Feature request - MONO Sequencer Type

Hi all,

I don’t seem to find any existing feature request for this so here goes.

When setting up an instrument definition, you can choose from POLY or DRUM. It would be great if there’s also a sequencer type for MONO, which only does one note per vertical column. Now you need to use POLY and you have to manually remove prior notes on the same step. Or am I missing a function that already does this?

Thanks, LTMD

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I had emailed about something similar earlier this year. Specifically, I asked for a “Pyramid” mode.
Would be amazing to see something like this implemented as I find it easy to lose track when programming mono sequences on a poly grid.

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Out of curiosity, what does your proposed mono mode offer that the poly mode doesn’t?

Hey @unfolding

So in poly mode, let’s say I have a melody with a note on the first step/beat. Then when I change that note I can’t just press another note, because then the first note still stays lit in the sequencer too. So now there’s two notes in the same time, which a mono synth isn’t able to play. It’s somewhat annoying to have to manually remove notes when entering a new notes.

Especially when you just want to throw in some sequence to see what works. Also especially if the previous note is more than an octave higher or lower, you don’t easily see that there are multiple notes on one step. This also gives errors/glitches on certain (mono) synth modules in my Eurorack through my modular midi to cv module.

Is that explanation clear?

For this reason the Oxi One gives you the choice between a poly or mono track.

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A mono mode would be great!

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This, and also:

A “Tie” parameter, to automatically tie notes together (overlap) to create slides on synths that can do that (like most 303 style synths).

A velocity view, similar to Drum mode, to easily program accents using velocity.

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Ah, yep that makes sense, I hadn’t considered the joys of Eurorack & firing too much into it. Guess a mono mode could also make different resolutions of the grid easier to manage.

Rather than going strictly mono, would a user-defined voice limit per channel (ie minimum 1, maximum 24) be used by anyone other than just me?

I also requested this feature! I would love to see it!

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I love squarp but I stopped thinking about feature requests. Go buy a Varigate and call it a day. I had ideas for macros when you hit the track buttons at the top of the row certain changes are made that you program in. Also I wanted to have the footswitch play a larger role in performing w it, but let’s be real the product is almost two years old and we’re requesting a mono sequencer. Think about that for a minute.

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That’s a decent point, I’ve had similar debates with myself about all these feature requests. So many of them are niche & like I hinted at above, only apply to the user requesting them.

From a user perspective- too many features lead to option paralysis.

From a developer perspective- niche requests are work for Squarp that don’t necessarily add value to their products. The more complex the system, the more points of failure it has (potential for bugs).

Combined- if a mono synth can’t voice-steal to avoid glitches, that’s not a problem for Squarp to solve. That’s a convo for the buyer & the synth’s developer.

This is why I avoid IRL modular. It feels like it’s about creating less obvious problems to avoid more obvious problems (not solving them).

I think you’re missing his point. The point being that a mono sequencer is such an obvious wish - as many people above in this thread have seconded - that we’d expect this to have been applied to the firmware already.

I disagree that it’s a niche request.

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+1 from me, it feels like it would be pretty easy to implement and would be a useful feature.

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Just a side note on the subject mono-mode. I have a Keystep Pro. This is a feature rich 4-track sequenzer keyboard from Arturia. It has a mono mode. When I put in notes in mono-mode and do the same with the track right next to it, then the some notes on the 1st track have disappeared miraculously. The solution is, switch to poly-mode. In other words: The mono-mode is bugged and completely useless.

What I’m trying to say here: Making things happen is not always as easy as it seems. When Squarp is thinking about a mono-mode then please do it the right way and not the Arturia way!

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Ha! Yep I don’t get it. Colour me ignorant then.

Reason why is the problem you described earlier is something I’ve never had because my monos aren’t modular & can handle receiving >1 note for stuff like portamento & slides. Plus following the screen + grid is pretty easy for finding dud notes.

Let’s be real though, anything to do with modular synthesis is niche. Last time any of us saw a eurorack at an open mic night or in a club was when?

What is your problem? You don’t need a mono mode? Fine!
Others do need it. Just try to accept that.

I would find a mono mode very useful and requested it more than a year ago.
A very normal monophonic synth plays very different results with overlapping or not overlapping notes.
It’s way more easy to program a monophonic synthline when you dont have to
think about the other notes on the same time … and navigating on the tiny screen with notes spannend over several octaves is not very easy.

Btw Eurorack is really not niche. But why should someone care to take a complex modular system into a club? No one cares when going clubbing wich instrument exactly plays wich sound. So they are more often used to produce , rather then perform. But at the end this has nothing to do with need for a mono-mode.

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Hi
I am not really getting the use case yet, neither ever used a Midi mono track on hardware nor daw.
But could’t this be achieved with Math on=0 ?

Cheers.

I support the request for mono mode and raised it before to. Seems an easy win.

Maybe I’m not good at programming but my issue is given you can’t vertically scale and the display is quite small it’s very easy to lose track of what other notes are on the same step plus ties wood be great but can be achieved playing with other methods .The math just adds complexity to the visual display.

One thought I also had was that when locked in scale and the top row turns white, those pads could change colour if there is a note assigned on that step meaning it would be easy to see what else

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Mono mode, Glide and Legato, PLEASE!

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For me no mono mode needed… Thanks squarp for the great update!!!