MIDI Clips currently spawn over the Step Clip. Render To Midi replaces the step clip
  

Ideas/Requests I'd like to see:

• Per-channel note divisions. If I want triplet hi-hats over a 4/4 kick/snare pattern, I need to change the whole clip to triplets, which messes up the kicks/snare pattern. You have to use multiple clips to achieve this. Ideally you'd have a global/default division and channel divisions.
• Duplicate Channels button.
• Per Channel Colors. It's hard to see what channel you're editing in larger clips. This would make it easier.
• Lock the channel name bar to the channels. As you zoom and scroll, the channel name bar "floats" to follow you until you mouse over the name bar. It should always be locked to the channels so I don't click the wrong channel.
• Velocity/Probability randomization. I don't want to convert to MIDI and back to a Step Clip to add some humanization.
• Reset velocity/probability option. You might decide you don't want your edits, and might not want to carefully scroll across the whole clip to return to default.
• Step lengths of 1/5, 1/7, 1/11, 1/13th. Strange time signatures are common in many kinds of music. Euclidian sequencing is also quite common.
• Note on every 9, 11, 13. There's already a 1/9th step division.
• Save step clip preset as default. I never use the default step clip preset and would like to have my own.
• Ability to shift notes more than one at a time. If you want a snare in halftime or quartertime when hi-hats or kicks are in 32nds or 16ths, you may have to click shift note 7, 14, or 21 times. Maybe "Shift Notes 4 Steps"? Per-channel divisions might make this unnecessary.
• Parameters for "Randomize Each Step" and "Randomize Row" buttons. For example, Density (probability of clustering), Frequency (rough number of notes), Chaos (probability of triggering on the division number).
• A better way to edit/manage step clip presets than searching for them and individually editing them.
• Speed Ratio should have a Tempo view/mode. Instead of showing absolute ratio (2, .5, 2.5, etc.), it would show the edit tempo. Then you could drag to set the Step Clip tempo to 130, 90, 200, etc. You could instantly audition a drum fill/beat at a different tempo. Important for music that uses flexible tempos or tempo changes!
• Ability to shift+click to bulk select a range of channels. If I want to edit 12 channels, I currently have to CTRL + Click all of 12.
• Quantize scale channels to the current Edit scale. Using Step clips as a sequencer for melodic material is fun, after you spend ten minutes pluggin in the notes. With Shift+click and an +octave note switch, perhaps?
• Set channel to Automation parameter. The Step Modifier is alright, but it can't be edited or moved around. Having a channel output an automation signal would be powerful and fun.

Any other interesting ideas?

[FigBug]

That's a long list. No way I can get through all of it in the short term. Are there a few things that are high priority?

[dupont]

I will add note preview when I clic on the pattern note name

[spoontechnique]

Yeah I've been drinking too much coffee lately. The things I'd personally value most would probably be:

Per-channel note divisions, fixing the vertical scroll issue, and bulk channel editing actions (shift+clicking channels and being able to edit several at once).

A few other things that aren't as important but (to a non-programmer like me) seem easy to implement would be:

More step divisions (1/7, 1/11, etc.), render to MIDI having the "render to new track/replacing clip" options, moving channels up/down, duplicating channels, channel colors, and a "save as default step clip" option.

[astey]

Yeah I've been drinking too much coffee lately. The things I'd personally value most would probably be:

Per-channel note divisions, fixing the vertical scroll issue, and bulk channel editing actions (shift+clicking channels and being able to edit several at once).

A few other things that aren't as important but (to a non-programmer like me) seem easy to implement would be:

More step divisions (1/7, 1/11, etc.), render to MIDI having the "render to new track/replacing clip" options, moving channels up/down, duplicating channels, channel colors, and a "save as default step clip" option.

I suggest this approach for managing overlapping clips:
Reaper is displaying "overlapping" clips below each other on the same track, which is very handy to keep things clean.

Anmerkung 2020-05-27 195704.png

[spoontechnique]

I really like that suggestion. I'd love to see that extended to include MIDI and audio clips. It takes a few extra steps to grab the clip you want when several overlap completely. It would also mean that you could have multiple different MIDI or step clips feeding one synth instead of having to use Racks or set the MIDI routing.

[astey]

Another thing I like about Reaper is that you can comp midi & audio. Reaper doesn't care which format you feed.
It simply activates the highlighted parts and mutes the others. No rendering if you want to comp.
This principle could be applied in Waveform as well.

[spoontechnique]

Updated for W12. Step clips rule!

[UnionS8]

Hi. I'd add three more

• Simple copying/pasting Variations between different Step Clips[br]
• Solo/Mute rows