Once your tracks are created, the pattern mode enables you to play with 256 patterns (16 patterns per track) and to arrange them into a song.
Each Pattern is a loop that contains polyphonic or monophonics notes and automation. Patterns hold their own events, lengths, runmodes, effect parameter values, ...
Unlike most sequencers, Hapax can assign a different pattern to each individual track: you can have track 01 play pattern 3 and, at the same time, have track 02 play pattern 4.
On the matrix pads, each column holds the 16 patterns for each of the 16 tracks:
8 patterns are displayed at a time. To view the other patterns, Press or to scroll the pattern list by single increments. You can also jump between the two pages of 8 patterns with a Press of or . The left screen indicates the patterns that are currently shown on the pads.
Tip From any mode : Hold pattern + any matrix pad to quickly select (and instantly launch) the pattern you want to edit.
Pattern mode has different playback types to choose from, using encoder ① :
PERFORM To manually perform with patterns (default).
PLAY SONG LOOP SONG Please refer to the Song chapter belowbelow.
Patterns progress bars
On the left screen, you can see a progress bar for the current pattern of each track, playing in concurrency. As each pattern have its own length, the progression % may be different, leading to polymetric effects.
This screen also displays the content of your tracks. In the upper example:
Track 1, 2, 3, 4, 16 contain notes
Track 5 contains notes and automations
Track 6, 7 only contains automations
Track 9 only contains drum events
Track 13 only contains MPE notes
Other tracks are empty (no events in any patterns)
The 16 squares on the right of the screen are indicating the 8 patterns that are currently displayed by the pad matrix. In the below, the matrix pad are showing patterns 2 to 9:
Launching patterns
There are 2 ways to launch patterns:
Press a matrix pad to select the playing patterns of a track.
Press one of the 8 row buttons to simultaneously launch the 16 patterns of the row. This is the classic sequencer workflow, where one sequence = a set of 16 parameters
Synchronized pattern changes
In order to ensure proper musical timing in regard to pattern changes, pattern mode has a SYNC option. This allows you to schedule a change, for it to occur perfectly on the next beat, the next bar, or whichever time division you choose.
Rotate encoder ③ to set the sync division. When the sequencer is playing, a scheduled pattern led will blink, indicating that it is waiting for the next sync division to be launched.
Tip When using SYNC = PTRN, the new pattern will be launched when reaching the current one's end.
On the left screen, a bar is showing the progression % of the selected sync:
Muting a pattern
To mute a single pattern, Hold mute and Press a pad containing a pattern. To unmute a pattern, repeat this action, or simply press the pattern pad.
A muted pattern will never output any midi event, either coming from an external controller, the live mode, the step mode or midi effects.
Note You can create a section with a muted pattern: the section will retain the mute state.
Tip Selecting an empty pattern is an other easy way to cut a certain track. Please note that this method does not mute incoming messages, or messages generated by effects.
Editing pattern parameters
Like step and automation modes, pattern mode responds to single and multiple selections. You can only edit multiple patterns at once if they belong to the same track.
Hold a pad to edit a specific pattern's parameters, namely:
PC (LSB, MSB) Program change midi messages to be sent when transitioning to this pattern. Optional extended PC logic with MSB/LSB. Tip To access extra options, Press encoder ① to enter the Pattern PC popup. Note For further detail on PC, please refer to the Pattern Program Change section belowbelow.
TRIG FREE RESTART "RESTART" will reset the new pattern position to its beginning after a pattern change. Default value "FREE" will keep the previous pattern position : the playhead will not jump.
COLOR RGB1 ... RGB8 Sets the color of the selected pattern, or group of patterns. The 8 available colors can be edited in the palette, under the MISC settings.
LENGTH 1 STEP ... 32 BARS Sets the duration of the pattern, in 16th notes (steps).Hold and Rotate encoder ③ to access finer increments and odd pattern lengths.
RUN -- REVERSE PING-PONG RANDOM BAR RANDOM BEAT RANDOM 1/16 Sets the pattern playback mode. It can be played forward, in reverse, in ping-pong, or randomly (every bar, every beat, every 16th note).
Note The first 4 parameters, PC, TRIG, LENGTH and RUN can also be accessed to by a track Hold.
Note The other parameters, FOLLOW LENGTH, FOLLOW 1 and FOLLOW 2 are detailed in the next section, 'Pattern follow actions'.
Tip Press 2ND while making a selection to extend it to the whole column.
Pattern Program Change
Patterns can be assigned a specific MIDI "Program Change" message, to be sent when the pattern is launched. Tying a program change to a pattern ensures you'll always get the right sound with the right pattern.
MIDI Program Change: PC messages are used to change presets on MIDI instruments. The value of the PC message (0-127) corresponds to a specific preset, enabling quick changes in sound during performance without manual adjustments. This feature is essential for selecting various instruments, tones, or patches stored in your device, facilitating seamless transitions between preset sounds in a MIDI sequence or live setup.
MSB / LSB (a.k.a. MIDI Bank Select): For instruments with a large number of presets organized into banks, MIDI Bank Select messages are used alongside Program Change messages to access all available sounds. Bank Select consists of two parts: the Most Significant Byte (MSB) and Least Significant Byte (LSB). These are Control Change (CC) messages, where MSB defines the general bank and LSB provides finer control within that bank. Once the correct bank is selected using MSB and LSB, a Program Change message is sent to choose the specific preset from that bank. This combination enables access to thousands of presets across multiple banks on advanced instruments.
Pattern PC can be set with fine-grained control within the Pattern PC popup.
>APPLY This will apply your desired changes, but no message will be sent, until the pattern is launched again.
>APPLY&SEND This will apply your desired changes, and immediately send the set PC/LSB/MSB messages.
PC -- 1 ... 128 Value of the MIDI Program Change message.
MSB -- 0 ... 127 Value of the MIDI Bank Select MSB message.
LSB -- 0 ... 127 Value of the MIDI Bank Select LSB message.
INSTR DEF ... This will contain the list of PCs defined within the Instrument Definition file, provided one was loaded onto the track. This list provides quick access to predefined combos of PC/MSB/LSB messages (e.g. your favourite presets).
PRE-SEND -- ON Certain instruments take a certain amount of time to load a preset after receiving a Program Change message. Therefore, it can be benefitial to send the PC messages in advance, to ensure that the correct sound is loaded when we eventually launch the next pattern. Please note this setting is applied to the entire track, not per-pattern.
WHEN CHANGED ALWAYS This sets the 'user preference' for when to send the PC message tied to that pattern. CHANGED sends the Program Change message only if it differs from the previously sent message. This is the default behaviour. ALWAYS sends the Program Change message every time the pattern is launched. The CHANGED setting is useful when switching between several patterns with the same PC, while actively changing/modulating the instrument parameters. Let's say for example you're manually opening the filter on your synth during a live performance, suddenly reloading the preset would cause the cutoff to suddenly jump back to its original position, which could be a jarring contrast in the sound. On the other hand, using ALWAYS could ensure you always go back to a known state when launching the pattern, even if you just went wild on the controls on the previous pattern which technically shared the same preset.
>CLEAR This will reset PC, LSB and MSB values to "none".
Tip The Pattern PC popup can be opened either:
In pattern mode
Hold one or multiple patterns of a track to access their parameters, then Press encoder ① to enter the Pattern PC popup - the chosen PC/MSB/LSB will apply to all selected patterns.
In any mode
Hold a track button then Press encoder ① to enter the Pattern PC popup - the chosen PC/MSB/LSB will apply to the active pattern of the selected track.
Note Events that cause Pattern PC messages to be sent
Event
Send
Pattern Launch
🟢
Section Launch (section tab)
🟢
Song Section Launch (song tab)
🟢
Double Stop
🟢
Triple Stop
🔴
Load
🟢
Snapshot: GREEN ↔ RED
🟢
Pattern: PERFORM ↔ SONG
🟢
Pasting a pattern on the active pattern
🟢
Track Hold Menu - PC encoder rotation
🟢
Pattern Hold Menu - PC encoder rotation
🟢 *
Pattern PC Popup - "APPLY&SEND"
🔴 *
Project unmute
🔵
Track unmute
🔵
🟢
sent according to the "WHEN" setting
🔴
always sent
🔵
sent if changed
*
only if the active pattern is concerned
Note If any of these events occur while a track is "silent", the PC messages will be "quarantined" and sent only when the track is no longer silent. A track is considered "silent" if it is muted or temporarily muted, if another track is solo-ed, or if the project it belongs to is muted.
Note While Pattern PC are usually only sent when a pattern changes, unmuting a project or a track might also resend a PC message. This addresses the potential issue of conflicting PCs accross tracks or projects. Let's say proA TR1 and proB TR1 are targetting the same output and the same channel, but when one is playing, the other is muted. During a performance, they are muted/unmuted in turn. If the pattern PCs are not the same, switching back and forth between these two tracks would ideally also switch back and forth between the two preset sounds.
Pattern follow actions
By using follow actions you can automate pattern triggering and add some randomness to your patterns launches. When a follow action is set within a pattern, this pattern will apply the chosen action at the end of the pattern playback.
Each action applies within a contiguous group of patterns. For example, if the first 3 patterns have the follow action set to NEXT, they will cycle within this group.
In pattern mode, Hold one or multiple patterns of a track to access their parameters.
FOLLOW 1 Rotate encoder ⑦ to choose a condition : -- No follow action. NEXT Triggers the next pattern in the group. Circles back to the first pattern if called by the last pattern of the group. PREVIOUS Same as NEXT, but triggering the previous pattern in the group. ANY Triggers any pattern within the group. OTHER Same as ANY, but never retrigs the same pattern twice. FIRST Jumps to the first pattern of the group. LAST Jumps to the last pattern of the group.
Tip Press encoder ⑦ then Rotate it to set the probability of this FOLLOW ACTION to happen. This action will automatically balance with FOLLOW 2 chance percentage.
FOLLOW 2 -- NEXT ... LAST Rotate encoder ⑧ to choose a condition. The actions are the same as in FOLLOW 1. Set the two FOLLOW ACTIONS and adjust their probabilities to create probabilistic jumps.
FOLLOW LEN 1 STEP ... 32 BARS By default, FOLLOW ACTIONS will be triggered at the end of a pattern (pattern length). Rotate encoder ⑥ to set a new duration for the FOLLOW ACTION jumps. Hold + Rotate encoder ⑥ to define finer increments.
Tip The trig mode (FREE/RESTART) can be used in conjunction with follow actions. For example, the default FREE mode allows for conditional jumps from one pattern to another without restarting them.
Copy, paste, delete & move patterns
To copy a pattern, Hold copy + Press a pad. To paste a pattern, Hold paste + Press a pad. To delete a pattern, Hold delete + Press a pad. To move a pattern, Hold a pattern + Press or .
Note It is possible to copy a pattern and paste it to a different track.
Tip To copy an entire row of patterns across all tracks, Hold copy , and Press a row button. Then, you can Hold paste and Press the destination row to paste those patterns.
Sections overview
While the matrix pads are very convenient to perform patterns by hand, more control might be desired using written SECTIONS.
A section is a precise arrangement of patterns.
Let's see some examples:
We need a section called "Intro", with track 1 to track 4 playing pattern 2, and other tracks playing pattern 1. On the grid, it would look like :
Now we need a section called "Verse", with track 1 to track 3 playing pattern 1, and the other tracks playing pattern 2. On the grid, it would look like :
Creating & launching sections
Sections and song configuration options are displayed on the right screen of the pattern mode. The section tab is the pool of saved sections:
A section = a state of patterns:
Creating a section
To create a new section, first use the grid to choose the desired arrangement of patterns for the section.
Then, Rotate the main encoder and scroll to SAVE SECTION. You will be prompted to choose a name for the section. Once saved, the section is added in your pool of available sections.
Note By default, sections are named "section A", "section B", and so on.
Launching a section
To launch a section, (recall all pattern states for the 16 tracks), Rotate the main encoder to select the section, then Press the main encoder.
Note Similarly to manual pattern changes, sections are launched in sync, according to the SYNC parameter.
Editing a section
Scroll to an existing section and Hold 2ND + Press the main encoder to open the section context menu, which offers the following options:
LAUNCH > Resets the song cursor to this section.
OVERRIDE Replaces the previous pattern arrangement with the current one.
RENAME... Allows to change the name of the section.
MOVE Allows to rearrange this section's position within the song.
DELETE Removes this section from the song.
Song overview
A Song is an arrangement of previously created sections. This makes it very easy to create complex songs using sections as building blocks, for example --intro x1 --verse x2 --chorus x1 --verse x4 ...
When the pattern mode is in song mode, the song will automatically play sections in order, and schedule the next sections in advance. Any manual change performed on the grid will still occur, but will eventually be overriden by the song's next scheduled section.
To toggle between section tab and song tab, simply Press pattern .
Creating a song
First, Press pattern once to enter the song tab.
Note You need to create at least one section to start creating a song.
Then, to add a section, scroll to the desired position and Press the main encoder. You will be prompted to choose the section to add, and its desired duration at this point in the song.
Tip When selecting the duration, you can Hold and Rotate the main encoder for more resolution, enabling very short sections and polymeters.
Tip You can use the same section multiple times.
Playing a song
On the left screen, use encoder ① to select one of the song modes :
PLAY SONG The song will stop playback when reaching its end.
LOOP SONG The song will play in an infinite loop.
Press the button to start the song playback.
Tip When a song is playing, it is possible to set the mode to PERFORM : the song playback will be paused, allowing you to do live improvisation, manual pattern changes, ... Then you can go back to PLAY SONG or LOOP SONG to continue the song playback.
Editing a song
Scroll to an existing section in the song and Press the main encoder to open the context menu :
LAUNCH Schedules this section in the song list.
SET TIME Sets the duration of the section in the song.
MOVE Allows to rearrange this section position within the song.
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or 
button to start the song playback.
