So I accidentally bought Propulsion...

[chimp_spanner]

Okay I'm not being totally honest; I was debating it anyway. But ya know, I'm kinda broke until payday and I thought best not. But then trackpad happened, one-click was turned on...bam. Now I own it.

However, it's a mistake I was happy to make. It is superb. I'm already doing stuff I would not have done so easily in the Reason sequencer within the first 10 minutes, and that's really what it's all about. So yeah, massive props to the developer. It literally has everything.

If I had one small request it'd be to get a "pattern" button on Korde as well. Randomizing currently fills every note. It'd be nice to generate melodic phrases, rather than solid 16ths.

But yeah. Blown away.

[steff3]

a randomised trigger and random velocity within range would be cool, and choke groups ....

[boobytrap]

congratulations !

[chimp_spanner]

a randomised trigger and random velocity within range would be cool, and choke groups ....

Hmm, I dunno - I think choke groups would have to be handled by the voice in question, not the sequencer. Not sure you'd get the closed hi-hat from Kong to choke the open hi-hat from ReDrum (or whatever). I mean I'm sure there are ways but it'd be best to just keep the things you want choked on the same device and set them up there!

Oh also, mute and solo buttons on Korde would be most excellent but I'm not sure where exactly they'd go...

[Gardinski]

a randomised trigger and random velocity within range would be cool, and choke groups ....

I agree 100% with this proposal.

Randomised triggers and velocity variations are precisely the things I'm holding out for. (I'll probably buy Propulsion anyway at some point, but if those features were added, I would pull the trigger instantaneously.)

Ochen K's "Probability Drum Trigger" & "Prob CV Trigger" do a splendid job, but it would be great to have those features incorporated into the Propulsion package.

I've also been experimenting with using Robotic Bean's excellent 'Step Note Recorder' to create jazzily syncopated hi-hat patterns etc, with semi-randomised velocities controlled by Pulsar.

[chimp_spanner]

Oh okay I see what you mean about randomized steps now! I mean I think there are maybe a few ways to achieve it currently, maybe combining the RAND play mode with velocity modulation from the back panel. But I guess it'd be nice to have it built in.

For anyone considering it though, even in its current form, I can highly, highly recommend it. Very inspiring tool. And Korde as well!

[Gardinski]

I've just been checking out 'Shape' too. That's another great tool which I'd previously overlooked, so I've grabbed the trial, and have spent the past hour happily creating intricate velocity envelopes.

I think the answer to my 'authentic jazz hats & rides' dilemma may be to use several of these utilities in tandem.

[Namahs Amrak]

This RE looks superb. Does it only work with ReDrum or is it possible to somehow run Reason Drums ReFill combinator through it?

[Gardinski]

This RE looks superb. Does it only work with ReDrum or is it possible to somehow run Reason Drums ReFill combinator through it?

When I had my trial period, it was only suitable for ReDrum or Kong, not the NNXT/Combi drum kits. However, I believe the developer announced that midi note triggering would be added in an update, which opens the way for the Reason Drums/Ocean Way/BFD refills etc.

Hmmm... The notes for the latest update (1.0.1) say: "Added MIDI note input ability to trigger gates" - but from the slightly ambiguous wording I'm not sure if that's the same thing.
Perhaps ChimpSpanner or one of the other users could clarify, (please).

[chimp_spanner]

The MIDI note input refers to the ability to play Propulsion with a MIDI keyboard So within the Combinator, only Propulsion receives notes and then distributes them out to the 16 sound sources (but still using the CV out at the back). Which is pretty cool! But, not what you were hoping it was!

It does mean though that you can have kinda static patterns and then add incidental/variation stuff in a MIDI part attached to propulsion rather than doing everything with pattern automation or whatever. So yeah, cool idea.

[Gardinski]

The MIDI note input refers to the ability to play Propulsion with a MIDI keyboard So within the Combinator, only Propulsion receives notes and then distributes them out to the 16 sound sources (but still using the CV out at the back). Which is pretty cool! But, not what you were hoping it was!

Aha! I see. Thanks very much for letting us know. It does sound like a useful feature, but I think I'll hold out a bit longer and keep using 'Step' until Propulsion adds the 'note out'. I'm far more inclined to use Ocean Way, BFD Core or the Neil Peart drums, all of which are Combinator only - purely because there's a much greater range of timbres available than in Redrum/Korg.

Propulsion is definitely great fun though, and I love the ease with which you can create crazy polyrhythms by messing about with the 'start/end' sliders for individual parts.

[chimp_spanner]

The only workaround I can think of is to use something like the CV8X4 to send static CV values to the CV input of separate NN-XT modules. Slightly long winded but I reckon it'd work! I might try it in a bit.

[Namahs Amrak]

Thanks Gardinski & Chimp Spanner,

Being that my preference is for heavy rock drums (in electronic music - go figure!), I'm generally disappointed that I can't sequence single-shots.

Multi-Slot OctoRex patches are good, but the FSB is severely limited and there aren't too many multi-slot sets in the third party market. Perhaps I can unpack the Reason Drums ReFill, and assign the single hits I need, to play in ReDrum.

I think I could get some sweet rhythms out of Propulsion, and while they may not sound like a 'real' drummer, there's an opportunity for something unique. Will give it a spin next month, thanks for starting this post, because I didn't know about this RE before (or - if I did I overlooked it)

[rcbuse]

The only workaround I can think of is to use something like the CV8X4 to send static CV values to the CV input of separate NN-XT modules. Slightly long winded but I reckon it'd work! I might try it in a bit.

I've attached a screenshot of something that might get someone most of the way to using Propulsion with an NN-XT. You can use the CV8X4 to dial in each note on the NNXT for each trigger. Because of the way that CV works, all the lanes would need to be on the same time and have the same length, or you are going to get some weird held or truncated hits.

[dana]

I found that if you use the RVL-1 RE you can also display each of the 8 note values from each cv output, and scale them if need be as well, very handy.

Also, if you want to trigger different sets of notes (chords), the Volt SL-1 is very handy for that too, then you can use 8 of the values for notes, and one for the pattern (via the cv input on the combinator mapped of course) - its on sale right now and is worth every penny.

[GRIFTY]

hey lectric panda, any plans on a bundle? i'm waiting on one!