Yup, Seqtrak is in an awkward position regarding its marketed use case. Kinda too big and too fragile for a very portable device.
Iād add that for non portable use the lack of proper screen and multiple overlapping button assignments are meh.
I still rule for Yamaha to not stop on the first attempt. Much potential here.
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Why do we think a screen is needed? Iāve used the app only rarely to set up patches and even import midi before jamming unplugged, never used the app during playing. MIDI import is the killer feature on this I wish more devices had.
Build quality seems fine to me. I get why some think itās flimsy but Iām not like crushing or throwing bags I carry gear in, not too worried.
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I loved mine as a sound moduleā¦the FM was great.
Iām a visual person.
For some actions itās irrelevant, for others itās great. Searching for a specific patch? You can go through them and play a note , or I see it on a glance.
I can try to understand a pattern by warā¦ Or I see the piano roll.
I can learn by heart what parameters for what effect are affected,ā¦ Or I can look at it.
If by any means you donāt use it really regular itās easy to forget what does what. A screen helps greatly with that. The solution is to have a great UI for when they are proficient that can work for the most part without a screen, but to have a screen if somebody jumps from device to device or canāt use it multiple times a week.
And for transport:
Are you mostly going by car? Then itās probably fine.
But I had my bags squashed, pulled, dropped on public transport (buddy hours, full busses/trams/trains, I had my bag fall out of a car when a person who was not paying attention just opened the door, etc.
If Iām only driving with my own car, I would not worry, but life experience shows me that on the go I can never have full control over external factors.
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Yeah, I suppose if you like screens then a synthesizer with no screen is not a match. The visual feedback on this synth is minimal and certainly like most synths there is no piano roll. I personally bought it because I could see it had no screen and that is what I wanted - on this point it has delivered!
The memory point is definitely fair especially if you want to tweak on the fly. If already using multiple devices perhaps one could control midi ccās externally, such as with an elektron.
For live performance, MIDI import combined with the ability to progress sequences PER TRACK is absolutely bonkers chefs kiss for me and a killer live feature. I can use quite complex midi sequences made in a daw and rearrange them like Liveās session view on a tiny tiny thing with no unwanted screen and fantastic sounds especially the acoustic ones I donāt have anywhere else in my gear. The box seems quite well designed for this, set up at home and jam on the sequences live. LOVE! Also no real need to remember functions as it just uses the simpler knobs to the left that progress through patterns.
Having only ridden public transport in major cities all my life, I make sure to use a semi-rigid bag, such as a camera bag, to transport gear, which I also wrap in some padding, some spare bubble wrap or a scarf for example, within the semi-rigid bag. Because the seqtrak is small and affordable, I am less concerned for it than the other things I transport to shows and rehearsals in my backpack. To stay responsive to the uncontrollability of external factors, I make sure the backpack is either on my lap, worn on my chest, or with a strap wrapped around an arm or leg as I let it rest on the floor or neighboring seat; but these are general ingrained mannerisms of having grown up in Brooklyn.
Since the seqtrak is so small, for me this hardly applies, as I could simply put it into an interior coat pocket, and protect it from worldly chaos as well as I might generally protect my own torso.
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How did your journey develop? As the Seqtrak prices are extremely attractive atm, I was just wondering how sequencing the Seqtrak with the Tracks might be?
Thx!
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How is this as a sound module? Can you, for example, use it with the Oxi One and save recallable multi timbral setups?
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I loved it with my Oxi One. You can save the program with all your sounds and settings and have multiple saved ones for sure.
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BTW, if people donāt have auto-update on, they had to patch their mobile app because of a security vulnerability.
Just ordered a Seqtrak and am looking forward to when it arrives. What really put me over the fence is the free iPad app, which can serve as training wheels for using in stand-alone mode.
It really looks to be a full-featured portable groove box w/FM, rompler engine, P-locks, chording, & sampling. Class-compliant USB host. Not much competition at US$350 *. Maybe itās a challenge with no screen but that can be fun too. Iām all about that muscle memory.
Starting to get a nice travel kit going. This will fit well with my 1010 NanoBox Tangerine, Roland JX-08, RK-008, and Korg MicroKey Air. Or just take it by itself if I wanna go light.
- With tax. I got it at 10% discount, so 315. I had considered getting it used at 300+shipping but for 15 more w/free shipping I got it new w/warranty, etc.
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That USB host feature is MIDI only as far as I know. Unfortunately, the connectivity with other devices is one of the few weak points of the Seqtrak. Both in terms of MIDI clock tightness and fixed MIDI channels. Thatās why I almost use it standalone or at best with a simple MIDI keyboard.
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clearly it is a very good in a travel kit. The Seqtrak USB host feature is MIDI, but as you know, when the host is for example an iPad, the Seqtrak USB port functions also as an audio interface.
Its headphone out is of course not balanced. When powering the rig from a wall charger, consisting of USB hub, iPad and Seqtrak, the typical USB noise is there. Thatās why I power the rig with a power bank, not with mains power charger. It is the same with a computer as host. As soon you have an audio interface connected with USB and unbalanced outputs you have USB noise.
Therefore I keep the mobile setup with iPad, USB hub and power bank (a 199Wh V-Mount battery) also in the studio. A multitude of devices can be attached to the hub, although the MIDI connection has to be routed in the host. I mostly use the app AUM, where such routings are at a fingertip away. Recording into AUM is digital. All over USB.
Besides, the AWM2 engine is more than a Rompler. One can import samples and play them like in an ordinary sampler, but the presets that come with the Seqtrak are very good.
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Got it today. Using my Roland Boutique case (which I already had for my JX-08) Itās a bit snug in the corners, but well-padded on top & bottom
As far as the build, you can actually visibly twist and bend the case lol. But no surprises there. I take good care of my stuff
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The seqtrak has been an awesome addition to my circuits. I love using the seqtrak stand alone, but I also really love the simplicity of the circuitās sequencer. I use the circuit rhytm and have mapped the 8 channels to the seqtrak 8 channels. I can sync, start/stop the sequencer from the seqtrak with the circuit. It gives a few more synth channels to the Tracks. I then sample the Tracks back into the SeqTrak, This had been te missing link, to the circuits I have. I have not used them all 3 together, I prefer to keep focussed and use a Tracks or a Rhythm with the SeqTrak. Also the software for the seqtrak is really cool, I love editing patches and fine tune patterns with my phone/tablet. One last thing, one day I spilled coffee all over it, it was really easy to open up and clean it up 
Yes, I am really happy with it. Let me know if you have any other questions.
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Are the drums still split over several channels? Are they sample channels that can be played chromatically and looped? I assume they are mono not poly though?
here is a quick reference pdf I found on the internet.
Seqtrak Quick Reference.pdf (741.4 KB)
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Thanks too Krunchr
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MIDI Clock tightness?
What are you seeing, as a slave?
-ā
I see that - Like the MODX - if SeqTrack is listen to MIDI - it is measuring the clock first and than syncs on click and downbeat.
If I change the tempo from the prev Play and first beat is a bit off but than it catches up.
I see that with my Deluge where SeqTrak is a MoDX to go. From 30-200 it is quite good. All I need is a empty bar in the start.
What I do see mir often and that is for any device i record audio in my Deluge( as a sampler) are delays (5-10ms, depending on devices) that is due to Audio A/D and D/A conversion. Those if relevant in need to fix in the DAW.
unfortunately mine had bluetooth issues and back it went. It sounds great but with no functional bluetooth stability on my unit to work with ipad screen it was not meant to keep. I may sell my OP-1 and get an OP XY.