a couple of months ago I posted this thread with a module idea and today I am happy to say that with the help of @Patheros it became real and so much better than my initial concept.
We’re looking for a couple of beta testers before releasing to the library.
What is ChordVault?
It’s a poly gate/CV sequencer that’s primarily designed for recording (think “storing”) of chords via MIDI Devices (up to 16 steps). There are quite a few presets too, if anyone wants to get started even quicker. What makes it fun are things like direct cv control over step number and seq length as well as 8 play modes and clock based rhythms.
I installed AetrionModular-2.0.0-1da72af-mac.vcvplugin on my Mac running macOS Monterey 12.4 and VCV Rack 2 Pro v2.1.2.
Some thoughts:
The module loaded OK and showed up in the module browser OK, though the plugin.json file seems to be missing a description and tags?
Could the REC light be red? Red means recording. And the playback light green?
Is reset (either by CV or pressing the button) always meant to reset to step 1? It sometimes didn’t do that for me and reset to step 2 instead of 1.
Is there a way to skip a step, or record a “blank” step?
I like that I can overwrite / replace a step. Nice!
I like the step offset mode, but could there be a control on the front panel to turn this on as well as the right-click menu? I can see using that a lot.
CV length works, but do you need to “limit” the input to 5v? If I send more than 5v I can go “around the clock” on the length knob?
All Seq Modes worked OK.
Coming out of Bypass mode seems to cause an audio click in my test patch:
2022-07-22 chord vault.vcv (2.1 KB). Might be just my patch.
Having transpose under CV control would be awesome.
I’m in my sixth decade. Can I please have the label text a little bigger or a little bolder? My eyes have trouble reading it.
The factory presets are cool!
I wasn’t sure how, but I managed to get the CV light in the Seq Modes stuck being lit up?
A CV trigger input to switch between record and playback modes would make for very interesting generative stuff.
Duplicate module with and without cables works OK.
All preset functions (save, load, copy and paste) work OK.
@chrtlnghmstr Happy to update you on your points after checking on our side.
(1. & 9.) are being fixed, thx!
(2.) red light for record is coming, too =)
(3.) Reset is working dependent on SEQ Mode, so if you’re using FWD this should take you to step 1 (or the first step in the selected range when in OFFSET mode). Of course with RND seq mode it resets to a random step. Can you kindly recheck if you were in a different SEQ Mode or what the situations are where it behaves unexpectedly for you? If its supposed to reset to step 1 and resets to step 2 that might be a timing issue with incoming clock.
(4.) Skipping a step can currently be done by manually moving the step knob in record mode “one step further” before putting in the next chord. Is this a viable solution to you?
(5. , 6., 10. and 14.) are all great suggestions. We’re thinking about making an expander to add these and other “advanced” functions so we’re not cramming everything into the desirably smaller module. Would this be something you’d want at launch?
(7.) if you send 5-10V it the length value should wrap around a second time (as does the step knob). This is intentional. Can you confirm this works for you?
(11.) I am agreeing with you on the light font choice for the smaller labels. I probably got toi carried away looking at it up close so much. Looking at the panel as I am typing this to try and improve it.
(13.) the CV mode light being constantly lit was our way of “indicating” that the OFFSET mode is turned on. it made sense to us, because in that mode you can effectively always use the CV input to change the step. Should we simply clarify this in the manual or is it too confusing?
to (3.): If possible it should ignore the first clock pulse if it happens less than 1ms after the reset pulse. I think most sequencers in Rack do it this way.
Hi. I installed the updated version AetrionModular-2.0.0-047cd50-mac.vcvplugin, replacing the previous one. Loaded fine into an existing patch which was using the older version. No “lost” patch cables, etc. when switching to the newer version.
I think that’s it. The reset works fine when I use the Reset button on the module, but can not always work when I send a reset from an external clock module (like in the example patch I attached). So, not a problem, really. But! Make sure you see @Schabbes reply above about the 1 millisecond reset pulse stuff. You may want to discuss that with clock module developers?
Skipping a step is fine, but can a “blank” / empty step be set up? Apologies if the answer is staring me in the face.
I’m a patient person. Whenever you’re ready to provide the expander is fine by me.
Yes, works.
The existing font is OK, but make it bolder?
Maybe have a dedicated label / LED to make clear the Offset is on / off?
Thanks and sorry for the delay getting back to you. Life! Your module is GREAT!
Can you try setting the right click option “Skip partial clock” to “yes” and see if this works more reliably? We’ll have a look at your patch, thx!
No apologies needed, we want this thing to be rather self explanatory so any clarity issues are important to know.
For me, setting up an empty steps would be done like this:
deciding which step should be containing chords
click and drag the step button manually to these steps and record your notes (ignore the auto advancing).
leave the other ones out, so they’re still empty
Or do you mean clearing a step after something has already been recorded into it?
There’s no way to do that as of now so you need to initialize and re-record the other steps that shouldn’t be empty.
That is something we are thinking about with the expander idea. Or would a right click menu work better for you?
Here’s the updated release, which we will submit to the library very soon.
@chrtlnghmstr I was able to squeeze the OFFSET MODE Button and a dedicated LED onto the panel. Should be much more intuitive now. Also Font Sizes have been increased for more readability at lower zoom levels.
Thx again for testing ChordVault. Really helped us polish the last couple of things to improve the experience.
And the playback light green?
But! Make sure you see 