CART - TheTechnobear/SSP GitHub Wiki

CART - cartesian sequencer

a cartesian sequencer, simple or creative!

Documentation

Note: This is the primary page for documentation on this modules

Developer: TheTechnobear

I develop these plugins for free, please consider supporting my efforts with a donation. https://ko-fi.com/thetechnobear

Parameters

layer values - select layer with LYR+/-

Name Desc
CV cv value this can be a raw value or quantised to notes

Inputs

Name Desc
X Clk clock pulse for X layer
X Mod modulation input for X layer, see fun mod mode
X CV cv input for X layer, see fun cv mode
Y Clk clock pulse for Y layer
Y Mod modulation input for Y layer, see fun mod mode
Y CV cv input for Y layer, see fun cv mode

Outputs

Name Desc
X CV cv output for X layer
X GATE gate output for X layer
Y CV cv output for Y layer
Y GATE gate output for Y layer
C CV cv output for C layer
C GATE gate output for C layer

Buttons

layer buttons - select layer with LYR+/-

Name Desc
Gate gate value for active row
Access access value for active row
Glide glide value for active row
GT/GL switch between gate and glide controls
FUN switch between values and function mode

Disclaimer

This module is inspired by Make Noise Rene. The manual for Rene is useful to understand many of the funcions in CART.

However, lets be very clear, this is a 'clean room' implemention, it shares no code with Rene (which is not open source/available), nor do I have a Rene. so therefore, it may feature some differences, as I misinterpret the manual etc. Also, I do not intend to cover all Rene 2 features, as I do not believe they are needed in a virtual module, where you can use multiple instances etc.

It is also very possible/likely that I will at some point diverge from Rene in the future... eg. get rid of X Mod, and break out the modes into separate cv inputs, which would be much more flexible. (unlike hardware, adding new inputs is free ;) )

Note: This is a complex sequencer, and I will cover only the basics here, I highly recommend the Rene manual for more info, and also watching youtube videos for inspiration etc.

General Usage

The concept of a cartisian sequencer is we have 3 sequencers called 'layers' (importantly each layer has a colour, which ties things together in the UI)

the best starting point to understanding CART, is to look at the right part of the display.

we can see a 4x4 grid of 'cells'. this represents the values and gates. in each cell we can see a value (the bar), and also if the gate is active or not. we can see 3 in each cell, one for each layer (x/y/c)

we can see a box around each cell (coloured per layer) to show the active cell for the layer.

to the far right, we can see the output for each layer (gate/cv)

so visually, we can get an overview of what is happening.

controlling. we can only control one layer at a time, and we switch between layers usign LYR-/+. similarly the SSP has 4 encoders, so we control one row of a layer, switching using EN-/+

so the parameter are the values to be output... either raw voltage, or it can have a scale and so be notes. similarly the main 8 buttons, are used to contol gate/access or glide for that row. gt/gl switches between controlling gate/access and glide.

(access basically says do I output on this step)

the fun button is where the fun really starts, and how you can control many different aspects of this layer. e.g. using a scale, what snake to use, and also how to use the cv inputs, and how access works. this is where the power of CART comes from ignore at your expense!

how the layers interact is very interesting... and where we get the name from. X and Y are completely independent driven by separate clocks etc. however, the 3rd, C (cartisian layer) whilst having separate values and gates is driven bu the X/Y clocks. this give a nice relationship between the layers.

The other unique aspect (and my love for it) of this sequencer is how each layer is navigated. each layer is shown as a 4 x 4 grid, but actually the way we step between is controlled by a 'snake' function. so by default it goes left -> right, top -> bottom, but change the snake... and you can make it follow all sorts of different routes. (including random)

the reason I love this, is it means you have melodies that share the same note, but by altering timing and the snake, they can sound very different, but are melodically related.

Tips

First get used to the basic functioning of CART, use a single layer... then X+Y, then finally C. Experiment with setting scale on the function page, then trying changing snake.

as CART is insprired by Rene, its beauty lies in its flexibility with a few simple controls. however, there is no doubt, things like Access/Trig/Sleep can be tricky to understand, and not necessarily intuitive. this is make noise ... I think it focuses on musicality and happy accidents rather than logic at times ;)

so start simple, but really do look into some of the FUN options for CV/MOD they can be extremely creative, dont miss out, just because you're not sure what they do ;)

Checkout Rene manual and videos ... they are truel inspriring. CART can be aanything from a quick n' simple sequencer to being highly generative, combine with other modules and its awesome. (probaly my favourite SSP module, by quite a margin ;) )

Change Log

  • 1.0.0 early access release

Credits:

Percussa SSP - https://www.percussa.com/