What is the problem?
If you want to add some expressiveness to a sequence using Velocity and different note lengths (Gate), you’ve already used up both FX parameters and can no longer spice things up with more glitchy effects like rolls, filters, etc.
Part of the problem is that basic midi information such as Velocity and Gate are seen as an “FX” when in other synths and grooveboxes it would normally be considered “standard midi data”.
So, what if that standard midi data was a part of the Note parameter entry rather than eating up the two precious FX slots? In other words, Note wouldn’t just be literally the midi note/key, but also midi velocity and gate/length.
What should this feature achieve?
This feature would open up ability to go beyond two FX slots in many common use cases by taking some of the more traditional midi expressiveness parameters out of the FX slot paradigm and into the Note paradigm instead.
Essentially, the Note parameter would become a composite parameter consisting of note, velocity and possibly gate/note length.
As a UX/UI concept to consider, the velocity information could be visualized with a vertical and horizontal line around the note letter. The height of the line signifies the velocity (0-127), and the width of it signifies the gate length.
To make the implementation of this more practical, the actual input of velocity could still work the same as today, meaning there’s still an FX parameter that you modify or add using Fill (or record in live with a midi controller). So, technically they are still FX parameters. The only practical difference is that these parameters would not occupy any of the two FX slots, but rather visually move into the Note parameter and thus allowing you to add two more FX parameters per step in addition to Velocity and Gate length.
Simple mockup to illustrate how this might appear in the UI (WIP):
The horizontal line width signifies the gate length and the vertical line width signifies the velocity. No lines mean that no specific info is set, i.e. the default velocity and gate is used. This mockup is obviously very basic and one could imagine using color intensity or opacity or other methods to make it even easier to scan quickly.
In terms of how you would input and edit the Velocity and Gate data manually, perhaps pushing the Note button while in Rec mode would cycle between Note, Velocity and Gate. Or maybe via single/double/triple clicks.
So, while in Rec mode:
- A single press of the Note button works just as today and lets you edit the note.
- A double-click of the Note button will show the Volume values (0-100) and the vertical bar is more prominently highlighted.
- A triple-click of the Note button will show the Gate values (0-100) and the horizontal bar is more prominently highlighted.
For all of these parameters, use the +/- or jog wheel as you’d normally use to alter the values.
Are there any workarounds?
There are two workarounds:
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Resampling the sequence into a sample and thereby freeing up the two FX slots for more creative use.
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Sacrificing the Velocity parameter for another FX parameter and setting a default velocity/volume on the instrument to mask the omission of velocity note data for those steps. And/or to modulate volume with a random LFO to create variety without needing to dedicate an FX slot.
Any links to related discussions?
There is another feature request to allow More than 2 step fx (Tracker Mini and Plus). That’s a different solution to the same underlying problem of “too few FX slots”.
This particular feature request here tries to solve it differently by expanding the Note paradigm to include parameters that in the midi world would be considered part of the midi note entry anyway. So you can consider this as an alternative solution to the shared underlying problem. The rationale for this solution is that the FX1 and FX2 concepts are so deeply integrated into the UX and even hardware, and so this solution could possibly be more straightforward to implement without disrupting the entire four-colored button paradigm and workflow.
Any references to other products?
One reference is the Elektron products (Digitakt, Syntakt, etc) since they are less limited in terms of available FX paramaters that can be locked per step. This feature would bring the Tracker a bit closer to the Elektron workflow since two of the most commonly used FX parameters would no longer occupy the two FX slots.
(Polyend Pray)