Steppy 1U 4-Track 64-Step Programmable Gate Sequencer Manual (English) Firmware Version: 1.2 | Revision: 2020.10.
TABLE OF CONTENTS COMPLIANCE 3 INSTALLATION 4 Before You Start 4 Installing Your Module 5 OVERVIEW 7 QUICK START: CREATE A TRACK 8 Load an Empty Preset 8 Connect a Clock & Program a Track 9 Save the Preset 10 Next Step 10 FRONT PANEL 11 Inputs & Outputs 11 Controls 12 REFERENCE 14 Play Mode 14 Select Mode 16 Edit Mode 20 Step Edit Mode 30 Ratcheting 32 Tap Recording 34 Steppy 1U Manual 1
STEPPY ARCHITECTURE 35 Copying Patterns 36 Copying Pages 36 FIRMWARE 37 1U / 3U Toggle 37 Firmware Change Log 37 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 39 Steppy 1U Manual 2
COMPLIANCE This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Intellijel Designs, Inc. could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
INSTALLATION This module is designed for use within an Intellijel-standard 1U row, such as contained within the Intellijel 4U, 7U and Palette Eurorack cases. Intellijel’s 1U specification is derived from the Eurorack mechanical specification set by Doepfer that is designed to support the use of lipped rails within industry standard rack heights. Before You Start Intellijel Eurorack modules are designed to be used with a Eurorack-compatible case and power supply.
You can use a tool like ModularGrid to assist in your planning. Failure to adequately power your modules may result in damage to your modules or power supply. If you are unsure, please contact us before proceeding. Installing Your Module When installing or removing a module from your case always turn off the power to the case and disconnect the power cable. Failure to do so may result in serious injury or equipment damage.
Once connected, the cabling between the module and power supply should resemble the picture below: Before reconnecting power and turning on your modular system, double check that the ribbon cable is fully seated on both ends and that all the pins are correctly aligned. If the pins are misaligned in any direction or the ribbon is backwards you can cause damage to your module, power supply, or other modules.
OVERVIEW Steppy is a 4-track programmable gate sequencer with eight internal memory slots, external clocking, various playback options, and a performance-first design aesthetic. Each track features numerous parameters that govern its playback independently of the other tracks. Specifically: ● Each track has its own length, which can range from 1-step to 64-steps, allowing for polyrhythms, fills, or constantly evolving gate interactions between tracks.
QUICK START: CREATE A TRACK This tutorial is designed to get you up and running with Steppy as quickly as possible. Detailed descriptions of all functions, features and methodologies appear later in the manual. Load an Empty Preset First thing’s first. Just so we’re all on the same page, it’s probably a good idea to load an empty preset into Steppy’s active memory. To do so: 1. Press the red EDIT button at the bottom left to enter Edit mode.
Connect a Clock & Program a Track 1. Connect the output from an external clock module to Steppy’s CLK input. An external clock is needed to make Steppy start stepping. Steppy will advance one-step per clock pulse (unless you use the clock divider feature, discussed later in the manual).
Save the Preset 1. Press the red EDIT button at the bottom left to enter Edit mode. Edit functions are labelled in the text beneath the bottom row of multifunction buttons. 2. Press the SAVE button (bottom row, second from right). Presets are saved into one of 8 locations, which map to each of the 8 multifunction buttons in the top-row. If a button has a solid red light, it means a preset is already saved in that ‘slot,’ and if you select it, you will overwrite that preset.
FRONT PANEL Inputs & Outputs [A] OUT A - Gate output (+5V) for Track A. Corresponding LED lights when gate is high. [B] OUT B - Gate output for Track B. Corresponding LED lights when gate is high. [C] OUT C - Gate output for Track C. Corresponding LED lights when gate is high. [D] OUT D - Gate output for Track D. Corresponding LED lights when gate is high. [E] CLOCK (CLK) IN - Connect an external clock (or any other trigger source) to this input.
Hold the SAVE RST button on boot up to toggle between RUN and RESET modes (the setting is saved across boots). On the SELECT page, you'll see the SAVE RST button light yellow if RUN mode is enabled. Controls [1] MULTIFUNCTION Buttons - These backlit buttons perform different functions depending on Steppy’s current mode. ● Play Mode: In Play Mode, the buttons set and display gate patterns. Play Mode is indicated when neither the yellow Select Mode nor the red Edit Mode LEDs are lit.
parameter, and the rightmost button sets the maximum value, with interim values spread across the middle six buttons. Buttons are RED in Edit Mode, with the red button in the bottom row indicating the active parameter, and the lit button(s) in the top row indicating the parameter value. Edit Mode is indicated when the red Edit Mode LED is lit. You can also tell you’re in Edit Mode when (in general) most buttons are RED. See Edit Mode for detailed information.
REFERENCE The following sections discuss Steppy’s various modes, and the function of the buttons within those modes. Play Mode Play Mode is Steppy’s default mode. In Play Mode, the sixteen Multifunction buttons are used to program and display gate patterns, and are lit green when a gate is “on.” In Play Mode, neither the yellow LED next to the SELECT button nor the red LED next to the EDIT button are lit.
The following illustrations show identical patterns; but in the top example, the track length is set to 16-steps, and in the bottom example, it’s set to 5-steps: Track patterns can be as long as 64-steps. To create patterns that are longer than 16-steps, use the PAGE select options (as discussed in Select Mode) to navigate to the page that contains the desired final step, then long-press the desired step button.
Select Mode In Select Mode, the Multifunction buttons are used to select tracks for viewing & editing; to select pages within those tracks; and for enabling/disabling various track display and performance options. Note: Steppy can be in both Select mode (yellow LED) and Edit mode (red LED) simultaneously. If you’re currently in Edit Mode (discussed later), you can enter Select mode to select which track you wish to edit. [1] SELECT button Press this button to put Steppy into Select Mode.
[2] TRACK buttons When in Select mode, these four buttons select which of the four tracks (A, B, C or D) you wish to display/edit. A yellow button indicates the selected track. [3] PAGE buttons When in Select mode, these four buttons select which of the four pages (1, 2, 3, or 4) you wish to display/edit. Each page displays 16 steps at a time, meaning there are a total of 64 available steps per pattern. A yellow button indicates the selected page.
For example, assume this is your current pattern: If Loopy ( ) is active, pressing one button loops playback of that single step, repeating it over-and-over for as long as you hold the button. The button is red because red indicates the current playback position, which is endlessly repeating on a single step.
All edited track parameters (Swing, Delay, Probability, etc) are respected when looping, and looping applies to all tracks when engaged. To latch Loopy playback: 1. While holding down the two buttons that define the length of the Loopy sequence, short-press the SELECT button. You can now release your hold on the two buttons, since pressing the SELECT button during Loopy playback latches it. 2. Press any of the step buttons to unlatch the Loopy function, and return to normal playback.
Edit Mode In Edit Mode, the Multifunction buttons select and modify various parameters (such as gate length, clock division, swing, etc.), as indicated by the labels beneath the bottom row of buttons. The red LED next to the EDIT button turns on when Edit Mode is on. Note: Steppy can be in both Select mode (yellow LED) and Edit mode (red LED) simultaneously. If you’re currently in Edit Mode, you can enter Select mode to select which track you wish to edit.
[2] Gate Length (GATE) button When in Edit mode, press this button to edit the gate length for all steps in the selected Track (each track has its own gate length setting). Gate Length editing is available when the GATE button glows red. When editing gate lengths, the top row of buttons sets the actual length. The leftmost buttons pin the gate length to the width of the input pulse; the rightmost button makes a gate last the full width of the step (allowing for ties).
[3] Clock Division (CLK ÷) button When in Edit mode, press this button to edit the clock rate at which the selected track plays (each track has its own clock division). The playback speed is expressed as a division of the input CLK. Clock Division editing is available when the CLK ÷ button glows red.
[4] SWING button When in Edit mode, press this button to edit the swing percentage for the selected Track (each track has its own swing rate). Swing options conform to MPC “standard” (with the addition of 78%), and apply the delay to every other step in a pattern (thus, causing it to ‘swing’). Swing editing is available when the SWING button glows red. When editing swing values, the top row of buttons set the values from 50% (no swing) on the leftmost button, to 78% swing on the rightmost button.
[5] DELAY button When in Edit mode, press this button to edit the amount of delay to apply to every step in a track. Unlike Swing, which delays every other step, the delay parameter causes every step to lag behind the clock at the selected rate. Delay editing is available when the DELAY button glows red. When editing delay values, the top row of buttons sets the amount all steps are delayed (in percent).
[6] Probability (PROB) button When in Edit mode, press this button to set the probability that any step within the pattern will actually play when requested. Probability editing is available when the PROB button glows red. When editing probability values, the top row of buttons set the probability percentage. Pressing buttons toward the left result in low probability; pressing buttons to the right result in a higher probability that any programmed step will play. The rightmost button (100%) is the default.
[7] SHIFT button When in Edit mode, press this button to enable pattern shifting. Pattern shifting allows you to rotate the active pattern forward or backward by a specified number of steps. Pattern shifting is available when the SHIFT button glows red. When shifting patterns, the top row of buttons sets the amount of shift (by step). The further a button is left-of-center, the more the pattern will shift to the left (up to 4 steps).
[8] SAVE button When in Edit mode, press this button to enable Preset saving. Steppy can store up to 8 presets (assigned to each of the 8 buttons in the top row of multifunction buttons). A preset contains the settings assigned to all 4 tracks, plus the patterns within those tracks (as shown in Steppy Architecture, later in this manual). To save a preset: 1. Press the red EDIT button to enter Edit mode. 2. Press the SAVE button.
[9] LOAD button When in Edit mode, press this button to enable Preset loading. Steppy can store up to 8 presets (assigned to each of the 8 buttons in the top row of multifunction buttons), and the Load function lets you choose which of these to load into active memory for performance. To load a preset instantly: 1. Press the red EDIT button to enter Edit mode. 2. Press the LOAD button. The LOAD button glows red and some of the buttons light in the top row to display the status of the eight presets.
To delete a preset from memory: 1. Press the red EDIT button to enter Edit mode. 2. Short-press (< 1 sec) the LOAD button followed by the top-row button corresponding to the preset you want to delete. This loads that preset into active memory (as indicated by the rapidly flashing button). 3. Long-press (> 1 sec) the LOAD button. All buttons will flash, and the contents of the previously selected preset will be deleted.
Step Edit Mode Unlike the normal Edit Mode, which applies parameters globally across all steps in a track, Step Edit Mode enables you to modify certain parameters on a step-by-step basis. Specifically, you can edit Gate Length, Delay and Probability on a per-step basis, as well as assign ratchets to individual steps. To edit a parameter on a per-step basis: 1.
5. Edit additional steps by pressing the desired multifunction (step) button; setting its value using the buttons in the opposite row, then re-pressing the same multifunction (step) button to exit the Parameter Edit mode. TIP: You can copy one step's value to another by holding down the step button you want to copy while pressing the step button to which you want to paste it. 6. To exit Step Edit mode, long-press the EDIT button again.
Ratcheting Steppy’s ratcheting function is accessed in Step Edit Mode by pressing the flashing CLK ÷ button. In normal (non-ratcheting) operation, each step in a sequence fires off a single gate. Ratcheting occurs when one or more of those steps fires off multiple gates before the next step. Each step in a pattern can be programmed to trigger as many as 12 gates in a single step, and each step can have a different number of ratchets (repeats). The following example illustrates a 4-step pattern.
Ratchets range from 1 (no ratcheting, at the far left); to 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and random (every pass produces a random number of ratchets). In the following illustration, we have assigned eight ratchets to step 9. 4. Once you’ve set the number of ratchets for a step, press the same multifunction (step) button to back up one level, exiting the step’s Ratchet Assignment mode. 5.
Tap Recording Tap Recording is a special, alternate way to program trigger patterns into Steppy. Instead of manually turning steps on/off in a grid, Tap Recording lets you tap out your rhythms in real-time. Tapped recordings always play back in sync with the clock input (using whatever Clock Division, Gate, Probability, Ratchets and any other settings you’ve currently assigned to a Track. To enter TAP Recording Mode: 1. Hold the SELECT button while pressing the EDIT button.
STEPPY ARCHITECTURE The following diagram illustrates the architecture of a Steppy preset: Steppy 1U Manual 35
Copying Patterns You can copy the pattern from one track to another (without copying its edit parameters). To do so: 1. Press the SELECT button to enter Select Mode. 2. Hold the button corresponding to the track you want to copy from (A, B, C or D). 3. While holding the source track’s button, press the button corresponding to the track you want to copy to (A, B, C, or D). The display flashes rapidly. 4. Release both buttons. You have now copied the pattern from one track to another.
FIRMWARE Firmware updates, if available, are contained within the latest Intellijel Firmware Updater application, which you can download from the product’s page on the Intellijel.com website. The application is available in both Macintosh and Windows formats, and will install firmware into your module over USB. Use the drop-down lists at the top of the application to select the product you wish to update, and the firmware version you want to install.
● NEW FEATURE: Delayed load. When on the LOAD page, long-press the desired preset button to delay it from loading until the current pattern completes the cycle on Track 1. ● NEW FEATURE: Muted tap entry mode. When in TAP Recording Mode, you can press the PROB button to toggle muting of your taps. The ABCD buttons will turn yellow when muted. ● NEW FEATURE: Step Edit Mode.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Width 28 hp Maximum Depth 29 mm Current Draw 15 mA @ +12V | <1 mA @ -12V Steppy 1U Manual 39
