Getting my head around Patterns in JJosXL 3.02

I hope this release is to get the bugs worked out and JJ is listening to our suggestions. I think whats there so far is a good start to accomplish the grid thing we are all talking about....but its not all there yet.

basically what i would like to see, is that once you create your patterns and assign them to pads. I would like them to be able to be treated like normal pad events (timing wise). Be able to be used in grid mode, or on a track, with overlapping patterns, unlimited simaltaneous patterns (or atleast a reasonable limit, like 16 or 32).

how I imagine myself working with patterns is like this.

I have several differant drum patterns on several pads, then several differant instrument patterns on several pads. I can just make any combination i want, overlapping, similataneous triggering of pads, etc. then if i want, i can go into grid and step in the pads (similar to FL song mode).

basically what i would like to see, is that once you create your patterns and assign them to pads. I would like them to be able to be treated like normal pad events (timing wise). Be able to be used in grid mode, or on a track, with overlapping patterns, unlimited simaltaneous patterns (or atleast a reasonable limit, like 16 or 32).

exactly!

i finally installed 3 and was at first confused, then surprised, then excited. now, i'm just twirling my handlebar mustache.
i want the exact things you have described - pad events, preferably assigned just like regular samples in PGM mode, usable in GRID edit, etc etc etc

the problem i see in that is that these items are recorded directly to sequence, as opposed to being discrete notes bound by velocity, duration, note variation, pad parameters, again etc etc etc. though it would be cool to have note on/oneshot playback modes.

all this is where the difficulty will come in the programming (educated guess).

in the mean time, the only limit here is 1 - overlapping pattern playback on a single pad and 2 - only usable in main screen.

whatever happens, this is a great feature for performance already, makes some of those ghost notes easier to fake while drumming...and fills no longer need to be resampled so much as just triggered.

more than anything in 3, i am stoked about being able to access the Note Variation parameter in MIDI tracks, which was previously hidden.

i'll be testing the new features and trying to break them so we can tease out any bugs. for now seem pretty solid.

seems another good feature to add would be to convert multiple tracks or seq to a pattern, not just a track. that way you could say on seq 01 have all your instruments seperated, mute some tracks or whatever, then when you create a pattern you could convert that whole sequence.....all the tracks and events would be merged into a pattern obeying tack mutes. That way, if you want to go back to the original sequence, you could edit it like a normal sequence with the advantage of multiple tracks, then convert it again.

also, i think we should make this the official patterns jjosxl 3.++ thread.

So we can keep all our complaints, thoughts, requests, usage ideas in one spot (for JJ's sake).

If we see other threads popup, lets redirect them here if possible. or maybe a moderator can just do that.

peace!!!

rarara wrote:Like who out there actually uses Looper, Arp, Audio Tracks etc etc??

I'm using the looper and audiotracks a lot. I've never used the old pattern and I think will never use the new pattern mode. So you may say it sounds a bit off-topic but what I wanted to underline is the fact that JJ is often reluctant to modify or optimize what he did or has just done.

So we can keep all our complaints, thoughts, requests, usage ideas in one spot (for JJ's sake).

Haha sorry I didn't read your post.
Well you can move or delete mine.

PEace

Jamon wrote:I like simultaneous sequence too, but it's too limited. I was hoping the pattern mode addition was going to be a grid of simultaneous sequences.

I think many people were looking for something like that, but if you put yourself in JJ's shoes it may look like the MPC's 64 tracks behave like 64 simultaneous sequences. We can go back and forth about how it is not the same but for the most part we can say it is similar.

Jamon wrote:The sequences would be the patterns. You could make sequences of drum beats, some melodies, one for vocal hook, then go into your sequence song grid, and play them with pads, or mark them out with the cursor. Then you hit play, and it plays your whole song as programmed. Now if you want to tweak something, just go into the sequence, and change it, and then go back to the song mode to hear it all together.

I think you can Achieve this with tracks acting like sequences. I could be wrong. Or tweeks to next sequences could accomplish this.

Jamon wrote:
Instead, the song mode last I checked was just stringing together sequences. The new pattern sequencer is like that too. Although you can create patterns like that, and record them into a sequence, it isn't quite the same, because it ends up as a bunch of marks on a track. With separate sequences, it's more powerful, and keeps each part in its own container. Then you can go back and edit it easily.

Depending on how many bars you use to create your main sequence you will have to string along sequences at some point. It looks like you are running into the same arranging issues which is "Marks on the track". This is why I would like a pad to mute so you don't have to mess/mark/erase with the original track.

cyrus wrote:
basically what i would like to see, is that once you create your patterns and assign them to pads. I would like them to be able to be treated like normal pad events (timing wise). Be able to be used in grid mode, or on a track, with overlapping patterns, unlimited simaltaneous patterns (or atleast a reasonable limit, like 16 or 32).

how I imagine myself working with patterns is like this.

I have several different drum patterns on several pads, then several different instrument patterns on several pads. I can just make any combination i want, overlapping, similataneous triggering of pads, etc. then if i want, i can go into grid and step in the pads (similar to FL song mode).

A setting for a Pad to trigger a sequence or one of the 99 patterns. This will help me paint an arrangement using patterns to mute certain pads. The only thing he would have to do is make sure is when you press a pad it always triggers the pads like they were being hit with the correct time.

I tried this out last night for the first time. I liked it. Playing around with two identical patterns on seperate pads was quite fun for making cross rhythms. Changing the tuning field was interesting too as far as generating unusual fills.

One thing i noticed was note repeat doesnt retrigger the one shot patterns (which would be cool) - it triggers the sample assigned to that pad instead.

i like the fact that it records the midi notes into the tracks. I can imagine using it mainly for creating fills. would be cool if we could convert a chopped sample in edit mode to sample chops and midi pattern- it would put patch phrase to shame.

cyrus wrote:seems another good feature to add would be to convert multiple tracks or seq to a pattern, not just a track. that way you could say on seq 01 have all your instruments seperated, mute some tracks or whatever, then when you create a pattern you could convert that whole sequence.....all the tracks and events would be merged into a pattern obeying tack mutes. That way, if you want to go back to the original sequence, you could edit it like a normal sequence with the advantage of multiple tracks, then convert it again.

I agree, that's how it is on the fantom-x. It has 16 tracks but it each track holds 1 of 99 patterns on a time line. But each pattern holds 16 midi channels (tracks). Each track could be triggered by the pads. Those functions as well as the time line would be nice.