I don’t see anything in the documentation that makes it obvious how to make a sequence change not affect the current running track mute states.
What I’d like is for the sequences to merely save pattern selection on the tracks, leaving track mutes up to me at performance-time. Think MMT-8.
I see I can toggle REC in TRACK mode to prevent track mute changes from being written into the current sequence. Is there something similar for preventing track mute states within a sequence from being recalled to change the current running mute states of the tracks?
Welcome! I understand your request. I’m not certain, but I don’t think that feature is available.
It is my understanding that sequences are fundamentally about muting and unmuting tracks. Before patterns were added as an optional feature to tracks, mute control was THE reason for sequences. Before patterns, if you wanted an instrument to play something different, you created another track, and the sequence let you easily switch between those instrumental parts.
I do think that what you’re asking should be possible if the developers would provide the option through a software update.
Thanks for the clarification. I feared that was the case. My unit arrives this weekend and once I know my serial number I’ll make an official feature request. In the meantime maybe I’ll adjust to the Pyramid-way.
easy - program the mute states you want to retain in the next sequence. I mean, mute states is specifically how the sequence feature is designed to work. Work with the feature, not against it.
One way might be to use the REC button as a toggle in SEQ mode like it is used in TRACK mode.
When REC is LIT in SEQ mode (default), its behavior is identical to how it is today: track patterns and mute states are recalled from the sequence onto the tracks.
When REC is UNLIT in SEQ mode, track patterns are recalled from the sequence onto the tracks, but mute states are not recalled, and the mute states of the tracks are left as they currently are.
I hope that’s not complicated to implement, obtrusive to users, or offensive to Squarp’s design.
So a sequence wouldn’t be able to bring in new tracks/instruments to or remove them from a composition? It would only be able to change the notes an instrument was playing, so long as it was already playing something?
Personally I try to avoid using patterns if at all possible, as we can’t label the patterns individually and they take extra work to access compared to tracks. I also have in the past had problems with pattern switches not respecting my settings and always being immediate instead of delayed to the next bar. They may have fixed that bug by now though.
If the problem is that you don’t want sequence changes to screw with the playback of a pattern/track that’s already in the middle of its loop, that is possible by choosing an appropriate Track Run Mode for your use case. It sounds like FREE run mode is what you want though, and that’s the default mode so I’m guessing this is not sufficient for your needs.
EDIT - Oh i see what you mean. Like if you’re live manipulating a previously-saved sequence, you don’t want every automatic sequence change to suddenly discard your active track choices and force you back to the saved state. Yes, that is actually super annoying and can totally wreck a live performance. Basically, if you use SEQ PLAY mode, do not try to make those sort of changes while the sequences play through because it will end badly.
Yes, you have it exactly correct. So the main mode I’d be in is TRACK mode with the mutes on the pads, and I would merely hold SEQ momentarily to select the sequence in PERFORM mode to change the underlying track patterns (or just letting SEQ mode loop through its sequence chain in LOOP mode), all the while retaining complete control over the track mute states myself. That’s my hope, at least.