Audio Damage BigSeq2 - Manual (Page 7)

The Sequencers
Each of BigSeq2’s six effects blocks has its own pair of step sequencers, a Modulation Sequencer and a Gate
Sequencer. The Modulation Sequencer varies (modulates) one or more of the block’s parameters, while the
Gate Sequencer simply turns the block on or off. These sequencers enable BigSeq2 to create complex,
evolving sounds synchronized to your music. All of the sequencers run independently, but are always locked
to your host DAW’s transport. When your host program starts playing, BigSeq2’s sequencers start running;
when your host stops, so does BigSeq2.
All of the sequencers operate the same way for each block. We’ll describe the Gate Sequencer first since it’s a
little simpler.
Gate Sequencer
An effects block’s Gate Sequencer turns the block on or off. If every step of the Gate Sequencer is turned off,
the effects block won’t do anything audible. Here is what the Gate Sequencer looks like:
The row of squares represents the 32 steps
in the sequence. If a square is shaded, that
step’s gate is turned on. In the above
illustration, the first, third, fifth, etc. steps
are turned on. You can turn steps on and off
individually by clicking on them, and you can
turn several or all of them on or off by clicking on one and dragging across others.
At the bottom right of the Gate Sequencer panel are three buttons. When you click the RAND button, the
gates will be randomly set either on or off. About half of the gates will be turned on and about half will be
turned off every time you click the RAND button. When you click the CLEAR button, all of the gates are
turned off. This silences the effects block and gives you a blank slate upon which to draw a new pattern.
The RESET button is an on/off toggle switch. When turned on, the Gate Sequencer automatically randomizes
the gates every time the sequencer starts playing from the beginning. Turning RESET on is like clicking the
RAND button every time the sequencer starts the beginning of its pattern, except that BigSeq2 does the
clicking for you.