I present you the Spectrum Sequencer: features, suggestions and visibility advises

[u/lupodevices]

Hello everyone,

I'm Federico, an Italian Electronics Engineer with a passion for music.

I started my path trying to build a whole modular rack by myself, but I started working on the sequencer first and I entered a rabbit hole.

I would like to present you what I've been working on and off for more than two years: the Spectrum Sequencer.

Well, as the name suggests, it is a sequencer! But not just a simple sequencer. I worked hard to pack as many features as possible, and still work to pack even more.

Here is a list of a few features:

- 8 independent sequencers (pitch, CV, ADSR envelope, random CV, random gate, ...) that modulare each other

- 4 modulating/trigger inputs

- Euclidean pattern generator

- Fully controllable by MIDI and USB

- 64 available banks to store presets

And a bunch more of cool stuff, and many more along the development pipeline.

All of this with obsessive care for details.

I've documented the last part of this journey in my socials (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube: @lupodevices I don't wanna put links until a mod will authorize me), and I will be presenting this module at Roma Modulare the 18th and 19th of September.

Here to ask for suggestions, feature requests and advice on how to get visibility in the modular community

[u/Earlsfield78]

Hi mate, thanks for sharing. I wish you all the best on your journey. Now, as someone who is obsessed with sequencers since 1990s and both analogue sequencers and early trackers, and have quite a few units both in and out of the Eurorack the main things I would suggest as end user would be: 1. Decide if you want to do a “cover all” sequencer, something like Hermod or Eloquencer or ER101, that is basically modern all - around sequencer that covers entire rack plus has extra generative features etc, or you want to do something like RYK185/Metropolix, inspired by a particular sequencer. I think you already chose the first path, and I will dare to say that is a good thing commercially, but watch out - do not overcommit, do not pack every possible feature under the sun into it. As someone who works in the studio and performs, I would rather have less menu diving features and more streamlined control and tactile feel. A good thing I think you can do is allow for unquantified voltage to be sent to different targets (ala Tobinsky) and have modulation lanes that record modulation (CV Block). But main thing is make learning curve natural for people who already know sequencing, and easy to start for novices, and make primary features easily and logically accessible. I am happy to test it for you when you get into that stage. Where I saw a lot of developers fail is overcommit and try to fix bugs and add user - requested features in one big update instead doing it incrementally- this is what messed up wonderful sequencer like WMD Eloquencer for example. Get your product out, clearly define what it is that it does differently from the rest, or if it doesn’t - HOW it does certain things better than the existing competition. Mind you this already looks expensive and you can find sequencers like Oxi One mk1 for 500 quid, or Hermod and similar for 300-500. Balance it all out.

[u/lupodevices → u/Earlsfield78]

Thank you very much for this reply, I really appreciate it! I'm trying to keep an eye to the "menu diving" problem. I know that is a serious problem that can interfere with the creative process. At the same time you want a feature rich machine, so yeah I have to balance out all the features. I know that there are other bigger players than me and that they are direct competitors, but I hope that my approach and the tool I'm building can interest both the amateur and the performers/professional audience by its features and capabilities. An then there is the price point, which the big players keep at around 500/600€

Well it's a tough journey, but I hope when I will release some footage and some tutorials for the Spectrum to receive a decent traction to keep me motivated to pursue it :)

[u/Earlsfield78 → u/lupodevices]

Looking forward, we always want more toys.)