Ratcheting the Behringer 960 Sequencer

[@strangersun7721]

Thanks for this. This type of ratcheting is more interesting than a perfect clock division.

[@440hz8]

Very Clear!

[@monodux]

Excellent description of the process!

[@fitzgreyve]

Thanks!

[@jerelmani]

great demonstration thanks!

[@matnetik]

Great breakdown!

[@tonysharp1615]

Thank you for the explanation. Very helpful and much appreciated. 😃👍🏻👍🏻

[@francoisrousseau7893]

Thanks - that works - but i'm not sure i would have succeed without a scope to monitor those trigger signals...can be done without but with more patience.

[@2009Tosh]

only got to1:35 and already got a question... I spent about 40 mins yesterday tuning in a sequence - have you a link to how on earth that/any 'tune module would make my life easier???? Shall now listen to remaining 5:00's

[@fitzgreyve]

One of the issues with "old school" pontentiometer based CV sequencers is that they allow tuning to any pitch, including those not on a recognisable musical scale. Modules called "Quantisizers" (or "Quantizers") as a minimum break the continuous CV into discrete steps, each step (normally) being a 1/12th of a volt - i.e. a semitone. This would give you access to a basic chromatic scale with no off notes. Most quantisizers feature some form of scale selection as well (e.g. major, minor, diminished). I've used the "Tune" module from 2HP (www.twohp.com/modules/tune). Positives: it's only 2hp wide (so unobtrusive when sat next to a 960), it has a transpose CV input (they call it "bias"), and it comes in black! Negatives: it will only process voltages in the range 0-5V, has a limited range of scales available, and scale cannot be selected by CV.

[@2009Tosh]

@@fitzgreyve Wow - really appreciate that... I totally get the explanation - really clear - I dont tho get the negatives (or do I/) 1."cannot be selected by CV" - does that mean that you have to 'manually select scale? If so I can live with that. 2. "limited range of scales" pretty sure I can live with that as well. 3. " it will only process voltages in the range 0-5V" lost me on that one ( no one said this was going to be easy!😇

[@fitzgreyve]

@@2009Tosh taking the Behringer 960 sequencer specifically, if the range switch is set to X1, you can get a CV out range of 0-2V (2 octaves, no problem), set to X2 you get 0-4V (4 octaves still no problem), set to X4 you get 0-8V range (8 octaves), but the 2HP "Tune" will only handle 5V (5 octaves). Its not really a problem, just a limitation to be aware of. The fact the 2HP won't handle negative voltages isn't an issue using the 960 as it doesn't generate them , however other modules (e.g. my 1125 sample and hold) can output negative voltages and if fed into a 2HP Tune it treat anything less than zero volts as "zero".

[@2009Tosh]

@@fitzgreyve STAR.... with you now! A 2HP 'Tune' has been ordered.... will sit nicely beside my existing 2hp 'LOOP' (Just above the 962) Really appreciate your help! Next step Ratcheting......!

[@fitzgreyve]

@@2009Tosh It is tricky to adjust the 921: I would try running it slighlty faster than your desired tempo (960 Frequency), then adjusting the clamping point to get it to "lock" . If you change the tempo (960 freq) you need to re-adjust (so it doesn't work for if you need rallentando etc) , but it does save needing a "non-Moog" frequency divider or similar. Hope it works for you.

[@stevesynth]

I just bought the sequencer and the switch will any VCO do if it can go low enough 🤔

[@fitzgreyve]

This specifically uses the "clamping point" feature of the 921 oscillator. In theory it would probably work using any VCO with a "sync" input but it will take some experimentation. There are plenty of volltage-controlled clock dividerers/multipliers around that can do more precise ratcheting, but the point of the video was to do it using only "moog" modules.

[@heimlichvonbladderburst8348]

That's a nice looking case. Self-build or ??

[@fitzgreyve]

Self built from mahogony from old furniture.

[@ddpmusic]

Newbie question here. I just got the Klavis CalTrans quantizer. Will it work together with the 2hp tuner or it will do the same? Great video, thanks.

[@fitzgreyve]

Hi, the Quantizer (in my case 2HP Tune) is not necessary for the ratcheting. I just use it because I'm not skilled at adjusting pitches. I wasn't familiar with the Caltrans, but it looks to be an interesting module (built in glissando and portamento!). The Caltrans will take an input voltage up to 7 volts (better than the 2HP which will only take an input of up to 5 volts). The B960 outputs up to 2V with a range setting of "x1", 4V for "x2" and 8V for "x4", so neither of them will process the highest outputs with range "x4". Short answer: The Caltrans should work fine. Neither the Caltrans or the 2HP will process the full range of output voltage in "x4" mode.

[@ddpmusic]

Thanks@@fitzgreyve I got the ratcheting setup but I'm still confused about the difference between a Quantizer and a Tuner. Will the Tuner tune the vco to a perfect pitch and then the Quantizer move between perfect semi-tones and octaves?

[@fitzgreyve]

A tuner (generally) shows you the pitch (frequency) of a note, including whether it is sharpe or flat - it just "shows you what you've got" - it doesn't modify anything. A quantizer acts on a contriol voltage (CV) and constrains it to only those voltages that represent notes on a specific musical scale. The "2HP" module may be confusing you because while it is called "tune" it's a quantizer ?

[@ddpmusic]

Yep @@fitzgreyve my confusion was on the name. I'm using a Mordax DATA for visual tuning and I just got the Klavis CalTrans Quad quantizer. it include Porta and Glide too. Thank you!

[@2009Tosh]

Thicko here.... how are you getting that 921 to pulse? Mine just makes a continuous tone? ACTUALLY it is pulsing but when the 921B that is creating the sequence is connected the pulsing is non existent.... I must be doing something dopey as usual! Hey ho! HANG ON...... just moved the selected knob on 961 row 2 to x2 and I believe I have ratcheting.....well i never! Thanks again!

[@fitzgreyve]

The on-screen 921 is just acting as an LFO, synced to the 960 internal oscillator (the short white patch cable). Tone generation is "off screen": VCO plus 902 VCA and 911 EG. The gate/ trigger pulse from the 921 to the 911EG is the illuminated patchcord, which goes to the EG via the 961 at the bottom of the screen to convert V-trig to S-trig.

[@2009Tosh]

Hi - yeh i think I'm there.... I was forgetting that its the LFO that is 'pulsing'.... I got it all working beautifully - THEN tried to control it via my midi/cv/gate module so I could sync with cubase....... THAT's when it all fell apart again..... But following the vid got the ratcheting and manual starts to sorted so huge thanks.@@fitzgreyve