Freakier Firmware

The mod matrix in depth

All five sources, how connections add up, the built-in Envelope to Cutoff link, and how to wipe the whole matrix.

Do it in the simulator ↗Lesson 12 · 7 min

You made one connection in the Beginner lesson. Now the whole grid. The five sources, top to bottom: CycEnv (the cycling envelope), Env (the main envelope), LFO, Press (aftertouch or velocity) and Key/Arp (keyboard, arpeggiator and sequencer pitch). The seven destinations: Pitch, Wave, Timbre, Cutoff, and three you assign.

  • What each of the five sources is
  • The built-in link between the Envelope, Filter Amt and Cutoff
  • How several sources on one destination add together
  • How to clear one point and how to reset all of them
The steps7 steps
  1. A quick map. Rows: CycEnv, Env, LFO, Press, Key/Arp. Columns: Pitch, Wave, Timbre, Cutoff, Assign 1, 2, 3. Each point has an amount from -100 to +100, and the screen names the point you are on.
  2. Find Env to Cutoff: second row, fourth column. Turn the Matrix knob until the screen says so.
    Stuck?

    The grid runs along each row, seven points per row. Counting along the rows, Env to Cutoff is point 11.

  3. Press the knob to edit it, then turn it up. This is the envelope opening the filter. Hold a note after to hear it. Turn it above about +15.
    Stuck?

    Press the Matrix knob, then keep turning clockwise.

  4. Now press the Matrix knob to leave edit mode, then turn the Filter Amt knob on the bottom row. It moves the same point: they are one control.
    Stuck?

    Click the Matrix knob once, then drag Filter Amt, the last knob on the bottom row.

  5. Connect the cycling envelope to Timbre: first row, third column. Select it, press to edit, and turn the amount past 30. The cycling envelope is looping, so Timbre now moves with it.
    Stuck?

    Select CycEnv to Timbre (point 3), press the knob, then turn it.

  6. Add a second source to the same destination: LFO to Timbre, third row, third column. Leave edit mode first, select the point and set an amount. Both now move Timbre, and their effects add together.
    Stuck?

    Click the Matrix knob to leave editing, move to LFO to Timbre, click, and turn.

  7. Wipe the matrix: hold Shift and long-press the Matrix knob. (On the model, tap Shift to latch it, or hold your computer's Shift key.) Every point goes dark.
    Stuck?

    Latch Shift by tapping it, then click the Matrix knob. Tap Shift again to let go.

Sources down, destinations across, amounts from -100 to +100, and everything on one destination adds together. Env to Cutoff is the Filter Amt knob wearing a different hat. Shift plus a long press wipes the lot.

On the real MicroFreak

Env, Press and Key/Arp are polyphonic sources: in paraphonic mode each voice gets its own value, applied to Type, Wave, Timbre and Shape. The filter is shared by all voices. Key/Arp to Pitch is already built in at one volt per octave, so connecting it in the matrix only scales the pitch: positive widens the intervals and negative gives you microtones. To clear a single point, hold the Matrix knob for half a second; Shift plus a long press clears everything. Matrix amounts are bipolar, from -100 to +100.

Where the model differs

In the model, Shift plus a click on the Matrix knob clears every point. The half-second hold for one point is not modeled: set the amount to zero instead.

Questions2

What is the Press source?

It is key pressure. Depending on the Press mode setting in Utility > Preset > Modulations, it is either aftertouch (how hard you press after touching the key) or the velocity of the touch.

Why did my Filter Amt knob move when I edited the matrix?

The Env to Cutoff point and the Filter Amt knob are the same control. Moving either one moves the other.