Introduction

The DrumSeq is a multi-track sequencer optimized for working with drum sounds -- where the pitch values you want to generate are constant, and you are more focused on setting the individual velocity values for each drum sound. It supports any number of tracks from 1 to 8 (via a parameter in the advanced settings panel). It shares many parameters with the other note sequencers in Numerology, so if you are not familiar with them, you might want to browse the doc pages for the MonoNote sequencer first.

For each track in the DrumSequencer, there are individual controls for setting the note that each track generates, and track-specific mute buttons. These controls are located just to the left of the slider rows for each track. The default notes generated correspond to several basic drum sounds in the General MIDI specification, and are matched by the default notes set for the DrumKit module. Each track also has a name that you can edit by double-clicking on it.

Although it is often convenient to use a single DrumSeq for a drum pattern, there are many interesting effects you can get by using multiple DrumSeq modules. For instance, consider an incredibly simple drum kit with just four sounds: Kick, Snare, High Hat and Cymbal. You could easily program them with single four-track DrumSeq, but if you use a pair of two-track DrumSeq modules (one for kick and snare, one for HighHat and Cymbal), then you can vary the length of each pair of modules separately, or you can shift the pattern of one relative to another. It is a very different approach than trying to mimic the patterns that a human drum would make, and it can be very liberating.

Structural Overview

Like all the note sequencers, the DrumSeq has multiple sequenced parameters that work together to generate a pattern. In addition to parameters that will be familiar if you have used the MonoNote (skip, select, mute, gate, step length, repeat and divide), there is one set of sequenced velocity settings for each drum track.

The sequenced parameters in the DrumSeq are arranged into several rows of controls that dominate the front panel UI: One row of labels, anywhere from one to eight rows of velocity sliders, one for each drum track, a row of sliders for timing settings, and three rows of buttons (skip, select & mute).

One the left side of the sequencer rows, there are controls grouped into three sections. From top to bottom, they are: Transport controls, rate and direction controls, and a mute button. To the right of the sequencer rows, there are two more: one for randomization, and one for a pair of shift buttons.

Sequenced Parameters

All of the sequenced parameters in the DrumSeq are accessed via rows of controls (either sliders or buttons) that live in the center-section of the front panel of the module.

The step labels are in a row along the top of the sequenced parameters section. They are not parameters in themselves, but two important non-sequenced parameters are embedded here: the start step (which has a green marker), and the end step (which has a red marker). Together, these two settings (drag them with the mouse to change them) set the range of steps that are 'active' in the sequence. For instance, the easiest way to set the length of the sequence to 8 steps is to drag the end step to step 8. These parameters are completely flexible: the start can come after the end step, or they can even be the same (for a one-step sequence).

This row of buttons allows you to remove a step completely from the sequence. This is a surprisingly useful feature for creating variations on a sequence -- particularly during a live performance. For instance, if you have a 4 step sequence: C, D, E, F, and you skip the 2nd step, you will then have a 3 step sequence: C, E, F.

To the left of the skip buttons is a small action menu with several items that operate on the skip steps. These are very handy for manipulating the state of the skip buttons.

• Skip One
• Skip a Few
• Skip Some
• Skip Most
• Skip All
• Unskip One
• Unskip a Few
• Unskip Some
• Unskip Most
• Unskip All

There will be one row of velocity sliders for each track in the sequence. When the velocity for a step is 0 (the lowest value), no note will be generated. If the velocity is greater than 0, a note will be generated with the pitch you specify using a pair of menus to the left of each track.

This row of buttons appears between the pitch row and the timing row. It allows you to select arbitrary sets of sequencer steps for further modification.

As with the skip steps, there is an action menu to the left of the select row that has some handy operations you can perform on the select buttons:

• Select One
• Select a Few
• Select Some
• Select Most
• Select All
• Unselect One
• Unselect a Few
• Unselect Some
• Unselect Most
• Unselect All

The row of timing sliders can be switched between four sequenced parameters, using the multi-mode button to the left of the row. The parameters are: gate length, step length, step repeat and step divide. Gate length controls the length that a note is on during the step: Shorter values produce staccato notes, longer values produce more legato melodies. When the gate is at its minimum value, 0.0, which is displayed as "--", no note is generated. When it is at its longest value, 1.0, displayed as "Tie", the note generated for the step is tied into the next step, a way for you to produce notes that span multiple sequencer steps.

The Groove parameter allows you to adjust the timing of the step a bit forward or backward in time, up to 30% of the total step time.

The step length parameter allows you to modify the length of any sequencer step individually. It is calibrated in whole number multiples, from 1 to 16. This is another way (in addition to using "tie" values for gate length) that you can produce notes that are longer than others within the sequence.

The repeat parameter allows you to have a step repeat multiple times. As with skip steps, this is a great way to modify a sequence while it is playing.

The divide parameter is quite unusual. It both causes a step to repeat itself, and adjusts the length of each of those repeats to be shorter, so that the total length of all the 'sub' steps remains the same. In musical terms, it is like changing one quarter notes to a pair of eight notes (for a divide of 2), or changing one quarter note into 4 sixteenth notes (a divide of 4). Depending on the overall rate of the sequencer, divide values greater than 4 produce notes whose speed approaches the range of audio frequencies (around 30 cycles-per-second), which can create some interesting 'buzzing' effects.

The mute buttons mute note generation for a step, regardless of their settings for gate and velocity. Like the skip and select buttons, there is an action menu (to the left of the button row), for making broad changes to the state of the mute buttons:

• Mute One
• Mute a Few
• Mute Some
• Mute Most
• Mute All
• Unmute One
• Unmute a Few
• Unmute Some
• Unmute Most
• Unmute All

Other Track-based Parameters

Each track has a small set of parameters specific to that track, they appear just to the left of the velocity sliders for that track.

Double-click to edit the name of a track.

This menu sets the base note for the note to be triggered for the track.

This menu sets the octave for the note to be triggered.

Each track has an individual mute button.

The Left Side

One the left side of the sequencer rows, there are several controls grouped into three sections. From top to bottom, they are the transport controls, rate and direction controls, and a mute button.

Performs an immediate reset of the sequencer. Useful for generating out-of sync rhythmic effects.

This is a two-state button that allows you to start and stop the sequence. By default, this control is tied to the master transport. You can change this behavior by changing the RunMode of the sequencer.

This sets the overall length of the sequencer, which can be up to 128 steps long.

This sets the number of tracks in the sequencer.

This sets the MIDI channel for note messages generated for each track.

This parameter is very similar to hard sync, but instead of resetting the sequence after a set number of beats, this one resets it after a set number of steps.

Module Run Mode Settings : Customized Playback & Recording

This is a series of settings that control module playback, CV & MIDI triggering, MIDI transpostion, and sequence recording. To view this dialog, click on the 'E' button just below the mini-transport for the module.

The four playback parameters (Play Mode, Beat Quantize, Loop & Auto Reset) provide a wide range of possible options for triggering playback of the sequencer from an external CV source (such as another sequencer) or from MIDI.

This controls how playback of the sequencer starts and stops. The normal mode is for the sequencer to be tied to the master transport of the project, starting and stopping automatically. But you can also set the sequencer to be fully independent, or remotely triggered via a CV or MIDI signal.

The recording options (Rec Mode, Rec Velocity, Pitch Wheel Cursor and Mod Wheel Velocity) allow you to setup and control sequencer recording (via MIDI) in both realtime and step record modes.

• Normal : The sequencer starts and stops with the master transport.
  
  
• Manual : The sequencer starts and stops when you use the play/stop buttons on the front panel of the module.
  
  
• CV Trig: Play : The sequencer will start playing when it receives a trigger on its "CV Trig" input. It will stop when the master transport stops.
  
  
• CV Trig: Gated : The sequencer will start playing when it receives a "gate on" value on its "CV Trig" input, and will continue until the gate value goes "off".
  
  
• CV Trig: Toggle : The sequencer will start playing when it receives a trigger on its "CV Trig" input, and will stop the next time it gets a trigger.
  
  
• CV Trig: Step : The sequencer will advance one step for each "gate on" value on its "CV Trig" input.
  
  
• MIDI Trig: Play : The sequencer will start playing when it detects a MIDI Note On message in its "MIDI In" input. It will stop when the master transport stops.
  
  
• MIDI Trig: Gated : The sequencer will start playing when it detects a MIDI Note On message in its "MIDI In" input. It will stop when it detects a MIDI Note Off Message in its "MIDI In" input.
  
  
• MIDI Trig: Toggle : The sequencer will start playing when it detects a MIDI Note On message in its "MIDI In" input, and will stop the next time it detects a Note On message

When this is on, which is the default, any playback triggers are quantized in time to the following beat. In general, this is the behavior you want for "live MIDI" triggers, as it makes it much easier to time the triggering of a sequence. For CV triggers coming from other modules within Numerology, you will probably want this turned off.

This determines whether the sequencer will keep playing when it gets to the last step of the sequence (by auto-resetting to the first step of the sequence). When this is off, the sequence is considered to be a "One-Shot" : it plays once, and that is it.

This determines if a sequence resets (returns to its start step), when it is stopped. It is almost always on, but when turned off, can result in some interesting playback behavior.

There are two recording modes available: Step and Realtime. Both modes allow you to set sequencer values using a MIDI keyboard (or any other source of MIDI notes). In both cases, use the "rec" button on the sequencer's mini transport to turn recording on and off. When you enable recording, a small indicator below the rec button shows which mode you are in, "STEP" or "RT".

In step mode, each MIDI note message that corresponds to one of the DrumSeq's tracks will set a velocity value for the sequence on that track, advancing a 'cursor' for each note you play. The cursor indicates where the next pitch will be recorded. You can see the value of the cursor by looking at the labels for the sequence: When step recording is active, the cursor's location is indicated by a small underline below the step label. In addition, the default settings allow you to use the pitch wheel of the keyboard to move the cursor forward or backward, and use the mod wheel to set the velocity of the recorded step.

In realtime mode, incoming notes are used to set velocity values for tracks that correspond to the played note. A bit of a timing adjustment is applied so that if you play a note immediately before a new step, the new step is programmed, instead of the current one. The cursor is not active during realtime recording.

In either step or realtime recording modes, if this param is active, then the velocity of the incoming note is used to set the velocity of the sequencer step. The parameter is on by default for the DrumSeq and overrides the Mod Wheel Velocity setting.

In step recording mode, this option allows you to use the pitch wheel of a MIDI keyboard to move the cursor. Nudge the pitch wheel up, then release it to increment the cursor; nudge it down to decrement it. This makes it easy to step-record drum patterns one track a time: play a note, shift the cursor over a few times, play note again, continue until the end of the pattern is reached, then move to the next track.

In step recording mode, this option allows you to set the recorded velocity for a step with the value of the mod wheel.

Ports

This is where clock signals are input to the module. All sequencers must have a clock signal in order to run. By default, each sequencer's clock in port is connected to the "Clock" port on the Stack Input module, which in turn is connected to the master clock for the project.

This input is used in conjunction with one of the "CV Trig" Run Modes, and allows you to control playback of the sequence from any CV source, usually another sequencer.

This is an input where you can add auxiliary velocity values to the main velocity sequence. This is typically used so that several sequencers can share a single 'accent' sequencer.

This allows you to use an external CV input to sub-divide sequence steps. It is primarily here to support backwards compatibility with Numerology 1.4.

MIDI Note messages routed to this port can serve one of two purposes, depending on the settings of the Run Mode and MIDI Transpose parameters. When used in conjunction with one of the "MIDI Trig" Run Modes, it allows you to control playback of the sequence from a source of MIDI notes, usually a keyboard. When the MIDI Transpose parameter is on, MIDI Note On messages routed to this port will transpose the sequence as it plays.

Sequenced gate values generated for internal use by the DrumSeq are also available here, so you can use them to control other modules.

Sequenced velocity values generated for internal use by the DrumSeq are also available here, so you can use them with other modules.

All MIDI messages generated by the module are outputted through this port.