Using MIDI to Control Ultrabeat’s Sequencer

Pattern performance can be influenced by incoming MIDI notes. This allows you to spontaneously interact with the step sequencer, making Ultrabeat an excellent live performance instrument. The way Ultrabeat reacts to MIDI control is determined by the chosen pattern, playback, and voice mute mode options.

• Pattern Mode (On/Off) button: When enabled, allows you to choose and start patterns with MIDI note messages. The Transport button turns blue to indicate that Ultrabeat is ready to receive incoming control commands.

  • MIDI notes C-1 to B0 switch between patterns:  C-1 selects pattern 1, C#-1 selects pattern 2, and so on up to pattern 24, selected when MIDI note B0 is received.

• Playback Mode menu: Determines pattern playback behavior when an incoming MIDI note is received. You can choose one of the following options:
  • One-Shot Trig(ger): The reception of a MIDI note starts the pattern, which plays once through its cycle, then stops. If the next note is received before the pattern has reached its final step, the new note stops playback of the first pattern and the next pattern begins playing immediately—this can be a different pattern or the same pattern, depending on the MIDI note received. Note-off events are ignored.
  • Sustain: The reception of a MIDI note starts the pattern and it continues playing in an infinite loop until the corresponding MIDI note is released (a note-off event is received).
  • Toggle: The reception of a MIDI note starts the pattern and it continues playing in an infinite loop until the next note is received. If it is the same note, the pattern stops immediately. If it is a different note, the sequencer immediately switches to the new pattern.

  Note: Toggle mode allows you to switch between patterns in the middle of a bar—the sequencer stays in time and automatically jumps to the corresponding beat of the new pattern. This isn’t the case in One-Shot Trig mode, which starts the new pattern from the beginning as soon as you play a MIDI note.

• Toggle on Step 1: The behavior is the same as Toggle mode except that the pattern change or stop occurs the next time beat 1 is reached—at the beginning of the next pattern cycle.
• Voice Mute Mode button: When active, playing MIDI note C1 and above mutes the corresponding sound in the Ultrabeat mixer. A subsequent MIDI note of the same pitch unmutes it. This is ideal for spontaneous rearranging of patterns and/or muting single elements of a pattern without deleting them. This is especially useful in a live performance or remixing situation.

All the creative pattern switching options discussed in this section are achieved through the use of MIDI note messages and can therefore be simply recorded, edited, arranged, and automated in Logic Pro.