When holding down an FX button to bring up the list of effects, the starting position of the cursor in that list should automatically change to match the last effect used in the steps above the current step in the FX column of the current track.
What is the problem?
Once a pattern has multiple tracks with entries in multiple FX columns, adding new values to empty steps in each FX column becomes cumbersome. This is because the user has to scroll through the list of effects to find the previously used effect in the current FX column.
At present, when holding down an FX button the start position in the list is the most recently used effect across all columns in all tracks. This is kind of redundant as you already have that effect actively selected so wouldn’t need to select it again.
It becomes particularly scroll-heavy when you’re balancing the results of two FX columns against each other in a track. Every time you jump between FX columns you have to scroll up and down through the effects list to switch between your two effects.
What should this feature achieve?
Entering the effects list by holding down an FX button should automatically position the cursor over the same effect type used in a previous step in the current FX column in the current track. The result would be as follows…
A short press of an FX key jumps to that column but retains the current active effect.
A long press of an FX key would jump to that column, enter the effect list with the previously used effect in the step above highlighted. Then you release the key to select that effect.
A long press of an FX key and using the jog wheel to scroll the menu continues to work as normal although obviously your start position in the effects list would work as above.
Are there any workarounds?
Lots of scrolling when switching between effect types when entering values into FX columns across different tracks.
Thank you for this wish. I totally get where it comes from
I have a clarifying question: When you talk about “last” effect used in a column, do you want the device to remember what effect was last applied anywhere in this column (for all columns independently), or should it look for the most recently used effect in the steps above the step being manipulated?
Imagine you want to apply a particular type of effect (lest’s call it FX A) to steps 1, 5, 9, 13 and so on. You configure step jump to 4. You set the desired effect (FX A) at step 1. The cursor now jumps to step 5. Now, imagine step 3 has another effect (let’s call it effect B) in the same FX column. If this feature gets implemented, once you move to the step 5, currently selected effect will change to FX B.
Speaking more generally, entering the same effect across a sequence will be a nightmare, because it’ll change to the nearest FX above and you’ll have to constantly select the effect you need manually.
Yeah I see what you’re saying. I should clarify this a bit.
I don’t think the effect should change as you navigate around the column, that would be a real problem as you suggest.
What I meant was that when you hold the FX button to change to a new effect, when the list appears, the highlighted effect in that list should default to being the last effect used in the most recent step above.
So really I’m talking about having a dynamic starting point in the list of effects that appears when you hold down the FX1 or FX2 button.
You would still have to explicitly select a new effect from the list as normal, it’s just that your initial position in the list would reflect the effect used in the above step.
So no change to the current behaviour other than your starting point in the effects list being related to the values in your current FX track.
Hey, no worries at all! It’s a natural part of the process Asking questions and getting input from others just helps refine what you are asking for, making it easier for others to decide whether they should vote for it.
Short press will use the last used effect globally (as it works today).
Long press will open the list, but instead of having the last used effect globally as the starting point, it will start at the most recently used effect in steps above in this particular FX column.
So, essentially, our muscle memory should be “short press to reuse global last effect, long press to reuse effect above in same column”.