@Mistercharlie started a good thread to discuss taking Pattern-based track sketches forward to finished tracks using a DAW. The opening message asked:
For me, playing the sequencer is the tool or technique I employ to finish tracks off. My tracks include a mixture of mutes, macro adjustments and sequencer actions. I’ve noticed people talk about “jamming” and “macros” and “mutes” a lot on this forum, and also that many people talk about wanting to avoid changing patterns (especially on the Digis)… but less about finishing tracks off, or how they put a set together.
So I thought I’d start a thread to discuss playing the sequencer. What tricks do you use? How do you go from a sketch to a finished track, with just the Elektron sequencer? How do you lay out patterns to make it easier to play? How much practice do you do? Do you have tips on organising mutes, tracks, macros and scenes to help play a whole set? How do you build performance and expression into playing sequences? If you use other performance sequencers, what do you like about them and how do they help?
To kick us off: I’m training myself to latch fill mode at the start of a Pattern. No more hovering over the button waiting for the right time to play it. This frees me up to turn a macro knob or play a filter over the fill. My physical technique isn’t great and I hate actually practicing, so I’ve not mastered it yet.
I love the Digitone and Digitakt song mode, and I use that a lot. I sync the two boxes, but use separate songs on each, so I can change the pattern on one but not the other.
I also use a ton of mutes.
I also try to squeeze as much as possible out of a pattern with mutes and step components. The OP-Z is better at this, especially with its master track, which can transpose all other tracks on the fly.
The part I have trouble with is adding non-looped parts, like longer field recordings, or one-shots. It always seems a terrible waste of a track just to drop in a one shot.
Currently i made an ableton template where I can automatize program change and mute/unmute tracks and whatever midi cc I need to manipulate, its like a better song mode but with all the melodies programing and sound design I made in the elektron boxes itself. Its the best of two worlds
With song mode (working on DT + ST here), I find there’s now a kind of sliding scale for how much I can automate a track. With the longer conditional trigs (eg 7:8), or longer-repeat song rows (which can give the FX track a longer master length), it’s possible to sequence some effects and macros in addition to the pattern mutes. I also control ST sound macros from a DT midi channel (and have a lot to spare), so it’s possible to sequence or LFO those along with conditional trigs and the track mutes.
Having all that automation available, though, I generally like to play the effects and macros on the fly and sequence the mutes. Having everything surfaced on the screens (ST macros on the DT screen, ST FX track with scenes up, set to LFO2 where LFO2 depth is set as fx expression knob) makes it all a great deal easier to do on the fly—keeping the screen swapping to a minimum is very helpful to me…
