Page 1
SEQUENTIX MUSIC SYSTEMS Ltd.
P3 SEQUENCER
OPERATION MANUAL
V3.1.006
© 2006
Page 2
Page 3
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 3
Introduction................................................................................................................................................ 6
Getting Started............................................................................................................................................ 8
Making Connections............................................................................................................................... 8
Instant Gratification.............................................................................................................................. 10
Play Mode.......................................................................................................................................... 10
First Pattern Edit................................................................................................................................ 11
Modes of Operation .............................................................................................................................. 15
Play mode ................................................................................................................................................. 16
Tracks.................................................................................................................................................... 16
Parts....................................................................................................................................................... 17
Part Select .......................................................................................................................................... 17
Parts Are Not Patterns!...................................................................................................................... 18
Part Chains ........................................................................................................................................ 19
Changing Mode .................................................................................................................................... 21
Pattern Edit........................................................................................................................................ 21
Playlist Edit........................................................................................................................................ 21
Play Mode Pages and Soft-keys............................................................................................................ 22
Selecting Pages .................................................................................................................................. 22
Page 1 - Bank / FTS / Tune................................................................................................................. 23
Page 2 - Part Settings ......................................................................................................................... 30
Page 3 - Part Functions...................................................................................................................... 33
Page 5 - MIDI Config......................................................................................................................... 35
Page 6 - Bank functions..................................................................................................................... 40
Page 7 : Sysex & User Config............................................................................................................. 42
Other Play Mode Features .................................................................................................................... 45
Play Mode Knob Use......................................................................................................................... 45
Fine Tempo Adjust............................................................................................................................ 45
Status LED Displays .......................................................................................................................... 46
GBar Pos and Playlist Hold ............................................................................................................... 46
Pattern Edit............................................................................................................................................... 47
What’s In A Pattern? ............................................................................................................................. 47
Editing Step Values............................................................................................................................... 48
UPPER MODE................................................................................................................................... 48
Viewing numeric row values ............................................................................................................ 51
STEP MODE...................................................................................................................................... 52
Assigning and Using Auxiliaries .......................................................................................................... 56
The Aux Config Page......................................................................................................................... 57
Editing Aux Values............................................................................................................................ 61
Summary of Aux Usage .................................................................................................................... 63
Pattern Edit Pages and Soft-keys.......................................................................................................... 64
Selecting Pages .................................................................................................................................. 64
Page 1: Timebase and Sync................................................................................................................ 66
Page 2: Direction and Last step ......................................................................................................... 68
Page 3: Clear, Copy & Paste .............................................................................................................. 70
Page 4: Rotate and Shuffle................................................................................................................. 73
Page 5: The Note Randomizer........................................................................................................... 75
Page 4
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 4
Page 6: The Upper Randomizer ........................................................................................................77
Page 7: Sculpt..................................................................................................................................... 79
Page 8: Config.................................................................................................................................... 81
Other Pattern Edit Functions................................................................................................................ 83
Quick Config...................................................................................................................................... 83
Quick Mute Access............................................................................................................................ 83
Leaving Pattern Edit ............................................................................................................................. 84
Save To............................................................................................................................................... 84
Playlist Edit ............................................................................................................................................... 86
Why Playlists? ....................................................................................................................................... 86
What’s Really In A Part? ....................................................................................................................... 87
What’s In A Playlist .............................................................................................................................. 88
The Default Playlists ............................................................................................................................. 89
Editing A Playlist .................................................................................................................................. 90
Changing To Playlist Edit.................................................................................................................. 91
Playlist Edit Controls......................................................................................................................... 92
Playlist Edit Display .......................................................................................................................... 92
Playlist Edit LEDs.............................................................................................................................. 93
Selecting A Different Pattern............................................................................................................. 94
A Longer Playlist................................................................................................................................... 95
Leaving Playlist Edit ............................................................................................................................. 97
Some More Editing............................................................................................................................... 98
Playlist Views ........................................................................................................................................ 98
Back To The Playlist… ........................................................................................................................ 102
Step Repeats..................................................................................................................................... 102
Step Transpose................................................................................................................................. 103
Step Sync.......................................................................................................................................... 105
Other Features Of Playlist Edit ........................................................................................................... 109
Short-cut Playlist Creation .............................................................................................................. 109
GBar Pos and Playlist Hold ............................................................................................................. 110
Quick Mute Access.......................................................................................................................... 110
Real-time Record..................................................................................................................................... 111
Differences Between Play Mode, Playlist Edit and Pattern Edit ....................................................... 111
Pattern Edit...................................................................................................................................... 111
Play Mode & Playlist Edit ............................................................................................................... 111
Record Page 1 –................................................................................................................................ 112
Record Page 2 –................................................................................................................................ 114
Record Page 3 –................................................................................................................................ 115
Use With Caution! ........................................................................................................................... 116
Leaving Record Mode......................................................................................................................... 116
Arpeggio Capture................................................................................................................................... 117
Leaving Arpeggio Capture ................................................................................................................. 119
Remote Control....................................................................................................................................... 120
User Interface Controls ....................................................................................................................... 120
Remote Part Transpose (PXPos) ......................................................................................................... 121
Using Auxiliary Events........................................................................................................................... 122
Randomizing Pattern Values .............................................................................................................. 122
Page 5
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 5
How Events Work ............................................................................................................................... 124
Inter Track Events............................................................................................................................... 127
A Quick Grab................................................................................................................................... 128
Auxes With Two Values.................................................................................................................. 128
Target Values For Grab, Swap and Push ........................................................................................ 131
Transpose By Events........................................................................................................................ 132
Aux Notes ........................................................................................................................................... 134
Chord Memory................................................................................................................................ 135
Polyphonic Real-time Record.......................................................................................................... 135
Accumulator Events............................................................................................................................ 136
What Is An Accumulator? ............................................................................................................... 136
Putting An Accumulator To Work .................................................................................................. 137
Relative Accumulation.................................................................................................................... 139
Accumulator Configuration............................................................................................................ 140
The Other Two................................................................................................................................. 144
Auxiliary Value Scaling................................................................................................................... 145
The Accumulator Events................................................................................................................. 146
Accumulator Mask Events.................................................................................................................. 147
Knob Mask Events .............................................................................................................................. 147
Knob Grab Events............................................................................................................................... 148
Set Step Value Events.......................................................................................................................... 149
Repeat Events...................................................................................................................................... 149
Redirect Aux Events............................................................................................................................ 150
Pattern Control.................................................................................................................................... 151
Global Control..................................................................................................................................... 151
Appendix A - Preset FTS Scale Definitions............................................................................................ 153
Appendix B – User Conf Options........................................................................................................... 155
Appendix C - Mem ory Organisation...................................................................................................... 157
Note on Playlist Edit for 3 Bank Configuration...................................................................................... 158
Appendix D - Miscellaneous Useful Info ............................................................................................... 159
P3Tools.................................................................................................................................................... 159
Memory Initialisation ............................................................................................................................. 159
SysEx Firmware Upgrade....................................................................................................................... 159
Index ....................................................................................................................................................... 161
Page 6
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 6
Introduction
It's fair to say that the word 'sequencer' has undergone a significant change in meaning since the first
devices to be called sequencers appeared, not long after the advent of the first synthesizers.
Most people nowadays think of a sequencer as a piece of computer software which provides multitrack recording and playback of MIDI data, in a manner vaguely similar to a multi-track tape recorder.
Many sequencer applications now include audio facilities, and even virtual effects processors and
software synthesizers.
However the first sequencers, known retrospectively as analogue sequencers, were altogether
different.
An analogue sequencer was a desktop unit or synthesizer module, typically dominated by a bank of
knobs or sliders, each of which could be used to adjust the tuning of one step in a sequence.
The sequencer circuitry would pass a voltage output from each knob or slider to a common CV output,
stepping through each one in turn under the control of a master clock.
With the CV output driving a synthesizer's oscillators, and the clock output driving its gate, a short,
repetitive pattern of notes could be created.
The maximum number of steps in a sequence was the number of knobs on the sequencer.
There was no storage of patterns, other than to leave the knobs in the same positions, and hope the
tuning didn't drift.
But ignoring these limitations, the analogue sequencer represented an entirely new kind of instrument
- one where the performer could dynamically interact with a pattern of notes without the burden of
actually playing them in real time.
The earliest devices, such as Raymond Scott's Circle Machine, were as likely to be used to create
abstract sonic effects as musical patterns. They brought forth a new range of rhythmic and melodic
ideas, and lead electronic musicians down interesting new paths.
The P3 Sequencer is a modern take on the analogue sequencer, but it takes the concept much further.
Page 7
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 7
P3 is a pattern-based, 8 track hardware MIDI sequencer. Its user interface and primary method of
pattern entry are based directly on the classic analogue sequencers.
But it adds full storage and recall of patterns, can simultaneously drive multiple MIDI synths or
samplers each playing different patterns, allows chaining of patterns to make longer musical phrases
than the basic 16 steps, and also features sophisticated pattern modulation options.
In addition, it allows real-time capture of note input from a MIDI keyboard, so you can use P3 like a
more typical hardware MIDI sequencer if you want.
P3 allows real-time control of track mutes and simple pattern and pattern chain selection across
multiple tracks, plus analogue style editing of patterns with separate note, velocity, tie, gate, length,
gate delay, and a combination of up to four MIDI controllers, extra notes, or programmatic functions,
per step.
The unique programmatic functions, called auxiliary events, allow the simple creation of patterns that
can dynamically grab values from the patterns on other tracks, randomize step values, alter pattern
and global settings, and more - including modulation accumulators that can be configured as LFOs,
perform arpeggiation effects or enable complex self-modifying patterns.
A non-destructive Force-to-Scale function provides preset and user-defined scales to keep everything
in key (but defeat-able per pattern step if required), and a special pattern sync option allows patterns
with different lengths and/or timebases to free-run, or be synced to a global bar.
Building on ideas from various vintage and modern analogue sequencers and drum machines, P3 has
been designed to provide a direct and intuitive method for creating pattern-based electronic music.
That's not to say it will automatically do it all for you - there is a learning curve involved. To get the
best from P3 you will need to familiarise yourself with the various modes of operation, pattern and
playlist values, track and configuration settings. So, read on...
Page 8
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 8
Getting Started
Making Connections
Before you can make any music with P3, it must be connected to a power supply and a MIDI
synthesizer, sound module or MIDI to CV convertor and analogue synthesizer.
The rear panel connections look like this:
From left to right, the sockets are:
• SYNC output, which carries both a clock-only MIDI signal and DIN Sync 24
• four parallel MIDI outputs (all carry the same signal – it’s a built-in thru-box)
• MIDI input
• Power supply input
The MIDI and SYNC connections are all standard 5-pin DIN sockets.
The power supply input is a 2.1mm barrel-type connector.
P3 needs a supply of 9 volts DC with centre positive polarity, or 9 volts AC.
Current rating must be at least 400mA.
With a power supply and suitab le MIDI instrument attached, you can power-on and start making
music…
Page 9
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 9
P3 Sequencer front panel control diagram
Page 10
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 10
Instant Gratification
Before looking at the operation of P3 in depth, let’s take a quick look at how to get a basic pattern
running and making some noise.
To save time explaining the configuration options, connect a MIDI device to P3 which will respond on
MIDI channel 1.
P3 ships with sample patterns in most memory locations, but bank 1 will be empty, and will be
selected at first power-on.
Track 1 will be assigned to MIDI channel 1.
Play Mode
P3 has three different modes of operation, each of which use the front panel controls in a different way.
The default mode at power-on is play mode.
Play mode allows the muting and un-muting of tracks, selection of parts, and access to various control
and configuration options.
These will all be described later.
On the Right Track
All we are concerned about right now is that track 1 is active.
In play mode, the first eight step keys, as shown below, are used primarily for muting and un-muting
tracks:
The LED above track 1 should be green, showing that the track is active.
If the LED is off, the track is muted – in which case, press TRACK key 1 and the LED will turn on.
The status of the other tracks doesn’t matter for now.
Page 11
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 11
First Pattern Edit
To create a pattern, you must switch to pattern edit for track 1 as follows:
• hold the PLAY/EDIT key in the centre of the keypad
• press and release TRACK key 1
You will now be in pattern edit, editing the pattern on track 1.
To confirm this, there will be an inverse-video “E” character in the top right of the alphanumeric
display. The display should look like this:
All of the step LEDs will be off.
On The RUN
P3 is designed so that you never need to stop playback for anything other than bulk memory dump
operations.
So let’s start P3 running before you enter any pattern data.
Press the RUN key, at the bottom left of the keypad:
Page 12
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 12
You should now see a blip of green running across the step LEDs, showing the current playback
position in the pattern.
You can adjust the tempo using the TEMPO knob at the bottom right of the panel if required, and see
the green blip change speed.
Setting Gates
In pattern edit, the 16 step keys are used to toggle status values in a pattern on or off.
There are several status values for each step in a pattern, but the most important is gate.
When you first enter pattern edit, the step keys are assigned to gate, as shown by the status LED just
above the STEP MODE button, labelled GATE:
Gate controls whether a note will be played on each step in the pattern or not.
With P3 running, start pressing some of the step keys, 1 to 16, to turn steps on and off.
An active gate status is shown by the LED above the step lighting up red, like this:
As the green blip passes each step with gate active, you should hear a note playing on the attached
instrument.
They’ll all be the same note so far, but it’s a start.
Page 13
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 13
Setting Note Values
Now let’s change som e of the note values.
This is done using the lower row of 16 knobs, which are labelled NOTE:
Simply turn the note knob s above each step to edit the note on that step.
The note value will jump to the current knob position as soon as you move the knob, and will be
shown on the top line of the display, like this:
When you stop moving the knob, the display will return to normal after a second or so.
Now that you can choose which steps will play notes by setting gates, and select different notes with
the knobs, let’s look at the upper row of knobs.
Setting Velocity Values
On entering pattern edit, the UPPER knobs are assigned to edit the MIDI velocity on each step.
As with the step keys, there are other values the upper knobs can be used to edit. These are selected
using the UPPER MODE button, with the chosen value shown by one of the four status LEDs below.
For now we’ll just look at velocity .
As you turn the upper knobs, the top line of the display will again show the new values you are
setting, like this:
Go through your pattern, and set a different velocity value on each step. You should hear this having
an effect on your attached instrument as the pattern plays.
Page 14
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 14
Saving The Pattern
By now you should have a basic pattern running, can edit note and velocity values, and control the
rhythm using the gates.
Once you’ve had fun with that for a while, let’s save the pattern, and get on with looking at the rest of
P3.
To exit pattern edit, press the PLAY/EDIT key once more.
Soft-keys
Since there are so many functions in P3, it would be impractical (read: very expensive) to provide a
dedicated key for each, so a system of soft-keys is used.
The soft-keys are labelled F1, F2 and F3, and are found on the top row of the keypad, just below the
display.
When you exit pattern edit, a special page appears that allows you to decide whether to keep your
edited pattern or not.
Three soft-key options appear on the bottom line of the display, like this:
This table shows the effect of these options:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the edited pattern, and return to play mode
F2 back I didn’t mean to press PLAY/EDIT, return to pattern edit
F3 lose Lose any changes to the edited pattern, and return to play mode
You’ll want to save your first masterpiece, so press F1 – “save”.
P3 will return to play mode, and continue playing your saved pattern.
Page 15
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 15
Modes of Operation
Now that you’ve had P3 play some notes, and hopefully satisfied the usual urge to get a new bit of
equipment doing something as soon as possible, let’s look in more depth at the full feature set.
P3 has three modes of operation.
These are:
• Play mode for control of track mutes, part selection, etc.
• Pattern edit for creation and editing of patterns
• Playlist edit for selection of patterns, or pattern chains
Play mode is the main operation mode of P3, so let’s look at it first.
Page 16
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 16
Play mode
In each P3 mode, the keys, knobs and LEDs on the P3 panel take on different functions and m eanings.
This diagram shows their functions for play mode:
Tracks
The first eight step keys are called the track keys in play mode.
They are mainly used for muting and un-muting each track.
There are eight tracks in P3, so there are eight track keys, labelled TRACK 1 to 8 on the panel.
If the track is active, the LED above the track key will be green .
If the track is muted, the LED will be off.
When P3 is running, only active tracks play notes.
Each track is able to play one pattern at a time, from a set of patterns unique to that track.
Normally there are 8 patterns for each track, a total of 64 patterns per bank.
There are six banks, for a total of 384 patterns.
*TIP While there are always 384 patterns in total, it is possible to re-configure the way the patterns are
distributed among the banks.
P3 supports an optional 3 bank configuration, where each track gets 16 patterns per bank, and a 12
bank configuration, where each track gets only 4 patterns per bank.
Changing memory configuration is not recommended until you have used P3 for long enough to know
that your requirements differ from the standard memory layout.
Refer to the appendix on Memory Organisation for details.
Page 17
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 17
Parts
The patterns that play on each track are controlled by parts.
Parts allow you to select different patterns simultaneously across all eight tracks.
Parts also recall the mute settings for the tracks, and some other settings such as Force-to-Scale and bar
length.
These more advanced options will be explained later, when we look at the soft-keys used to control
them .
Part Select
Parts are selected using the part keys – the rightmost eight step keys, which are labelled PART 1 to 8
on the panel.
The currently selected part is indicated by a red LED above the part number.
To select a new part, press one of the other part keys.
If P3 is running when you select a part, the newly selected part LED will flash amber until the current
bar completes.
For example, if you are on part 1, and select part 5, the LEDs will look like this:
The change of part is synchronised to the end of the bar, at which time the red LED for part 1 will turn
off, and the LED for part 5 will go red.
If P3 is not running, the part change will happen immediately.
Page 18
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 18
Parts Are Not Patterns!
It is important to note that parts are not the same thing as patterns.
Parts hold a pattern number, or a seq uence of pattern numbers to be played on each track.
These pattern selections are called playlists.
In an initialised bank, such as bank 1 in a newly supplied P3, each part will play only a single pattern
for each track – what we would refer to as a single-step playlist.
The pattern number selected will be the same as the part number.
So a table of the pattern selections across the tracks for each part would look like this:
Track
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Part
1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
4
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
5
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
6
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
7
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
8
8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Pattern numbers
This makes it seem very much like parts are just patterns – each part being made up of a pattern for
each track.
While you familiarise yourself with P3, it may be helpful to use parts in this way.
In fact, it is possible to edit the playlist for each track so that any of the patterns for a track can be used
in any part.
One pattern could be re-used for the same track in all eight parts if required.
You can also make a playlist up to eight steps in length, so that a series of different patterns can play
on a track.
This allows you to create pattern chains longer than the individual pattern length, with different
lengths of chain on each track.
The patterns can be repeated for up to 8 bars in each playlist step and can be transposed up or down,
allowing a single pattern to be used for a progression of different keys or roots.
We’ll look at these advanced options in the later section on playlist edit.
Page 19
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 19
Part Chains
Without getting into the complexities of playlist editing, there is a simpler way to chain the same
number of patterns together across all tracks - a part chain .
A part chain is a multiple selection of parts, where P3 plays each part in the chain in turn, then loops
back to the first part at the end.
This is similar to having a multi-step playlist on each track, but is considerably easier to set up and
understand, though not as flexible.
Selecting A Part Chain
To select a part chain:
• hold the PART key for the first part in the chain
• press the PART key for the last part
For example, to create a chain of parts 2 to 6:
When a part chain has been selected, all the part LEDs for the parts in the chain will flash amber,
except for the currently playing part, which will show red as normal.
Page 20
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 20
For the example above, the LEDs should look like this:
To clear a pattern chain, just select another single part with one key-press.
Page 21
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 21
Changing Mode
Pattern Edit
You have already seen how to access pattern edit from play mode in the getting started section, but to
re-cap:
• hold the PLAY/EDIT key in the keypad
• press the TRACK key for the track on which you want to edit the currently playing pattern
For example, to edit the current pattern on track 1:
Playlist Edit
Playlist edit is best left until you have a good understanding of play mode and pattern edit, but we’ll
need to access it sometime.
To enter playlist edit:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the TRACK key for the track on which you want to edit the playlist
For example, to edit the playlist on track 1:
The use of pattern edit and playlist edit will be described in detail in later chapters.
Page 22
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 22
Play Mode Pages and Soft-keys
Play mode has a number of different display pages.
Each page shows some different values or text labels on the display and has its own set of soft-key
assignments for F1, F2 and F3.
Some of the pages show information about the current bank or part status, with soft-keys for editing
these settings.
Others have soft-keys to access configuration options.
There are six pages in total.
Pages 1, 2 and 3 are for commonly used bank selection and part functions.
Pages 5, 6 and 7 are for less commonly used configuration options.
Page 4 is reserved for future expansion, that’s why there’s a gap.
Selecting Pages
To select a play mode page:
• hold the PAGE key, at the right hand side of the keypad
• press the step key for the required page number
For example, to select page 5, (for MIDI config options):
The display will change to show you the page 5 options, and the soft-keys F1, F2 and F3 take on their
new functions.
*TIP You can step through each group of three pages by pressing and releasing the PAGE key by itself,
or use FUNC+PAGE to switch to first page in the other group – handy if your other hand is busy.
Page 23
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 23
Let’s look at each play mode page, and see what they all do.
The following table summarises all six pages.
Note the inverse-video “P” in the top right of the display, showing you are in play mode.
page 1 - Bank/FTS/Tune
page 5 - MIDI Config
page 2 – Part Settings
page 6 – Bank Functions
page 3 – Part Functions
page 7 – Sysex/User Config
Page 1 - Bank / FTS / Tune
Page 1 is the default page when P3 is turned on, or when it returns from another mode. The display
will look like this:
Key Label Function
F1 bank Bank Select
F2 FTS Edit FTS settings
F3 tune Send reference notes on all active tracks
Page 24
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 24
F1 - Bank Select
On page 1 the F1 soft-key is labelled “bank”.
The numbers on the top line above “bank”, in the example above “1/ 6”, show the currently selected
bank, and the total number of banks available.
Each bank holds a separate set of patterns and parts, as well as some configuration settings.
To select another bank:
• hold the “bank” soft-key, F1.
All of the step LEDs will go out, except the one above the current bank number, which will be red
• press the step key for the new bank number you want to select
For example, if we want to switch from bank 1 to bank 2:
P3 will switch to the new bank immediately if stopped, or at the end of the next bar while running.
Page 25
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 25
F2 - Force To Scale
The F2 soft-key on page 1 is labelled “FTS”, for Force-To-Scale.
FTS can 'quantize' all transmitted notes in to a chosen scale (or key signature).
FTS has a number of uses:
• When improvising live edits, and you don't want to hit a bum note
• Changing the FTS root or scale while playing for instant key changes
• Editing the notes in the FTS scale in real-time as a performance tool
What FTS Does
To explain the effect of FTS, let’s say you have a pattern with 12 notes in a rising chromatic scale:
Step: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Note: C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
With FTS set to a root note of C and the Major scale, the notes in the pattern above which are not in the
key of C Major will be moved to the nearest notes which are.
The actual notes played would therefore be:
Step: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Note: C C D D E F F G G A A B
Note that the pattern itself is not changed – the notes are corrected dynamically as the pattern plays.
*TIP Individual steps in patterns can be set to ignore FTS and also playlist transposition. This option
will be described in the Pattern Edit section later.
Page 26
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 26
Configuring FTS
To configure the FTS settings press the “FTS” soft-key.
This will enter the FTS config page, which looks something like this:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the new FTS settings and return to play mode
F2 apply Temporarily apply the new settin gs, but remain on this page
F3 lose Restore the previous settings and return to play mode
The top line of the display shows the current FTS root note and scale.
The step LEDs will also show the current root note - the LED above the step key for the root note will
be amber.
Selecting the FTS Root Note
The step key numbers correspond to the root notes as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
To change the root note, press the step key for the new root.
Applying FTS Changes
Changes to the FTS root or scale selection do not take effect immediately - you must first press the
“apply” soft-key, F2.
To indicate that a new selection is pending an asterisk, “*”, will appear in front of “apply” in the
display.
Note that “apply” does not save the settings – it just activates your new selection.
Page 27
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 27
Sharps or Flats
You may find that the note name for the root note is not what you would like.
For example, you think of the key as E flat rather than D sharp.
You can switch the note display format as follows:
• hold the FUNC key on the keypad
• press the step key for the FTS root note
This will toggle the display of ‘black’ note names between sharps and flats.
This setting is stored for each part, and also determines how note names will be shown in pattern edit.
Selecting the FTS Scale
To change the FTS scale, use the DATA knob to scroll through the available options.
There are 23 preset and 9 user defined scales.
Again, the change will not take effect until “apply” is pressed.
See Appendix A for a list of the preset scale definitions.
Exit FTS Config
To exit the FTS configuration page:
• press “save”, F1, to store the new FTS settings, and return to play mode
OR
• press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous settings, and return to play mode
The FTS settings are stored for each part.
They are recalled whenever a part becomes active.
Page 28
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 28
FUNC + F2 - FTS Scale Editor
There is a second function for the “FTS” soft-key on play page 1.
It is also used to access the FTS Scale Edit page:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the “FTS” soft-key, F2
The FTS Scale Edit page looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 save Save the modified scale and return to play mode
F2 exit Return to play mode, with the modified scale active, but not saved
F3 lose Restore the previous scale
In FTS Scale Edit, the step LEDs will show the notes in the scale.
For example, the Major scale will look like this:
The root note, on step 1, is red because it cannot be turned off.
The other step LEDs from 2 to 12 will be amber to indicate if that note is enabled in the scale.
Each note can be turned on or off using the step keys.
The actual notes on each step key vary depending on the FTS root note selected – step key 1 is always
the root.
Page 29
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 29
For a root of C, the notes will match those for root note selection:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B
As you toggle each note on or off, the note name will appear in the top left of the display.
This makes it easy to see which notes are in the scale, regardless of a change in root note.
FTS Scale Edits
Changes to the FTS scale apply immediately.
As patterns play, any note that is not in the FTS scale is moved to the nearest note that is.
*TIP FTS looks for the nearest note in alternating directions.
If a note is not in the scale, P3 will test if the note one semitone below is.
If that note is not, it will test the note one semitone above.
It will continue in this way, two below, two above, three below, etc, until it finds a note in the FTS
scale.
There are three ways to leave the FTS Scale Edit page, via the soft-keys:
• press “save”, F1, to store the scale definition and return to play mode – note that preset scales
do not save permanently
• press “exit”, F2, to leave the modified scale active, without saving the changes permanently,
and return to play mode
• press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous scale definition and return to play mode
Remember all scales can be edited, but changes to the preset scales will be lost when a new scale is
selected.
For the 9 user defined scales, “save” stores the changes permanently.
F3 - Tune
The tune soft-key can be used to send a middle C note-on message on all currently active tracks.
This is useful for testing your MIDI connections, or for tuning unstable analogue synths in variable
temperature environments.
Press the soft-key again to send note-offs, if you ever get that minimoog tuned.
Page 30
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 30
Page 2 - Part Settings
The second play mode page is the part settings page, which will look like this:
Key Label Function
F1 GBar Edit Global Bar Length
F2 PCRep Edit Part Chain Repeat count
F3 PXPos Edit Part Transpose
The settings for Global Bar Length , Part Chain Repeats, and Part Transpose are automatically stored
for each part, along with the track mutes, just before a new part is selected.
*TIP Holding FUNC while selecting a new part will switch to the new part without saving recently
changed settings in the current part.
To edit each of the part values, press the soft-key below it.
This will enter a data entry page, where a new value can be selected using the DATA knob.
The value edit page for all three values is similar, and will look something like this:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the new value and return to play mode
F2 (no function)
F3 lose Restore the previous value and return to play mode
Page 31
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 31
If you select page 2 while a part chain is active, the part values may change as P3 steps through each
part in the chain, reflecting the different settings for each part.
Note that as soon as you choose to edit one of the part settings, the part chain will freeze on the current
part until you leave the data entry page.
F1 - Global Bar (GBar)
The global bar setting is the length of one bar of the current part in 16th note steps.
Since the pattern lengths on each track may be different, this value is used by P3 to control when part
changes take place.
A useful feature of P3 is that you can automatically re-synchronise any pattern (usually those with
unusual lengths) with the start of the global bar if required.
This feature will be fully explained in the later section on playlist edit.
F2 - Part Chain Repeats (PCRep)
The part chain repeats count only takes effect when a part chain is active.
Each part in a chain will repeat the number of times set in its PCRep value, before moving on to the
next part in the chain.
The total number of steps a part will play for in a chain is therefore the global bar length multiplied by
the part chain repeat count.
F3 - Part Transpose (PXPos)
Part transpose is a global transpose of all tracks in a part.
The value is shown in semitones, and is applied to all notes on all tracks except steps where transpose
defeat is enabled.
*TIP The PXPos value can be positive or negative.
To make it simpler to find the zero position on the DATA knob, zero is located at the fully anticlockwise end of rotation, with the value rising to the m aximum positive value at the mid-point of the
knob.
The furthest negative value is found just after the mid-point, with negative values continuing up to
minus 1 at the fully clockwise position. This may take a little getting used to, but it’s simpler than
hunting for a commonly used value (zero) at the mid-point of a knob.
Page 32
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 32
Pre-/Post-FTS Transpose
To complicate matters a little, there are two ways part transpose can be applied. These are pre- and
post-FTS (Force to scale).
To toggle the pre-/post-FTS setting:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the “PXPos ” soft-key, F3
A letter “F” will appear in the display after the value of PXPos to indicate that pre-FTS transpose is
enabled. If there is no “F”, transposition is post-FTS .
There are two reasons why you may want to transpose a part.
It may be because you are moving patterns to a different chord root in the same key, or because you
are transposing to a different key.
For example, say you have a pattern that is playing a C major arpeggio.
You want to transpose that pattern, and all the other patterns in your part, to E major. Your FTS
setting is currently C Major.
If you use part transpose to shift the part up by 4 semitones, and you have pre-FTS transpose enabled,
then your major arpeggio will become minor.
This is because the E, shifted up by 4 semitones, becomes G#.
G#, the major third in an E major arpeggio is not in the C Major scale, so the transposed note will be
FTS’d to G – a minor third.
If the part transpose were set to post-FTS, then the arpeggio remains major. This is because E is in C
Major, and the FTS happens before the transposition.
By setting part transpose to post-FTS, in effect you are also transposing the FTS root note as well.
Don’t worry too much if this seems complicated.
In practice, you can just try both options, and go with whichever one sounds best.
Page 33
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 33
Page 3 - Part Functions
This page has three functions for use with parts.
The display looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 mute hold Copy the current track mutes to a new part
F2 part-copy all Copy all part data to a new part
F3
part-copy
active
Copy common part settings, and active track playlists to a new part
F1 - Mute Hold
As mentioned previously, each part stores the mute settings for each of P3’s eight tracks.
When a new part is selected, the mute status at the time that part was last active is recalled.
The “mute hold” function allows you to over-ride this behaviour.
If you select a new part while holding this key, the current track mute status will be carried over to the
newly selected part.
F2 – Part-Copy All
F3 – Part-Copy Active
The part-copy functions allow you to copy all settings from the current part to another part.
This includes the FTS settings, the values of GBar , PCRep, PXPos and the playlists,
There is an important difference between the two options:
• “all” copies the playlists for all eight tracks
• “active” only copies the playlists for active tracks
Page 34
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 34
It’s important to remember that the playlists in each part just say which patterns should play on each
track – they don’t hold the patterns themselves.
So when you copy a part, the destination part will play the same patterns as the source part – the
patterns are not copied.
If you edit the patterns in a copied part, the altered patterns will play in any other part which uses
them.
For this reason, the “part-copy”, “active” function may be more commonly used, as this allows you to
create a new part with some tracks playing the same patterns as before, but other tracks playing new
patterns over the backing of the copied tracks.
To copy a part:
• hold the part-copy soft-key for “all” or “active”
• press the PART key for the destination part
Don't try to select a part chain while copying - it won't work.
As the newly copied part is selected, current part settings will also be saved in the part being copied.
*TIP Holding FUNC while performing a mute hold or part copy will copy the current settings to the
new part without saving recently changed settings in the source part.
Page 35
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 35
Page 5 - MIDI Config
Page 5 provides access to P3s MIDI configuration, and has the following options:
Key Label Function
F1 mclk Toggle transmission of MIDI clock on the main outputs
F2
Thru
Conf
Configure soft-thru and record channel settings
F3
MIDI
chan
Configure the MIDI channels for tracks
F1 - MIDI Clock
The first option, “mclk”, toggles the sending of MIDI clock at P3's main MIDI outputs.
If you don’t have any slaved devices attached to the main outputs, it’s better to turn it off and save
bandwidth.
Note that the SYNC output is not affected by this setting.
The third option here, “MIDI chan”, is the most important, so we’ll look at it now and come back to
“Thru Conf” later.
Page 36
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 36
Setting the MIDI Channel for P3 Tracks
The “MIDI chan” soft-key is used to enter the MIDI channel select page, where you can configure the
MIDI output channel for each of P3’s tracks.
To enter the MIDI channel select page for a track:
• hold the “MIDI chan” key, F3
• press the TRACK key , 1 to 8, for the track to configure
All of the step LEDs will go out, except for one in red, and the display will look something like this:
Only soft-key F3 is active in this page, to “cancel” the channel selection page.
“(trk= n )” on the bottom left of the display confirms the num ber of the track you are changing.
The LED above the step number of the current MIDI channel for the track will be red.
To change the MIDI channel, press the step key for the desired channel number, 1 to 16.
Or, press “cancel”, F3, to leave the MIDI channel selection page without changing the channel.
For example, let’s say track 1 is assigned to MIDI channel 5, and you want to change it to channel 10.
First, enter the MIDI channel select page like this:
This will bring up the MIDI channel select page for track 1.
Page 37
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 37
In the MIDI channel select page, step LED 5 will be red, showing track 1 is currently on MIDI channel
5:
Press step key 10, and track 1 will be assigned to MIDI channel 10. The step 10 LED will light red
briefly. Then P3 will exit the channel select page, and the step LEDs will return to the current track
and part status.
MIDI Channel Scope
MIDI channel selections for each track are global by default, meaning that they are the same for all
banks.
However, you can enable different channel settings for each bank, using the “Mchans per bank” user
config option.
User config options are described in the section on play mode page 7.
Special Channels
As well as the MIDI channel settings for each track, there are two other special purpose MIDI channels
used by P3.
One is used for sending an optional program change message when a new bank is selected
Another channel may be used for sending and receiving special P3 remote control messages.
To configure the bank program change channel, use the “MIDI Chan” soft-key with step key 9. The
bottom left of the display will show “(pgm)” while you make this selection.
To configure the remote control channel, use the “MIDI Chan” soft-key with step key 10. The bottom
left of the display will show “(rem)” while you make this selection.
Page 38
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 38
F2 - MIDI Thru and Record Config
Pressing “Thru Conf”, F2, brings up the MIDI Soft-Thru and Record channel configuration page.
Here you can configure whether M IDI messages arriving at P3's MIDI input are passed through to the
MIDI output, and re-route them to a single channel if required.
You can also configure the MIDI channel for real-time recording input from a keyboard or other MIDI
controller.
The “Thru Conf” page will look something like this:
Key Label Function
F1 thru Configure soft-thru channelisation
F2 recrd Configure the real-time record channel
F3 exit Return to play mode
F1 - Soft-Thru Channelisation
The first option, “thru”, is the soft-thru channelisation setting.
This can be “any”, “off”, or a MIDI channel number from 1 to 16.
To select “any” or “off”:
• press and release the “thru” soft-key, F1, by itself.
Repeated presses toggle between these two values.
To select a specific MIDI channel number:
• hold the “thru” soft-key, F1
• press the step key for the MIDI channel to be used
Turning this option “off” means no incoming MIDI messages will be passed.
A setting of “any” means P3 will echo any incoming MIDI messages straight to the MIDI outputs.
Page 39
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 39
Setting a specific MIDI channel number will cause all notes received at the MIDI input to be retransmitted on the specified channel.
F2 - Real-Time Record Channel
The second option on this page, “recrd”, is the MIDI channel to be used for real-time record and
arpeggio capture modes, which are described in later chapters.
This setting can be “any”, “trk”, or a MIDI channel number from 1 to 16.
These values are selected using the soft-key in the same way as for the soft-thru options – toggle
between “any” and “trk” with single presses, or hold the soft-key and press a step key for a specific
MIDI channel.
Setting “recrd” to “any” means all incoming notes will be recorded while record is active, from any
MIDI channel.
Setting a specific channel from 1 to 16 means that only notes arriving on that channel will be recorded.
All other channels will pass through according to the soft-thru setting.
A setting of “trk ” means the record input channel will automatically switch to the output MIDI
channel of the track being recorded upon.
Note that the record channel setting only relates to the MIDI channel on which notes will be received
during record.
If the record “mthru” option (described in the later chapter on real-time record) is active, the recorded
notes will be echoed on the MIDI channel assigned to the track being recorded upon.
Soft-Thru and Record FTS
For soft-thru and MIDI record input, the current Force To Scale settings can also be applied.
Hold the FUNC key while pressing the “thru” or “recrd” soft-keys to toggle the FTS settings.
If FTS is active for either option, the setting is shown prefixed with “F-“.
FTS on soft-thru notes will force any notes passed into the current scale.
Record FTS is slightly different, and will be explained in the chapter on Real-time record.
Exit “Thru Conf”
Once you have configured the thru and record channels, press “exit”, F3, to return to play mode.
Page 40
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 40
Page 6 - Bank functions
This page provides bank specific options:
Key Label Function
F1 Bank Init Wipe all data in this bank
F2 BPgm Configure a bank program change number
F3 BTempo Configure a bank initial tempo
F1 - Bank Initialise
The “Bank Init” function is used to completely wipe all the patterns and parts in the currently selected
bank. To ensure it is not used by accident, after pressing the soft-key, the following display will be
shown:
IMPORTANT: In order to confirm that the bank should be initialised, you need to press both keys F1
and F2 together at the same time.
There is no way to get your bank data back unless you made a sysex backup, so USE WITH
CAUTION.
Partial Bank Init
There is also a partial bank init function which will only erase patterns and playlists for active tracks.
Page 41
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 41
If a track is muted when you select partial bank init, its pattern data will be left intact, although all
common part data will still be affected, so FTS settings may disappear and make it seem like some
patterns have changed.
To perform a partial bank init:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the “Bank Init” soft-key, F1.
The confirmation display will read:
Partial bank init must be confirmed in the same way as a full Bank Init, with F1 and F2.
F2 - Bank Program Change
The “BPgm” option allows you to set a program number to be sent in a MIDI program change message
when a bank is selected.
The message is sent on the “pgm” channel described in the previous section on assigning MIDI
channels.
This option is designed for use with multi-timbral synth modules where you are triggering different
sounds with a number of tracks on the P3, each on their own MIDI channel, but you need to recall
multi-timbral setup patches on the module using a separate global MIDI channel.
Pressing the “BPgm” soft-key, F2, enters this page:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the new setting and return to play mode
F2 off Disable this setting
F3 lose Restore the previous setting and return to play mode
Page 42
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 42
In this page, use the DATA knob to select the required program number, or press the “off” soft-key,
F2, to de-activate the setting for the current bank.
The “save” and “lose” options store the new value, or recall the original value as usual, and return to
the Bank function page.
F3 - Bank Initial Tempo
The “BTempo” option allows you to set a value for tempo that will be recalled when a bank is selected,
or the sequencer re-started.
Changing the BTempo value is a similar process as for initial program change number.
*TIP Bank tempo will normally be over-ridden if the TEMPO knob is adjusted. There is a user config
option, “Lock BTempo”, which disables the TEMPO knob when a BTempo value is set.
Page 7 : Sysex & User Config
The final play mode page provides System Exclusive dumping and uploading of P3's memory, as well
as access to configuration options that customise P3's behaviour to the user’s preference.
The page display looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 send Dump all data via System Exclusive
F2 recv Enter System Exclusive receive mode
F3
User
Conf
Enter User Configuration option menu
Page 43
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 43
F1 - System Exclusive - Send
The “send” soft-key, F1, initiates a complete dump of all the bank and FTS settings, parts and patterns
via MIDI System Exclusive.
Status messages are shown while the dump takes place, and transmission can be aborted before
completion using the F3 key.
F2 - System Exclusive – Receive
The “recv” soft-key, F2, puts P3 into receive mode, which can be used for two different purposes.
In receive mode, any sysex message blocks containing configuration, part or pattern data will be
received and stored in main memory after checksum validation.
As blocks can be received in any order, P3 does not know when a complete dump has been received.
Status messages indicate reception of each data block.
Any errors detected in a dump will cause an “X” to appear in the bottom line of the display.
The last data block in a complete dump will be “pattern 170F”.
To exit receive mode, you must press “exit”, F3.
P3 Tools
Receive mode can also be used to receive “Dump Request” messages, which originate from a computer
based library utility.
In response to these messages, P3 can send any individual pattern, part or configuration block.
Receive mode is used with the Windows utility “P3 Tools” – an excellent librarian and data
management utility written by a P3 owner.
For details of the system exclusive data format, see the separate Sysex manual.
Page 44
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 44
F3 - User Config Options
The “User Conf” soft-key, F3, enters the User Configuration Options menu.
These settings are on/off options that alter the normal behaviour of P3 . The options menu looks like
this:
Key Label Function
F1 on/off Toggles the current setting on or off
F2 next Step through the config option list
F3 exit Return to play mode
You can step though a number of options, with the option description shown on the top line of the
display.
The soft-keys in this menu have the following functions:
• F1 toggles the status of the current config option
• “next”, F2, advances to the next option in the list
• “exit”, F3, will exit and return to play mode
Note that changing an option setting takes effect immediately.
See Appendix B for a list and description of the User Conf options.
Page 45
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 45
Other Play Mode Features
There are a few remaining features of play mode to describe before we move on to pattern edit.
Play Mode Knob Use
Normally in play mode, the NOTE and UPPER rows of knobs have no function.
However, it is possible to assign knobs in play mode from within a pattern so that a knob can control
some aspect of the pattern itself.
This advanced feature will be covered in the later section on Auxiliary Events.
Another possible use of the knobs in play mode is linked with the User Con f option, “Enable mixer”.
With this option on, P3 will send MIDI volume and pan controller messages from the knobs above the
part keys.
The NOTE knobs will send volume, the UPPER knobs pan.
The messages are sent on the MIDI channels assigned to the same track number as the part number
below each pair of knobs – this is to keep the knobs above each track free for use in pattern control.
Fine Tempo Adjust
The P3 TEMPO knob adjusts the tempo over a range of 39 to 253 bpm.
The normal step in tempo as the knob is moved is 1 bpm over the middle part of the range, increasing
to 2 or 4 bpm at the extremes.
However, the tempo can be adjusted in steps of 0.1 bpm over the full range, using the Fine Tempo
adjust control as follows:
• hold the FUNC key
• adjust the DATA knob
The display will confirm the exact tempo selected as the knob is adjusted.
Page 46
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 46
Status LED Displays
In play mode, the otherwise unused UPPER MODE and STEP MODE status LEDs can be set to
display useful information about what is going, or just to look nice.
To cycle through the display modes, press the STEP MODE button.
The available modes are:
• VU meter – transmitted velocities are shown on each group of LEDs, one set for the odd, and
one for the even numbered tracks, in classic VU meter style
• Beat – pairs of lit LEDs indicate the current beat position
• GBar position – a countdown to the end of the current global bar is shown as a collapsing
pattern (really just the number in binary!)
• Track gates – each of the eight status LEDs shows the gate status for a track, with track 1 at the
top
GBar Pos and Playlist Hold
Holding the UPPER MODE button while in play mode gives you access to the playlist hold flags for
each track, and also shows the number of steps left until the next GBar end.
These flags allow you to suspend the progress of the playlist on any track.
While UPPER MODE is held, the track LEDs will normally indicate green for each track.
By pressing a TRACK key , the advance of the playlist on that track is suspended, and the LED shows
red.
Another press of the TRACK key will return the track to normal.
Page 47
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 47
Pattern Edit
You should have had a taste of pattern edit already from the getting started section, but let’s take the
full tour now.
The most important controls in pattern edit are the 16 step keys, the 16 NOTE knobs, the 16 UPPER
knobs, and the STEP MODE and UPPER MODE buttons and status LEDs, shown here:
What’s In A Pattern?
Each step in a P3 pattern has a number of different values, such as the gate, note and velocity values
you used in the getting started section.
The set of 16 of each value in a pattern is called a row .
Some of the rows are numeric – each step has a range of up to 128 different values, for example the
note and velocity rows.
Other rows are status rows – each step can only be on or off.
For example, the gate row is a status row.
There are a number of other non-step values for each pattern, such as the direction, timebase and last
step, but these are edited using soft-key controls, which we’ll come back to later.
Page 48
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 48
Editing Step Values
Since there are only three rows of controls on P3’s front panel, clearly some of the controls have to be
shared between the pattern rows.
The note row is the most important, so it gets a dedicated set of controls. The NOTE knobs always
edit the note row in a pattern.
The other pattern rows are selected for editing using the STEP MODE and UPPER MODE buttons.
UPPER MODE
You have already used the UPPER knobs for editing velocity in the getting started section.
These knobs can also be assigned to any of the other numeric rows in a P3 pattern.
The UPPER knobs are assigned using the UPPER MODE button.
Below this button are four status LEDs, which show the current row being edited.
Each press of the UPPER MODE button advances to the next row, as shown in this diagram:
The following table shows the name and purpose of each of the rows edited using the UPPER knobs:
Row Purpose
VELO MIDI velocity value, from 1 to 127
LENG Gate length, from 1 to 12
DELAY Gate delay, from 0 to 11
AUX A
AUX B
AUX C
AUX D
The four Auxiliary rows –take numeric values for a variety of different purposes
Page 49
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 49
Velocity
Velocity is the default assignment of the UPPER knobs in pattern edit .
The status LED for velocity is labelled VELO
The range of values is from 1 to 127.
The value sets the velocity of any MIDI note message sent from a step.
Gate Length
Gate length is used to control the “on time” of the MIDI note within each step.
The status LED for length is labelled LENG
The range is from 1 to 12.
If you think of each step as lasting for 12 ticks (where a tick is 1/48th of a quarter note), the gate length
determines how many of those ticks the MIDI note is held on for.
A setting of 1 produces a very short note.
A setting of 12 means there will be no gap at all between the note on one step and a note on the
following step.
Since gate length is a proportion of the step time, it varies according to the pattern timebase and
tempo.
*TIP Gate length doesn ’t make much difference on a synth sound that has a significant release time.
Try out different gate lengths using a sound with very short attack and release times and a high sustain
level.
You’ll soon hear the effect it has.
Gate Delay
Gate delay allows you to delay the start of a note, so that it occurs sometime after the beat.
The status LED for delay is labelled DELAY
The range is from 0 to 11.
As with length, think of each step as being 12 ticks long.
Normally the note starts on the very first of the 12 ticks.
If you set a non-zero value for delay, then the note will not start until later in the step.
Page 50
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 50
Display of Changed Values
As you edit each of the velocity , length or delay values, you may want to know exactly what value
you are entering.
New values are always shown in the display, along with the step number being edited, like this:
Auxiliary Rows
You will have seen from the earlier table that each P3 pattern has four auxiliary rows.
However, there is only one UPPER MODE status LED labelled AUX.
The explanation for this is that each of the four numeric auxiliary rows has a matching status row .
Selection of the auxiliary row to edit is made by setting UPPER MODE to AUX, then using the STEP
MODE button to select from the four available auxes, A, B, C or D.
So we’ll come back to the auxiliary rows once we’ve had a look at the status rows, and STEP MODE
selection.
Before that, let’s see how you can review the values you have entered for your numeric rows…
Page 51
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 51
Viewing numeric row values
Since the knobs will not always reflect the stored values in a pattern, and you probably couldn’t gauge
their position with absolute accuracy if they did, you can view the numeric values for each pattern
step as follows:
• hold down the FUNC key
• press the step key for the step you want to inspect
For example, if you want to see what the numeric values on step 9 are:
When you press the step key, the display will briefly show all the numeric values on that step, like this:
Page 52
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 52
STEP MODE
You have already used the step keys for editing the gate status in the getting started section.
The step keys can also be assigned to any of the other status rows in a P3 pattern.
The step keys are assigned using the STEP MODE button.
Above this button are four status LEDs, which show the current row being edited.
Each press of the STEP MODE button advances to the next row, like this:
Since the status rows have on / off values, their current setting can be shown on the LEDs above each
step key.
The default assignment for the step keys when you enter pattern edit is the gate row.
STEP LED Colours
P3’s step LEDs are tri-colour types.
Inside each LED there is a red and a green element.
Either can be turned on independently, or both can be on at the same time.
Since gate is the most important status row:
• gate status is always shown in red on the step LEDs.
• All other status values are shown in green on the step LEDs
Whatever status row you select to edit, you can always see what the gate status on each step is.
Since gate is shown in red, and other status values may be shown in green, it seems there is a problem
if both gate and another status value are active on the same step.
Page 53
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 53
In practice, you just need to remember:
• green and red together gives amber
For example, say you have the STEP MODE set to TIE.
The LED colours on each step will show the different possible combinations of gate and tie like this:
To get a feel for how this works, you might like to set every other gate on in a pattern.
Then press STEP MODE to advance to the tie row.
Toggle the tie setting off and on for various steps, and you’ll see the three different colours for each
combination of tie and gate.
Once you understand how the values will be displayed, let’s look at the rest of the status rows.
The full complement of status rows and the purpose of each are shown in the following table:
Row Purpose
GATE Controls whether a note is sent on a step
TIE
Either makes the note on a step over -lap a different note on the next step, or stretches
the same note over multiple steps
SKIP Indicates this step should be skipped over during playback
Xd Disables the effect of any transpose setting on a step
AUX A
AUX B
AUX C
AUX C
The four Auxiliary status rows enable or disable the matching Auxiliary row on each
step
Page 54
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 54
GATE
You should really know what this does by now…
Notes are only sent on steps with gate turned on.
TIE
As the name suggests, tie joins one step to the next.
Tie should be set on the first step of two steps to be tied.
If the same note value is set on tied steps, only a single note is played.
The note will last from the start of the first step, until the end of the second step set by its length value.
If tie is used on a step where the next step has a different note value, then the first note will over -lap
the second note – that is, the first note will not be released until just after the second note starts.
Note that you can tie as many contiguous steps together as you like.
Same notes will stretch, and different notes will over-lap.
*TIP If you are using a monophonic synth with an auto- or legato- slide feature, you can use the TIE
setting to trigger TB303-style slides.
Page 55
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 55
SKIP
The skip row allows you to selectively remove steps from the pattern.
The step values are not lost; the step is simply skipped over during playback.
This can change the rhythmic feel of a pattern, or allow you to make a simple pattern evolve into a
more complex one over time as a performance technique.
*TIP Skipping some steps will change the apparent length of the pattern. To alter the rhythmic feel
without altering the underlying length of a pattern, use skip with the global bar sync feature – see the
playlist edit section for details of this.
Xd
Xd is short for Transpose Defeat.
There are a number of ways your pattern might end up being transposed.
In some cases, you may want to transpose some steps of a pattern, but leaves others on fixed notes.
The Xd row allows you to do this.
AUX Status Rows
For each of the numeric Auxiliary rows, there is a matching Auxiliary status row that enables or
disables the auxiliary on each step.
Page 56
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 56
Assigning and Using Auxiliaries
Each of the four auxiliaries (auxes for short) can be freely assigned in each pattern to send MIDI
continuous controller s, after -touch, pitch-bend or program change messages.
Or they can be assigned to one of P3s “Auxiliary Events”.
As we saw earlier, to assign the UPPER knobs to edit an auxiliary row, press the UPPER MODE
button until the AUX LED is lit:
The letters for each of the auxes, A, B, C and D are labelled on the left side of the STEP MODE LEDs,
linked to the AUX upper mode status LED as shown:
With UPPER MODE set to AUX, the UPPER knobs edit the numeric values for the selected aux, while
the step keys enable or disable the aux on each step.
As you press the STEP MODE button to cycle through the auxes, the currently assigned controller
number or event name briefly appears as an informational message in the display.
Page 57
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 57
The Aux Config Page
Before using an aux, you will need to assign it to the controller or event you want to use.
To do this, you need to enter the aux config page.
With UPPER MODE set to AUX:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the STEP MODE button
*TIP As a shortcut, if you are not already in AUX upper mode pressing FUNC + STEP MODE will
take you there. You will then need to press the key combination one more time to enter the config
page.
Page 58
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 58
This aux config page looks something like this:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the new assignment and return to pattern edit
F2 next Step through the list of available functions
F3 lose Restore the previous assignment and return
The top line of the aux config page shows the event name or controller number assigned to the
current aux.
Selecting Event Groups
Since there are so many different MIDI controllers and events available, they have been divided into
different groups by function.
These groups are selected using the step keys, 1 to 14.
Page 59
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 59
This chart shows the groups assigned to each of the step keys while in the aux config page:
Page 60
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 60
As you select a new group using the step keys, the group name will appear as an informational
message on the top line of the display.
You will get to know where the ones you like to use are found pretty quickly. Until then, keep this
page handy.
The complete list of the events in each group can be found in the later section, Using Auxiliary Events.
Selecting Controllers or Events
To select a controller or event from the group, use the DATA knob to scroll through the options, or use
the “next” soft-key, F2, to step through the group members one by one.
Once you have found the controller or event you wish to use, press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the
assignment and exit the aux config page.
If you want to assign more than one aux at the same time, you can use the STEP MODE key to
advance to the next aux while in the aux config page.
Note that this will also save any changed assignment for the current aux.
For example, let’s assume you have just entered pattern edit , and want to assign Aux A in the pattern
to send MIDI after -touch:
• switch UPPER MODE to AUX
The quickest way to do this is to hold FUNC and press the STEP MODE button, the short-cut
mentioned before.
Alternatively, press UPPER MODE three times to select AUX.
• hold FUNC and press STEP MODE to enter the aux config page
• press step key 14, to select the “MIDI Send” group
This group contains three MIDI send functions - pitch-bend, after-touch and program change.
• either move the DATA knob or press the “next” soft-key, F2, until “send midi a/t” appears in
the top line of the display
• press the “save” soft-key, F1
P3 will return to the normal pattern edit display, and you can set after-touch values to be sent on
whichever steps you want using the UPPER knobs.
Page 61
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 61
Editing Aux Values
With the current aux configured for the function you want, you can now set the values for each step
using the UPPER knobs, just as for velocity, length and delay.
One difference with auxes is that each numeric value also has a corresponding on/off status value too.
A controller message will only be sent, or an event processed, if the aux status is active.
*TIP By default, when you edit the value of an aux if the step is not active it will be turned on
automatically. This feature can be disabled with the “aux edit sets on” User Conf option described in
the play mode chapter.
As we saw earlier when looking at step LED colours for status rows, the active status for gate is always
shown on the step LEDs in pattern edit.
This is still the case in aux mode - the step LED colours show the following conditions:
As with the other status rows, each press of a step key will toggle the aux status for that step on and
off.
Page 62
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 62
Display of Changed Aux Values
When you edit an aux value using the UPPER knobs, the assigned controller number or event name,
step number and new value will all be shown briefly in the display.
For a MIDI controller, this display will look something like this:
The display of aux values may vary when an auxiliary event has been assigned.
This will be explained in the later section, Using Auxiliary Events.
Viewing Aux Values
You can inspect the stored aux values on each step, just as for the note, velocity, gate length and delay
display:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the step key for the step you want to inspect
The display format is the same as for the aux edit confirmation above.
Page 63
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 63
Summary of Aux Usage
For MIDI controllers, the use of the aux rows is easy to understand.
If the aux status is set on for a given step, the numeric value for that step will be sent as a MIDI
controller message on the MIDI channel for the track.
The same is true for the MIDI Send functions.
With auxiliary events, in most cases extra MIDI data is not generated.
We’ll look at what auxiliary events can do in a later chapter.
Page 64
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 64
Pattern Edit Pages and Soft-keys
Pattern edit has a number of different display pages.
Each page shows some different values or text labels on the display and has its own set of soft-key
assignments for F1, F2 and F3.
Some of the pages show non-step pattern values, such as direction, timebase and last step, with softkeys for editing them.
Others have soft-keys to access pattern modifying functions and configuration options.
There are eight pages in total.
Selecting Pages
To select a pattern edit page:
• hold the PAGE key, at the right hand side of the keypad
• press the step key for the required page number
For example, to select page 5, (for the Note Randomize page):
The display will change to show you the page 5 options, and the soft-keys F1, F2 and F3 take on their
new functions.
*TIP You can step through the pattern edit pages in two groups of four by pressing and releasing the
PAGE key by itself. Use FUNC+PAGE to switch to the first page in the other group.
Page 65
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 65
Let’s look at each pattern edit page, and see what they all do.
The following table summarises all eight pages.
Note the inverse-video “E” in the top right of the display, showing you are in pattern edit.
page 1 – Timebase / Sync
page 5 – Note Randomize
page 2 – Direction / Last
page 6 – Upper Randomize
page 3 – Copy & Paste
page 7 - Sculpt
Page 4 – Rotate / Shuffle
page 8 - Config
Page 66
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 66
Page 1: Timebase and Sync
The display for page 1 looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 - (dec timebase) Select previous timebase setting
F2 + (inc timebase) Select next timebase setting
F3 sync Reset pattern to first step immediately
F1 / F2 - Timebase
The timebase setting for each P3 pattern determines the overall length of each step as a subdivision of
the tempo. The available timebase values are shown below:
1 2 4 8
16
32 64 64T 32T 16T 8T 4T 2T
The default timebase is 16.
Each number is essentially the number of steps that will fit in the space of one 4/4 bar at the current
tempo.
For example, timebase 16 means each step lasts for one 16th note.
The timebase settings with a T after the number are triplet settings.
Triplets are 2/3rds the length of their non-triplet equivalents, so where a timebase of 16 will fit 16 steps
into a standard bar, 16T will fit 24 steps in the same period.
Soft-keys F1 and F2 step back and forward through the list of available timebase values.
In order to stop patterns getting wildly out of sync as you change timebase, changes are only applied
as the pattern loops from the last step back to the first.
Page 67
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 67
F3 - Sync
The “sync” soft-key instantly resets the pattern being edited to its start position.
This is useful if you get a pattern out of step with the other tracks, perhaps by changing to a triplet
timebase or altering the last step.
A second function of the “sync” soft-key, accessed using FUNC + F3, performs a nudge of the current
pattern - advancing it one extra step forward for each press.
Page 68
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 68
Page 2: Direction and Last step
The display for page 2 looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 - (dec direction) Select previous direction setting
F2 + (inc direction) Select next direction setting
F3 last Set the last step in the pattern (pattern length)
F1 / F2 - Direction
The direction setting for each pattern determines what order the steps will be played in.
There are currently seven directions available, as shown in the following table:
Direction Behaviour
forward Steps play in ascending order, looping back to step 1 after the last step is reached
reverse A
The pattern will play in reverse, starting from step 1, and looping back to the last step
after step 1
reverse B
The pattern will play in reverse, starting from the last step, and looping back to the
last step after step 1
alternate
The pattern will play in forward then reverse B directions, as described above
pendulum
The pattern will play forward until the last step, and then reverse direction without
playing the last step twice
random Steps will play randomly
brownian
After each step the pattern will randomly:
• move to the next step (50% chance)
• move to the previous step (25% chance)
• repeat the current step (25% chance)
Note that steps with skip set are skipped in all direction modes.
References in the above table to step 1 really mean the lowest numbered step without skip active.
As with timebase, changes of direction do not apply until the pattern resets to the first step.
Page 69
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 69
F3 – Last Step
The “last” soft-key sets the last step in a pattern – that is the step after which the pattern will reset to
the first step.
Ignoring the effect of skip, last step determines the pattern length .
To set the last step:
• hold the “last” soft-key, F3
The step LEDs will go out, except for one flashing amber LED indicating the current last step
• press the step key for the last step to be played
For example, if you want to set the last step to step 8 in a pattern currently set to end on step 16:
Page 70
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 70
Page 3: Clear, Copy & Paste
The page 3 display shows the following functions:
Key Label Function
F1 clr Initialise all pattern steps
F2 copy Copy steps from the pattern to the clipboard
F3 paste Paste steps from the clipboard to the pattern
F1 - Clear
The clear soft-key is used to initialise a pattern.
After clearing:
• all steps will have gate, tie and skip turned off
• all note values will be set according to the first NOTE knob
• all velocity values will be set according to the first UPPER knob
• all length values will be set to 5
• all delay values will be set to zero
• all aux steps will be deactivated
To use the clear function, press the “clr ” soft-key, F1. The display will show:
You must now press F1 and F2 together to confirm the operation.
Otherwise, press F3 to cancel.
Page 71
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 71
A second function of the “clr” soft-key, accessed by holding FUNC while pressing F1, will de-activate
aux steps only .
The display will show:
You must again press F1 and F2 together to confirm this operation.
F2 / F3 – Copy & Paste
Copy and paste allow you to copy a number of steps in a pattern to another position within the
pattern, or to copy some or all of one pattern to another.
How To Copy
• press the “copy ” soft-key, F2, to start the copy process. The display will show:
• select the first step to be copied using the step keys, or press F3 to cancel
Once the first step is selected, the display will show:
• select the last step to be copied using the step keys, or press F3 to cancel
When the last step has been selected, the display will briefly show:
…where “nn” is the number of steps copied to the buffer.
The step LEDs for the steps copied will also briefly turn flashing amber before returning to the normal
display of step status.
*TIP Note that you can select a lower numbered last step to be copied than the first step. This will
copy the steps from the pattern to the copy buffer in reverse order – so you can reverse small sections
of the pattern.
Page 72
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 72
How To Paste
You can paste the copied data anywhere in the same pattern.
Or you can exit pattern edit, edit a different pattern on the same or different track, and paste the data
into the other pattern.
• press the “paste” soft-key, F3, to bring up the paste page.
The display will show:
This display tells us two important things.
“L=nn” is the number of steps that were stored in the copy buffer by the last copy performed.
“Paste notes” shows the current paste filter setting.
The paste filter settings are listed in this table:
Filter Data Pasted
notes
note, velocity, length , delay, gate, tie, skip and Xd rows
auxes
aux A, B, C and D, numeric and status rows
both
all pattern rows
auxcf
only the aux assignments for the pattern
all
all of the above
• press the “select” soft-key, F1, to select a different paste filter if required
• press a step key to paste the copied data, starting from that step
Pasted data will wrap round to the start of the pattern if more steps are in the copy buffer than the
number from the first paste step to step 16 of the pattern.
Newly pasted steps are shown briefly in flashing amber .
If you are pasting only the aux and accumulator config (auxcf), the step number pressed doesn't matter
since the settings are global to the whole pattern - but you do need to press a step key to do the paste.
Page 73
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 73
Page 4: Rotate and Shuffle
The display will show the following functions on this page:
Key Label Function
F1 <- Rotate pattern one step to the left
F2 -> Rotate pattern one step to the right
F3 Shf Apply classic drum machine “shuffle”
F1 / F2 - Rotate
The rotate functions move the values for every step in a pattern one step to the left or right.
F1 rotates to the left, F2 to the right.
If the last step in a pattern is before step 16 step, a modified function can be used – rotate to last:
• hold the FUNC key
• press either rotate left, F1, or rotate right, F2
With FUNC held, only the steps in the pattern up to and including the last step are moved – the first
step wrapping round to the last, or vice versa.
This lets you do interesting things.
For example, you might take a 16 step pattern, set the last step to 8, then use rotate to last to move the
first 8 steps by 4 steps to the left or right. Then return the last step to step 16.
This would swap steps 1 to 4 with steps 5 to 8, leaving the rest of the pattern intact.
Page 74
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 74
F3 - Shuffle
The shuffle function emulates a feature of classic drum machines where odd numbered steps play
exactly on the beat, but even numbered steps are delayed by a certain number of clock ticks.
Shuffle is really just a simple way to set the delay value for every step in a pattern:
• odd steps have their delay set to zero
• even steps have their delay set to a number chosen with the step keys
To apply a shuffle setting:
• hold the “Shf” soft-key, F3
• press one of the step keys from 1 to 12
Each step key sets the even step delay values to one less than the key number.
Step key 1 will set the delay on all steps to zero – removing the shuffle effect.
*TIP The Shuffle function is very useful as a quick way of resetting all delay values to zero when
you’ve been playing with delay settings manually.
Page 75
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 75
Page 5: The Note Randomizer
The Note Randomize display looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 note
Randomize the current note value
F2 base Configure the lowest note that might appear at random
F3 range Configure the range random notes may cover
F1 – Note
The Note Randomize function lets you enter random note values into a pattern as it plays, useful for
adding a touch of chaos or just for finding random snippets of melody that might trigger other ideas.
To randomize the note values:
• ensure the sequencer is running
• hold the “note” soft-key, F1, as the steps you want to randomize play
F2 – Base Note
The “base” option lets you set the lowest note that can appear at random in your pattern, as follows:
• press the “base” soft-key, F2. The display will show:
• use the DATA knob to select a new lowest note
THEN
• press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the new selection
OR
• press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous value
Page 76
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 76
F3 – Range
The “range” option lets you set the range of notes above the lowest note that can appear randomly in
your pattern, as follows:
• press the “range” soft-key, F3. The display will show:
• use the DATA knob to select a new value from 0 to 127
THEN
• press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the new selection
OR
• press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous value.
A range of 0 does not impose any limit - the random notes may be anything from the configured
lowest note, to the highest possible MIDI note.
Any other value will give that number of possible different random notes, from the lowest note
upward.
Note that a range of 1 means only the lowest note will be used.
If the range is set to be larger than the total number of MIDI notes above the configured lowest note,
the effective range will be restricted.
Page 77
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 77
Page 6: The Upper Randomizer
The Upper Randomize display looks like this:
Key Label Function
F1 upper
Randomize the current upper value
F2 base Configure the lowest value that might appear at random
F3 range Configure the range random values may cover
F1 – Upper
The Upper Randomize function lets you enter random values into the row currently selected for
editing by UPPER MODE.
To randomize the selected upper values:
• ensure the sequencer is running
• hold the “upper ” soft-key, F1, as the steps you want to randomize are played
F2 – Base
The “base” option lets you set the lowest value that can appear at random in your pattern, as follows:
• press the “base” soft-key, F2. The display will show:
• use the DATA knob to select a new lowest value
THEN
• press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the new selection
OR
• press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous value.
Page 78
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 78
F3 – Range
The “range” option lets you set the range of values above the lowest value that can appear randomly
in your pattern, as follows:
• press the “range” soft-key, F3. The display will show:
• use the DATA knob to select a new value from 0 to 127
THEN
• press the “save” soft-key, F1, to store the new selection
OR
• press “lose”, F3, to restore the previous value.
A range of 0 does not impose any limit - the random values may be anything from the configured
lowest value, to the maximum value of 127.
Any other value will give that number of possible different random values, from the lowest value
upward.
Note that, as with note, range of 1 means only the lowest value will be used.
If the range is set to be larger than the difference between the lowest value and 127, the effective range
will be restricted.
Page 79
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 79
Page 7: Sculpt
This Sculpt page has three functions:
Key Label Function
F1 note
Write the current position of the DATA knob to the note value
F2 upper
Write the current position of the DATA knob to the selected UPPER MODE value
F3 tap
Turn on the gate on the current step
F1 – Sculpt Note
F2 – Sculpt Upper
The Sculpt functions allow you to record the movement of the DATA knob into any of the numeric
values in a pattern.
For example, if you want the velocity in a pattern to rise steadily over the length of the pattern, it could
be tedious to go through each step, setting it to a value just a little more than the previous step.
Instead, you can “sculpt” the values as the pattern plays.
Page 80
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 80
In the case of velocity , you must ensure UPPER MODE is set to VELO , then use the “upper ” soft-key,
F2, as shown:
Actually you don’t have to move the DATA knob, if it’s already in the position you want.
But whatever position the DATA knob is in while “upper” is held will be written into the step value at
the start of each step.
You can leave DATA in one place if you want to write the same value to every step.
If you want to see what value will be written before you start sculpting, just move the DATA knob
without pressing the soft-keys.
The current position will be shown on the display.
F3 – Tap
The “tap” soft-key, F3, can be used to set gate on the current step active as the pattern plays.
This lets you tap in a particular rhythm in real-time, without setting any other values.
Page 81
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 81
Page 8: Config
This final pattern edit page has three options:
Key Label Function
F1
Acc
Conf
Configure the Accumulator settings for this pattern
F2
note
rng
Configure the range of notes covered by the NOTE knobs
F3
Apply
FTS
Apply the current FTS settings to the pattern
F1 – Accumulator Config
This option is used to configure the accumulator settings for patterns using advanced auxiliary events.
These options are described in the later section, Using Auxiliary Events.
F2 – Note Range
This option sets the range over which the NOTE edit knobs work .
This setting is held individually for every track – so you can set it up to suit the different instruments
you have connected.
Press the F2 key to set the base note using the DATA knob - this will be the note selected when the
knobs are turned fully to the left.
Use FUNC + F2 to edit the span over which the knobs work - there are four ranges of approximately 10,
5, 2 and 1 octaves.
Page 82
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 82
F3 – Apply FTS
The “Apply FTS” function permanently applies the current FTS settings to the note values in the
pattern.
This is useful if you want to mix different scales across different tracks, so need global FTS turned off
for the part.
Page 83
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 83
Other Pattern Edit Functions
Quick Config
The Quick Config page has a preset list of combined operations that can be applied to a pattern.
At present, these include options for setting up 1, 2, 3 or 4 of the pattern auxes with the “aux note”
events.
This makes it easy to set up a pattern for polyphonic recording.
Refer to the Using Auxiliary Events chapter for an explanation of aux notes.
To access Quick Config:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the UPPER MODE button
From the Quick Config page:
• use the DATA knob to select the required operation
THEN
• press the “apply ” soft-key, F1, to perform the selected operation
OR
• press the “cancel” soft-key, F3, to return to pattern edit
Quick Mute Access
While using pattern edit, if you want to mute or un-mute any of the tracks, you can quickly access the
track mutes by holding the FUNC key, and pressing PLAY/EDIT.
While the FUNC key remains held, the step keys 1 to 8 will show the current track mute status, and
allow you to toggle them as in play mode.
To remind you which track you are currently editing, that track LED will flash green.
Release the FUNC key to return to the normal step key edit function.
Note that this key combination is not the same as for mute access in playlist edit. Other functions of
the keys used in each mode preclude this.
Page 84
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 84
Leaving Pattern Edit
You already saw how to leave pattern edit in the getting started section, but there were a few details
missed out there, so let’s revisit it and fill in the blanks.
To exit pattern edit, press the PLAY/EDIT key once more.
Three soft-key options appear on the bottom line of the display, like this:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the edited pattern, and return to play mode
F2 back I didn’t mean to press PLAY/EDIT, return to pattern edit
F3 lose Lose any changes to the edited pattern, and return to play mode
F1 – Save
If you want to save changes to the pattern you’ve been editing, press “save”, F1.
Save To
If you want to save your modified pattern to a different pattern location, press one of the step keys for
the pattern number you want to save it in.
The upper line of the display will show “Save To:”' and the alternative pattern number selected.
Saving to an alternate location will restore the unedited version of the pattern you were editing to its
original location.
Page 85
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 85
F2 – Back
The “back” soft-key, F2, returns you to play mode – handy if you pressed PLAY/EDIT by accident, or
just changed your mind.
F3 – Lose
The “lose” option, F3, will restore the pattern as it was before you entered pattern edit, and return you
to play mode.
Page 86
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 86
Playlist Edit
In simple terms, playlists tell P3 which patterns to play on each of the 8 tracks.
There is always a playlist at work on each track, but the default playlists are created so that if you
don’t need to work with patterns any longer than the basic 16 steps, then you don’t need to know
much about playlists at all.
It will still be useful to understand what they do.
Why Playlists?
You already saw how to chain a number of patterns together across all the tracks, using a part chain .
Let’s say that you want to chain four patterns together on one track, but only need single patterns on
the other tracks.
With a part chain , you would need to copy the single patterns to three other locations used by the
other parts – time consuming and wasteful of space.
Or you may want to transpose the same pattern to a number of different pitches over several bars, but
don’t want to waste all your parts copying the same pattern multiple times, and part transposing it.
And part transpose will not be any use if you want some patterns to stay at the same pitch while others
are transposed.
This is the sort of thing playlists are for:
• A playlist lets you define a sequence of patterns to be played on a track.
• Each pattern can be used as often as you like in the playlist, up to the limit of 8 steps.
• The pattern on each step can be transposed over a wide range, and can be repeated up to 8
times.
• Playlists can also let you synchronise patterns to the global bar – so you can keep patterns with
uneven lengths in step.
Page 87
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 87
What’s Really In A Part?
Before we look at the playlist, let’s take another look at what makes up a part.
As you should know by now, there are 8 parts in each P3 bank.
Each part stores some common values – Force-to-Scale settings, Gbar, PCReps, PXPos , and the track
mute status to recall when that part is selected.
Each part also holds a playlist for every track.
This diagram shows what’s inside a part:
The important point is that patterns do not belong to a specific part.
The playlists in each part can call up any of the available patterns on each track.
Page 88
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 88
What’s In A Playlist
Time for another diagram:
This diagram shows that a playlist is made up of:
• eight playlist steps
• a length value
Each playlist step holds:
• a pattern number
• a repeats value
• a transpose value
• a sync value
So what does this mean?
When you start P3 running, or select a new part, each track loads up its own playlist, and starts at
playlist step 1. From there:
• Each track plays the pattern number in the current playlist step for the number of times set in
the repeats value
THEN
• If the current playlist step number is less than the playlist length , the track moves on to the
next playlist step
OR
• If the track has reached the last playlist step, it returns to playlist step 1
In short, the playlist is just a sequence of patterns.
Page 89
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 89
The Default Playlists
When you wipe the entire memory of a P3, or use the bank init function to clear a single bank, every
part gets a set of default playlists that mean you can use P3 without really having to go into playlist
edit at all.
Let’s look at the default playlist in each part of an initialised P3 bank:
• The playlist length is 1
• Playlist step 1 has:
o a pattern number equal to the part number
o a repeats value of 1
o a transpose value of 0
o a sync value of Ptrn
So, let’s say you select part 4 in an initialised bank:
• The playlist on every track has a length of 1 step, therefore playlist step 1 will repeat for as
long as that part is selected
• Playlist step 1 on every track says, “play pattern number 4“
Transpose and sync default values have no effect here, so you can ignore them for now.
In an initialised bank:
• if you select part 1, then pattern 1 plays on every track
• if you select part 2, then pattern 2 plays on every track
• if you select part 3, then pattern 3 plays on every track
…and so on.
To a certain extent, the default playlists mean you can treat parts as if they were just multi-track
patterns.
This idea only breaks down if you use the part-copy functions, but more of that later.
Important Note On Memory Organisation:
In this chapter it is assumed that you are using P3 in the standard 6 bank, or alternative 12 bank
memory configurations. Since there are only 4 patterns per track in 12 bank mode, the default playlists
repeat patterns 1 to 4 in the playlists for parts 5 to 8.
For the 3 bank mode, with 16 patterns per track, playlist edit behaves in a slightly different manner for
pattern selection. These differences are explained in the Appendix – Memory Organisation.
Page 90
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 90
Editing A Playlist
In the rest of this chapter, we’ll take a default playlist, see how it looks in playlist edit, and then
gradually extend it.
So that you can follow the example, you’ll need to use a bank with default playlists.
If you just got a new P3, it should default to bank 1 at power-on, and the bank will be ready to use in
this example.
If you have already experimented with playlists before you knew what you were doing, you may want
to use the bank init function - just to be sure you are starting from the right place.
Playlists control which patterns play, but if there is nothing in the patterns, there won’t be anything to
hear!
So let’s make sure you have a couple of patterns to use with your soon-to-be-created playlist.
Follow these steps to create two patterns on track 1.
Make sure the patterns have the standard length of 16 steps – we’ll be using odd lengths later to look at
the sync option.
You should be starting from part 1 in play mode
• Enter pattern edit on track 1
• Create a simple pattern, save it – this will be pattern 1, then return to play mode
• Switch to part 2
• Enter pa ttern edit again on track 1
• Create another pattern, save it – this will be pattern 2, then return to play mode
You can already play your two new patterns in sequence by using a part chain – so let’s check that out
now.
Page 91
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 91
Set a part chain to play part 1 then part 2 in turn, like this:
You should hear your first pattern play through once, then your second pattern plays, and this repeats
indefinitely.
If not, start again from the top of this section.
If you’re happy that you’ve got two patterns to play with, select part 1 by itself, leave P3 running, and
let’s get on with playlist edit.
Changing To Playlist Edit
The play mode chapter already showed how to get into playlist edit, but here’s a reminder.
From play mode:
• hold the FUNC key
• press the TRACK key for the track on which you want to edit the playlist
You want to edit the playlist on track 1:
Page 92
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 92
Playlist Edit Controls
In playlist edit, the front panel controls take on the functions shown here:
Playlist Edit Display
The playlist edit display will look like the diagram below.
The labels indicate where the playlist step values are shown:
Just ignore the “View ” label for now.
The Step Number value shows the current playlist step – that is, the step playing at any given time.
Page 93
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 93
For the current playlist step the Repeats, Transpose and Sync values are shown where indicated.
You are looking at the default playlist in part 1, so:
• step number is 1
• repeats is 1
• transpose is 0
• sync is Ptrn
Playlist Edit LEDs
The step keys and LEDs in playlist edit are split into two sets of eight – the PATTERN keys and the
PLAYLIST STEP keys.
Right now, the LEDs will look like this:
In playlist edit, the pattern number for the current step is shown by a red LED above the PATTERN
keys.
The red LED here shows pattern 1 is playing on this step.
One or more of the LEDs above the PLAYLIST STEP keys may be green, and one of these green LEDs
will flash:
• The number of green LEDs shows the length of the playlist
• The flashing green LED shows the current playlist step
The flashing green LED here shows you’re currently on playlist step 1.
The lack of any other green LEDs shows that step 1 is the only step used in this playlist – the length is
1.
Page 94
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 94
Selecting A Different Pattern
If you followed everything correctly so far, you are in playlist edit, looking at the playlist for track 1,
in part 1.
This playlist has a length of 1 step, and plays only pattern 1.
Let’s change the pattern on this step to pattern 2:
• press PATTERN key 2
The LEDs should now look like this:
The red LED above PATTERN key 2 shows that pattern 2 is now selected for this step.
Note that P3 won’t switch to the pattern 2 until pattern 1 has finished its current pass.
Then you will hear pattern 2 start playing.
You have edited your first playlist.
To change playlist step 1 back to play pattern 1:
• press PATTERN key 1
The red LED will move from PATTERN key 2 to PATTERN key 1.
As before, pattern 2 will continue playing until its last step, at which point the track will switch back to
pattern 1.
Page 95
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 95
A Longer Playlist
Now you can change the pattern on a single playlist step, let’s try something a little more
adventurous.
Let’s chain patterns 1 and 2 together so they play in turn on this track.
To do this, you need to:
• set the playlist length to 2 steps
• set playlist step 1 to play pattern 1
• set playlist step 2 to play pattern 2
To set the length of a playlist:
• hold the “leng” soft-key, F3
• press the PLAYLIST STEP key for the last step in the playlist
In our example, you’ll use PLAYLIST STEP key 2 to set the length to 2, like this:
As soon as you set the length to 2, the PLAYLIST STEP 2 LED will light up green.
Remember – the number of green LEDs above the PLAYLIST STEPS indicates the length of the
playlist
You will also see the green LED above PLAYLIST STEP 1 continue to flash until the end of pattern 1,
which is playing on that step.
As soon as pattern 1 ends, PLAYLIST STEP 2 will start flashing green instead.
Page 96
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 96
With a length of 2, playlist steps 1 and 2 play in turn.
You should hear your two patterns play in turn, just as they did in the part chain .
As the playlist advances, the “current step” in the display will change from 1 to 2, like this:
You will also see the red PATTERN LED switches from patter n 1 while playlist step 1 plays, to
pattern 2 while playlist step 2 plays.
How did it know to play pattern 2?
Well, remember you started out using part 1 on track 1 for the previous playlist edit example.
You edited the playlist to find pattern 1 was on playlist step 1 – the default playlist for a “blank” part
1.
The reason you have found pattern 2 on playlist step 2 is because a default playlist, even though its
length is only set to 1 step, still has a pattern number on all the unused steps.
Playlist step 1 has the same pattern number as the part number.
Each following playlist step has the next pattern number up.
So an initialised playlist in part 1 looks like this:
• Length = 1
• Playlist Step 1 = pattern 1
• Playlist Step 2 = pattern 2
• Playlist Step 3 = pattern 3
…and so on.
You have changed the playlist length to 2, and you can see your playlist is playing 2 steps, with a
different pattern on each step.
Page 97
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 97
Leaving Playlist Edit
Having hopefully proved how easy it is to edit a playlist, let’s look quickly at how you save the
changes and return to play mode.
To exit playlist edit, press the FUNC key once more.
Just as with pattern edit, there is a confirmation page giving you the following options on the softkeys:
Key Label Function
F1 save Store the edited playlist, and return to play mode
F2 back
I didn’t mean to press FUNC, return to playlist edit
F3 lose Lose any changes to the playlist, and return to play mode
So, press “save”, F1, and your playlist edit is done.
You have edited the playlist on track 1, part 1, and set the length to 2.
Step 1 is playing pattern 1.
Step 2 is playing pattern 2.
Back in play mode, you can hear that your track is playing two patterns in a chain, without the need
for a part chain.
Page 98
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 98
Some More Editing
Let’s continue with our playlist example, by returning to playlist edit for the same track.
Hold FUNC and press TRACK key 1.
With P3 still running, you should see the PATTERN LEDs switching from pattern 1 to pattern 2, and
back.
The green PLAYLIST STEP LEDs show the length is 2, and the flashing step will show, along with the
moving red PATTERN LED, that pattern 1 is on step 1 and pattern 2 is on step 2.
Now that the playlist length is 2, the step you are looking at changes as the playlist advances.
So if we want to change the pattern number in a playlist longer than 1 step, you may have a problem.
You change the pattern on a step by pressing the PATTERN key for the pattern number you want.
But what if the playlist advances just as you reach for the PATTERN key?
You could end up selecting a different pattern for the following step.
Playlist Views
To solve this problem, playlist edit has two different ways to view the playlist you are editing.
The view is indicated by the letter in the top left of the display:
• C stands for Chase
• E stands for Edit
Chase View
The default is Chase view .
In Chase view :
• the display shows the values of step number , repeats, transpose and sync for the current
playlist step
• the PATTERN LEDs show the pattern number on the current playlist step
• selecting a new pattern using the PATTERN keys, selects a new pattern for the current playlist
step
As the playlist advances, so does the step you are looking at.
Page 99
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 99
This makes Chase view better suited to looking at what’s in your playlist rather than trying to edit it –
unless you’re quick.
As a visual aid to show that you are in Chase view , aside from the “C” in the display, one each of the
UPPER MODE and STEP MODE status LEDs light up and “chase” downwards by one step on each
beat.
Edit View
In Edit view you can select any playlist step directly in order to edit it, or just to view the values of
repeats, transpose and sync without having to wait for that step to come round.
The step you chose to edit will remain selected, even though the playlist continues to play as normal.
To select Edit view all you need to do is press the PLAYLIST STEP key for the step you want to edit.
Let’s continue with our example by using Edit view to look at step 2 in the playlist.
Select Edit view for playlist step 2 as follows:
Page 100
Sequentix Music Systems
P3 Sequencer User Manual Page 100
As soon as you press PLAYLIST STEP key 2, the display switches to Edit view , which will look like
this:
The things that show you are now in Edit view are:
• “E” in the top left of the display
• UPPER / STEP status LEDs all on
• the step number after “E:” will be your chosen step, 2
• the LED above the PLAYLIST STEP key 2 will be amber OR flashing red/amber
The display shows “E:2” to confirm that you are Editing step 2.
The colour of the PLAYLIST STEP LED also shows this, but probably needs a little more explanation.
LED Colours Revisited
When you select a playlist step for Edit view , the red element of the PLAYLIST STEP LED will turn
on.
Since the playlist in our example has a length of 2 steps, the green element of the LED is already on .
As you saw when we looked at the status rows in pattern edit:
• red + green = amber
That’s why the LED will be amber .
In Edit view , the current playlist step continues to flash just as in Chase view .
So when step 2 becomes the current playlist step, the LED will flash green.
Loading...