Is there a more inspiring arpeggiator than the one on my Zynthian? In Logic there is an arpeggiator where I can make a pattern with different velocities.
The standard arpeggiator just runs up and down. I can stack a couple of arpeggiators together, but he result is quite random.
I’ve also found QMidiarp, but that simply doesn’t work.
Any advice would be appreciated.
There is an arpeggiator within some (many, most?) of the engines/plugins which might have more inspiring feaures for you. Sorry about not providing an example in the interest of giving a quick answer.
The standard arpeggiator has the following modes:
It also has some octave modes, note length, octave span, velocity, etc. It does not offer randomising of velocity although you could do that by adding a velocity randomisation plugin to the chain. If you want to trigger a specific pattern you can use zynpad.
How do you want the arpeggiator to be more inspiring? Zynthian allows you to build up interest by chaining effects in series and/or parallel.
Actually. I would like to trigger a certain pattern, but I want it to react on the notes I play on my keyboard. So it’s an arpeggiator, that plays this preprogrammed pattern.
I am starting to get an understanding of what you want but more detail could help. There are all sorts of parameters that effect this like quantity, order and timing of keys pressed. An arpeggiator will traditionally play the held keys one at a time in a defined order. Do you want to explicitly define the order of notes, e.g. 1,4,2,5,3 to play the lowest then fourth, then second then fifth then third notes? And/or do you want to define the velocity of the sequence, e.g. 50, 100, 75, 10 to play the first note at 50%, second at 100%, third at 75% and fourth at 10%? Or maybe you want to just play the root note then for the synth to play an arpeggiated chord based on the root note.
Yes, thank you for your answer. I would like to change the velocity of the subsequent notes played by the arpeggiator in a recurrent pattern of say, 8 notes. So something like this (the numbers are the velocities of the 8th notes :|100 0 | 0 80 | 100 0 | 100 80 |
QMidiArp is quite powerful and allow to program patterns (from the native GUI), randomization, swing and many other features … but effectively it is broken in Oram!
Let me fix it 
Regards,
Sounds great,
btw: you can chain MIDI tools, e.g. I think I tried MIDI Chord → Arpeggiator → synth and that would react quite nicely for key presses 
Sorry, a little off topic but if you like arpeggiators maybe the hardware solution called Midicake Arp is a good idea to look at.
If you search this forum for Midicake you will also find a little Session with Zynthian.
I wonder what happened to this?
It would be good to have a fully integrated and versatile arpeggiator which maybe interfaces with the sequencer to allow such advanced config, but let’s get our current stuff working well before we engage in further fun developement activies.
Hi @zynthianers!
I just fixed qmidiarp in Vangelis. It has now a few example patterns to play and you can edit them or create new ones from scratch from the native GUI (VNC).
Please, note that initially is configured to sync to host tempo, so you need to “play” a pattern from the sequencer to get it working. You can change the sync to “free” and use the plugin internal clock.
Also be aware that we have an issue when synchronizing to host tempo due to the “CONTINUE” messages sent by the stepseq. We are working to fix it. Until then, use the qmidiarp internal clock (free mode).
The test:
Enjoy!!
That looks great.
maybe this is a silly question. But what’s Vangelis? And I suppose it’s the latest development branch. How do i get it?
Vangelis is the development branch of the Zynthian software package.
You have to connect your Zee to a WAN capable (ie you can reach the Internet without a proxy etc) network using the LAN port - I recommend cable, as the WiFi is painfully bad, probably needs external antenna.
Then check what the IP address of the Z is, and simply connect to that address using your favourite browser. You have reached the web configuration part of Zee. (webconf)
Select Software > Repositories >Version = testing (Vangelis), then Save.
Then Select Software > Update > Update Software.
Enjoy
And… If your network is functioning more or less normally, you should be able to access Zynthian by name:
zynthian.local
If that doesn’t work, then bother with seeing if you can find Zynthian and use the IP address you find.
And, while we’re on the subject of arpeggiators, here’s an Arduino-based open source hardware and software arpeggiator that I found. It’s not an answer to any question here, I just thought some of the ideas might be interesting:
Their intro from User guide:
Arpie is a MIDI arpeggiator. In its most basic application, you connect it between a MIDI controller keyboard and a MIDI controlled synthesizer and it arpeggiates chords that are held on the keyboard – meaning that it converts them into sequences of notes. There is a lot more to it than that but it’s a good basic description. Despite its simple construction and appearance, Arpie is fully featured with various chord arpeggiation, tempo synchronisation and standalone features to enable it to be used creatively with or without an attached keyboard. Arpie is based around open-source software and hardware. The Arduino-based firmware allows maximum hackability and the hardware is designed for easy DIY assembly and customisation.
Video demo:
User manual:
Quick Reference:
thanks.
It looks cool but as is, it’s quiet expensive regarding the hardware configuration. Thé good news: it’s open source.
Oke, I updated to Vangelis, but i’m left with nothing.
Qmidiarp is not responding. Usually it’s the running mode, that has to be set to Free. But I randomly changed all parameters, but no sound whatsoever.
Any thoughts on this?
Are they on the same channel? Is it before the instrument in the chain?
Actually I am developing a lv2 arp-like thingy (GitHub - gitnob/MidiPerfoSeq: A performance midi sequencer with single note triggering).
It can record single steps of notes (single notes or chords) on the fly, and play them back in a arpeggiator like style on NoteONOFF events. It’s meant to be a performance oriented midi plugin.
I’ve seen this (hardware oriented) technique on a video anywhere.
You can record a sequence of notes/chords, played with a keyboard. In play mode every noteON event steps through this sequence then. You can also connect it to the rhythm of a 16th note or a euclidian rhythm. You can append more notes/chords during live performance, choose different arp styles, …
I’m still developing the idea. There is also a script to get it installed on Zynthian BTW.
It’s still in kind of beta mode, but is working on my 5.1 kit.
Regards