04-10-2020, 07:13 AM
So I could not get CC #90 to work reliably, even with microtiming.
Microtiming fixes the start (the octatrack appears not to do what it is documented to do, if you set the plays free track to a delayed start, the first trig happens at the beginning of the track and the NDLR gets it). I had this first trig sending the p-lock CC start microtimed to -1/24. This seemed to fix the start.
Starting and stopping the NDLR and then starting it again with CC #90 was not reliable. In my tests it seemed like I could switch the clock to the offbeat depending on when I stopped the NDLR with CC #90. If this is true, it is even worse than a start moving the clock. It's another situation where I am confused why anyone would want that. I seemed to be able to keep the clock in the same place on by editing the microtimed -1/24 start trig p-lock to be a stop. That is too fiddly for me for performance, and I am not dedicating still a third track to stopping the NDLR.
I came up with a workaround.
Since my main concern was the drone timing, I started testing it individually to hear it better. Neither CC #86, which starts the drone, nor the button which starts the drone, move the clock. If I have the drone set to play on the downbeat, an individual start brings it in on the next downbeat every time, regardless of when in the bar I send the start or push the button. No fiddly timing, just does what I wanted CC #90 to do. So the workaround is to start the drone individually and not use CC #90.
We now come full circle back to the chord sequencer.
The issue that remains is what I was originally griping about. Although the individual part buttons appear to start an armed chord sequence, CC #86 does not start an armed chord sequence. Don't think any of the other individual CC's do either. Hopefully this is something that gets fixed in the future.
So the right thing for me to do for now to start an armed chord sequence is to use the drone button on the interface. Bam, sequence starts on downbeat with correct drone timing.
We talked about adding a CC for arming / disarming the chord sequence. That would still be useful for working with an external midi sequencer.
The NDLR's behavior on disarming a running chord sequence is a little strange, too. It seems to keep going after disarm. I want it to stop right on the current sequence step. Keep the parts playing on the current harmony. My sequences are one-way modulations, not loops. 'Stop where you are, do not make any more sequence steps, and reset the sequence' is a logical default.
I could imagine people wanting other behaviors, such as 'after disarm finish full remaining chord sequence and go back to first step,' 'after disarm finish full remaining chord sequence and stop on final step,' 'after disarm finish remaining chord sequence letter and go back to first step of letter,' 'after disarm go back to first step of current letter when current step finishes,' 'after disarm finish remaining chord sequence letter and stop on final step,' 'after disarm go to final step of letter when current step finishes,' etc.
These all seem like special cases compared to the intuitive, 'when I disarm a sequence I am not in a sequence anymore and there are no more sequence steps, but parts don't turn off because there are separate controls for that.' After that, I would expect rearming the sequence to start it from the beginning.
Even if I have the option of an external sequencer, the internal chord sequences are still helpful. I can treat the NDLR as a little bank of one-shot sequences that can be reused across different synth settings. The musical harmonies (the NDLR's forte) may be the same, but other things can be dramatically different downstream. Plus I do not have to program another sequencer or synth with the kind of in-key arpeggios the motifs can do.
Thanks much for the thoughtful replies.
Microtiming fixes the start (the octatrack appears not to do what it is documented to do, if you set the plays free track to a delayed start, the first trig happens at the beginning of the track and the NDLR gets it). I had this first trig sending the p-lock CC start microtimed to -1/24. This seemed to fix the start.
Starting and stopping the NDLR and then starting it again with CC #90 was not reliable. In my tests it seemed like I could switch the clock to the offbeat depending on when I stopped the NDLR with CC #90. If this is true, it is even worse than a start moving the clock. It's another situation where I am confused why anyone would want that. I seemed to be able to keep the clock in the same place on by editing the microtimed -1/24 start trig p-lock to be a stop. That is too fiddly for me for performance, and I am not dedicating still a third track to stopping the NDLR.
I came up with a workaround.
Since my main concern was the drone timing, I started testing it individually to hear it better. Neither CC #86, which starts the drone, nor the button which starts the drone, move the clock. If I have the drone set to play on the downbeat, an individual start brings it in on the next downbeat every time, regardless of when in the bar I send the start or push the button. No fiddly timing, just does what I wanted CC #90 to do. So the workaround is to start the drone individually and not use CC #90.
We now come full circle back to the chord sequencer.
The issue that remains is what I was originally griping about. Although the individual part buttons appear to start an armed chord sequence, CC #86 does not start an armed chord sequence. Don't think any of the other individual CC's do either. Hopefully this is something that gets fixed in the future.
So the right thing for me to do for now to start an armed chord sequence is to use the drone button on the interface. Bam, sequence starts on downbeat with correct drone timing.
We talked about adding a CC for arming / disarming the chord sequence. That would still be useful for working with an external midi sequencer.
The NDLR's behavior on disarming a running chord sequence is a little strange, too. It seems to keep going after disarm. I want it to stop right on the current sequence step. Keep the parts playing on the current harmony. My sequences are one-way modulations, not loops. 'Stop where you are, do not make any more sequence steps, and reset the sequence' is a logical default.
I could imagine people wanting other behaviors, such as 'after disarm finish full remaining chord sequence and go back to first step,' 'after disarm finish full remaining chord sequence and stop on final step,' 'after disarm finish remaining chord sequence letter and go back to first step of letter,' 'after disarm go back to first step of current letter when current step finishes,' 'after disarm finish remaining chord sequence letter and stop on final step,' 'after disarm go to final step of letter when current step finishes,' etc.
These all seem like special cases compared to the intuitive, 'when I disarm a sequence I am not in a sequence anymore and there are no more sequence steps, but parts don't turn off because there are separate controls for that.' After that, I would expect rearming the sequence to start it from the beginning.
Even if I have the option of an external sequencer, the internal chord sequences are still helpful. I can treat the NDLR as a little bank of one-shot sequences that can be reused across different synth settings. The musical harmonies (the NDLR's forte) may be the same, but other things can be dramatically different downstream. Plus I do not have to program another sequencer or synth with the kind of in-key arpeggios the motifs can do.
Thanks much for the thoughtful replies.