Moog Music Forum

I'm all about hands-on when it comes to music. Rarely use the computer but my MachineDrum and MonoMachine instead along with my bass, guitar, foogers and soon also Voyager. But I don't really get why the thing with analog sequencers. I don't question it, I just don't understand what it would do for me that I don't already have with my MonoMachine (six track sequencer synth + six track midi track) and a Kenton Pro Solo (midi-to-cv concerter). Please enlighten me!

MBlom wrote:But I don't really get why the thing with analog sequencers. Please enlighten me!

Just a different way to do the same thing. I have some MIDI step sequencers that emulate an analog step sequencer quite well, and they have their advantages.(Sequence memory) But there are a few ways to setup an analog sequencer that would be difficult with MIDI unless the programer designed it in. With the analog and CV method there is a flexibility of assigning anything to anything you can imagine within reason.

For instance with most analog sequencers it is possible to drive the sequence at audio rates. The sequencer then becomes a sort of rough waveform generator, with the sequence steps shaping the waveform. MIDI does not go that fast.

Another example, I patched a Moog 1130 percussion controller so that every strike on the drum, advanced the sequencer. That was a very interesting way to use the step sequencer and Moog drum trigger together. Then I had a set of Taurus pedals to transpose the sequence. This would be difficult to setup in MIDI unless the program was designed to do just that. With CV it was just a matter of patching the drum V-trigger to the step input on the sequencer. Sequencer CV to the VCO pitch and the drum also triggering the envelopes. The drum has a CV out that corresponds to the velocity of the strike, I had patched into the filter. Hours of fun, and a very cool way to integrate percussion and step sequencer.

Many other fun ways to patch such a sequencer. Every key press could advance the sequencer. And patch that sequence CV into the filter, or a second oscillator pitch that is synced to oscillator following the keyboard. Or have the keyboard transpose the sequence while the keyboard trigger is patched to switch rows. So a keypress would not only transpose, it would change the squence playing. I guess that is the biggest part, by comming up with your own new ways to patch the sequencer into your setup. Imagination required!

Heres a video of that...one of the very few on youtube demonstrating the 1130:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVsTQDl5W7w

I made one. But it's kind of crappy.
I used a CD4022BE chip. it just spits out the input voltage from a different lug with each trigger from the clock source. It works, but even if you have all the dials in the same spot, you get pretty different pitches.

You can sort of see it for a second, its the box nearest the camera in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0nehmFV8pY I'm not sure how everything is hooked up, but I'm pretty sure its sequencing the voyager and minitaur.

MBlom wrote:I'm all about hands-on when it comes to music. Rarely use the computer but my MachineDrum and MonoMachine instead along with my bass, guitar, foogers and soon also Voyager. But I don't really get why the thing with analog sequencers.

Just to add to what was mentioned above I would say a key difference is the separation of pitch and trigger/gate information. The Monomachine sequencer can do a similar thing but it is far less flexible in this regard.