Sequencer for a polysynth?

My vote goes to the hapax

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I find the Digitone to be pretty good at sequencing poly synths. Plus, you get a whole multitimbral polyphonic FM synth for roughly the price of the Squarp sequencers. The Squarp stuff might be nicer though :slight_smile:

Oxi One.

Done.

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Hey there Lucas !
I’m sure you could have some fun using something such as the Polyend Play (probably Hapax as well even tho I never tried it), somethign with a proper visual feedback about what you’re doing that is not on a screen.

Check out my video on the play around 9 min when I start to talk midi:

EDIT: the Keysteps (og or 37) are also quite good for a SH-101 style sequencer as they can store polyphonic data and then you can use the sync in to advance the sequence everytime you send a trigger in :wink:

You need a midi keyboard to make polyphonic sequencing fun and easy with the OT. WIthout it it’s just tedious and not very intuitive.

The MIDI arps is the main reason I keep my OT. It’s got random arp which is fantastic. It’s great for polysynths as well - set up several tracks with random arps on the same MIDI channel to get polyphonic random arpeggitation. The OT also has 3x MIDI LFOs that you can set up to control various parameters on your OB-6. This way you can get separate LFOs for PWM and pitch modulation, for example. Separate modulation between VCO1 and 2 as well.

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Thanks. Is it still limited to all concurrent notes needing to start on the same step?

I’ve come to realise that DAW is probably my best option in the meantime. I have a Multiclock so I should be able to circumvent any clock issues.

@woz yes I think even a small keyboard should be a nice addition; if only to play pads.

Lots of people recommending the Hapax/Pyramid
I was actually aware of those. The Squarp offerings look like big studio center pieces which honestly I don’t think I need but I’ll have a look. A friend of mine has a Pyramid so I’ll definitely try that.

@Octagonist
I feel you. Ot + poly is really not fun or intuitive in any way. Props to those who manage doing something with it.

OXI One and Torso are options that seem interesting. Quite expensive both, and they both do a lot of stuff I don’t need (but who knows maybe it would be interesting to sequence the modular with it too). I don’t know if “the grid” is something I will like but I’m interested to try. Need to look into it further.

Anyway thanks a lot for the recommendations !

Here’s my first try with it; sequenced with a max for live sequencer :

https://www.instagram.com/p/CirzimjMTK8/

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Yo! I highly recommend you testing the Torso T-1.
Think it would fit ur setup/workflow.

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If you want to avoid DAW, mpc+keyboard could be a good choice for that.

I would avoid Elektron product for midi sequencing a 6 note polysynth.
DT/DN can be not bad for doing that, but with the limit of 4 notes per track, so… you might be frustrated.
And OT has other limit on 4 note poly using the same midi track.

I thought DN does 8 notes per midi track?

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My solutions -

Ableton - both easy and deep for sequencing poly stuff. Only issue is any latency if you’re sequencing real tight material

Keystep 37 - Mixed feelings on it tbh. Good is little lights on the keys to know what’s playing, and it’s fun to noodle/experiment with. But actually programming something out or editing an existing sequence isn’t super fluid. At least I haven’t gotten good with it yet. Also can only store like 8 sequences on the hardware (but more on the software)

Digitone - Real good at some things and real bad at other things. Good - awesome UI with the note button, great for knowing exactly what’s in a step. Bad - elektron 4 bar max, need to use irritating conditional trig tricks to get longer sequences.

Someone said the DN can only do 4 notes at a time but I don’t think that’s true. Pretty sure you can sequence more than that with a midi channel.

Hey I might be wrong let me double check :slight_smile:
I remember a 4 note limitation on the DT and assume the same. Now I have doubt.

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Indeed 8 notes on a midi track.
Coool :slight_smile:

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Hapax. Admittedly I just bought mine and left town right after buying it, but FWIW i made the decision after watching a lot of videos on the alternatives, including Polyend Play, Oxi One, Deluge, and other less dedicated hardware sequencers. I can tell you I feel the same way you do about using one instruments sequencer to control another instrument. The UI is usually terrible and not designed well. The entire purpose of the Hapax is to do what you want and if you want to control your new OB and your eurorack and later other stuff from a single sequencer Hapax seems really straightforward. After connecting mine to my main keyboard (Kronos) and a 25 year old Roland JV-1080 loaded with samples I had 3 tracks from each going in less than ten minutes after turning it on the first time. It’s pretty expensive for what it does but it does it imo really well.

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I would say the OT. The midi LFO’s are super sweet.

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All those Elektron Sequencer are far from perfect. Yes, you have Polyphony, but all you can do per step is adding other notes. That’s okay for quantised chord and basslines, but looses it right after that.
Sure, OTs LFOs are nice, but all dedicated sequencers named here are superior in their sequencing and midi modulation.
OT shines in so many things, but sequencers do the magic with midi. Midi FX on Squarp sequencers are really nice.
I would choose OT over the other Elekteon boxes for midi, but if I could decide, I would choose a different tool for that and use the OT for Samplamagic.

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Do you know if they intend to add grid style midi?

The midi sequencer that I use can do a lot, here are just some of its features…

  • utilizes a custom, musical implementation of John Conway’s Game of Life to generate melody, harmony, and rhythm. Up to four playheads move through an evolving landscape of living cells. Each playhead can move in a unique way, with its own pace and rhythmic pattern.

• Generate Random Riffs
• Everything is Synced to your Host tempo
• 53 Scales included from Western to Eastern
• Create & Save your own scales
• Choose the number of notes generated
• Set the number of root notes based on chosen scale
• Generate pattern Pitch, Duration & Volume per note
• Tile or Sustain Paused Notes
• Lock individual Notes or whole Steps
• Quick-Export MIDI pattern
• Quick Transpose whole pattern

• Quick Load preset Section
• Choose Quantization settings
• Suffle & Shift Mode
• Advanced Infinity Mode

• Generate Random Chords
• Trigger New Chords with Every Note Played
• Unique Voicing Parameters
• Intelligent Sequencer Engine
• Arp Mode
• Chord Progression & Pattern Presets
• Generate Infinite Chord Patterns & Progressions
• Everything is Synced to your Host tempo
• Drag MIDI Chord
• Drag MIDI pattern
• Pads Section for Musical

Performance

• Set Sequence range & Motion Settings
• Set Range for Pitch, Duration and Velocity
• Save & Load your own patterns
• Send MIDI to any Device, Software & Hardware
• Advanced MIDI CC/Mapping editor
• No Two Patterns will Ever be the Same

  • Gestures to easily edit patterns on-the-fly
  • [Conway’s Game of] Life-like cellular automata and probability-based pattern morphing
  • Limit pattern morphing to a selectable area of the grid
  • Variable tempo, step length subdivision and pattern length
  • Variable velocity per step
  • Selectable keys and scales with ability to transpose in real time
  • An option to tie consecutive notes of same pitch to make longer notes
  • Shift and flip patterns
  • Create and use your own scales and Life-like cellular automata rules
  • Color-coded octaves
  1. Loop record
    Grow your ideas over any number of bars. Overdub drum loops, layer complex melodies, or even record an entire track. Arm recording in multiple instances, in the background, receiving from hardware or even other audio units. Piano Roll is always sample accurately synced with the host.

  2. Step input
    Quickly create sequences. Insert notes respecting grid length, and resize them to any duration. Layer chords in one operation. Just send the notes, Piano Roll takes care of the rest.

  3. Extensive editing tools
    All the standard editing tools you are used to are implemented, pen for entering notes at any length, brush for painting continual notes at grid size and scissors for slicing.

Advanced tools allow you to be productive. Grow notes backwards or forwards. Group notes with additive selection. Select rows or chords in one operation. Time and pitch flip. Velocity editing is precise and unobtrusive. With Piano Roll, anything you need is a tap, hold, or swipe away.

This only about 20% of what my sequencer can do, but my fingers are getting tired typing about it.

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I thought the OB6 already had its own sequencer?

Old School Techno artists used even more limited sequencers and made the best tracks, better than any of that new “techno” wave…

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You mean on the Play ?
It’s already there unless I don’t understand your question correctly.