Step Sequencer workarounds or feature requests

[jsterne]

Hi All,

I've been messing around with the step sequencer, but there are a few things I can't get my head around:

1. It seems that if you want to choose a different scale for scales view, it also affects the other split since you're messing with global settings. Is there a workaround? I like scales view as a concept, but I don't want to retune the other split if I'm using it to play a manual part and I don't always want to play in a major or minor key with no accidentals.

2. So then there's notes view. How do I go higher or lower than what's shown in notes view? If I use transpose, I get the same range, just starting on a higher or lower note. I'm wondering if I can get from the lower to the upper notes in note view.

3. Is there a way to mute or skip steps in step view? I do this all the time when I'm messing with other step sequencers to add instant variety. Direction and length are great but sometimes you want to keep the same length and vary the notes if you're playing with other people.

4. Finally, I get that there are 16 project memories, each with 4 patterns per split. Are they available in all presets, or per preset? In other words, does each preset have 16 different projects, or does each preset have access to the same 16 projects?

Thank you. I'm excited to try this out with my band next week.

PS -- the tutorial video was great and very helpful.

[Roger_Linn]

1. It seems that if you want to choose a different scale for scales view, it also affects the other split since you're messing with global settings. Is there a workaround? I like scales view as a concept, but I don't want to retune the other split if I'm using it to play a manual part and I don't always want to play in a major or minor key with no accidentals.

Unfortunately, the Note Lights On/Off settings, which is used to determine the pitch of the rows in the step sequencer's Scales view, are Global Settings and therefore apply to both of the 2 keyboard splits (each split has its own sequence).

If you want the second track (split) to use different pitches for each row, you can set that split's View to Drums, then in Sequencer Settings, assign each Drums row to whichever pitch you like.

2. So then there's notes view. How do I go higher or lower than what's shown in notes view? If I use transpose, I get the same range, just starting on a higher or lower note. I'm wondering if I can get from the lower to the upper notes in note view.

You can use the Sequence Display Area buttons to select which 7 of the 14 rows in the sequence that you are viewing. Usually this is used to view one of two octaves of diatonic scale notes.

Note that the sequence is actually 14 rows (in Notes or Drums view) by 32 steps. But you can view only 7 rows x 16 steps (in your large LinnStrument model) at a time. The Sequence Display Area buttons let you view one quadrant of the total sequence at a time (or if on LinnStrument 128, one eighth of the total sequence at a time).

3. Is there a way to mute or skip steps in step view? I do this all the time when I'm messing with other step sequencers to add instant variety. Direction and length are great but sometimes you want to keep the same length and vary the notes if you're playing with other people.

Sorry, no. To insert a note, press an unlit pad. To delete a note, press a lit pad. There is no way to mute a single note without deleting it as in dedicated some step sequencing products.

Note that LinnStrument is not a full-function step sequencer but rather an expressive musical performance instrument that happens to contain a simple step sequencer. Why? Because at trade shows, many people would come up and say "Hmmmm...it's a grid and has lights; it's a step sequencer, right?" So I added a simple step sequencer, but to me it seems a shame to waste those wonderful 3D pads to use them as on/off switches. That said, it's a pretty good step sequencer, given that LinnStrument has no dedicated step sequencer function buttons on the panel as in dedicated step sequencers.

4. Finally, I get that there are 16 project memories, each with 4 patterns per split. Are they available in all presets, or per preset? In other words, does each preset have 16 different projects, or does each preset have access to the same 16 projects?

Each of the 16 Sequencer Projects contains all data contained in the Sequencer screens for both split (sequences). Saving a Sequencer Project will save everything on the Sequencer screen for both splits (sequences). Loading a Sequencer Project will overwrite everything on the Sequencer screen for both splits (sequences).

[jsterne]

Thank Roger, as always, for your fast and thoughtful reply. A couple followups:

You write:

Each of the 16 Sequencer Projects contains all data contained in the Sequencer screens for both split (sequences). Saving a Sequencer Project will save everything on the Sequencer screen for both splits (sequences). Loading a Sequencer Project will overwrite everything on the Sequencer screen for both splits (sequences).

So do the same 16 projects persist across the Linnstrument's 6 presets?

--

I agree that the step sequencer shouldn't be the main purpose, but it would be pretty easy to add a mute function in a software revision (I know those don't come often but I doubt we've seen the last). Hold the mute button, choose step or a whole split, and you've got a step mute as well as a split mute. Skip would probably be similar with a different button. These two functions make step sequencing a lot more performative and "live," which to me is in the spirit of the Linnstrument. It does still use the pads as switches, of course.

This is in no way meant diminish your experience at trade shows, which I'm sure was annoying. But I'm sure you agree they are a weird place, unlike most places people play and enjoy music (one of my friends calls NAMM "the Galapagos of jazz fusion").

I can only speak of my use case, which is a 3-piece instrumental rock band where I play Linnstrument and bass. In the case of a multi-song performance with a band, having a step sequencer available on one of the splits, while I play the other, enhances rather than diminishes the value of the instrument as something you perform and improvise with. For me, as someone who bought it for the layout and control, is well suited to playing with others who expect a repeating rhythm. In a way that's more useful than modulating sequence length, which is cool for playing by yourself but can mess up the drummer pretty quickly...

For those reasons, I hope I've convinced you that step mutes and skips are in the spirit of the Linnstrument, even if they're not really part of the inventor's original intent....

[Roger_Linn]

So do the same 16 projects persist across the Linnstrument's 6 presets?

Sorry, I didn't understand your question before. I now assume you are referring to the 6 All Settings memories on the right side of the Preset screen. These 6 memories do not include the Sequencer data/settings because they are stored separately in the 16 Sequencer Project memories. I have updated the Panel Settings page, Preset/Volume tab to make this clearer.

I agree that the step sequencer shouldn't be the main purpose, but it would be pretty easy to add a mute function in a software revision (I know those don't come often but I doubt we've seen the last). Hold the mute button, choose step or a whole split, and you've got a step mute as well as a split mute. Skip would probably be similar with a different button.

The current software's Mute buttons do permit muting either the Left or Right Sequences.

Regarding muting individual steps, that could be possible using your suggested hold Mute + press event method to toggle it between normal and mute (red color). This would only be problematic if you have assigned the split's Main or Accent color to red, in which case you'd need to change the assigned mute color in the Sequencer Settings page. I'll consider this for the future, but the problem is that LinnStrument programmer Geert's available time is currently overloaded and I'm afraid it needs to go to LinnStrument issues that have far greater demand. But I will add it to our list of requested features for the future. Until then, perhaps someone on this forum would be interested in coding it up for you.

I'm not sure what you mean by a Skip feature. Do you mean that if a step is marked as "skip", the sequencer's timing would play the previous step immediately followed by the subsequent step, as though all subsequent steps were moved forward by one step?

[jsterne]

Hi Roger: yes, that’s exactly it. If you skip step 3, the sequencer would just go from 2 to 4. Where this gets interesting in constant-length sequences is when you have an intended 8 step sequence, but 10 steps, 2 of which get skipped at any time. Lots of variety easily produced just by switching the skipped steps. Of course, playing a groove by hand gets you more variety and faster, but sometimes the more mechanical feel of step sequencing is the right sauce for the dish.

And thanks for add this to the request list. Much appreciated.

[Roger_Linn]

It would be difficult to implement the UI for such a Skip feature without it being a poor kludge. FYI, I've received some other individuals' different feature requests for the sequencer, and each person considers his needed feature to be equally important, stating accurately that the feature is useful and can be found on some other dedicated step sequencing product. The problem with all of these requests is that LinnStrument doesn't have any dedicated hardware UI for sequencing and I don't wish to have a product with kludgey features, especially considering that very few people use LinnStrument's Step Sequencer. That's the main reason that we opened the source code. The other issue is again, Geert's time.

[jsterne]

Of course. I think the step mutes could be elegantly done, but maybe skip the skip.