I’m considering getting the Model:Samples as it looks like an interesting solution to use as a groovebox when i am playing guitar.
Besides standard signatures, I do like to create and play over patterns that require odd time signatures, (e.g. 7/8, 9/8, 11/8, 13/8)
I searched in youtube and reviewed the manual but it is not clear to me if I can a) create these types of odd time signature patterns, and b) chain patterns with different time signatures and/or trigger them one after the other in a specific sequence.
I don’t particularly want to fiddle with workarounds as I just want to quickly create a groove, chain it to other patterns and play. Is this possible to do with the Model:Samples? Otherwise, which other device may be able to work with odd time signatures natively (and easily?)
Bonus question: Here I would expect to do some additional menu/settings fiddling and this would be OK - how does it handle polyrhythms and micro-rhythms?
Short answer: I think model samples will do everything you want, polyrhythms definitely, though not sure what you mean by micro rhythms.
Model samples has no concept of time signatures as such, but you can define the length of the pattern as you want, up to 64 steps. So you’d work with a multiple of 7 for 7/8 for instance. You can also do this Independently for each track within a pattern.
However it can be quirky to work with as you have 16 trig buttons for notes, and patterns longer than 16 just spill over into a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th page. So if you choose 56 steps for 4 bars of 7/8, (each step being 1/16 note) the first page of 16 steps will have 14 steps of your 1st bar, plus the 1st 2 steps of the next bar, etc.
I haven’t got the m:s, but I’m guessing the sequencer works pretty much the same as the DT. Polyrhytms and micro rhythms can be achieved by using the nudge menu. Once you get a hang of the amounts you have to nudge the triggers, it’s fairly quick.
Be aware that people often use the word polyrhytm when they’re actually talking about polymeter. That is a different effect and is easily achieved by setting different pattern lengths.
Thanks to both of you for your reply - seems that the m:s will then fit the requirements.
Micro-rhythms (as I understand them) is that some accents in a beat can be before or after the actual beat, creating a feeling that some parts of the groove either drag or happen before they “should” happen. I checked the manual and anokah is right, the nudge function will do this.
I am surprised that it doesn’t use time signatures but I understand the logic now, technically one has 64 steps to work with and one can adapt them to fit the lenght of the bar. It will be weird to work with 16 steps, and when having an odd meter, having to split it between pages, but I can live with that.
As for polyrhythms I was referring to the rhytmic element, i.e. within a bar you evenly play 3 clicks and 4 clicks (the beat of the 3 and the 4 will not match and each has its own click within the bar).
For polyrhythms you will need to use different track lengths and different track timings.
Say you wanted triplet 8ths played over straight 8ths you could have a track length of 16 with a speed of 1x for the straight 8ths and a second track, length 24 with a speed of 1.5x, for the triplets.
Edit: Just realised that the MS does retrigs so that functionality can also be used to obtain polyrhythms.
