Most digital music systems run on a fixed update loop frequency, but uSEQ is a bit different: It tries to run and update as frequently as possible, given the task(s) it’s been asked to perform. This is much like how many videogames will try to run at the highest FPS possible, given the complexity of the scene they have to render at each moment.

Timing functions take a functional rendering approach; they are “driven” by the current time t (or any time-varying value that’s derived from it), and react accordingly.

Much of the sequencing in uSEQ is done using phasors: ramps that rise from 0 to 1 over a fixed time period.

Timing Variables

time

The number of seconds since the module was last switched on.

t

Logical time, similar to the notion of playback transport time in most DAWs; the number of seconds since the last user-requested reset of the transport.

beat

A phasor, rising from 0-1 over the length of a beat (dependent on the BPM and time signature).

bar

A phasor, rising from 0-1 over the length of a bar (dependent on the BPM and time signature).

phrase

A phasor, rising from 0-1 over the length of a phrase (dependent on the BPM, time signature, and phrase length in bars).

section

A phasor, rising from 0-1 over the length of a section (dependent on the BPM, time signature, and section length in bars).

bpm

The tempo in beats per minute.

bps

The tempo in beats per second.

Timing functions

set-bpm <bpm>

Set the speed of the sequencer in beats per minute.

Parameter Description Range
bpm beats per minute > 0

set-time-sig <numerator> <denominator>

Set the time signature of the sequencer.

Parameter Description Range
numerator number of beats in a measure > 0
denominator the length of a beat > 0

get-clock-source

Returns the source for the clock, either internal (0), gate input 1 (1) or gate input 2 (2).

set-clock-int

Sets the clock source to the internal clock

set-clock-ext

Sets the clock source to be driven by either gate input 1 or 2. uSEQ will calculate the current bpm from the time between rising edges of the gate. It will also stay in phase by reseting uSEQs logical time to zero, either at the start of each phrase if the bpm tracking is stable, or every bar if the bpm tracking is unstable. If you change the speed of the external signal, uSEQ will try to adapt to it as quickly as possible. uSEQ will track bars and phrases by counting from the first rising edge it receives. You can reset this information using reset-clock-ext.

Parameter Description Range
input number which gate input should uSEQ synchronise to? 1 or 2
clock divisor the number of clocks per beat >0

reset-clock-int

Reset the internal clock, starting the logical time from 0.

reset-clock-ext

Reset the data used by the external clock tracker. If you are changing from one external clock to another, it might be useful to run this. After running this function, the first rising edge to be detected will be assumed to be the start of the first bar.