I like to have a synth track free running with an odd pattern length like 7/16 while the rest of the tracks run at 4/4 (aka techno). When I set my synth track to 7/16 it gets quantised with repeated steps to bring it back onto the 4/4 timing grid. Then I read somewhere the you have to set the pattern M length to INF and that works a treat however, when selecting a different pattern while another is playing, it doesn’t ever go to that pattern unless I stop and restart. Am I doing something wrong?
Cheers
You can adjust change length for how long things run until the change happens.
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Ah I see. So is it possible to have a track free running at 7/16, without affecting how long it takes for that pattern to change to the next selected? In other words, to have the track free running at 7/16, I have to have it set to INF which means it never goes to another pattern when I select one…
I think so. This stuff always confused the hell out of me, especially with more than one Elektron synced together 
Anyway, mess with the change length to see if it gives you the results you want. I assume if it’s set to 16, for example, it will change the next time the techno 4/4 part(s) resets.
Yeah its proper mind bending stuff 
I think I had a breakthrough - I just needed to set the patterns that contain tracks with odd lengths to 64 and that works. But I do think this is resetting the 7/16 track back onto the 4/4 timing grid every 64 steps though (by repeating steps). It does allow me to change patterns on the fly every 16 steps now so thats a result.
This calls for another glass of wine.
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You need to follow the original advice given to you to use the CH.LEN (Change Length) setting in the SCALE menu in PER TRACK mode.
As the manual (page 35) states:
CH.LEN (Change Length) controls for how long the active pattern plays before a cued or chained pattern begins to play. This setting is important when, for example, you set M.LEN to INF. If you do not make any CH.LEN setting, the pattern plays infinitely, and the next pattern is thus not cued.
If you want multiple tracks with different step lengths to loop smoothly and the pattern to change at a point when all the tracks have completed their sequence simultaneously then you can set M.LEN (or CH.LEN if M.LEN is set to “INF”) to be the lowest common multiple of the the track lengths.
In your example, the lowest common multiple of 7 and 16 is 112.
There are numerous topics discussing this previously and I recommend that you read the manual and then search the forum for solutions before creating a duplicate topic like this.
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Yes I did read the manual, please remember that some people cannot process information written in manuals and instead rely on a more conversational explanation from people kind enough to spend time writing replies on forums.
There is every chance that every single question that you could possibly think of about the DT has already been asked and answered in this forum, I get that and I do always search however it can be difficult and frustrating for some people to relate similar posts to their own issue.
Similarly, sometimes people need to write something in their own words in order for those words to make sense to them.
Finally, thank you (and everyone else that replied) for taking the time to help me with this topic, it’s completely solved my issue, you have all helped me expand my knowledge about this fascinating machine.
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I appreciate the question, and the answers given. As someone fairly new to these machines, a refresher on some part of the functionality is usually welcome.
If the standard advice to someone hitting a roadblock is to just rtfm, then there is no point to this forum at all. 