Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[GeeJee]

He I thought about trying to make the sequences from the pictures. Have you tried the sequence from the larger picture, the one you used for the software?

Get it here. I won't be liable for headaches or ear-damage :] Study...observe and listen. Quality is unfortunately low and I noticed i've been through the 0dB barrier.. sorry for that..

[Jakob BC]

Argh yes thats right, mow I remember it.

[PHASEREFFECT]

Hm, i also don´t know this Sequence, i´m also not happy with the fact that at Step5 are two holes programmed (i don´t remember any statement that the Matrisequencer was able to output "polyphonic" signals).....and the assumed "Octave" 1-4 doesn´t fit too because they´re also sometimes being double programmed. I slowly think they´re binary encoded. The two lower lines for octave 1-4 (00,01,10,11), the four lines below 1-16 (0000,0001,0010) for -whatever-, maybe the lenght of the step itself -or- the amount of repeated notes. And at the left side you´ll see something like a "sum" of both rows.

That would be hard to calculate that all from hand.

Stef

[LeoDaV]

While looking for clues for the 3 unknown rows of wich 2 are most important (always filled with pins... the ones I assume are for output routing between L and R or it could be gate routing or whatever) I had another look @ concorde...

Low and behold I spotted a difference between the concorde's GMS and the later one:



That proves Geiss upgraded it at least once... The push BCD switches and 3 lamps have been added.

The knobs and switches are extremely old and come from presumably the 1950-60 erra. Especially the red potentiometer knobs and the humongous round silver switches. I get the impression Geiss had them somewhere in his stock when he created the GMS250...

Intresting....

@Stef: you must think analogue 4 holes for the octave swiching so a logical 1 V/oct per line (1V, 2V ... 4V) if you put a pin in 2 holes it will add the voltages. So 1,4 makes 5V.

J.

[PHASEREFFECT]

For the BCD switches i assume that they´re the clock divider for external devices and/or its own clock source for the sequencer itself. The Mpops had a clock of 12ppq, maybe other devices needed 24 or whatever. Since it is such near at the Tempo knob, i assume this is the divider.

Stef

[PHASEREFFECT]

The CR78 for example (as shown on the Equi4 Video) needs 24 ppq and is suspiciously close located to the Matrisequencer.

Stef

[PHASEREFFECT]

Ok, but at concorde there was no divider. But other things wouldn´t make sense.

Stef

[GeeJee]

Are you discussing with yourself now?

[PHASEREFFECT]

Ok, let´s "encode" the lowest programmed rows (the four) from binary into decimal (i don´t take the first row). I assume that the upper row is "1" and the lowest "8".

4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,2,8,2,8,8,8,8,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,8,4,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,2,8,8,4,8,2,8,8,8,2,8,8,8,8,8,8,8,-

Same goes to the two rows:

2,2,2,0,2,2,0,2,0,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,0,0,0,2,2,2,0,2,0,1,2,2,0,2,0,2,2,0,0,2,0,0,2,0,0,2,0,2,0,0,-


The printing left on the two rows could be also mean "1,3,5" and "2,4,6"

Oh my god....if i would know what this all means, then i can program it also, but just to find out the sense is very hard....and i´m sure someone reads this all and is laughing all the time I´ll get it, no prob. I´ve decoded and programmed already completely different hires.

Stefffffffff

[PHASEREFFECT]

Are you discussing with yourself now?

Yes. When i´m in programming mood, then i discuss often with myself. I place the ask into the room, perhaps hear I then the answer. That´s my logic.

Edit: And it´s often too loud in my brain. Even different brightness sequences (the same if from a computer screen or other light sources) can automatically generate quiet sound sequences in my brain, when the "overall scenery" gets too boring for me. No joke.


Steffffff

[GeeJee]

Kaykay... never mind me laughing out loud about it...

[LeoDaV]

I currently use the BCD switches to identify the loop point. However your idea (divider for external clock) is also a good one. If the BCD switches are NOT for the loop point...then what is.... first row ?? then how does it progress ???

I thought as wel about the use of binary for the 4 rows and even the 2 unknown rows (because sometimes you see none, one, two and onetwo)... It's most logical the GMS was made useing simple TTL logic IC's (seen the period of time it was built). In the end I think, since it needs to generate CV/[Gate|Trigger], it's all based on voltages except the step switching that's 'digital'.

I also assume that if there is no pin in one of the 12 rows for the notes that means no gate so actually a pause else it would output a voltage of 0 or if you add the octave voltages a 'C'. This is the same as with my ARP sequencer. The arp uses also a 3 state switch for gate routing. So why not 2 on the GMS...

ow... and Stef, I know it can output at least 2 voltages when it's used in 2x50 notes mode... so it's duophonic. Maybe in 1x100 mode it still is able to route to or L or R... that could solve the riddle of the 2 so important rows... Left is presumably bottom. In analog sequencer-land if you switch note but you don't change he gate, you can get portamento. That's something to take into account as well...

J.

[PHASEREFFECT]

That´s what i as myself too, but i have another Idea for the remaining six rows: What about if they define the loop point ("jump back to row xx if upmost pin is set")? Would that make sense? You can define 16 loop points *4 (or 3) different "encodings".

Lemme kalkulate...

Stef

[PHASEREFFECT]

That would mean, that it possibly hops over a already looped sequence to the next row.

I mean, i dont believe that we´re talking about the Equinoxe4 sequence which is being programmed, but it smells a -bit- like this one. -Maybe- if two pins are set at the same time inside the "key"-holes, the 2nd pin defines the octave. But that would also mean that the Keys doesn´t go from low to high (1...12), possibly from 12....1. Maybe the GMS was constructed in that way that "Sequencer1" was able to control "Sequencer2", so that the main Sequence runs at the right Sequencer while the left Sequencer controls the note and the loop points.


Stef

[LeoDaV]

That´s what i as myself too, but i have another Idea for the remaining six rows: What about if they define the loop point ("jump back to row xx if upmost pin is set")? Would that make sense? You can define 16 loop points *4 (or 3) different "encodings".

Lemme kalkulate...

Stef

Then it will never progress beond the first loop pin... and that's clearly not the case...

J.