(I’ve looked but haven’t found a thread that already covers this topic)
At the moment I’m having fun creating polyrhythms with the Tonverk, which is better equipped than other Elektron units for this task. For example, with a 16-step track at 1 BPM and another 14-step track at 7/8 BPM, both sequences have exactly the same duration, but one is divided evenly into 16 steps and the other into 14.
When looking for other hardware sequencers that can actually handle polyrhythms (and so I’m ruling out the Euclidean sequencer as implemented on the Torso T1 or the Digi II, for example, and I’m ruling out anything polymetric, which is not the same thing at all, I’m also ruling out modular sequencers that allow for different durations per step, such as the Metropolix or the 0 Ctrl, as that’s yet another different approach), I realise there are very few. The M8 can handle this in depth. I thought of the Hapax and its elasticity function, but if I’ve understood correctly, it isn’t strictly possible to synchronise the tracks with one another (no reset, no direct function to, for example, specify that one track is divided into 7 steps whilst another is divided into 5 over the same bar length), so I imagine it’s possible but very tedious to set up.
I’ve therefore opened this thread to discuss polyrhythms and the machines that allow them to be created satisfactorily.
Probably not exactly the type of thing you`re looking for but the Korg Volca Fm was able to change it’s sequence length to any number of steps from 1 to 16 and it would retain the same bar time length. So you could sync it to a drum machine and set it to something like 3, 7 or 15 steps and get quite a weird polyrhythm. I never found a use for it personally, but you might.
I’ve just had a look at the thread and, apart from one post about the Poly 2 and the Pyramid, there’s no mention of polyrhythmic sequencers, but rather polymetric, Euclidean sequencers with durations defined by steps.
OK, I had no idea the Volca FM could do that. I’ve had the Volca Keys and the Volca Beats, and the skip step function didn’t change the sequencer’s playback speed.
Yes it can do phasing with elasticity parameter but it’s not possible to sync tracks between them. And in the manual there is no mention of polyrythmic abilities.
‘The polyrhythms are done using a P3 tbase setting of “prh”.
Whatever the effective length of the bar is (based on last step and any skipped notes), the steps are stretched across the length of a normal 16 step tbase 16 bar.
The video has a 1 step pattern on track 1, 2 steps on 2, etc. The notes are also approximating the harmonic series of the lowest note - f = C2 → f2 = C3, f3 = G3, C4, f5 = E4, f6 = G4, etc…’
I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite understand your message.
What I do is, if I have a 16-step measure at 120 BPM and I want another 14-step measure that’s exactly the same length, I apply a tempo of 120*7/8 to that track. It plays back slightly slower but it also has slightly fewer steps, so the two tracks are perfectly in sync.
I’m sorry but I know how to achieve polyrythms on Elektron boxes. I own Tonverk and Digitone II. This topic is not about asking help to achieve polyrythms on Elektron boxes, it’s about talking polyrythmic sequencers and maybe discover new ones.
The trick with microtiming is a good one but it’s definitely a tedious workaround.
Documentation for the (discontinued) Squarp Pyramid distinctly states that it is configurable for polyrhythms. I don’t know why/if that feature wasn’t carried forward to the Hapax. (I haven’t actually used either machine; just reporting what I read.)
As explained by Jeanne, Hapax can do proper polyrythms with bpm elasticity but it seems not as straightforward than on Pyramid (you have to do some maths).
I checked Hermod + (from Squarp too) manual but there is no mention of polyrythms in it.
I find it vert strange that this function is almost never implemanted in sequencer because it’s awesome for melodic task in ambient music or for create complex rythms that can mimic acceleration and deceleration while keeping the same global tempo.
