I am planning to build a Moritz Klein sequencer, with CV and gate out. In his design, the LEDs of the step are always on when the step is active, even when the gate for that step is turned off. Other sequencers I have seen have the LED only on when the gate associated with the step is on. Which option do you prefer, and for what reason? Yes, an LED always actived by its step makes it visually easy to see which step is active, but it makes it harder to see whether the gate is active.
Any input is appreciated! I am still in the planning phase, so alterations of the original plans are easy to make.
Stefan
I prefer having the step LEDs on when the step is active. The switch is a good enough visual hint for me. It is good to know where the sequence is at, especially when using odd clocks; or when calibrating the CV out of a step.
To have and LED for the gate, you can connect one to the gate out (use a buffer if you do so): this way the LED flashes when a gate is sent.
Or add a sencond row of LEDs. That is, two LED per step: one for the step and one for the gate. Replace the SPDT switches with DPDT ones. One pole acts according to the schematics, the other one switches the additional LED for the gate.
1 Like
Most sequencer designs I’ve seen has the LEDshooked up to the output of the multiplexers (supplying the chain of potentiometers), meaning the LEDsare lit as long as the the step is active.
As BobbyZincone notes, a LED hooked up to the gate would solve that issue. Some sequencers have also a trig O/P, and I dunno if a LED connected to the trig signal is lite up long enuff to be visable.
You could look into using two-color LEDs so it lights green on an active step and red on an inactive step. That might be taking Moritz’s relatively simple design a step too far though.