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Sequentix P3 SEQUENCER Operation Manual

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SEQUENTIX MUSIC SYSTEMS Ltd.
P3 SEQUENCER
OPERATION MANUAL
V3.1.006
© 2006

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  • Page 1 SEQUENTIX MUSIC SYSTEMS Ltd. P3 SEQUENCER OPERATION MANUAL V3.1.006 © 2006...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Page 1: Timebase and Sync........................ 66 Page 2: Direction and Last step ......................68 Page 3: Clear, Copy & Paste ......................70 Page 4: Rotate and Shuffle......................... 73 Page 5: The Note Randomizer......................75 P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 3...
  • Page 4 Leaving Record Mode......................... 116 Arpeggio Capture........................... 117 Leaving Arpeggio Capture ......................... 119 Remote Control............................120 User Interface Controls ........................120 Remote Part Transpose (PXPos) ......................121 Using Auxiliary Events........................... 122 Randomizing Pattern Values ......................122 P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 4...
  • Page 5 Appendix C - Memory Organisation...................... 157 Note on Playlist Edit for 3 Bank Configuration..................158 Appendix D - Miscellaneous Useful Info ....................159 P3Tools..............................159 Memory Initialisation ..........................159 SysEx Firmware Upgrade........................159 Index ............................... 161 P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 5...

  • Page 6: Introduction

    They brought forth a new range of rhythmic and melodic ideas, and lead electronic musicians down interesting new paths. The P3 Sequencer is a modern take on the analogue sequencer, but it takes the concept much further. P3 Sequencer User Manual...
  • Page 7 That's not to say it will automatically do it all for you - there is a learning curve involved. To get the best from P3 you will need to familiarise yourself with the various modes of operation, pattern and playlist values, track and configuration settings. So, read on... P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 7...

  • Page 8: Getting Started

    P3 needs a supply of 9 volts DC with centre positive polarity, or 9 volts AC. Current rating must be at least 400mA. With a power supply and suitab le MIDI instrument attached, you can power-on and start making music… P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 8...
  • Page 9 Sequentix Music Systems P3 Sequencer front panel control diagram P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 9...

  • Page 10: Instant Gratification

    The LED above track 1 should be green, showing that the track is active. If the LED is off, the track is muted – in which case, press TRACK key 1 and the LED will turn on. The status of the other tracks doesn’t matter for now. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 10...

  • Page 11: First Pattern Edit

    P3 is designed so that you never need to stop playback for anything other than bulk memory dump operations. So let’s start P3 running before you enter any pattern data. Press the RUN key, at the bottom left of the keypad: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 11...
  • Page 12 An active gate status is shown by the LED above the step lighting up red, like this: As the green blip passes each step with gate active, you should hear a note playing on the attached instrument. They’ll all be the same note so far, but it’s a start. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 12...
  • Page 13 As you turn the upper knobs, the top line of the display will again show the new values you are setting, like this: Go through your pattern, and set a different velocity value on each step. You should hear this having an effect on your attached instrument as the pattern plays. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 13...
  • Page 14 Lose any changes to the edited pattern, and return to play mode You’ll want to save your first masterpiece, so press F1 – “save”. P3 will return to play mode, and continue playing your saved pattern. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 14...

  • Page 15: Modes Of Operation

    Pattern edit for creation and editing of patterns • • Playlist edit for selection of patterns, or pattern chains Play mode is the main operation mode of P3, so let’s look at it first. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 15...

  • Page 16: Play Mode

    Changing memory configuration is not recommended until you have used P3 for long enough to know that your requirements differ from the standard memory layout. Refer to the appendix on Memory Organisation for details. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 16...

  • Page 17: Parts

    The change of part is synchronised to the end of the bar, at which time the red LED for part 1 will turn off, and the LED for part 5 will go red. If P3 is not running, the part change will happen immediately. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 17...

  • Page 18: Parts Are Not Patterns

    The patterns can be repeated for up to 8 bars in each playlist step and can be transposed up or down, allowing a single pattern to be used for a progression of different keys or roots. We’ll look at these advanced options in the later section on playlist edit. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 18...

  • Page 19: Part Chains

    For example, to create a chain of parts 2 to 6: When a part chain has been selected, all the part LEDs for the parts in the chain will flash amber, except for the currently playing part, which will show red as normal. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 19...
  • Page 20 Sequentix Music Systems For the example above, the LEDs should look like this: To clear a pattern chain, just select another single part with one key-press. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 20...

  • Page 21: Changing Mode

    TRACK key for the track on which you want to edit the playlist • For example, to edit the playlist on track 1: The use of pattern edit and playlist edit will be described in detail in later chapters. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 21...

  • Page 22: Play Mode Pages And Soft-Keys

    *TIP You can step through each group of three pages by pressing and releasing the PAGE key by itself, or use FUNC+PAGE to switch to first page in the other group – handy if your other hand is busy. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 22...

  • Page 23: Bank / Fts / Tune

    Page 1 is the default page when P3 is turned on, or when it returns from another mode. The display will look like this: Label Function bank Bank Select Edit FTS settings tune Send reference notes on all active tracks P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 23...
  • Page 24 • For example, if we want to switch from bank 1 to bank 2: P3 will switch to the new bank immediately if stopped, or at the end of the next bar while running. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 24...
  • Page 25 Note that the pattern itself is not changed – the notes are corrected dynamically as the pattern plays. *TIP Individual steps in patterns can be set to ignore FTS and also playlist transposition. This option will be described in the Pattern Edit section later. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 25...
  • Page 26 To indicate that a new selection is pending an asterisk, “*”, will appear in front of “apply” in the display. Note that “apply” does not save the settings – it just activates your new selection. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 26...
  • Page 27 “save”, F1, to store the new FTS settings, and return to play mode • • press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous settings, and return to play mode The FTS settings are stored for each part. They are recalled whenever a part becomes active. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 27...
  • Page 28 Each note can be turned on or off using the step keys. The actual notes on each step key vary depending on the FTS root note selected – step key 1 is always the root. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 28...
  • Page 29 The tune soft-key can be used to send a middle C note-on message on all currently active tracks. This is useful for testing your MIDI connections, or for tuning unstable analogue synths in variable temperature environments. Press the soft-key again to send note-offs, if you ever get that minimoog tuned. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 29...

  • Page 30: Part Settings

    The value edit page for all three values is similar, and will look something like this: Label Function save Store the new value and return to play mode (no function) lose Restore the previous value and return to play mode P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 30...
  • Page 31 The furthest negative value is found just after the mid-point, with negative values continuing up to minus 1 at the fully clockwise position. This may take a little getting used to, but it’s simpler than hunting for a commonly used value (zero) at the mid-point of a knob. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 31...
  • Page 32 By setting part transpose to post-FTS, in effect you are also transposing the FTS root note as well. Don’t worry too much if this seems complicated. In practice, you can just try both options, and go with whichever one sounds best. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 32...

  • Page 33: Part Functions

    This includes the FTS settings, the values of GBar , PCRep, PXPos and the playlists, There is an important difference between the two options: • “all” copies the playlists for all eight tracks “active” only copies the playlists for active tracks • P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 33...
  • Page 34 As the newly copied part is selected, current part settings will also be saved in the part being copied. *TIP Holding FUNC while performing a mute hold or part copy will copy the current settings to the new part without saving recently changed settings in the source part. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 34...

  • Page 35: Midi Config

    Note that the SYNC output is not affected by this setting. The third option here, “MIDI chan”, is the most important, so we’ll look at it now and come back to “Thru Conf” later. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 35...
  • Page 36 For example, let’s say track 1 is assigned to MIDI channel 5, and you want to change it to channel 10. First, enter the MIDI channel select page like this: This will bring up the MIDI channel select page for track 1. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 36...
  • Page 37 “(pgm)” while you make this selection. To configure the remote control channel, use the “MIDI Chan” soft-key with step key 10. The bottom left of the display will show “(rem)” while you make this selection. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 37...
  • Page 38 MIDI channel to be used Turning this option “off” means no incoming MIDI messages will be passed. A setting of “any” means P3 will echo any incoming MIDI messages straight to the MIDI outputs. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 38...
  • Page 39 Record FTS is slightly different, and will be explained in the chapter on Real-time record. Exit “Thru Conf” Once you have configured the thru and record channels, press “exit”, F3, to return to play mode. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 39...

  • Page 40: Bank Functions

    There is no way to get your bank data back unless you made a sysex backup, so USE WITH CAUTION. Partial Bank Init There is also a partial bank init function which will only erase patterns and playlists for active tracks. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 40...
  • Page 41 MIDI channel. Pressing the “BPgm” soft-key, F2, enters this page: Label Function save Store the new setting and return to play mode Disable this setting lose Restore the previous setting and return to play mode P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 41...

  • Page 42: Sysex & User Config

    P3's behaviour to the user’s preference. The page display looks like this: Label Function send Dump all data via System Exclusive recv Enter System Exclusive receive mode User Enter User Configuration option menu Conf P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 42...
  • Page 43 Receive mode is used with the Windows utility “P3 Tools” – an excellent librarian and data management utility written by a P3 owner. For details of the system exclusive data format, see the separate Sysex manual. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 43...
  • Page 44 “next”, F2, advances to the next option in the list • • “exit”, F3, will exit and return to play mode Note that changing an option setting takes effect immediately. See Appendix B for a list and description of the User Conf options. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 44...

  • Page 45: Other Play Mode Features

    However, the tempo can be adjusted in steps of 0.1 bpm over the full range, using the Fine Tempo adjust control as follows: • hold the FUNC key adjust the DATA knob • The display will confirm the exact tempo selected as the knob is adjusted. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 45...

  • Page 46: Status Led Displays

    While UPPER MODE is held, the track LEDs will normally indicate green for each track. By pressing a TRACK key, the advance of the playlist on that track is suspended, and the LED shows red. Another press of the TRACK key will return the track to normal. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 46...

  • Page 47: Pattern Edit

    For example, the gate row is a status row. There are a number of other non-step values for each pattern, such as the direction, timebase and last step, but these are edited using soft-key controls, which we’ll come back to later. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 47...

  • Page 48: Editing Step Values

    Gate length, from 1 to 12 DELAY Gate delay, from 0 to 11 AUX A AUX B The four Auxiliary rows –take numeric values for a variety of different purposes AUX C AUX D P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 48...
  • Page 49 As with length, think of each step as being 12 ticks long. Normally the note starts on the very first of the 12 ticks. If you set a non-zero value for delay, then the note will not start until later in the step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 49...
  • Page 50 So we’ll come back to the auxiliary rows once we’ve had a look at the status rows, and STEP MODE selection. Before that, let’s see how you can review the values you have entered for your numeric rows… P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 50...

  • Page 51: Viewing Numeric Row Values

    For example, if you want to see what the numeric values on step 9 are: When you press the step key, the display will briefly show all the numeric values on that step, like this: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 51...

  • Page 52: Step Mode

    Since gate is shown in red, and other status values may be shown in green, it seems there is a problem if both gate and another status value are active on the same step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 52...
  • Page 53 Indicates this step should be skipped over during playback Disables the effect of any transpose setting on a step AUX A The four Auxiliary status rows enable or disable the matching Auxiliary row on each AUX B step AUX C AUX C P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 53...
  • Page 54 Same notes will stretch, and different notes will over-lap. *TIP If you are using a monophonic synth with an auto- or legato- slide feature, you can use the TIE setting to trigger TB303-style slides. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 54...
  • Page 55 The Xd row allows you to do this. AUX Status Rows For each of the numeric Auxiliary rows, there is a matching Auxiliary status row that enables or disables the auxiliary on each step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 55...

  • Page 56: Assigning And Using Auxiliaries

    As you press the STEP MODE button to cycle through the auxes, the currently assigned controller number or event name briefly appears as an informational message in the display. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 56...

  • Page 57: The Aux Config Page

    *TIP As a shortcut, if you are not already in AUX upper mode pressing FUNC + STEP MODE will take you there. You will then need to press the key combination one more time to enter the config page. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 57...
  • Page 58 Selecting Event Groups Since there are so many different MIDI controllers and events available, they have been divided into different groups by function. These groups are selected using the step keys, 1 to 14. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 58...
  • Page 59 Sequentix Music Systems This chart shows the groups assigned to each of the step keys while in the aux config page: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 59...
  • Page 60 “save” soft-key, F1 • P3 will return to the normal pattern edit display, and you can set after-touch values to be sent on whichever steps you want using the UPPER knobs. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 60...

  • Page 61: Editing Aux Values

    This is still the case in aux mode - the step LED colours show the following conditions: As with the other status rows, each press of a step key will toggle the aux status for that step on and off. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 61...
  • Page 62 You can inspect the stored aux values on each step, just as for the note, velocity, gate length and delay display: hold the FUNC key • • press the step key for the step you want to inspect The display format is the same as for the aux edit confirmation above. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 62...

  • Page 63: Summary Of Aux Usage

    MIDI channel for the track. The same is true for the MIDI Send functions. With auxiliary events, in most cases extra MIDI data is not generated. We’ll look at what auxiliary events can do in a later chapter. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 63...

  • Page 64: Pattern Edit Pages And Soft-Keys

    *TIP You can step through the pattern edit pages in two groups of four by pressing and releasing the PAGE key by itself. Use FUNC+PAGE to switch to the first page in the other group. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 64...
  • Page 65 5 – Note Randomize page 2 – Direction / Last page 6 – Upper Randomize page 3 – Copy & Paste page 7 - Sculpt Page 4 – Rotate / Shuffle page 8 - Config P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 65...

  • Page 66: Timebase And Sync

    Soft-keys F1 and F2 step back and forward through the list of available timebase values. In order to stop patterns getting wildly out of sync as you change timebase, changes are only applied as the pattern loops from the last step back to the first. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 66...
  • Page 67 A second function of the “sync” soft-key, accessed using FUNC + F3, performs a nudge of the current pattern - advancing it one extra step forward for each press. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 67...

  • Page 68: Direction And Last Step

    References in the above table to step 1 really mean the lowest numbered step without skip active. As with timebase, changes of direction do not apply until the pattern resets to the first step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 68...
  • Page 69 For example, if you want to set the last step to step 8 in a pattern currently set to end on step 16: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 69...

  • Page 70: Clear, Copy & Paste

    • To use the clear function, press the “clr ” soft-key, F1. The display will show: You must now press F1 and F2 together to confirm the operation. Otherwise, press F3 to cancel. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 70...
  • Page 71 *TIP Note that you can select a lower numbered last step to be copied than the first step. This will copy the steps from the pattern to the copy buffer in reverse order – so you can reverse small sections of the pattern. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 71...
  • Page 72 If you are pasting only the aux and accumulator config (auxcf), the step number pressed doesn't matter since the settings are global to the whole pattern - but you do need to press a step key to do the paste. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 72...

  • Page 73: Rotate And Shuffle

    8 steps by 4 steps to the left or right. Then return the last step to step 16. This would swap steps 1 to 4 with steps 5 to 8, leaving the rest of the pattern intact. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 73...
  • Page 74 Step key 1 will set the delay on all steps to zero – removing the shuffle effect. *TIP The Shuffle function is very useful as a quick way of resetting all delay values to zero when you’ve been playing with delay settings manually. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 74...

  • Page 75: The Note Randomizer

    “base” soft-key, F2. The display will show: • use the DATA knob to select a new lowest note • THEN press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the new selection • press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous value • P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 75...
  • Page 76 Note that a range of 1 means only the lowest note will be used. If the range is set to be larger than the total number of MIDI notes above the configured lowest note, the effective range will be restricted. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 76...

  • Page 77: The Upper Randomizer

    “base” soft-key, F2. The display will show: • use the DATA knob to select a new lowest value • THEN press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the new selection • press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous value. • P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 77...
  • Page 78 Note that, as with note, range of 1 means only the lowest value will be used. If the range is set to be larger than the difference between the lowest value and 127, the effective range will be restricted. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 78...

  • Page 79: Sculpt

    For example, if you want the velocity in a pattern to rise steadily over the length of the pattern, it could be tedious to go through each step, setting it to a value just a little more than the previous step. Instead, you can “sculpt” the values as the pattern plays. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 79...
  • Page 80 The “tap” soft-key, F3, can be used to set gate on the current step active as the pattern plays. This lets you tap in a particular rhythm in real-time, without setting any other values. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 80...

  • Page 81: Config

    Press the F2 key to set the base note using the DATA knob - this will be the note selected when the knobs are turned fully to the left. Use FUNC + F2 to edit the span over which the knobs work - there are four ranges of approximately 10, 5, 2 and 1 octaves. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 81...
  • Page 82 The “Apply FTS” function permanently applies the current FTS settings to the note values in the pattern. This is useful if you want to mix different scales across different tracks, so need global FTS turned off for the part. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 82...

  • Page 83: Other Pattern Edit Functions

    Release the FUNC key to return to the normal step key edit function. Note that this key combination is not the same as for mute access in playlist edit. Other functions of the keys used in each mode preclude this. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 83...

  • Page 84: Leaving Pattern Edit

    The upper line of the display will show “Save To:”' and the alternative pattern number selected. Saving to an alternate location will restore the unedited version of the pattern you were editing to its original location. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 84...
  • Page 85 The “back” soft-key, F2, returns you to play mode – handy if you pressed PLAY/EDIT by accident, or just changed your mind. F3 – Lose The “lose” option, F3, will restore the pattern as it was before you entered pattern edit, and return you to play mode. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 85...

  • Page 86: Playlist Edit

    The pattern on each step can be transposed over a wide range, and can be repeated up to 8 • times. Playlists can also let you synchronise patterns to the global bar – so you can keep patterns with • uneven lengths in step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 86...

  • Page 87: What's Really In A Part

    This diagram shows what’s inside a part: The important point is that patterns do not belong to a specific part. The playlists in each part can call up any of the available patterns on each track. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 87...

  • Page 88: What's In A Playlist

    If the current playlist step number is less than the playlist length , the track moves on to the next playlist step If the track has reached the last playlist step, it returns to playlist step 1 • In short, the playlist is just a sequence of patterns. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 88...

  • Page 89: The Default Playlists

    1 to 4 in the playlists for parts 5 to 8. For the 3 bank mode, with 16 patterns per track, playlist edit behaves in a slightly different manner for pattern selection. These differences are explained in the Appendix – Memory Organisation. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 89...

  • Page 90: Editing A Playlist

    Create another pattern, save it – this will be pattern 2, then return to play mode • You can already play your two new patterns in sequence by using a part chain – so let’s check that out now. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 90...

  • Page 91: Changing To Playlist Edit

    The play mode chapter already showed how to get into playlist edit, but here’s a reminder. From play mode: hold the FUNC key • press the TRACK key for the track on which you want to edit the playlist • You want to edit the playlist on track 1: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 91...

  • Page 92: Playlist Edit Controls

    The labels indicate where the playlist step values are shown: Just ignore the “View” label for now. The Step Number value shows the current playlist step – that is, the step playing at any given time. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 92...

  • Page 93: Playlist Edit Leds

    The flashing green LED here shows you’re currently on playlist step 1. The lack of any other green LEDs shows that step 1 is the only step used in this playlist – the length is P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 93...

  • Page 94: Selecting A Different Pattern

    The red LED will move from PATTERN key 2 to PATTERN key 1. As before, pattern 2 will continue playing until its last step, at which point the track will switch back to pattern 1. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 94...

  • Page 95: A Longer Playlist

    You will also see the green LED above PLAYLIST STEP 1 continue to flash until the end of pattern 1, which is playing on that step. As soon as pattern 1 ends, PLAYLIST STEP 2 will start flashing green instead. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 95...
  • Page 96 Playlist Step 3 = pattern 3 …and so on. You have changed the playlist length to 2, and you can see your playlist is playing 2 steps, with a different pattern on each step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 96...

  • Page 97: Leaving Playlist Edit

    Step 1 is playing pattern 1. Step 2 is playing pattern 2. Back in play mode, you can hear that your track is playing two patterns in a chain, without the need for a part chain. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 97...

  • Page 98: Some More Editing

    PATTERN LEDs show the pattern number on the current playlist step • selecting a new pattern using the PATTERN keys, selects a new pattern for the current playlist • step As the playlist advances, so does the step you are looking at. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 98...
  • Page 99 To select Edit view all you need to do is press the PLAYLIST STEP key for the step you want to edit. Let’s continue with our example by using Edit view to look at step 2 in the playlist. Select Edit view for playlist step 2 as follows: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 99...
  • Page 100 That’s why the LED will be amber . In Edit view , the current playlist step continues to flash just as in Chase view . So when step 2 becomes the current playlist step, the LED will flash green. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 100...
  • Page 101 *TIP Being able to select steps for editing, even though they are not currently part of the playlist, means you can set up the patterns on these steps exactly as you want before you increase the playlist length to include them. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 101...

  • Page 102: Back To The Playlist

    Try this out by using the knob above PLAYLIST STEP 1 to set repeats to 3, and then use the knob above PLAYLIST STEP 2 to set repeats back to 1. You should hear pattern 1 play 3 times then pattern 2 plays once, before the playlist repeats itself. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 102...

  • Page 103: Step Transpose

    F3 + PLAYLIST STEP key 4 to set the playlist len gth to 4 • You should now have a playlist that plays the same series of patterns as before. But instead of having a 2 step playlist like this: Step Pattern Repeats P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 103...
  • Page 104 When the playlist advances to step 2, pattern 1 plays again, but this time at its normal pitch. Now set the transpose on step 2 to a value of +7, just as before. You should hear pattern 1 running through three different pitches before pattern 2 comes along. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 104...

  • Page 105: Step Sync

    From playlist edit, you choose the pattern to edit directly by pattern number. This means you can be sure which pattern you’re going to edit, even if a playlist is stepping through different patterns. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 105...
  • Page 106 LEDs is replaced by a “blanking blip” – each step LED goes out briefly on the current position in the pattern that is actually playing. When you see the normal blip re-appear, you know the pattern you are editing is live. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 106...
  • Page 107 The total number of steps that pattern 1 plays for is 16 steps – the global bar length . As you can see, playlist steps 2 and 3, which still have a sync value of Ptrn, play as before for the 6 step length of pattern 1. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 107...
  • Page 108 This is useful for setting up a pattern with an odd length to shift against the other patterns over time, yet still be brought back into line after a regular number of bars have elapsed. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 108...

  • Page 109: Other Features Of Playlist Edit

    As soon as you release the pattern keys, you will see the green PLAYLIST STEP LEDs indicate the length has been set to 4. Step through the playlist using edit view , and you’ll confirm that patterns are where you wanted them. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 109...

  • Page 110: Gbar Pos And Playlist Hold

    While it is held, step keys 1 to 8 will show the current track mute status, and allow you to toggle them as in play mode. Release the STEP MODE key to return to the normal playlist edit functions. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 110...

  • Page 111: Real-Time Record

    In play mode and playlist edit, notes will be recorded into any pattern currently playing on the track selected. If you have a playlist running through a number of patterns, record will enable you to write notes into all the patterns in turn. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 111...

  • Page 112: Record

    The first record page looks like this: Label Function Toggles live / ready option (default is live) recrd mthru Toggles pass-through on track MIDI output channel of record input Delete note on current step in pattern P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 112...
  • Page 113 If you hold the key, all steps passed while the key is held will be cleared. This lets you wipe out all or part of a bad take without having to clear the gate, tie and possibly aux enable settings on each step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 113...

  • Page 114: Record

    Note that even if FTS is turned off, notes will still be FTS’d according to the current settings. The difference is that they will be recorded into the pattern with their original note values. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 114...

  • Page 115: Record

    Write the current position of the DATA knob to the selected UPPER MODE value upper (no function) The record Sculpt page allows you to perform the same sculpting functions that are available in pattern edit while recording in play mode. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 115...

  • Page 116: Use With Caution

    Once you have over-written your patterns by recording in new notes, or by using the sculpt function to alter existing notes or other values, there is no way to restore what was there before. Leaving Record Mode To exit pattern edit record, just press REC again. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 116...

  • Page 117: Arpeggio Capture

    Copy and tie the most recent note to the following step The number on the top line of the display, next to the letter “P” shows the step number that the next note to arrive at the input will be written to. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 117...
  • Page 118 With the “rong” option turned off, arpeggio capture can be used as a step-time input mode. You can enter the pattern as a series of notes from the MIDI keyboard. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 118...

  • Page 119: Leaving Arpeggio Capture

    Pressing tie will cause the most recently entered note to be copied to the next step, and the two steps tied for a longer note. Leaving Arpeggio Capture To exit arpeggio capture mode, just press REC again. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 119...

  • Page 120: Remote Control

    15 track number 5; 5 – 1 = 4 Controller number 13, for “toggle record options”, toggles the record options in the same way as each of the record mode soft-keys shown. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 120...

  • Page 121: Remote Part Transpose (Pxpos)

    While remote PXPos is active, the current PXPos value shown on play mode page 2 is replaced by the remote value followed by an asterisk, “*”. Changing part, or re-starting P3, will recall the stored PXPos value for the current part. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 121...

  • Page 122: Using Auxiliary Events

    If you’re not too sure how to go about entering the pattern, you may not be quite ready for this chapter. Example pattern: Step Note Velocity Length Gate It has to be said, this is a pretty boring pattern. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 122...
  • Page 123 The rest of the notes in the pattern will still play the same note – C4. If you look at the stored note value on step 1, using FUNC + step key 1, you will see that the note is still set to C4. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 123...

  • Page 124: How Events Work

    All will add a random number between 0 and the aux value to the chosen pattern value. For the status values, gate, tie, Xd and the aux enables, the randomize events are a little different. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 124...
  • Page 125 For example, if you set a value of 25% on a “Rnd mask …” event, the status value on that step will be active once in every four times that the step plays. Using random masking like this, you can create patterns that subtly change over time, sometimes throwing in an extra note here and there. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 125...
  • Page 126 Things like subtle randomization of velocity can add a degree of interest to an otherwise static pattern. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 126...

  • Page 127: Inter Track Events

    Example pattern A: Step Note Velocity Length Gate Example pattern B: Step Note Velocity Length Gate Pattern A is the same boring, repeating-note pattern we used before. Pattern B is an equally boring rising scale. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 127...

  • Page 128: A Quick Grab

    For one thing, the event name is only “grab”, but “note” also appears on the top line. And where you would normally expect to see “Value:” on the bottom line, it says “Track:”. The Inter Track events have two different values for each step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 128...
  • Page 129 The display should confirm you have entered the correct values like this: Repeat this on each of the three other steps, 5, 9 and 13. Now, as your previously boring pattern plays, you will hear different notes play on steps 1, 5, 9 and 13. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 129...
  • Page 130 This can be a much more selective way of randomising notes in a pattern than using the basic “Rndmz note” event. Experimentation is the key here again. As you play with these events, you should soon realise some of the apparently complex modulations of patterns that can be achieved quite simply. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 130...

  • Page 131: Target Values For Grab, Swap And Push

    *TIP To quickly set all the steps in a pattern to the same value, so they all grab note from the same track for example, use the Sculpt upper function described in the pattern edit chapter. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 131...

  • Page 132: Transpose By Events

    With the timebase of pattern B set to 1, pattern B will only play 1 step in the same time it takes for pattern A to play all 16. But the note value from pattern B that is used to transpose pattern A remains current for as long as it takes the next step to play. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 132...
  • Page 133 The “+p” is there because the note value used from the target track is taken after any playlist transpose is applied. If you’re familiar with playlist transpose, try editing the playlist on track 2 to transpose pattern B, and see what the effect is. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 133...

  • Page 134: Aux Notes

    C value on step 1 to B5 using the UPPER knob • When the pattern step plays, the four note chord C5, E5, G5, B5 will be sent. All notes share the same velocity value. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 134...

  • Page 135: Chord Memory

    The lowest note played in any step will be written to the main note value, and up to 4 more notes will be written into the auxes. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 135...

  • Page 136: Accumulator Events

    When the aux D value is used to send a MIDI controller, or if aux D is used for an aux event: the number held in the aux D accumulator is added to the aux D value • Like the other accumulators, it’s just a numerical offset that applies to the aux D value. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 136...

  • Page 137: Putting An Accumulator To Work

    UPPER knob on step 3 to enter a value of 5 for “offset note abs” The next time the pattern passes through step 3, you will hear the pitch of all following notes in the pattern rise. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 137...
  • Page 138 And you could always achieve the same thing by editing the notes. The real power of the accumulators is only apparent when you use them in the way that their name suggests – increasing gradually in quantity or number. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 138...

  • Page 139: Relative Accumulation

    Your pattern of 4 notes will now rise by an octave on each pass, and you’ll find that the accumulator is reset when it reaches 3 octaves of transposition – but that is only a default setting. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 139...

  • Page 140: Accumulator Configuration

    • the limit behaviour for the accumulator is rtz • the result behaviour is clip • So what do these settings mean? Well hopefully you get the bit about it being the note accumulator. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 140...
  • Page 141 Return to zero was explained above, and you can hear its effect in the example pattern. The clip behaviour is the simplest – the accumulator value won’t exceed the limit, it just sticks there once the lim it is reached. The reverse options will need a little more explanation. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 141...
  • Page 142 This will continue until the accumulator value reaches zero. With the limit behaviour set to reverse to zero, when an offset event attempts to move the accumulator below zero, the reverse switch is turned off, and the accumulator starts to rise again. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 142...
  • Page 143 Experimentation, as ever, is the way to learn how to use these best. Result Behaviour The last setting for accumulator config, result behaviour, determines what happens when the result of adding the accumulator value to the pattern value is out of range. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 143...

  • Page 144: The Other Two

    This setting, off by default, allows you to break the normal link between the aux D accumulator and the aux D value – with xDAcD set on the value of aux D is not changed regardless of the aux D accumulator value. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 144...

  • Page 145: Auxiliary Value Scaling

    The range of 128 accumulator values divided by the 8 possible track values gives 16 steps per value. By scaling events in this way, you can use the accumulator to make very gradual changes to events with reduced value ranges. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 145...

  • Page 146: The Accumulator Events

    The last two events in the group allow the aux D accumulator to be used to modify the length and delay settings for each step. add dAcc to leng add aux D accumulator (scaled) to length no value add dAcc to dlay add aux D accumulator (scaled) to delay no value P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 146...

  • Page 147: Accumulator Mask Events

    Any other event to be assigned will use the UPPER knob above the TRACK key. So there can be only two knobs used per pattern, though a number of auxes can mask different things based on the UPPER knob position. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 147...

  • Page 148: Knob Grab Events

    C value with current value of knob n knob n to auxD replace aux D value with current value of knob n P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 148...

  • Page 149: Set Step Value Events

    4 times, with a velocity offset added to each repeat The value range for all these events is +/- 63. The note and velocity offsets are added to the note or velocity value on each repeat. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 149...

  • Page 150: Redirect Aux Events

    This event re-directs all following auxes so that they apply to the specified target track instead of the current track. This allows you to cascade more than four aux events to one track, or send more than the maximum four MIDI CCs. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 150...

  • Page 151: Pattern Control

    1 - 8 un-mute trk n activate track n range: 1 - 8 select part set pchain length set tempo sets the global tempo, temporarily over-riding the tempo knob P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 151...
  • Page 152 Sequentix Music Systems P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 152...

  • Page 153: Appendix A - Preset Fts Scale Definitions

    2 CDD#EGA major aug CD#EGG#B arabian CDEFF#G#A# balinese CDD#GG# hungarian 1 CDD#F#GG#B oriental CC#EFF#G#A# raga-todi CC#D#F#GG#A# chinese CEF#GB hungarian 2 CD#EF#GAA# japanese 1 CC#FGG# japanese 2 CDFGG# persian CC#EF#G#B diminished CDD#FF#G#AB whole tone CDEF#G#A# P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 153...
  • Page 154 Sequentix Music Systems P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 154...

  • Page 155: Appendix B - User Conf Options

    This option alters the display of MIDI note octaves from the MIDI standard of C5 to the Middle C = C4 traditional standard of C4. Notes in octave -1 are displayed wit h a minus sign only, since there are only three characters for note names. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 155...
  • Page 156 Sequentix Music Systems P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 156...

  • Page 157: Appendix C - Memory Organisation

    This means you can change the memory layout at any time, without losing data - although you may have to copy and paste some patterns around. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 157...

  • Page 158: Note On Playlist Edit For 3 Bank Configuration

    Since the pattern number must be displayed using the red LEDs, the step currently being edited is displayed ONLY by the number in the top left of the alphanumeric display. A red LED above the PLAYLIST STEP keys indicates the pattern number on the current step. P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 158...

  • Page 159: Appendix D - Miscellaneous Useful Info

    Each time P3 is powered-on, it performs a firmware image check to verify the contents of program memory. It will automatically enter firmware upgrade mode if any error is found. On entry to firmware upgrade mode the display will show something like this: P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 159...
  • Page 160 It is generally regarded as good practice to do a data backup before a firmware upgrade anyway. Details of firmware releases are provided via the Sequentix website, and the P3 Analogue Sequencer 'Yahoo!' group.

  • Page 161: Index

    LEDs, 52 numeric rows, 47 triplets, 66 part chain, 19, 155 user configuration, 44 part chain repeats (PCRep), 31 view step data, 51 part copy, 33 VU meter, 46 part keys, 17 zero position, 31 P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 161...

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