This is where a number of other posts all “come together” to form a major project- a 16 step sequencer. Arguably one of the best known sequencers being the Moog 960 Sequencer module (see below).
What is a Sequencer?
Sequencers for synthesizers are typically constructed with analog electronics, and play the musical notes designated by a series of knobs, sliders or other selectors corresponding to each musical note (step).
An analogue sequencer is useful for both composition and live performance as the musician can change the musical notes at any time without having to re-enter a recording mode as would be needed with a many digital sequencers.
Another control option is that the time interval between each musical note (length of each step) can be independently adjustable. Typically, analog sequencers are used to generate the repeated minimalistic phrases which may be reminiscent of Tangerine Dream, Giorgio Moroder or trance music. The steps are not limited to controlling Pitch and note duration, we can also control the filter cutoff, note velocity, and many other parameters.
Can we produce the equivalent of an analogue sequencer using SynthEdit? As with many other synthesizer functions/modules the answer is with a bit of planning- yes we can, with as many “bells and whistles” as you feel you need.
Our Sequencer prefabs so far are:
The BPM Clock sets the tempo of our sequencer by synchronizing it with the host DAW, it could also have a free-run option that’s not locked to the host DAW.
The Step Counter takes the stream of clock pulses from the clock oscillator, counts them and outputs an Integer. We can make this count up, down or in pendulum mode. The number of steps in our count can also be controlled.
The Integer to Step converter this takes our Integer and outputs a Boolean message as each integer is output which is specific to that particular integer, which is then fed to
The Step Modules which contain the modules producing the voltages which will control the Synthesizer connected to our sequencer via a few other modules.
See the structure shown below:
In the output section we have two ED Glider modules, which introduce a Glide or Portamento to the transition between our two CV outputs for Filter (cutoff) and Pitch. The Glide Time slider has a maximum value of 0.1 set (You could alter this, but 0.1 is about the maximum Glide rate you’ll want). The glide timing method can be changed between Constant Rate and Constant Time.
There is a Level control in the Filter CV output so we can change how much the steps affect our VCF.
The Divide module is to reduce the Velocity output to a useful amount. I used a value of 2 on the Input 2 Plug.
The Monostable in the Gate Output is used to produce a short trigger pulse for triggering ADSRs and so on.
