My big project this year for university is to build a step sequencer using Max. I'll be using a Novation Launchpad as an external controller, and hopefully by the end of this I'll have built something pretty versatile that I can offer up on here to try out.
I found a great starting point on YouTube thanks to
dude837. His Max videos are absolutely great, so I encourage you to check them out. His step sequencer project provides a brilliant starting point for me.
My initial focus is getting the launchpad to set cells in the matrixctrl object, so I've downloaded a copy of the Launchpad Programmer's Reference, which is available from the
Novation Website. It gives a detailed explanation of the MIDI implementation of the Launchpad, and how you can take advantages of the various functions of the device.
I've laid out my project in a series of milestones, and for the first the sequencer must be able to do the following:
- Store a simple polyphonic sequence of 8 steps
- Receive messages from the Launchpad to set cells in the matrixctrl
- Select different tempo divisions
- Output correctly formatted MIDI messages
Nothing too ambitious to start off with, but the purpose of milestones is to implement functions sequentially. It also gives me a chance to get things working properly so that I can iron out any bugs as they come up, rather than leaving me in debug hell at the end.
