Last time we looked at the Roux Sequencer we examined the Snap Array module, how it retains values and how it feeds them to the Event Table module when you change snapshots. In this post we finish up by focusing on how the Mouse Area module allows you to add and change the sequencer’s values.

Let’s continue learning about the Roux sequencer macro. Last time we looked at the Event Table module in Reaktor and how a clock signal can read values from it. Since the Event Table has no memory associated with snapshots, builders typically use a Snap Value Array to store and recall sequences with snapshots.

Sequencers are, by definition, all about controlling sets of events. Having unlocked the mysteries of time — the clock and timing data you need to keep your sequencer in sync — Peter Dines now tackles how a table can organize a sequence of events or steps. Take it away, Chef! -PK

Here’s the next puzzle piece in our series dissecting the guts of the Roux step sequencer macro - the event table. As you might guess from the name, the event table receives and sends event rather than audio data.

By default, the event table holds values between zero and one, and I know I bang on about this lot, but that’s a super convenient range because it’s so easy to scale. Ed.: It’s what’s called a “normalized” range for this reason - and easy to scale, indeed. Want 0 to 127, for instance? Just multiply by 127.) -PK We dealt with scaling the output in the last post on the Roux sequencer.

I decided the best way to tackle teaching the guts of the Roux step sequencer is to blog one piece at a time, and work backwards from the business end where the values emerge.

The values that this macro produces are between 0 and 1 by default, which is a convenient range for all sorts of applications, but sometimes you need a different range of values - for example, from 0 to 127 for MIDI note pitches. I’ve included an X+ module just before the output to make it easy to scale values:

The values emerging from the event table are multiplied by one and have zero added to them, which means they pass through unmodified. Here’s a video demonstration of what happens when you multiply and add other numbers:

Multiply / Add module in Reaktor from Create Digital Media on Vimeo.

If you’ve ever worked with electronics, think of the way the X+ is used here as being like those little mini trimpots on a circuit board - handy for adjustments but not something you mess with every day once you’ve got a contraption put together the way you like.

Need to control external MIDI gear — or for that matter, more advanced multi-timbral plug-ins — inside Kore? Our friend Jonathan Adams Leonard wrote an extensive micro-tutorial in comments, so it made sense to reproduce it in its entirety in case you missed it.

The basic idea: instead of using channel-level parameters as you might in a DAW, in Kore you’ll add MIDI modules as needed to do what you like. That general strategy could be powerful for plug-in use as well as external gear.

I always loved fiddling with the insides of piano, back to when I was a kid. I’ve had the opportunity to play the occasional John Cage piece, and have done other prepared piano music. Prepared techniques include adding obstructions to strings and other modifications. There’s nothing like a real instrument, so I won’t even try to propose digital work as a substitute. But, on the other hand, mimicking real-world sounds with digital techniques gives you an entirely new perspective on sound.

In the last installment of “sound design for imaginary instruments,” we saw some experiments with guitar sounds. This time, I’ll talk about how nice it is to be able to throw together sampled sounds and effects quickly in Kore.