xoxbox song question

[martian telecom]

Hello,

I have had my xoxbox for several months and I have not put it into track mode yet. I am running the original firmware and I am not finding any info on how to chain patterns together into long songs. I downloaded the manual from 2005 and it ends right right after it explains how to sequence in pattern mode. No mention of track mode.

I understand how to chain 16 bars together in pattern play mode, but not how to chain multiple patterns in multiple banks into a longer song structures like 128 or 192 bars. How do I do this?

I am interested in doing something like Alexander Robotnick and I can't do it because the xoxbox seems really locked into looping a bar and then looping another bar but I want to be able to have the patterns change automatically so that the notes the xoxbox is playing can modulate with a chord progression. It was a banned to do this on a 303 but he could do it and it sounds awesome.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[martian telecom]

http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/manu ... index.html

I see that it is online but it never actually made the pdf of the manual.

From what I am seeing you can only make tracks last for 16 bars each. Is there a way to automatically chain the banks together?

Does Sokkos have a better song mode than this? Not having a real working track mode on the xoxbox seems like a huge oversight. I will switch the OS in a heartbeat for a real track mode like a real 303.

[Luap]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwQUyfLNA30
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcurVPjrDWM

I don't know if you have seen these "Getting started" videos? But Im certain in 1 of them he explains how to chain patterns.

[eil]

From my (unfinished) x0xb00k manual:

The CHAIN key allows you to chain tracks together within a bank for playback. To chain tracks, hold the CHAIN key and press the location keys corresponding to the tracks that you would like to play in sequence. The LEDs corresponding to the locations you select will illuminate. If you press a location key more than once, that track will play as many times as you pressed the key.
Unfortunately, there is no way that the LEDs can indicate which track is where in the chain or how many times it is played. You can only tell whether or not a track is in the chain at all.
To make the sequencer “forget” the track and go back to simply playing whichever location is selected, just press a location key. Chain sequences are retained even when you switch to another bank, although the tracks played will be those in the new bank, not the previous one.

You can download the manual somewhere in the middle of this thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=9139

[martian telecom]

Thanks for taking the time to answer but this isn't what I am asking about. I understand how to chain patterns together, the problem is that the chain can only hold 32 pattern locations, and therefore is only 32 bars long. Chaining patterns together in Pattern Mode is not the same as chaining them together in a Track Mode on a Roland drum machine.

On my TR707 I can write patterns and move between then in the pattern mode. Once I have written all the patterns I like into the four pattern banks(A, B, C, D) I can then go into track mode and select one of four tracks (I, II, III, IV) and apply any pattern in the 707 to a track. You can add up to 999 patterns together to make one VERY long track if you are so inclined. You hit play and the 707 plays back all 192 bars of the song as you programmed it.

128 bars at house tempo is about 4 minutes, 192 bars is about 6 minutes.

I record live without multi-tracking. I record with multiple hardware units that have their own internal sequencers. Because of this I do not have time to babysit the xoxbox while I am doing a live mix. I need it to change patterns on its own while I am attending to the mix and the synths. Can the xoxbox be programmed to play back an entire song in Track Mode?

Can it playback 16 bars of each of the 8 patterns in a bank for a total of 128 bars of a song? IE pat1x16, pat2x16, pat3x16, pat4x16, pat5x16, pat6x16, pat7x16, pat8x16 = 8x16 = 128 bars of a song.

I read the online explanation of track mode here:http://www.ladyada.net/make/x0xb0x/manual/trackedit/index.html

It makes Track Mode on the xoxbox seem like a glorified version of the chain feature on in Pattern Mode. It seems like it only lasts for 16 bars. Am I missing something? I would really like my xoxbox to be able to play full songs without me having to remember to switch patterns manually every 16 bars.

[toxaco]

SokkOS latest has midi program change message for selecting patterns on the x0x !

(NEWNEWNEW in 1.9)
MIDI pattern change, woohoo. Just send a MIDI patch change message on the MIDI-in channel and the 'b0x will act as if you pressed the corresponding button and twisted the bank knob.

Just use your favourite sequencer or computer to send program changes to your x0x and you can make songs as long as you want ! No problem