Chapter 8

Arpeggiator & sequencer

Arpeggios with latch and sync, a step sequencer with 16 patterns, and V16’s arrangement grid.

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In this chapter · 13

8.1Arpeggiator or sequencer — one at a time
8.2The arpeggiator
8.3Arpeggiator modes
8.4Arpeggiator tempo, gate, swing and sync
8.5The step sequencer
8.6Recording a sequence
8.7Long notes, rests and replacing notes
8.8Playing a sequence
8.9Patterns, presets, length and chains
8.10Sequencer swing, sync and transpose
8.11Ratchets (V16)
8.12The arrangement grid (V16)
8.13Panic: clearing stuck notes (V16)

8.1BasicsManual §3.3 p.9, §3.3 p.10, §3.3 p.11

Arpeggiator or sequencer — one at a time

The arpeggiator and the sequencer both drive the synth from the keyboard, so the FM-1 lets only one run at a time. If something won’t start, the screen says why.

Message	Why	Fix
`Disable SEQ to enter`	You pressed `ARP` while the sequencer is on.	Press `SEQ` in SEQ mode to switch it off, then press `ARP`.
`Disable ARP to enter`	You pressed `SEQ` while the arpeggiator is on.	Press `ARP` in ARP mode to switch it off, then press `SEQ`.
`Enable SEQ first`	You pressed `PLAY/STOP` or `REC` with the sequencer off.	Press `SEQ` first.

8.2BasicsManual §3.3 p.9, §3.1 p.5

The arpeggiator

The arpeggiator plays the notes you hold one after another, in a pattern and at a tempo you set. Pressing ARP switches it on and opens its two pages of settings; the ARP LED shows it is running, and each key’s LED lights as its note plays.

Press ARP. Its LED lights.
Hold one or more keys. The arpeggiator plays them.
Turn KNOB 1 to choose a mode, KNOB 2 for how many octaves it spans and KNOB 4 for the tempo.
Press ARP again to stop it and go back home.

ARP · Arpeggiator · page 1Press ARP.

Mode

How the held notes are ordered. See Arpeggiator modes.

KNOB 1Range Up, Down, Inclusive, Exclusive, Random, Order, Repeat

Key combinations

ARP: Switches the arpeggiator on and opens its settings, or switches it off and goes home.

From the community

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Beginner-oriented look with chapters on FX, arp, sequencer, drum sounds and a full track breakdown.

8.3BasicsManual §3.3 p.9

Arpeggiator modes

Turn KNOB 1 on the first ARP page to choose how the held notes are ordered.

Mode	Plays
Up	Lowest to highest, then starts again.
Down	Highest to lowest, then starts again.
Inclusive	Up and back down, playing the top and bottom notes twice as it turns.
Exclusive	Up and back down, without repeating the top and bottom notes.
Random	The held notes in random order.
Order	The notes in the order you pressed them.
Repeat	Each note more than once before moving on.

8.4IntermediateManual §3.1 p.5, §3.3 p.9

Arpeggiator tempo, gate, swing and sync

Tempo sets the speed in BPM and Rate the note value at that tempo. Gate decides how long each note sounds — short for staccato plucks, 100% for legato — and Swing delays every other note for a shuffled feel. With Sync on, the arpeggiator follows the tempo of incoming MIDI clock instead (see Syncing to MIDI clock).

ARP · Arpeggiator · page 2Press ARP, then turn SELECT to page 2.

Gate

How long each note sounds, as a share of the step.

KNOB 1Range 20–100%

8.5BasicsManual §3.3 p.10, §3.1 p.5

The step sequencer

The sequencer records notes into steps and plays them back in a loop. Pressing SEQ switches it on and opens its settings; the SEQ LED lights and the STOP LED glows orange, and the key LEDs become step lights: lit for a step with notes, dark for an empty one.

Key combinations

SEQ: Switches the sequencer on and opens its settings, or stops it and goes home.

Two generations

V15 (the manual): 16 patterns of up to 16 steps, each pattern with its own preset; chain mode plays several patterns in a row. Its settings are on three pages, shown below.
V16: patterns grow to 64 steps, an eight-row The arrangement grid (V16) grid replaces chain mode, and steps gain Ratchets (V16). V16 also reorganises the knob layout; the release notes don’t list the new pages.

SEQ · Sequencer · page 1 (V15)Press SEQ.

Pattern

Chooses one of the 16 patterns.

KNOB 1Range 1–16

Next: record some notes, then play them back.

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8.6BasicsManual §3.3 p.10, §3.3 p.11

Recording a sequence

Recording is step by step: the timing of your playing doesn’t matter, only the order. Each note you play goes into the next step and that step’s LED lights.

Press SEQ to switch the sequencer on.
Turn KNOB 1 to choose a pattern.
Press REC. Its LED lights red and recording starts.
Play your notes, one per step.
Press REC again to stop recording.

Key combinations

REC: Starts recording into the sequencer.Sequencer on, stopped or playing
REC: Stops recording.While recording

While recording

You can change Rate (page 2, KNOB 2) step by step, so one pattern can mix note values.
Long notes, rests and fixing wrong notes are covered in Long notes, rests and replacing notes.
To start again from an empty pattern, use Clear on KNOB 2 of page 1.

From the community

Changing Rate for individual notes while you record is an easy way to get odd, shifting timing inside one loop. via Elektronauts: M-VAVE FM-1 thread

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Builds a sequence from scratch on V16 in five minutes - a good look at the new arrangement workflow.

8.7IntermediateFirmware V15+Manual §3.3 p.10

Long notes, rests and replacing notes

Plain step recording puts one short note on each step. These techniques let you write held notes and gaps, and correct mistakes.

V15

Long notes: On the current step, hold the note and turn SELECT to the step where it should end, then let go. A long note doesn’t erase notes already recorded under it.
Rests and replacing: While recording, hold REC and turn SELECT to move to a step. Hold keys there to add or replace its notes, or leave it empty for a rest.

On V16 the step cursor moves to ALGORITHM: while the sequencer is stopped or recording, turn it to choose a step, and to set the end of a sustained note. SELECT goes back to changing pages. You can’t move the step cursor during playback.

Key combinations

Hold KEY + turn SELECT: Records a long note that ends on the step you turn to.Recording, V15
Hold REC + turn SELECT: Moves to another step to add, replace or clear notes.Recording, V15
Turn ALGORITHM: Selects a step, or sets where a sustained note ends.Sequencer stopped or recording, V16

8.8BasicsManual §3.3 p.10, §3.3 p.11

Playing a sequence

Once a pattern has notes, PLAY/STOP starts and stops it: green while playing, orange when stopped. The key LEDs show what is happening.

Key LED	Means
On	The step has notes
Off	The step is empty
Blinking	The step playing now

Key combinations

PLAY/STOP: Starts playback.Sequencer on and stopped
PLAY/STOP: Stops playback or recording.While playing or recording

8.9IntermediateFirmware V15+Manual §3.1 p.5, §3.3 p.10, §3.3 p.11

Patterns, presets, length and chains

The FM-1 holds 16 patterns. Each one has a preset of its own: set it with Voice on page 2. While the sequencer is on, PRESETS does nothing on V15 — the pattern decides the sound. Patterns and their presets are stored in flash memory.

Step (page 1, KNOB 4): The loop length: the pattern plays steps 1 to this number and starts again. Shorter lengths give quick riffs; 12 steps suits triplet-feel phrases.
Chain (page 1, KNOB 3): Plays this many patterns one after another, starting from the current one: set it to 4 on pattern 1 to hear patterns 1–4 as one longer phrase.

SEQ · Sequencer · page 2 (V15)Press SEQ, then turn SELECT to page 2.

VoicePreset

The preset this pattern plays.

KNOB 1Range 1–128

From the community

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8.10IntermediateFirmware V15+Manual §3.1 p.5, §3.3 p.10, §3.3 p.11

Sequencer swing, sync and transpose

The third page holds the settings that shape playback rather than the notes: swing, clock sync and a transpose for the whole sequence — handy for moving a riff into a new key live.

SEQ · Sequencer · page 3 (V15)Press SEQ, then turn SELECT to page 3.

Swing

Delays every other step. 50% is straight.

KNOB 1Range 50–75%

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8.11IntermediateFirmware V16+

Ratchets (V16)

A ratchet repeats a step’s note several times within that step, without adding steps or changing its length: ×2 turns an eighth note into two sixteenths, ×4 into a quick roll.

Settings: ×1 (off), ×2, ×3 or ×4, per step.
Set them while the sequencer is stopped or recording, on steps that start a note.
Empty steps, and steps that only end a note, don’t ratchet.

8.12AdvancedFirmware V16+

The arrangement grid (V16)

V16 replaces chain mode with an arrangement: a grid of eight rows and up to eight columns. Each row belongs to one of the eight Voices. Put a pattern in any cell, or leave it empty; the rows play together, so one column can be bass, chords and lead at once, and the columns play one after another.

How it behaves

The screen shows four rows and four columns at a time and scrolls when you move outside them. Rows for Voices that are off, and columns past the end, are dimmed.
The arrangement can be 1 to 8 columns long.
Several cells can use the same pattern. Edit the pattern and every cell that uses it changes.
Pressing REC on a filled cell records into its pattern with that row’s Voice.
Where you edit is independent of where it is playing, so you can work on the next column while the current one plays.
Arrangement page 2 has a Voice on/off control for the selected row on KNOB 4: right for on, left for off. Turning a Voice off keeps its patterns in place.

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Best overview of official V16: 8-part multitimbrality, 20-voice polyphony, 64-step arranger and stereo shared FX.

8.13BasicsFirmware V16+

Panic: clearing stuck notes (V16)

Notes can get stuck when MIDI messages go missing — a cable pulled mid-note, or a DAW stopped at the wrong moment. V16 adds a panic button.

Key combinations

Hold PLAY/STOP: Stops the sequencer and arpeggiator and clears stuck notes.V16