Creating sequencer notes

The individual slices in a REX loop can be transferred as separate MIDI notes to tracks in the sequencer. This makes it possible to have detailed control over every single sample in a REX loop. Proceed as follows to create sequencer notes from the slices:

1.	Select the sequencer track associated with the Dr. Octo Rex device.

2.	Set the left and right locators to encompass the section you want to fill with REX notes.

3.	Select the Loop Slot that contains the REX loop you want to copy to the sequencer track.

4.	Click the Copy Loop To Track button.

Now, the program will create clips containing a note for each slice of the REX loop in the selected Loop Slot, positioned according to the timing of the slices. The notes will be distributed in semitone steps, with the first note on C1, the second on C#1 and so on, with one note for each slice.

In addition to the created notes, the Note To Slot parameter (see “Note To Slot”) is copied into the clips as a Performance Controller. This way, Dr. Octo Rex will always know which Note Slot the generated notes originated from and will thus automatically play back the loop slices from the correct Loop Slot.

The loop clips in the Song View...

...and in the Edit Mode, with the Note To Slot parameter as a Performance Controller at the bottom.

5.	Disable the Enable Loop Playback parameter.

This is because you probably don’t want the loop playback to be controlled by the regular Run function but from note playback in the sequencer. If the Enable Loop Playback parameter is on, there will be double notes during playback from the sequencer.

Activating playback in the sequencer will now play back the notes on the sequencer track. These in turn will play back the slices of the REX loop in the Loop Slot defined by the Note To Slot parameter, in the correct order and with the original timing maintained. Now the fun begins!

•	If the space between the Left and Right locators is greater than the length of the REX loop, the clips will be repeated on the note lane.

The REX loop is 1 bar long and the space between the locators is 4 bars, thus the clip is repeated four times on the note lane.

•	The Copy Loop To Track function always creates an exact number of complete clips, meaning that the last clip may “stick out” after the right locator.

Here, the REX loop is 4 bars long. Since there are only two bars between the locators, the clip will stick out after the right locator.

If you are using the Alt function for slices in the REX loop, these slices will output different note numbers each time you use the Copy Notes To Track function. See “About the Alt parameter” for details.

If you like, you can manually resize the clip to two bars by clicking and dragging the right clip handle. The last two bars of the clip will then be masked and won’t play (see “Resizing (masking) clips”).

•	You can change the groove in the loop by quantizing or moving notes.

•	You can transpose notes to change the order of the slices on playback.

•	You can use the Alter Notes function (see “Moving notes with the “Alter Notes” function”) to scramble the loop notes - without destroying the original loop timing.

•	You can remove and draw new notes, creating any kind of variation.

•	You can use the User Groove function to apply the rhythmic feel of the loop to notes on other sequencer tracks.

For details about editing in the sequencer, see the “Note and Automation Editing” chapter.

Note that if you have created sequencer notes from a REX file in one Loop Slot, selecting another Loop Slot with another REX loop could make the playback sound awkward. This is because the notes generated from the original REX loop will in most situations not correspond to the slices in the other REX loops. However, in some situations this could produce really interesting results so don’t be afraid to experiment.

•	You can automate Loop Slot selection using the Notes To Slot function, see “Note To Slot”.

You can also export the REX file as a MIDI file, as described in “Export REX as MIDI File...”.