Sequencer – Dave Smith Instruments MONO EVOLVER KEYBOARD User Manual

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Sequencer

For many musicians, the term sequencer has become synonymous with MIDI

sequencer; that is, a computer-based application or dedicated hardware device for

recording and playing back notes and performance gestures via MIDI. But sequencers

were around long before MIDI. Evolver’s sequencer is much more like the original

analog sequencers typically associated with modular synthesizer systems. The

sequencer comprises four 16-step sequences that play in parallel. Each sequence

can be routed to a chosen destination, and each step in a sequence can be set to a

different value used to modulate that destination.

1 2 3 4

1
2
3
4

5 6 7 8 9

Steps

v = step value

Dest. 1
Dest. 2
Dest. 3
Dest. 4

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Strictly speaking, Evolver’s sequencer does not play notes. (Not internally, anyway.

There are sequence-only destinations that can control external MIDI devices.) If none

of the sequence destinations are routed to oscillator frequency, the sequencer may

not even affect the pitch. In Evolver terms, a sequence is just a series of events at

timed intervals that changes the value of one of the synth’s parameters in discrete

steps. Because the four sequences play in parallel, up to four parameters can be

affected by each step, one per sequence. For the most part, the sequence

destinations are the same as the modulation destinations, which is appropriate: a

sequence is just another modulation source.

For each sequence step, the envelopes are gated on for half the step’s duration. The

duration varies according to the BPM and Clock Divide settings (or the MIDI clock, if

synced to an external source). The envelope settings of the current program

ultimately determine how long each step plays, though, and longer (more legato) or

shorter (more staccato) effects can be achieved by editing the envelope rates.

Reset and Rest

Sequences have a maximum of 16 steps, but they can have fewer—from 1 to 15—

using Reset. (Sequences of 16 steps reset automatically.) Reset appears immediately

after the highest value setting for a step. Setting a step to Reset causes the sequence

to jump back to the first step and continue playing.

Reset is set separately for each of the four sequences, so it must be set at the same