@verticalmammal thanks a lot for the suggestions! LoopA currently has the more sophisticated MatriX implementation, the interface to SEQ v4+ is still using the first-gen BLM protocol, which is more limited, but works nicely to enter basic note sequences and control many of SEQ v4’s features, including the ability to “draw” CC sequences (e.g. for filter cutoff control) for example.
When designing MatriX, we did choose mechanical keys, as drawing “lines” and shapes on these keys actually is a very pleasant experience 🙂, e.g. have a look at the start of this demo chapter here:
SEQ v4+ is a pure step sequencer, so all inputs must be step-aligned, but LoopA supports non-quantized inputs as well - that’s why MatriX has dedicated zoom sliders and in LoopA mode uses the joystick for fast navigation within the clip, e.g., while zoomed-in. Every note must be set manually, but LoopA allows manipulation of “note sets”, so you can manipulate and move around a cluster of notes within the grid.
I think MatriX is focusing on a few different things than the competition, we had the same idea for “velocity sensitive” drum pad regions and i’ve tried this out, but was not 100% convinced to be able to hit the correct “region” of the drum pad for velocity-sensitive playing. Using separate analog sliders and the joystick for velocity and other CC controls in the implemented MatriX keyboard mode seemed like the way to go.
Best regards,
Peter
