Mutable Instruments

Grids - Topographic Drum Sequencer

Take the user interface of an euclidean sequencer, a healthy dose of machine learning and graph algorithms, megabytes of drum loops, hours of intensive computations and youve got a drum pattern generator like no other.

Grids' "brain" is a map of the typical drum patterns used in (mostly electronic) music, laid out by similarity, trained on a large corpus of drum loops. The module can smoothly interpolate and navigate from one pattern to the other, at the whim of a knob move or a CV.

But Grids' knowledge of drum patterns goes far beyond what would be achieved with presets- given a position in the map, thousands of variations can be intuitively generated by controlling the "event density" of each of the 3 channels (bd, sd, hh) gradually moving from a sparse backbone to a deliciously rich pattern with ghost notes, rolls and fills.

Clocking
• Internal clock with a 40 to 240 BPM range.
• Beat indicator / Tap tempo button (reconfigurable as a reset button).
• External clock input, with selectable resolution (24, 8 or 4 ppqn).
• Pattern reset trigger input.

Drum Pattern Generator
Based on a compressed representations of drum patterns and their variations.
• X/Y (pattern selection) knobs with CV inputs.
• Pattern complexity/density knobs for channels 1, 2, 3, with CV inputs.
• Pattern randomization knob with CV input (reconfigurable as a swing control for the internal clock).
• 3 output channels (BD, SD, and HH/percussion).
• 3 additional outputs, configurable as Accent/Clock/Reset or per-channel accent.
• Outputs can be either triggers or gates.

Specifications
• Input impedances: 100k.
• CV acquisition: 8-bit, 1kHz.
• Output level: +5V.
• Clock resolution and processing latency: 120s.
• Worst case jitter < 0.5% at 120 BPM.