Sequencer

Toggle this on to have the Sequencer window take up the entire Atlas window.

Switch Off to stop all note information from the Sequencer from reaching the drum pads, preventing the samples from playing. All of your note information will remain intact, and you can turn the switch back On to resume triggering the samples from the Sequencer. This is useful when you want to trigger the drums from MIDI in your DAW instead of the Atlas Sequencer.

The tempo of the sequence in beats per minute, determining how fast it will play. When using Atlas in a DAW, the BPM will be linked to the tempo of your project, otherwise you enter the tempo directly.

Alternatively, tap the tempo by clicking your mouse in time on the BPM label. Tap tempo is particularly useful for syncing the Sequencer with other audio or matching the beat in your head.

When this is enabled the Atlas Sequencer will automatically follow the DAW BPM setting. Usually you want this on but sometimes you might turn this off to preview existing Atlas Loops and Sequences at their original tempo.

Stop the sequence from playing and return the playback position to the start of the sequence.

Play or pause the sequence. A currently paused sequence will begin playing from the point at which it was paused.

Add notes into the Sequence by recording live MIDI inputs, allowing you to perform new patterns or add notes to existing patterns. Click Record to arm the Sequencer and then click Play to begin looping the sequence and capturing your performance. Notes will be quantized to the current Step Size , and the velocity information will be captured from your performance.

Standalone only: If your controller is not triggering the drum pads, open the Audio/MIDI Settings in the Atlas Options menu and make sure your controller is selected under Active MIDI Inputs .

Export the Sequence as MIDI or audio, either in its entirety or as separate stems.

The settings for the current Sequence. Shown when no Channels are selected.

Generate a new Sequence from the source selected in the dropdown below.

• From Browser: Randomly select an existing Sequence from the content folders shown in the Atlas Browser panel.
• Random Chaos: Generate a completely random Sequence, perfect for experimentation.
• Variation: Makes adjustments to the current Sequence, which is useful for finding new ideas based on a Sequence you like.

Remove all note information from the Sequence, leaving you with an empty Sequence.

Introduce swing to the entire Sequence, adding groove to the beat.

Shift all of the notes in the sequence one step to the left or right. The amount of time they shift forwards or backwards will therefore depend on the Step Size setting.

The total number of beats in the Sequence. After playing this many beats, the Sequence will loop back to start again from the beginning.

The settings for the current selected Sequence Channel . Shown when one or more Channels are selected.

Generate a new pattern for this drum pad, including velocity values, from the source selected in the dropdown below.

• From Browser: Randomly select a pattern from an existing Sequence in the content folders shown in the Atlas Browser panel.
• Random Chaos: Generate a completely random pattern, perfect for experimentation.
• Variation: Makes adjustments to the existing pattern, which is useful for finding new ideas based on a pattern you like.

Remove all note information from the Channel, leaving you with an empty Channel.

These buttons allow you to cut or copy all notes from one channel and paste them into another channel. For example, you could cut the hi-hat pattern and paste it onto a shaker channel to change the sound of your beat.

Shift the timing of this particular drum pad. Adjust it to the right to cause the sample to play a little later, lagging behind the grid, or to the left to bring it earlier in time. This is useful if a sample is not sitting perfectly in time with the rest of your Sequence, or if you would like to give your beat a relaxed or rushed groove.

Mute this drum pad, preventing the sample from being triggered. Because this mutes the triggers and not simply the audio, any samples that are already playing when the drum pad is muted will play to completion, without being cut off. This setting is linked to the Mute setting on the Sample panel.

Play only this drum pad, muting all other samples in the Drum Kit. Any other samples that are already playing when this drum pad is soloed will play to completion, without being cut off. This setting is linked to the Solo setting on the Sample panel.

The type of sample loaded into this Sequencer Channel.

Click this to expand the detailed options for this channel. Click again to deselect the Channel.

Normal

Click an empty grid space to add a note at full velocity. Click a note to remove it.

Channel selected/expanded

When a Channel is expanded, the height of each note will represent its velocity. Click on a note to adjust its velocity, changing the volume of each note independently to produce variation and a more human-sounding performance. Drag the velocity down to 0 to delete the note entirely.

Set the loop length for a particular channel, which can be set shorter than the length of the entire Sequence. This will cause the pattern for that particular drum pad to loop more frequently than the Sequence as a whole, and can be used in this way to generate polyrhythms.

The number of steps in each bar, with higher Step Sizes allowing you to program shorter individual notes and faster rhythms. For example, a setting of 16 means that each step represents one sixteenth note, while a setting of 32 allows you to enter faster rhythms. The 16t and 32t Step Size options change the grid from the standard divisions to 4 to triplet rhythms, which can produce a feeling of swing and groove. Changing Step Sizes will not affect existing notes, so you can program or record different parts using different Step Sizes.

This saves time when adding repeating notes, for example hi-hats, into your sequence. When Mirror Edit is on, Atlas will automatically add extra notes for each note that you manually enter. The position of these extra notes is determined by the beat increment setting.

For example, if you have selected Mirror Edit 1, Atlas will automatically add a note at an equivalent step for every single beat in the sequence. With Mirror Edit 2 selected, Atlas will add an extra note every 2 beats.

Mirror Edit also works in the same way for editing note velocities, which is very useful for hi-hats and shaker rhythms, and for removing notes.