The Ultimate Sequencer? - NDLR Review (Deep Dive)

[@NateHorn]

Love my NDLR and it quickly became a core part of my setup. There is a lot to improve in a NDLR 2.0 but I'd be really sad to lose mine - I even considered buying a second just in case something goes wrong with it!

[@11smallroaches1]

I did exactly that, I have one new in the box in my gear closet just in case. I use it constantly, will give with it if covid lets up. NDLR is basically my instrument (connected to 4 semimodular synths plus drum machine)

[@bonaventura_AKA_ben]

oh good heavens all this time and I didn't know there was a librarian available for it. Lucky thing I was recommended your video. Good job. The NDLR guys need to do some comprehensive videos, but in the meantime your vid is an excellent addition.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Thanks for the comment, I don't tend to use the Library as most of my videos are a one shot idea. Delete the project afterwards and start fresh, but it is nice to have.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

I wrote THIS to Conductive Labs : You Guy´s ROCK ! I love everything about your products AND your Work ethics ! Have a GRAND new Year - and please get CV (Controlled Voltage , for all us Eurorack adopters ) into the Noodler ! 🙂

[@lmcmulle]

Such a great overview mate. Wonderful. thank you for all the work that it took to make this.

[@christopherb6113]

Well Karl: I am an older getting with very little musicality in my body, but you wouldn't know it with the amount of music making equipment in my apartment, and in my past purchase history, that I don't own anymore. What I am trying to say is I will die trying, to satisfy my desire to make my own video documentary soundtrack. And all that makes a difference when you consider how compelling you made this product as a device that makes my goals obtainable. The way you just highlighted and gave me and anyone else a deep dive experience, in to this device, is unequaled by any others I have ever seen, over the last 10 years of watching KZbin. This was an expert presentation; NDLR Master Class. BRAVO. These people and many other companies should hire you to explain their very complex products, and they wouldn't be dissatisfied with the results they would see from their product affiliation to your deep dive explanation and introductions. Good Luck. Regards... Christopher B. Los Angeles, Ca.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Hi Christopher Thankyou for your wonderful comment, I would love to get to the stage where it is my day job to review obscure music tech devices. Trying to find the 'perfect' device always brings challenges because our expectations keep changing as goalposts for technology moves forward. I'm glad you found the video entertaining and helpful, hope to see your comments on future videos :)

[@lrkx_]

Excellent breakdown of the beastie’s capabilities. I’m enjoying mine immensely. I particularly like that it’s bus powered and can fit into a very mobile setup for those days working outdoors is essential to the mental wellbeing. I just grab an iPad, NDLR and power bank and head out…magic! ;)

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

I'm thinking of getting an iPad if just for the "Fugue Machine" app. That idea of nonlinear sequencing with multiple playheads is really inspiring to me.

[@lrkx_]

@@KarlClarkeMusic beware, you think it’s just one app, but before you know it, you have dozens…😂 Been there, done that, but I don’t regret it at all.

[@duncan-rmi]

NDLR user of a few years experience here, & many hardware sequencers in a largely hw rig (cirklon, notron, deluge, tracker, octatrack... plenty of choice!). the two issues you describe- the display of the actual range of notes played by the pad section, post-modulation &/or midi control could certainly be a bit more useful, but it does show you the range of midi note numbers in play, & I tend to gravitate towards this if I'm worried something is getting out of bounds. I control these parameters quite closely as the NDLR may be contributing parts to a larger arrangement coming from another sequencer. the pattern lengths can be changed in two different places, both for pitches & for rhythm, & this leads to the confusion... so.... if I make a pattern with just four steps, I fill up the blank space with repeats of those four steps. it's tedious, but easier if you make the entries from a keyboard instead of the encoder. I've found that you can 'record' into the pattern edit from an external sequencer, so essentially you can edit the pattern 'live' from (say) a doepfer maq, or anything else sending out a repeated pattern of notes. haven't tried this with velocities & the rhythm editor yet. on my wish list is having the thing switch its own brain off a bit & follow the notes coming into it to form the basis of what notes it allows back out. so you could play a C major chord then a Db minor... even with extensive midi control, this can be a bit of a fumble when the NDLR is trying to force everything into one of its own scales. the trigger for changing key would then be either at a bar end or when it sees three simultaneous note-ons from an external source. I'd like a better quantised stop-start of the elements too. but I manage with the external control functionality as it is, & at the moment I'm using it in a very minimal set-up with one 1010 black box attached, full of multisampled instruments, & providing basic direction to the NDLR from one of its own sequencer tracks. I think they've got a lot right, in a tool that-for me- makes a lot of sense in a band context too, where you might be on the receiving end of a guitarist's chord suggestions & need to translate them into keyboard/string/brass parts.

[@duncan-rmi]

midicake arp arrives this week. 🙂

[@MrTHounsell]

An informative review that touches all the bases with regards to the tools at hand when creating generative sequences with the device. All your hard work is sincerely appreciated. I'll be back for further instruction, cheers.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Why thankyou for the wonderful comment, haven't posted much as spending the holiday period with family but hope to return with streams and VCV rack with the NDLR

[@rayderrich]

I subscribed for your relaxed way of teaching your viewers, plus I am in the market for The NDLR as soon as they can produce them again. Thanks for the deep dive.

[@RuiGon1]

Thanks. I was a bit confused about the logic behind the quarter notes. But now I understand.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

i love the way you use the noodler - fine video , man !

[@surrogatemarker]

I strangely have to give credit to a mild COVID infection during the Christmas and new year holidays of 2021 in order to have had the opportunity of 5 isolation days to deep dive with the NDLR that I have owned for well over a year but had only scratched the surface of its features . Your video helped save me from thinking I was suffering from COVID brain fog due to the pattern issues present with the current firmware. The NDLR is especially useful for generating ambient music but it is difficult at times to get the unit to bend the knee to what you precisely want it to do.. but that’s probably why it’s not intended to be a true step sequencer and in some ways that’s what makes it different, special and creative in a DAWless setup. I believe that Conductive Labs would probably serve the user community best with fixing a few of the issues you have mentioned by releasing a final FW version for the original NDLR . And then they should plan on releasing a NDLR 2.0 with newer hardware and processor. It will soon be close to 5 years old and that’s a long time for most electronic music hardware even with FW updates. It certainly fills a useful niche in music production. Ideally the next version could be made available as a standalone device or Eurorack compatible with MIDI to CV translation and with CV input modulation capabilities

[@motorhead9356]

Thanks for taking time and sharing all the info about this device.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

No worries, I enjoyed making the review. Thanks for commenting.

[@xpump876]

Fantastic vid - really helped me see under the hood while I patiently waiting on my NDLR delivery - thx!

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Hey, no worries. I appreciate the comment and hope you've received your NDLR.

[@itaydagani1704]

what a great review, thank you for the this Karl, I'm a "conservative own generative" musician that is interested in this generative music more from the point of using tools like these to generate music that can also be transposed and used over chord progressions, so I would like to ask you a few questions: 1.) 2 years later, do you still own it and use it as much as you did when you made these videos 2.) seeing what is available now in the similar price range (like the torso t-1 and maybe others), would you still choose /recommend this device, or recommend something else for the purpose that I mentioned above. 3.) Do you know / use any software tools that have capabilities like what these hardware tools have ? Thank you again !!!

[@Kostantispapak]

Very nice review i would like to see the other parts of NDLR review!!

[@illiqual]

Really nice review , thank you!

[@xivivix7195]

I just bought this thing used on an impulse an hour ago because my rig had an empty power socket that was giving me the ick. I don't need more voices or effects, and this seemed like something different. I immediately got buyer's remorse because most of my gear is Elektron and already sports some sick (and expensive) sequencing capabilities. Glad I found your vid that confirms that this is on some other shit from the Elektron sequencers and that if I take the time to learn it, I could trick people into thinking I was actual musician ;-) I mostly do harder style techno (I'm a Michigander), so I'm a bit concerned about how it will fit in with my workflow, but I guess I could tack it into Digitakt tracks for some pitched polymeter drums. That sounds pretty techno, right? Great vid, bro!

[@watchaddicts1213]

Any thoughts on NDLR vs the SOMA COSMOS? IN particular, I guess. COSMOS with the new Rhythmic Update.

[@slackmaster666]

Thanks for this excellent resource! Couldn't agree more: NDLR needs to go higher than C7. So say fans of Arctic Ambient Twinkle.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

I don't think it is specifically C7 as I mentioned in the video, but I believe it is linked to the fact that you normally use the chord quantisation. You can go past it if you use the scale quantisation. But still begs the question if CL doesn't think that chords can be played past ~C7

[@slackmaster666]

@@dadigitechman DOH! I just got caught up in the moment.

[@bleighhh]

great explanation. thank you

[@peter160266]

Thank you, this is very useful. I order a second hand NDLR, cannot wait to receive and use🎹🎹🎹🎹🎧

[@nosynthtofear2681]

I like your ndlr domain. I just bought one and uploaded a video testing it to my channel. I just subscribed, you give quality content

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Thanks for the awesome comment, will check out your channel too!

[@MrLanka-ud8wl]

fantastic waltkthrough. Thanks!

[@watchaddicts1213]

ALSO, have you fooled around with the ROTATOR algarsythm inside NRLR?

[@matissev2530]

Hi Karl! Do you know if NDLR has implemented your recommended changes and/or fixed the issues you saw with the device?

[@chrisliddiard725]

Can anyone point me in the direction of an NDLR sequence that sounds like it might be part of a song and not another ambient drone? The sequences I've heard all sound very samey. In other words, can you change the root note on the fly?

[@GregBolton]

So brilliant, mine is on the way and this really helped me understand why I bought it. Ha.

[@TedBrownMedia]

This guy is the midlife synthesist dopple ganger❤

[@tendingtropic7778]

Its a great tonal idea generator indeed. Can you use another sequencer to trigger the NDLR chord buttons? that would be great in a song for instance.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

If you have a look at one of my other videos I go into this topic for working with it in a DAW. I am also working on a video (coming out soon) which uses a Turing Machine to trigger chord changes in a modular scenario.

[@tendingtropic7778]

@@KarlClarkeMusic cool! which video should I check out? I was contemplating to use the elektron octatrack to send midi cc and control the chord changes (so octatrack would be brain and master clock, and sequence some other synths too with its arp, and play samples). Would this work / is this technically possible?

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

@@tendingtropic7778 Hundred percent that is a possibility kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4rHm6hjp71mmqs That's the video that shows the setup from a DAW, very similar to the setup you're talking about. Was thinking of doing the same with the Digitakt when I finally get one.

[@romanmezhibovski3879]

great stuff - tnx !

[@Threiske]

Thanks for this great review! By the way, could the Squarp Pyramid also be on the list of alternatives to your opinion? Also ordered the Oxi one. Hope you will review that as well one day! Cheers.

[@SuperPedalhead]

I wish this thing had a desktop editor. Its an absolute nightmare to program with the tiny screen and unintuitive layout. A lot of fun when you get it going tho.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

It certainly would be possible to create a custom layout in FL for MaxMSP to communicate through CCs as almost every parameter has a CC. Definitely possible for free in Pure Data, just take quite a lot of time.

[@jason901688]

I realise it eats the midi data when you change the mode or the key while playing. It chokes the chord and makes the attack chopping instead of gelling notes together. wonder if there is a work around?

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

That's really interesting, I had a case where I broke it to such a point the only remedy was reflashing the stock firmware. I would change from chromatic to chord and it would shift the icon till it was off screen and the pad layer was reading 0 0 0 for min middle and max.

[@gowldart]

@@KarlClarkeMusic so its not ment to happen?? Thag chokes the chord when you change mode? Did you find a fix for it? Reinstall update?

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

@@gowldart sadly no fix this far but am going to be posting it to the bugs section on the forums. Hopefully the Devs manage to figure out what is going on.

[@chilp9759]

Can the rhythm section be rotated or is it fixed? I know it can be edited, but having the ability to rotate it will make it more flexible and spontaneous while the other tracks are playing.

[@kenherbst9460]

Are you whispering as not to wake the baby?

[@paul_rowley]

Fantastic thank you!

[@particle-dots]

Really nice - thank you. Out of interest, do you use logic audio...I recently got a NDLR and I am trying to make it work with the soft synths in logic audio, i load 4 soft synths, each set to a different midi channel but when i try to use the NDLR, all of the midi info for pad, drone, motif 1+2 is played by each soft synth...i cant figure out out how to send the midi info for drone, pad, motif 1+2 to each soft synth - any thoughts or ideas where i can find a solution for this?

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

You would need to look at what MIDI channel each is being sent too, this was covered at the start of the settings section. It could also be your Logic MIDI channel that is screwing things up. Try sending directly to USB 1-4 on channel 1 and assign separate MIDI devices.

[@particle-dots]

@@KarlClarkeMusic thank you - i have been able to make it work with hardware synths (one synth per channel) and also in reaper (in a similar way to what you suggest)...i will try again with settings in logic audio...i am probably doing something wrong on the logic side

[@stevepile8133]

@@particle-dots not sure if by Logic Audio you mean Logic Pro X. If so, there is a whole procedure you have to go through to use multiple midi channels on Logic that you don't have to do in other DAWs. I did it but it was complicated and I said screw it and just use it with hardware these days.

[@particle-dots]

@@stevepile8133 yep - Logic Pro X...(its a good job I didnt refer to it as C-LAB creator- i have been using it since it was called that) - i am kind of at the same point as you - NDLR works great with the hardware synths I have and it works as you would expect it to in Reaper...i am at the 'screw it' phase as far as logic is concerned

[@stevepile8133]

@@particle-dots I can tell you that you need to go to the Window tab, choose Open Midi environment, then go to New, select Physical Input, and then do some crazy routing thing where you drag the instrument to the channel you want to use. I wrote about it on some forum somewhere :-x....I'll try and find it!

[@tendingtropic7778]

Sometimes I feel the NDLR feels a bit outtdated, or options limited. The harmonizing feature of 4 sequencers has been unique, but now there is also the Oxi One (have you seen it?) that also features this, and a lot more. seems like a more complete sequencer imo, perhaps thats more 'the ultimate' sequencer.....

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Yeh, I feel that too the generative sequencer market is growing at a rapid pace, which is really nice for a buyer (just not for someone who already bought 😂) The Oxi One is a sequencer I'd love to try if my wallet allowed it. Same with the Torso T1, though a lot of that functionality can be achieved with other systems too. I'm starting to get more into the Monome Norns which I have a jam up already which has a plethora of generative possibilities.

[@KnarfSondiers]

Thanks for the vid. It's very well put out / edited, and with some very relevant thoughts and opinions. Quite useful for me as an owner of that same device. One suggestion maybe would be to avoid shooting your vids while people are sleeping next door (I guess that's the reason why you're talking that softly 🤣). Good job anyway 🙏👌

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Thankyou for the kind words. Haha yes I do live in a shared house so trying to keep quiet is a consideration. Also my first time speaking on KZbin so fairly nervous too.

[@seoverus7805]

@@KarlClarkeMusic You did Really well 99% Better than most, Calm clear & accurate. Great video Keep going please.

[@ilanonbass]

Thanks for all the useful info…. But you sound as if you’re trying not to wake up someone sleeping next to you LOL… thanks anyway

[@jason901688]

just got one yesterday thanks so much!

[@sompfy]

To much klick klack

[@eastwoofer]

You're explaining this so terribly.

[@KarlClarkeMusic]

Hey, can you let me know what exactly you didn't like about the video and my explanation?