Doepfer A-157- 1/2/3 Trigger Sequencer
OverviewDoepfer A-157- 1/2/3 Trigger Sequencer
A-157 is a trigger sequencer subsystem that is used to generate up to eight trigger signals controlled by a 8x16 LED/button matrix (some customers call it "Miniature Schaltwerk" as it is based on the same matrix as the no longer available Schaltwerk).
The available system contains 3 modules:
- the LED/button matrix module A-157-1
- the trigger output module A-157-2
- one of the control modules A-157-3
The LED/button matrix module A-157-1 is the core of the
subsystem. It is used to set or reset the trigger event on each of
the 16 steps of each of the 8 rows.
The trigger output module A-157-2 outputs the 8 trigger signals and
has an LED display for each trigger. We will probably add a mute
button or mute switch for each row that allows to turn the trigger
output off/on independent for each row.
In the final version the modules A-157-1 and A-157-2 will be
probably merged into one module only because both modules are
essential for the subsystem.
The module A-157-1/2 (or the merged module that will contain both units) can be connected to a simple control module or a more sophisticated control module which is planned for the future (similar to the A-155 and A-154 conceptual design where the A-155 includes a simple control unit that can be replaced by the A-154 which offers a lot of additional functions).
At the beginning a simple control module A-157-3 similar to the A-155 control unit will be available. It offers only the functions clock, start/stop and reset (both with manual controls and control inputs). For this standard control unit the tempo (clock) is the same for all 8 rows, the direction is forward and the length of each row is 16.
We also plan a more complex control module A-157-4 that allows additional functions like 128 memories for trigger sequences, different clock/start/stop/reset for 2 or 4 groups of rows (e.g. common for rows 1-4 and 5-8, or in pairs), independent first/last step for each row, independent direction (forward/backward/pendulum/random) for each row, one-shot mode, LC display and so on. But these ideas are very preliminary and we will have to find out which functions are essential.
There are also plans for a stand-alone version adapted to the design of Dark Energy and Dark Time with the same case dimensions and wooden side panels (provisional name "Dark Flow")
A-157 on website doepfer.de here