Step Sequencer question

[lordavon]

I'm considering making a new version of my GorF sequencer in a case, ready assembled and so on.

But I'm considering swapping the pots for sliders (60mm travel), it'll make it slightly bigger but I'm wondering what you guys all think?

I think the only other sequencer I've seen that does this is the frost wave.

I'll keep the same options, i.e. note value (scalable from 127 notes to 12 notes), velocity, MIDI CC, etc, etc.

So a simple poll question, rotary or slider for step data?

Paul

[emdot_ambient]

Q: Pots or sliders?
A: Yes.

As in, "it all depends". My $0.02 is that I prefer sliders from an aesthetic/ergonomic viewpoint, however, the sequencer has to be set up to accomodate that choice.

I have an ARP Sequencer, which is slider based. What I love, love, love about it is that you can look at the 2 sets of 8 steps and instantly see the pattern. There's no confusion or obfuscation when it comes to which steps are set to high, low, or mid-ranged note values.

HOWEVER...it is terribly hard to dial in a sequence on that machine if you're not using the quantized outputs. See, the quantized outputs on the ARP limit the step outputs to 0V - 3V, whereas the unquantized outputs are 0V - 10V. So you can see, with a 10 octave range it makes dialing up a specific note rather fiddly. Not at all bad with a 3V range, though. However, if you're using the sequencer for non-quantized purposes (filter control, etc.), then a 10V range is better and you don't really need to do such fine adjustments. So the ARP set up is actually quite nice. If you want to do harmonically accurate work, then the quantized 3-octave range is great (you can always offset it externally, or with a CV input). Otherwise, 10V non-quantized FTW and in both cases, the sliders work wonderfully.

Pots, OTOH, are a little easier to use than sliders when it comes to fine adjustments. But you lose the graphic display of the sequencer's pattern.

For me, if you have the luxury of space, and the ability to limit or change the output of the sequencer, then sliders are great. But if you're stuck with a large fixed output voltage, or are limited in space, then Pots FTW.

[lordavon]

Thanks for your comment.

On GorF you can "scale" the note range, so if you want you can have the control giving you all 127 notes, but you can have it so a full rotation gives you an octave, two octaves, two and half octaves, 3 octaves or 4 octaves. (I found with it set to 127 it was almost impossible to hit the note you wanted reliably, but maybe that's just me).

Personally I like the look of the sliders, however rotary pots are cheaper to buy and easier to make cases for (one drill hole instead of a cut out). They also eat up less PCB space, which again means the cost can be kept lower.

I just wondered as the frostwave and arp sequencers are the only ones I've ever seen with sliders, if people had a preference and possibly, why

Thanks

[JingleJoe]

I propose you add the option "it doesn't matter" to the poll.

[lordavon]

<ROFLMAO>

Fair enough

[emdot_ambient]

[magman]

As there aren't too many controls needed for the Gorf, I would suggest sliders. Especially as you can get sliders with integral LED's which is a nice visual aid - especially in a performance situation.

I expect you would be building a PCB to mount the sliders if you use them anyway, so extra connections to power the LED's shouldn't be a problem.

Regards

Magman

[wmonk]

My Klee sequencer has sliders and I like them.
The main advantage of sliders over rotaries is that one can move more at the same time and to the same position. The downside is that it is a little bit harder to tune. But looking at the GorF, with midi quantized notes, that doesnt much matter.
Besides that the fact that you can move sliders at the same time makes a sequencer more playable. And I guess that is the purpose of the GorF too: playability.
So I would say: do it!

[lordavon]

Thanks for the input guys, and yes my aim was to make gorf a performance tool.

Found a slider at Mouser, a bit pricey -
http://uk.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Bourns/PTL60-15G1-104B2/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMta4trl6r8pJ4n7BD4SIqVHhBjSitbIGT4%3d

I'll keep an eye out...

[emdot_ambient]

You may not want that particular one. Aside from the price, they have a center detent, which to me doesn't sound like what you'd ultimately want for a sequencer.

[diablojoy]

for this particular sequencer
i would also vote for sliders
makes more sense in this case
and i would expect more saleable.