Step Sequencer; Drum - Akai FORCE User Manual

Step Sequencer

The Step Sequencer pad mode is used to create or edit clips by using the pads as "step buttons," simulating the
experience of a traditional step-sequencer-style drum machine. This pad mode is often used in conjunction with the
Step Sequencer mode on the display, but can be used while any mode is on the display.
To enable Step Sequencer pad mode, press the Step Seq button. Each time you press this button, the pads will cycle
through three different appearances: Drum Mode, Melodic Mode, and Lanes Mode. See below for more details.
Press and hold the Step Seq button to do any of the following:
Quickly select a Step Sequencer Mode using the Step Seq Mode window that appears.
Use the top row(s) of pads to select the active page of the step sequencer. The number of pages available depends
on the selected step size and the number of bars in the clip.
Use the bottom row of pads to select the beat division for the Step Size. The right-most pad can be used to enable
or disable Triplet beat divisions.
Hold Shift and press Step Seq/Config button to open the Step
Sequence Configuration window. In addition to these common
settings, some Step Sequencer modes have additional settings
available in this window, described below.
Use the Mode field to set the Step Sequencer pad mode: Drum,
Melodic or Lanes.
Use the Velocity field to set the velocity of new steps being
entered. Select As Played for responsive velocity, or select one of
the preset levels for fixed velocity of all steps.
Use the Step Size field to set the beat division for each step.

Drum

In Drum Step Sequencer Mode, the lower left quadrant of pads is
used like a traditional 4x4 drum pad layout to play samples.
Press a clip launch pad to select it. Doing so will also play back
the pad's sample. If you would like to select a pad without
sounding the sample, hold Select and press the pad.
Hold Shift and press the Track Assign buttons marked Oct-/
Oct+ to change the active pad bank.
The lower right quadrant of pads is used to quickly set the velocity of
new steps.
Press the lower-left pad to select As Played for responsive
velocity, or press the other pads to set a fixed velocity from low
(6%) to high (Full), going left-to-right.
The top four rows of pads represent the steps in the clip. The number of pads available depends on the Step Size
setting.
Press a pad to insert a step at that beat for the selected drum sample. The top four rows will be lit dimly with the
color of the selected drum sample.
Hold Shift and press Step Seq while in Drum Step Sequencer Mode to configure its settings. These are the same as
mentioned above.
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