9

Working with the Ultrabeat Step Sequencer
The integrated 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.
Depending on your personal taste and favored musical style, you’ll want to control
Ultrabeat from either the integrated step sequencer or from Logic Express when
programming rhythms. Combining both sequencers is also possible; they can be active
at the same time and are automatically synchronized with each other. Logic Express acts
as a master clock in this situation, determining the tempo of Ultrabeat’s internal step
sequencer.
If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of step sequencing, the following section will help
you understand the design of Ultrabeat’s step sequencer.
How Step Sequencers Work
The basic 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 basic
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 in order
to drive different parameters. The most common usage was control of a sound’s 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
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.
288 Chapter 11 Ultrabeat