Notably, this chip has several fast (18msps, for a Nyquist cutoff at 9,000KHz) ADCs built in.
Looking briefly at the PCB, it seems at least the first analog input is connected (didn't look for the others) to something - it disappears down a via, but there are ground planes adjacent to it so it shouldn't just be grounded.
Are the ADCs connected to the CV inputs? Would make sense.
If so, can the input filtering / level shifting circuitry operate at audio rate?
If it can, then does anything else prevent a NerdSeq from live-recording 12 bit samples? (Presumably, RAM would have to be pre-allocated before recording, but other than that...)
Being able to do sound design with my modular, record into a sample, and then use that sample seems like a pretty amazing workflow- right now that seems to require either getting a PC in the loop (yuck!), using an external, pricy module to record and then swap the SD card from the recorder into the NerdSeq, or an even pricier module like the BitBox + the More Triggers expander.
(On a related hacking note - looking at the datasheet for that MCU, there's an external bus interface that supports pretty hefty amounts of SRAM. Might have to see if I can't break out the ol' bodge wires and make a More Sample Memory expander...)
Allright, i was more than busy again to add more wanted and unwanted features, fixing some issues and mostly, adding the CV16 expander implementation!!
So upfront you can enjoy and check out the latest Release Candidate for version V1.21.
As usual, this is a release candidate. Not intended for productive use as i can't guarantee any unexpected side effects. Also saved projects will guaranteed work for the release version but are not backwards compatible to 1.20 or earlier. So be aware to backup your projects first!!!
And you can always go back to the stable versions in case of any issues.
Beside the biggest part which is the CV16 implementation (that you can't test yet as you don't have the expander) they are the following new things:
- added Midi Note input offset, so recorded notes can have an offset of semitones or octaves
- added Midi Note output offset. So playing midi notes can have a default offset for like if your midi gear plays the C-3 one octave lower or so.
- added amount of record voices function. So midi is not fixed anymore to record into all 4 columns, but can be limited to 1-4 Columns. The other columns stay untouched.
- added page up/down fix to get to the top and bottom at end positions in pattern and sequencer screens
- fixed Mark + Page up/down
- updated main clock and clock view also for all other screens
- added stop all sounds function to NerdMenu in patterns. OK stops sounds from the track. SHIFT+OK stops sound from all tracks
- added waveform player in samples. From Sample 12 (0C) the waveforms Sinus, Triangle, Ramp,sawtooth and noise are added/playing. These can be pitched, stopped, manipulated with the effects or even manipulated though the automator. Be aware that these are limited oscillators and not comparable with analogue ones. But for a lot of tasks these should be fine.
- added trigger details in local trigger column in the statusbar. So you know when editing what the numbers mean.
- added delayed reset function so the reset comes a bit later after the last clock when stopping the sequencer.
- added reset pulse on pressing stop. A manual reset is being generated when pressing stop with a stopped sequencer.
- added for Automator LFO new input clock types, derived from a step or a tick with multiplicators or dividers (set with speed) and step from another slot.
- fixed midi issue which could create a hanging note on local CV-Gate tracks in very rare situations
- fixed 'All sounds off' again for midi.
- added autogate enabler function, so autogate can be enables/disabled (global setup)
- fix for clock divider / multiplier settings so they are not set in patch by default
- changed PR to piano roll name for trigger16 expander
- Fixed bug for sequencer stop which randomly could set triggers on stop
- start and stop functions are now also available in other screens
RC2:
- added squaresample to the waveforms (for the toddlers )
- added Pulswidth Change for squarewave through offset FX command (also from automators usable for some nice PWM sweep)
- fixed sample output leak to next sample output
- added Trigger as Sample FX effect. Triggers 1..6 can also be controlled from the sample tracks. Makes probably sense when using a waveform and want to trigger an envelope at the same time.
- added waveform prelisten
- fixed last note value for sample when editing
- renamed LFO Range to Amplitude
- and some CV16 stuff under the hood
RC3:
- changed the order for modular track player so tables are handled right after the FX
- Mark, Copy + Paste + Delete now possible in the sequencer screen while a running sequencer
- Even more CV16 stuff under the hood
RC4:
- added clone to local CV tracks when played or recorded live from Midi
- enhanced trigger delay time to up to 10 milliseconds (CV/Gate track->Setup)
- Autogate timing for the off time between notes is enhanced to 500uS which should retrigger most envelopes
- Added waveform sync. The waveforms in one sample track can sync each other. Turn on with the FX command 'backward' which normally plays a sample backwards. The wave which is 'backwards' is getting synced by the other wave. Also both can sync each other!!
- and the last bits for the CV16 expander
Be aware that a lot more code has been added, mainly for the CV16 expander to work. I'd like to mark this version as soon as possible as stable so there is nothing in the way for the CV16 release.
Download the release candidate below, follow the firmware update rules and if you get stuck there and it doesn't work, read the many threads about it and it will be fine!! Updating always works!
Enjoy!
Hello folks, another newbie question, I hope I'm not overlooking anything too obvious. Is there a way to make a specific pattern repeat itself a specific number of times? I don't mean using the "Break/Jump/Repeat" FX parameter, since that's baked into the pattern itself and is (as far as I understand) immutable. I'm thinking of a situation like this: in a given track:
-- Play pattern "00" four times
-- Play pattern "01" two times
-- Play pattern "00" six times
-- Play pattern "01" six times
I can do this by having each pattern run take up a sequencer row (for eighteen rows total in the above example), and I suppose I could use "Break/Jump/Repeat" to play each pattern twice, which would halve the number of rows needed to execute the above, but I'm wondering there is a way to have a pattern in a track/row of the Sequencer screen, where you can set that pattern to play N times before moving on to the next row/pattern, so that the above example would only have four rows.
Is such an action possible? I'm hazily seeing the potential to do this with the Automation's "FX1 .. FX4 Overrule" destination -- i.e., using a control voltage going into one of the CV inputs to control the parameter of a "Break/Jump/Repeat" effect in the track -- but it seems like a lot of work for something relatively simple, and it doesn't seem like a good use of the finite number of Automation slots. Am I missing something?
Hello folks. I've been getting to know my NerdSEQ for several months now and I'm loving it. I have a newbie question for anyone with the spare time:
I don't have any experience with traditional tracker sequences, so I'm probably overlooking something obvious, but I think I'm missing the point on tables. What kinds of applications are they used for? The manual highlighted one such use case: run a table at a faster speed than its sequencer track, and then use the transpose feature to create chord-like arpeggios within each sequencer step. I can envision different ways one could riff on this idea, but I'm having a hard time seeing other useful table applications.
I would love to hear about how you're using tables in ways that are different than the above, especially the FX column. Thanks!
I have a project file that seems to feature broken 'ON CHANGE' settings.
Point 1: I first setup a 3F long pattern with a pattern change on 3A (Elektron devices take a few steps to register the program change).
Everything was working fine.
Then I added a program change on step 1A (The idea here was that if I wanted to change patterns already after step 1F, that would be possible).
From here on, the 'ON CHANGE' setting got overridden, somehow.
Now I don't even have the pattern change on step 1A, but it still gets sent on step 3A, regardless of the 'ON CHANGE' setting.
Point 2: I don't know if this is a bug as such, but the program changes get sent even if I just stopped the pattern from playing. I kind of see the thinking behind this, but it creates some problems – Let's say I have a breakdown with patterns on tracks 05 and 06 – the minute I stop track 05 containing the program change, the program change gets sent and drums start blasting from my Elektron.
These make using the sequencer with other devices difficult, as everything is thrown out of sync, so I thought I'd report these. Thanks!
Thought I’d ask if somebody would want to share their experiences with the Launchpad integration. Curious about how much it speeds up the workflow and what’s the general feel of it? (Knowing it’s a very early implementation, of course).
Considering buying a Launchpad, but it’s an expensive investment for something that’s not quite known to me.
Nerdseq but wondering how stable is the internal clock?
I recently started a song using Nerdseq as the primary clock. Basically recorded a live jam into Ableton and I noticed a significant amount of clock drift.
I had both Nerdseq and Ableton set to 150 bpm.
I was only using 2 of the primary Nerdseq channels and 5 channels from 16 more triggers expander
I was not sending a clock from Ableton to Nerdseq but I did have Midi input plugged into the io expander
Over the course of 4 minutes it seemed to drive forwards and backwards almost a full beat.
Could we have an indication of which pattern is playing on the currently selected track? Or at least an indication of whether the current pattern on the screen is playing? As the ’playhead’ indication is both at the top and bottom of the screen, this could be changed to indicate the position currently playing in the pattern shown. This way, it would be easy to see where there’s a Break, for instance.
#1 It might be useful if the destinations for inputs could include 'value under edit cursor'. I imagine this as a soft takeover thing. So e.g. if I'm editing a Mod column for a pattern, I cursor down to some step, then just turn a knob on my rig that's patched to input 1, (input 1 is set to 'edit cursor value [coarse]'), then cursor to the next step, and turn the knob again. This could make it much easier to update a bunch of fields with a more intuitive analog style control input instead of button cycling through hex. Maybe with coarse and fine options.
#2 I really like that for Mod entries, I can use note names if I cycle past the hex values - very good addition. Would it be possible to include this feature in the FX columns for CV FX and for Mod FX? would make it much easier to create probability based alternative notes. Currently this is difficult because of all the trial and error finding the right hex value for a particular note.
#3 I've been having fun with inputs controlling the cursor position and starting and stopping patterns. The only downside is that the cursor flying around makes it difficult to control other tracks, so I'm constantly having to switch live inputs on and off and on and off... etc. . Might it be possible to have a similar feature where the inputs set some independent internal x and y address to start/stop a pattern without that enslaving the cursor?
I have a MIDI track on track 6, with steady notes on note lane 1.
I have a Note 1 probability setting on FX 1.
Additionally, I have an Automation where input 1 affects Note 1 probability on track 6.
As I adjust the offset connected to input 1, I can see the indicator moving from the bottom to the very top, but even if the offset is at zero, some notes still get through.
I can adjust the Note 1 probability setting as low as 0014, and have the offset set to zero, and some notes still get through occasionally.
It seems like it's not reliable to get all the notes to be played, either.
EDIT:
I tried things like
Throttling MIDI automation (in hopes of eliminating some CV spikes if there are any)
Changing the calibration of said CV input (raising the 0 point)
)
Nerdseq but wondering how stable is the internal clock?