metaseq

NOTE Above images show new version of metaseq that is compatible with untik. However, the documentation below hasn’t been (fully ) updated.

metaseq is a time-line slicer that acts as a middle man between the a linear main clock (like untik) and a sequencer. It lets you arrange timeline segments freely in order to create more complex sequencing structures. Such arrangements are organized in sets. Sets can be chained in order to build even more complex structures. Since metaseq fully integrates into the untik clock system, it is fully compatible with any existing sequencer. metaseq sets are themselves untik clock consumers and at the same time clock providers and thus can freely interact with each other.

left-hand part: sets

There is a fixed number of eight sets available (yeah, the old pre-untik metaseq had virutally infinite sets, which unfortunately was not possible with the new system). Each set provides the following parameters for editing:

clock selection

choses any clock from the available clocks. This includes metaseq sets with a non-zero number of segments.

div

clock divider factor. Makes the input clock slower by an integer factori. For instance, when div is set to 4, for every forth input tick the set tick is advanced by one.

shift

shifts the set timing-wise to the right. This means the set starts playing only when the clock reaches the value of shift.
Note: The shift parameter has only an effect when length is non-zero. The slightly greyed out color indicates when shift is not active.

length

sets the length in ticks for which the set is played. When length is 0, the configured sequences of the set (right-hand part) are looped indefinitely. If the length is greater than length of the right-hand part (sum of sequences), the right-hand part is looped for as long as necessary to reach the configured length.

pos

displays the current tick position within the set (taking div, shift and length into account). White background indicates that the current tick position is outside the playable range, yellow background means the current tick is within the sets playable range. A length of 0 loops indefinitely, thus always has a yellow background.

How the current set’s tick position is calculated

set_tick = input_tick / div - shift

Example:
div = 2
shift = 16
input_tick = 28

-2 = ( 28 / 2 ) - 16

The set position is at -2, which means it does not yet play.

Why limit the playable range in the set?

The params shift and length are of limited usefuleness, when the set is fed by a linear clock. The set would be played for only a short section and then never again. However, when the input clock is looping over a certain range, those parameter can be used to have different sets play at different times within the overall loop. For instance, we could have an input clock looping for 32 ticks feeding to sets, one using shift=0 and length=16, thus playing only for the first half, while the other set is configured to shift=16 and length=16, which would make it play for the second part of the 32 tick loop.

right-hand part: segments

For a set to output anything at all, one or more segments need to exist for that set. Each set has its own group of segments. The segemnts of the highlighted set are displayed on the right-hand side. To see the segments of a different set, simply click on a different set on the left-hand side.

Segments are added with |+| and removed wit |-|. Each segment is defined by two numbers, the segment offset and the segment length. There is no limit on the number of segments per set. The segments define which part of the sequencer (or a chained set, for that matter) is going to be played. The sum of all segment lengths is displayed in the header row on the right.

The first column of buttons sets the range of the active segments. New segments are added without affecting the playback of the current set. Only when the range is adapted to include the new segments, the new segments are effectively used. Note that only the range end and can be defined. The range starts always with the first segment of the set.

The second column of buttons is used to solo specific segments. Only one segment can be solo’d at a time. If a segment is solo’d, this segment is looped indefinitely, disregarding all other segments as long as solo is active.

The third column of buttons mutes specific segments. The length of the segment is still accounted for in the set, but no clock is output during playback of a muted set.