Shift key and sequencing request

201 Pocket Piano
1

On the 201, currently the Shift key is used to stop recording a sequence and immediately play.

This creates limitations: nothing can be recorded in the sequence that requires a Shift.

This is particularly limiting when trying to record a passage that may extend beyond the physical keyboard: shift is required to change octaves. It would improve the sequencer if octaves could be changed during recording (particularly for percussion!) It would also be nice to operate the sequencer with a slow tempo during recording and insert program changes to jump/weave other patches into the sequence.

Could the role of the Shift key be changed, such that if recording, Shift + o/# is used to stop and immediately play? (Where o/# is the current sequencer toggle key.) While I realize that hitting shift by itself is fast and immediate, from a control standpoint it doesn’t make sense that Shift has an executable function, beyond being a function key to be used in tandem with something else.

2

Yes, the role of any of the control hardware (knobs, keys, etc.) can be changed. The 201 runs on Pure Data. Users can customize the patterns, modes, and overall controls to suit their needs.

3

In an early incarnation of the mother.pd patch that runs on the 201 we had it working similar to the way you describe: to stop recording you had to do a shift+c#. This means it would be possible to incorporate octave switching and other shift functions into the sequence being recorded…

But like you mention, hitting only one button to stop the sequence and immediately play is fast and seemed to increase the overall fun factor when we tried it, so we left it this way. This could always be changed as @chrisk mentions… it would require making the necessary edits to mother.pd.