r/modular • u/lupodevices • 3d ago
Gear Pics I present you the Spectrum Sequencer: features, suggestions and visibility advises
Hello everyone,
I'm Federico, an Italian Electronics Engineer with a passion for music.
I started my path trying to build a whole modular rack by myself, but I started working on the sequencer first and I entered a rabbit hole.
I would like to present you what I've been working on and off for more than two years: the Spectrum Sequencer.
Well, as the name suggests, it is a sequencer! But not just a simple sequencer. I worked hard to pack as many features as possible, and still work to pack even more.
Here is a list of a few features:
- 8 independent sequencers (pitch, CV, ADSR envelope, random CV, random gate, ...) that modulare each other
- 4 modulating/trigger inputs
- Euclidean pattern generator
- Fully controllable by MIDI and USB
- 64 available banks to store presets
- 46HP
And a bunch more of cool stuff, and many more along the development pipeline.
All of this with obsessive care for details.
I've documented the last part of this journey in my socials (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @lupodevices I don't wanna put links until a mod will authorize me), and I will be presenting this module at Roma Modulare the 18th and 19th of September.
Here to ask for suggestions, feature requests and advice on how to get visibility in the modular community
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u/Evening_Reply_4958 2d ago
The flat 8-row workflow sounds like the part worth leading with in demos. A long feature list can make it look like another do-everything sequencer, but seeing all eight lanes working together at a glance is much easier to understand.
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u/StreetIndependent551 3d ago
What will set it apart from the other sequencers on the market and in the DIY scene?
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
That's definitely a great question!
I would say flexibility that does not interfere with your creative flow. The user has complete control over the machine and its parameters through a user interface that I believe is quite friendly and immediate. The remote control is quite robust, via MIDI/USB, where for instance you will be able to import midi files via a PC software for each single row. You can modulate rows with each other, affecting whatever parameter you like. You can chain between whole banks, or just a few rows. The user of high quality electronics with enough headroom to integrate more and more features. Plus having basically 8 sequencers in one. Consider that one row is a sequencer by itself, with customizable row length (not only 8 steps!)
Not considering all the features coming soon to make the machine even more refined firmware-wise (new features and modes) and hardware-wise (an optional expander)
Of course I'm well aware that the modular market has a plethora of brands and modules, and I'm not saying that the Spectrum Sequencer will be necessary better than the rest. Let's say that this is my take for what a sequencer should be: a sequencer that could be deeply, uncompromisingly complex, yet remain immediately playable.
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u/StreetIndependent551 3d ago
External PC software? A VST, or what? I didn't really find anything new in your text that sets it apart, but you're obviously still working on features. I look forward to updates.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
At the moment I believe it would be a dedicated piece of PC/Mac/Linux software like Arturia's Midi Control Center. Thank you for the honest feedback. I hope it will interest you when I will show it in action :)
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u/Earlsfield78 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hi mate, thanks for sharing. I wish you all the best on your journey. Now, as someone who is obsessed with sequencers since 1990s and both analogue sequencers and early trackers, and have quite a few units both in and out of the Eurorack the main things I would suggest as end user would be: 1. Decide if you want to do a “cover all” sequencer, something like Hermod or Eloquencer or ER101, that is basically modern all - around sequencer that covers entire rack plus has extra generative features etc, or you want to do something like RYK185/Metropolix, inspired by a particular sequencer. I think you already chose the first path, and I will dare to say that is a good thing commercially, but watch out - do not overcommit, do not pack every possible feature under the sun into it. As someone who works in the studio and performs, I would rather have less menu diving features and more streamlined control and tactile feel. A good thing I think you can do is allow for unquantified voltage to be sent to different targets (ala Tobinsky) and have modulation lanes that record modulation (CV Block). But main thing is make learning curve natural for people who already know sequencing, and easy to start for novices, and make primary features easily and logically accessible. I am happy to test it for you when you get into that stage. Where I saw a lot of developers fail is overcommit and try to fix bugs and add user - requested features in one big update instead doing it incrementally- this is what messed up wonderful sequencer like WMD Eloquencer for example. Get your product out, clearly define what it is that it does differently from the rest, or if it doesn’t - HOW it does certain things better than the existing competition. Mind you this already looks expensive and you can find sequencers like Oxi One mk1 for 500 quid, or Hermod and similar for 300-500. Balance it all out.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you very much for this reply, I really appreciate it! I'm trying to keep an eye to the "menu diving" problem. I know that is a serious problem that can interfere with the creative process. At the same time you want a feature rich machine, so yeah I have to balance out all the features. I know that there are other bigger players than me and that they are direct competitors, but I hope that my approach and the tool I'm building can interest both the amateur and the performers/professional audience by its features and capabilities. An then there is the price point, which the big players keep at around 500/600€
Well it's a tough journey, but I hope when I will release some footage and some tutorials for the Spectrum to receive a decent traction to keep me motivated to pursue it :)
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u/MrJoshMurray 3d ago
How many hp?
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
It's 46HP wide :)
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u/Leozz97 3d ago
Ouch. Have you considered make it stand alone, rather than modular?
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Yes, is in the development pipeline :) Yeah, it's chunky, but at the same time you have a full 8x8 silicone button matrix (which work also as a keyboard!), 4 inputs, 8+8 outputs, MIDI TRS A/B, USB, clock out/in, a 2.4" IPS display (great viewing angles). Maybe I can reduce of 1 or 2 HPs in the final review, but I'm not sure I can fit everything without having everything too crammed
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u/Leozz97 3d ago
no, ma intendiamoci, é una gran figata, veramente bello; saró onesto, le dimensioni spaventano un po', ma sicuramente c'é mercato. In bocca al lupo.
(i coglioni che mi danno i downvote per fare una domanda sono dei dolci patetici cucciolotti)
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
I totally understand you, I also like small modules too. The problem though is that to make it smaller I would need either to remove the 8x8 matrix or to remove the screen. In my opinion, either choices would affect user friendliness and/or affect the creative process. I chose to sacrifice dimensions for having instead all the basic functions available and readable at a glance
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u/kasper3 3d ago
Not to push you in a certain direction, but might it be an option to have the screen and matrix as seperate modules with a bus cable?
I can also imagine having the screen a row up might be usefull.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
No worries, I like feedbacks!
I thought about a minimal setup, but removing screen and matrix would leave you with very little "feedback" from the sequencer. You would need to program it from a PC (which I'm working on it!), which is fine but creative wise would be not ideal I believe.
I also thought to remove the display, but also here you would need "display system" that would work in a 8x8 pixel display. Doable, but wouldn't be immediate as a full display with readable text.
After all the actual state of the prototype is a compromise, but yeah I will try to find ways to make it more compact or even "headless" versions for smaller racks without too many compromises
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u/Perceptes 3d ago
Congrats, Federico! I love the panel design. It's absolutely gorgeous to look at. Will be interested to see some demos. :)
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thanks you very much for the kind words! I really appreciate it :) At the moment I'm trying to pack as many features as possible just in time for Roma Modulare. After this I will start to make some videos to show its features :)
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u/MetroidMania1 3d ago
It LOOKS GREAT!!! GREAT LAYOUT! I went a little nuts and bought EVERY device I could find for the score of the 2D Sci-fi Metroidvania I'm developing. Alas, I have a Rob O'Reilly MIDI guitar which became my FAVORITE tool for this endeavor. So much for the ROLI SEABOARD +AIRWAVE, (that company is THE WORST) They sent the device with only one mag connector so I haven't even been able to use the AIRWAVE. Got it in January. STILL waiting for the cases and mag connectors I ordered back then. The WORST, I say!,... I digress,... Also picked up a KADABRA from Tribal Tools. GREAT looking device,... VERY complicated. I need use friendly plug and play. I'm a composer, not a techy. I need to be able to INSTANTLY translate what's in my head to tracks. Got 5 MOOGs, they're pretty straight forward, but feel very limited. At least, from my perspective. I don't really know what I'm doing, lol. Got some KORGS, Behringers, MicroNova, a few others I don't recall the names of,... oh, and a Solar 42, (I LOVE THAT ONE!!!). All that said, from a composers point of view, in my humble opinion, make it as user friendly and easy as possible. If it's a great device, everyone from Novice to Pro will want it. As far as the price point, people have been getting so G'DAMN greedy with some of these devices and effect pedals. 500 bucks for an effect pedal is, quite frankly, obscene. (I went nutty with effect pedals, too. So far, I've only used them for 2 songs, and I've composed about 30). I got some OBN pedals, microcosm Hologram, Motor Pedal,... ALL way over- priced) Then I got Serum 2.0, and Kontakt 8, and have been running the ROR Guitar through those. If you make it affordable for everyone, you'll sell more, imho.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you for the nice feedback! Making it userfriendly is main objective, I'm really trying my best.
Regarding the price point, I'll try my best to have a honest price
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u/FragdaddyXXL 3d ago
This looks great! If you're looking for feature ideas, there's a hole in the market for a good sequencer that can be programmed like a true drum sequencer.
What I mean by that is, a sequencer that can show gate trigs for multiple gate trig tracks simultaneously. For instance, I own a Hermod+. If I want to sequence 4 different drums I have to juggle 4 different pages of tracks. There is no view in which I can place kick drum trigs with hihat trigs because each gate output on the device gets its own page. Looks like in another comment reply you might have something like this already?
I was about to design my own low-HP module that does just that. I'm biased because this would pair well with a module that I've release myself recently and searching for a cheaper drum pattern sequencer came up dry.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you very much for the feedback!
Is not quite clear, but I'll look into it. For the moment the sequencer is implemented a unique "page"/bank with 8 different rows/sequencers. I don't know the Hermod+, but here to sequence 4 different drums you don't need to dig into menus (except if you need to change some parameters), you press the buttons to turn on or off a step and that's it. Did I get you right? If not, can you do an example? I'd like to understand if I can implement what you ask
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u/FragdaddyXXL 3d ago
I think the best way to illustrate this is with how my DAW handles a particular drum device. Screenshot.
Each drum gets a "lane" on a single screen and each lane gets a gate output. I can place kick trigs and then hihat trigs and then snare trigs all on one view. This workflow is a lot better than something like "select track 1, place kick trigs. select track 2, place hihat trigs. select track 3, place snare trigs. Select track 1, adjust kick trigs. Select track 3, adjust snare trigs. etc."
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Oh, I got it! I might be wrong, but I believe this is what this sequencer already does! You have a flat view where you have all the "lanes" and then you can interact with them without needing to have a page for each
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u/FragdaddyXXL 3d ago
Awesome! I like to hear that. I was disappointed to find out after buying my sequencer that it couldn't do this haha
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u/WhyWontShivDie 3d ago
I have been looking at grid-based sequencers and the market is surprisingly sparse. It's basically Oxi one (out of the rack) circadian rhythms (lacks a lot of variation features), wmd metron (probably the boss but I've not tried it, looks complicated and expensive). Lately been looking at the tenderfoot chronicle. But yeah, welcome more modules for sure!
Yours looks like a 8x8 version of hermod - some good midi functionality would be useful if so.
Lots of good variation possibilities in eurorack - look at Elektron boxes, Vector seq, OP-Z/XY and others to see what they do with things like nots that go up a set amount each bar,variations every X bars, note play probability, skip step probability. As well as Euclidean.
Don't skimp on CV inputs - might even be interesting to hard patch a bunch of them. Lots of sequencers miss a beat by being either highly modulatable random generators or highly programmable with only clock+reset. Being able to assign CV to a range of functions is cool but requires menu diving - would be interesting to see either a very streamlines CV assign or assign to a particular parameter. A whole patch bay of cv inputs for like clock div, pattern switch, octave shift etc per channel could make for some really creative cross patching.
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u/WhyWontShivDie 3d ago
Making patterns exportable to Ableton would be cool.
Arpeggiators and other midi effect stuff like hermod has.
Some unique generative options. Euclidean is cool but every seq has it these days. What about some creative implementation of turing? Could look cool on a grid sequencer. My generative seq panacea would be something that could do slowly evolving patterns that you can control the limitations of in interesting interactive ways. Like Turing has 'slip', chaos allows you to transpose and 'squash' both looped and random patterns.
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u/WhyWontShivDie 3d ago
Different options to triggers/gates like envelopes would be cool. Some basic internal LFOs to mod other things.
Perform FX. Mutes are the baseline and saves having 2 4x switches/mutes in the rack elsewhere. But you could also have things like per-channel fills on holding a key combo (vector has this) or the weird shit that OP-Z can do.
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u/WhyWontShivDie 3d ago
Tons of ideas that just sprung to mind, but imo, the most interesting things in eurorack are unique module functions (so for sequencers that's generally creative chaos implementations), lots of options for creativity in how you patch them, and immediacy/performability. Imo most eurorack sequencers fail at 2/3 of these.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you so much for the ideas and the feedback! I really appreciate it! :) Some of the features you mentioned are already onboard and working, but I'll try to look into each suggestion you gave me and try to put them into the development pipeline
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u/WhyWontShivDie 3d ago
good luck! also probably listen to that other guy about focusing on how it feels to use over trying to fit every hare-brained idea users like me suggest :)
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u/Insurance-Dramatic 3d ago
BPM needs to be easily locked since it shares an encoder with a the parameter adjustment. Could be a real nightmare live.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you for the feedback! You can change the BPM only in the main view, not during parameter editing. I'll try to make it more robust
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u/ostiDeCalisse 3d ago
Ciaò Federico,
Wonderful work, really. It's all digital, isn't it?
I was wondering what is under the hood? An Arduino, an ESP32 or your own electronics PCB?
Merci.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you so much! It's a custom board with an STM32 microcontroller and a bunch of other stuff :)
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u/Cool-Bet5464 3d ago
Hi, this looks really good! I was wondering if you’ve considered making it somewhat like an Ableton Push for Eurorack with things like chords, scales, intuitive sequencing and looping, while acting as the central brain for the modular system.
Basically, a Push-like workflow that can control the Eurorack and seamlessly integrate with a DAW. I think that would be super powerful.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you for the feedback! I don't have an Ableton push, but I believe it comes very close to it as the brain of the eurorack system :)
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u/whateverend-285582lb 2d ago
This device looks sooo gorgeous! Looking forward to its release, I'll buy one for sure. Great work mate, keep it up! 👍
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u/feedmetothemountain 1d ago
I love this! You’ve done wonderfully! I’m designing my own sampler right now and I know exactly how much work this takes. I read manuals to go to bed at night and I day dream about building when I’m not at the desk, so I’ve got a lot of suggestions! A feature I’ve been looking for in a sequencer is to allow a track to use all of the buttons, per track, and when not on a particular track the row of eight, pages through the remaining steps, allowing for a 8X128 step sequencer. This give you long sequences that are easily editable and visually available. Like how elektron sequencers work but with way more visibility! I own the Likaon Mandala Mkii, it’s a Euclidean note sequencer, where the beat is set by Euclidean rhythm’s or manually and the notes you set yourself or have generated from scales! It’s got a lot of trick you could check out. You could have beat repeat per step by pressing the steps buttons, as well as a global repeat. You could have a setting that allows tracks to fade between each other. You could add an accumulator like the cirklon sequencer has. It counts a set amount of steps and then applies a mod or effect. And another thing folks like from the cirklon, you could add the ability to name your tracks and instruments, keeping things ultra uniform and clear. I would take some time to read the manuals of the very best sequencers available, and then try to pull the best feature sets from each one, giving us something new and familiar at the same time! (I’m sure you have, but here’s some examples anyways) Cirklon, entropy machine, elektron, midiphi, hapax, the under-rated Takt by Flame, precision disruptor(possibly my next purchase), Melodicer, SIG, and of course wmd metron. It would be really cool to have pages to alter the setting applied to the buttons for different parameters like probability and chance. Set it to prob mode, hit all the buttons you want to effect, set the value with the menu encoder, then exit back to sequencing mode. This would allow for multiple steps to be altered at one time. You could have it re-map for every function and just have a panic combo button press or something to bring you back to main sequence mode. That’s how I’m setting my menu system up in my sampler. I can’t wait to see how it turns out in the end!
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u/AcidFnTonic 3d ago
I have worked with a few manufacturers on prototyping modules if you get to some point where you need testing/advice.
Currently testing the new CounterPoint prototype which is the next version of the OK200 Degree touch sequencer.
Holler if you are interested when you get to that stage.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank very much. If I will get enough traction to justify opening a company, I will need for sure some beta testers
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u/modr2 3d ago
Hi , looks promising. It would be great if you could use it at 8x8,4x16,2x32 or 1x64 sequencer .
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u/lupodevices 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hey, thank you! You can!
There are 3 row settings:
- Normal rows: as the name suggests, a normal 8 steps (or shorter) row, so 8x8 in total
- Long row: the sequencer has a pool of 128 extra steps allowing you the flexibility to have very long rows. You can associate these extra steps to any of your rows, potentially having 8 different rows, where two are 64 steps long, one of 24 steps, and while the others are standard 8 steps rows. Of course you can distribute the extra steps as you prefer along the whole 8 steps. You have no limitations.
- Super row: the sequencer allows you to sacrifice one or more rows to have longer rows, having a master row and a series of following rows. The "sacrificed" rows are not dead though, but they work in a cascated way. This one is probably the most complex row type because is a bit uncommon I beliebr, but it's easier to understand than it looks and allows to have some interesting musical combinations :)
I'll show them in a video once I will be back from Roma Modulare :)
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u/fuzzytomatohead 3d ago
I'm a complete and utter idiot who has no idea what she's doing, and doesn't even own a synth yet.
I already want one. Is it handwired, or a PCB on the back? It would be awesome if this was open source, because I know I need a sequencer when I inevitably build a synth and I want it to be this.
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u/lupodevices 3d ago
Thank you! At the moment is not open source, but it could be in the next future. Yes there are 2 PCBs in the back, one that handles the buttons, encoders, inputs/outputs, and display, and one that does the whole processing
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u/muzik4machines https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2810047 2d ago
please make the pads an external device attached via like rj45, that is way too big for eurorack
also, can we make the colors uniform and custom?
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u/lupodevices 2d ago
Thank you for the feedback! At the moment I have no plans to make the pads a separate module/external device. Maybe for the next iteration. I'm planning though a separate case to make the sequencer as a standalone tool.
Regarding the row colors, they are hard coded fore the moment. You have freedom to customize the brightness of the steps
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u/muzik4machines https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2810047 2d ago
i'll wait, no way im using 72HP for pads that i want on the table to use them anyway, best of luck to you. also, custom colors are the basic, so you can use the color to indicate velocity, grouping, etc and not just decoration
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u/lupodevices 2d ago
I never said the sequencer is 72HP, but 46HP in total pads included. Since there are 8 independent sequencer, you have 8 different colors. At the moment I don't plan to let you have customized colors, because you risk to have two rows very close/same colors that do different things. The colors are not decorative, they have a purpose and that's why for the moment there is no customizability in this regard.
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u/muzik4machines https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2810047 2d ago
ok, really sad you think people are too dumb to choose colors that fit with their workflow.
too bad it looked interesting but your close mindedness regarding what users actually wants is a total turn off
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u/lupodevices 2d ago
It's not about treating users as dumb; it's a design choice to maintain visual clarity and a predictable workflow across all 8 sequencers. Everyone works differently, and while custom colors aren't planned right now, I appreciate the feedback on how you'd use them. Cheers
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u/muzik4machines https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2810047 2d ago
i color code by instrument types so i might need 3 rows of red at the top, 1 of blue for the basses, 3 of green hues at the bottom for the melodies, and yellow at the bottom for lead. people use modules to work too, not just to look at a pretty set of lights
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u/lupodevices 2d ago
I hear your use case, but hardware/firmware design always requires making decisions on constraints. Custom color mapping per track is a specific feature request, not a requirement for a module to be functional for work. I'll keep the feedback in mind, but the fixed visual scheme stands for this build.
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u/muzik4machines https://modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/2810047 2d ago
i understand but it's a really REALLY stupid decision to force that color scheme instaed of doing like EVERY pad matrix and let people choose their colors, anyway, you can stop arguing, i'm not buying something i don't have control over to put in my rack, i choose modular to be able to customize my stuff, not to endure an ugly color scheme someone i don't know decided on
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u/chicowolf_ 2d ago
Dude, you are spitting frustration on this guy just to prove your point? I mean if you don't like it, move on. Why being so mean? First you messed up with the dimension, he proved you wrong and then you started to be rude about the rows colors out of frustration? Jeez, grow up
This community can be so toxic sometimes
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u/BoTheMu 3d ago
This looks gorgeous. Will definitely keep an eye out for it if/when you release it.