Polyphonic and paraphonic synth sequencing…

Mono Station’s three-channel sequencer can create surprisingly complex patterns. Let’s take a look

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Mono Station feature three sequencer channels – two offer seperate control over the oscillators, and the third acts as a modulation source. The Osc sequencers can have note, gate length and velocity levels set for each step, the latter providing a further mod source.

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Inputting a sequence only via Osc 1 will cause both oscillators to follow the same pitch. As soon as seperate notes are added under Osc 2, the second oscillator will deviate and follow this new pitch.

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Shift pressing ‘Scales’ toggle the sequencer’s two paraphonic modes, controlling whether or not the Osc 2 sequence triggers the synth’s amp. Effectively, this dictates whether the second sequence has any rhthmyic impact, or whether it merely blends into the pattern created under Osc 1.

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The modulation sequencer is a little simpler, with each step featuring just a level value to be sent to the mod matrix. Shift pressing ‘Mod Seq’ will smooth out the sequence, avoiding abrupt parameter jumps.

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Under the Pattern Settings tab, we can control length, note division and direction of each individual pattern. This can allow us to create complex polyrhythms across the three sequencer channels. For example, try a 16-step melodic sequence from osc 1, a 6-step pattern of notes on osc 2 and 12-step modulation sequence routed to the filter.

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Pattern chaining allows the creation much longer sequences. Under the Patterns view, up to 16 patterns can be chained for Osc 1, and up to 8 can be chained for Osc 2 and the mod sequencer. Holding down Shift and Clear gives us a duplicate function, which is very handy for extending sequences.