3.5

596MainStage Instruments
Ultrabeat step sequencer
MainStage Ultrabeat step sequencer overview
Ultrabeat incorporates a step sequencer which you can use to create polyphonic rhythmic
sequences and patterns. The sequencer displays running light-style controls like those
found on classic drum machines and shares many of the sequence and pattern creation
methods employed in these devices.
The Ultrabeat step sequencer expands on the features of hardware drum machines by
providing extensive automation and editing features. These enable you to precisely vary
the timbre of the sound and the overall dynamics at any point in the pattern. The step
sequencer plays an important role in shaping the rhythms and sounds that you can produce
with Ultrabeat.
The step sequencer allows all Ultrabeat sounds to be combined in patterns, based on
sequences for each individual sound. Its design and use—commonly referred to as
step programming—are based on analog sequencers and drum machines. Unlike these
analog precursors, Ultrabeat enables you to program automated changes for nearly every
synthesizer parameter.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of step sequencing, see MainStage Ultrabeat step
sequencer basics.
MainStage Ultrabeat step sequencer basics
The fundamental idea behind analog step sequencers is to set up a progression of control
voltages and output these step by step, typically in an endlessly repeating pattern. This
principle helped to spawn a number of electronic music styles based on the mesmerizing
effect that repeating patterns can have.
In early analog sequencers, three control voltages were usually created per step to drive
different parameters. The most common usage was control of sound pitch, amplitude, and
timbre (cutoff) per step.
The control surface of analog sequencers often contained three rows of knobs or switches
aligned on top of (or beside) each other. Each row commonly contained 8 or 16 steps.
Each row provided a control voltage output that was connected to a control input (for a
particular parameter) on a synthesizer. A trigger pulse determined the tempo between
steps. A running light (an LED) indicated the step that was currently being triggered.
The running light programming concept also appeared in later drum computers, the most
well-known examples being the Roland TR series drum machines.
The introduction of the MIDI standard and increased use of personal computers for music
creation led to a rapid decline in the step sequencer and related technology. More flexible
recording and arranging concepts that didn’t adhere to the step and pattern principle were
possible with the far more powerful personal computer.
Despite these technological advances, step sequencers haven’t disappeared completely.
Hardware groove boxes have experienced a renaissance in recent years due to their
intuitive nature, which has made them a favored tool for rhythm programming.