Pattern automation recording details

If your song contains pattern based devices such as the Redrum Drum Computer, Matrix Analog Pattern Sequencer or Dr. Octo Rex, you probably want to use more than a single pattern throughout the song. To facilitate this you can record pattern changes in the sequencer.

Recording pattern automation

1.	Before you start recording on the track, make sure the “Record Enable Parameter Automation” button is on (red).

You can disable the “Record Enable” button for the note lane for now as it won’t be needed.

2.	Make sure that the “Enable Pattern”/”Enable Loop Playback” button is activated on the device in the rack.

The “Enable Pattern” buttons on the Redrum (top) and Matrix (bottom) devices.

3.	Set the desired start pattern on the pattern device.

4.	Start recording on the track from the desired position.

When recording starts, the pattern device will automatically start. Although no clip will be created until you change pattern on the device for the first time, the start pattern is still being recorded.

5.	During recording, change patterns with the “Bank” and “Pattern” buttons on the device panel.

As soon as a Pattern or Bank value is changed on the device, a pattern lane is automatically created on the track. On the lane, a pattern clip is automatically created and the pattern selection is recorded in the clip. Make sure you change the patterns slightly in advance - the actual pattern change will be recorded (and happen) on the next downbeat according to the sequencer time signature setting.

6.	When you are done, click “Stop” on the Transport Panel to stop recording.

The automated pattern selection buttons on the device in the rack will marked with a green border, indicating that they have been automated. A pattern automation lane with pattern clips has also been created on the Edit/Arrangement Pane.

Pattern automation clips on the pattern automation lane.

•	Pattern automation has no “static value”. Patterns will only be played back where there are pattern clips on the lane. Where the pattern lane has no clips, the device will stop and no pattern will be played back.

•	Each pattern change will be recorded on a downbeat (at the start of a new bar in the sequencer).

You can move pattern changes to other positions by moving or resizing the pattern clips, see “Editing pattern automation”.

•	You can “punch in” on recorded pattern changes, to replace a section of the pattern lane with new pattern automation events. This can be done the same way as described in “Recording parameter automation over or into an existing clip”.

•	After recording the pattern changes, you can use the function “Convert Pattern Track to Notes”, to transfer the notes in the patterns to regular notes in the main sequencer.

This allows you to create unlimited variations by later editing the notes in Edit mode. See “The “Convert Pattern Automation to Notes” function”.

•	On the Redrum, Matrix and Dr. Octo Rex devices, you could also use the “Copy Pattern/Loop to Track” function.

This function lets you convert a defined range of pattern clips into notes in a new note clip. See “Copy Pattern to Track”.

You can also manually draw automation clips on the Pattern automation lane - see “Drawing pattern automation”