I’m trying to work out a way to step the A4 sequencer (or arp) like you would for an old stepper, sending midi events to make it move to the next 16th or calling the step remotely. Has anyone found a way to get this behaviour?
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Yes with some work, and 2 step resolution (maybe 1 step with scale X2).
You can make a 16 steps pattern, copy it to 8 patterns and shift notes accordingly, reduce them all to 2 steps so that each pattern plays original pattern.
Control them with program changes or notes with Multi Map.
That is to say?
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Like on the SH101 for example. The sequencer advances to the next step when a trigger is received. If you have 16 steps entered in the sequencer and then use another sequencer to step through the sequence, 1/16th note triggers would play the sequence at original tempo, 8th note triggers would play halftime, but you can also send odd trigger patterns…
So basically changing patterns in Multimap Mode while each pattern would represent one step in the sequence - very clever!
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Ok thanks I see. The next step thing is doable with a midi processor sending chromatic notes present in a list, incrementing while receiving 1 note…(using Multi Map)
Yes I experimented it for another purpose with A4 recently, 4 x 2 steps patterns chained and a toothpick on step 1. Record chords with quantized playing, randomize pages…
Previously experimented with OT, a part each 2 step, randomize pages with a fixed scene = scene randomize each 2 step! 
Edit : Also experimented divided patterns with Digitakt, midi loopback, plocked program changes (for OT too please!)
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Multi-map, that’s a really interesting approach. So we are excluding the onboard sequencer and externally sequencing the presets. It’s not what I had in mind but maybe it’s way better? I’m looking forward to having a go at this.
I’m intrigued to find out more about this toothpick hack that you mention quite casually.
For such a well featured sequencer it’s very linear but it seems you have found some interesting strategies to work around this.
Thanks for the advice!
If you can use an synced arp to control it, you have potentially control of each step and the ability to play the sequence normaly :
OT + Taktile 49, imagine Multi Map instead of slices. Can’t wait to try, too busy!
2 step track
Toothpick on step 1 (or weight, soldered switch)…
Grid Recording
Play notes
Notes a plocked while playing, synced. You can add arp, chain 2 steps patterns…
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Just recorded an example. Too tired to make the effort to record sound decently…
8 instances of an 8 step pattern (orignal pattern at 0’30"), copied to 8 patterns.
Each instance is one step shifted.
Multi Map : 8 notes to control each shifted pattern, Direct Start
Taktile 49 arp sync to A4 tempo, UP mode.
I also used empty patterns to silent other ones. I forgot A4 don’t have Machinedrum Gate option, or a one shot mode. Does it ?
If you just want a single mono track and/or drums, you can use Sounds instead of patterns.
You can control both…
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10/10!
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I think I’ve hit a wall with multimap.
I can get it to play different sounds from the pool by specifying a sound slot so it’s possible to tailor each note, that’s cool. However, it seems to pull a fresh copy of the sound from the pool each time, so if you have that sound loaded and you modify it while it’s sounding then you hear the change but then when it gets re-triggered the changes are gone. If you hit save and save the changes to the appropriate pool slot then you hear the changes again, so it’s working but in a way that makes it impractical to make realtime changes, you have to navigate back to the sound pool and save it in the correct slot, it’s clunky.
If I assign the slot a track, or auto and don’t specify the sound slot preset then I think this fixes the real-time element but doing this loses us the ability to treat each note as a sound; we are back to having one sound transposed across the keyboard.
One workaround is to assign notes to a certain track, this is close to the Use Track Sound option but allows for some less 1234 type assignments, looks like it will be kind of long to set up but maybe worth trying?
Another possible workaround would be to assign pool slots to notes but to go into that routing and deassign the note you are working on - then that sound should run off the track it’s listening to. So you could control that until you are happy with it and then save the sound to the pool and reassign the note to the pool slot. I’ve not tried it but the process doesn’t sound enticing.
There’s no doubt that having one sound per note presents a UI issue but I was hoping that I’d be able to select one of the sounds with the minikey and change it in the context of the sequence and then hit another key to swap to another.
More generally, it seems like I’ve only noticed this now I’ve tried to use the internal sequencer, previously I only sequenced it externally. I think I’m looking for some way for individual track sequences to to affect each other but it seems like a track sequence can only affect that track? Also, putting locks on anything chokes incoming midi so you can’t sequence notes externally and have the sequencer do locks on the parameters?
I like this box but it seems like each of my use cases goes against the grain on it. sezare56 's use looks great though so perhaps I just need to think harder about how it can be used rather than trying to implement stuff it isn’t designed to do.
That’s true for most of Elektron gear imho. I started with OT, I had to make my mind too, used to regular loopers and MPCs. I missed a lot of functions, discovered great new ones, and many workarounds to achieve certain things differently. People usually don’t like workarounds and prefer dedicated gear.
Multimap sounds and Soundlocks can be modulated with Perf Macros.
Example with Multi Map and Perf Macro modulation, more noticeable from 0’44".
You can also plock parameters for Soundlocks, or record them in Live Recording mode (you can add Amp Fx this way easily).
You can play live this way, reload pattern to revert to previous state.
@Rocketnumber10 could you sum up your questions and what would you need?
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I mostly set up a few sequences and have them interact, stuff like transposing each other or timbral changes, one stepping another, pretty standard modular sequencing strategies. I’ve done this externally so far but thought that perhaps it would be cool to use A4 as a standalone writing box, there’s 4 (6?) sequencers, it seemed odd to have overlooked them for so long.
I like the plock thing, the workflow is really direct and the synth reacts well to it, seemingly a little more smoothly than calling parameter changes via CC? After getting that stuff working I felt like it would be really useful and that I just wanted to get one more sequencer involved to cross modulate what I’d got going but I couldn’t see a way to get the other A4 sequencers to connect to the track in hand. And, it seems that external CC values and plock values fight rather than merge? The idea to step the sequencer externally was just a way to avoid the single sequencer going 1234 situation.
I’ll have a bit more of a play with it, I like a gaffa-tape solution. You are clearly getting to interesting places with it. The midi implementation is decent so I think the easiest option is for me to return to sequencing this thing externally but I’m still on for learning about how others are using it.
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