Unofficial Molar VSTI Tips,Tricks,Tutorials and FAQ Collection Bucket

Thanks so much for doing this!
maybe i will finally use and understand Molar.

Thanks for this. In conjunction with t1mp's video I finally got molar to make noise last night. Now time to make it sound good...

Good job!

But I'm curious, how do I assign "4x4" to a function button? I didn't know about this feature, sounds like it might be useful as I have a 40h.

Ah, it's Solo! Thanks, I'll try it out.

Sorry I made you write the long version, I know how to edit config, but see how my question didn't make that clear in any way.

what exactly does 4x4 do? and benefit a 40h?

[edit-obselete info.4x4 works differently now]

USEFULL STUFF STARTS HERE:

Hey I'm new to Molar and was wondering if anyone could explain how metasequencing and metarecording is done. I've already read what instructions I could find on it but everything I found wasn't descriptive enough. The more detailed info the better. Thanks.

EDIT FUNCTION PAD LOCATIONS
---------------------------------------

You can edit your function pad locations by opening your config file with a text editor and navigating to the section that is labeled " ASSIGN FUNC "
The Furthest left column shows the currently assigned function pad locations.
You can move function pads wherever you want them (within the lowest row) by changing the pad number in the furthest left column.Any one function can be mapped to any lower row pads pads 0-15 on the 128/256 or 0-7 on the 40h/64, 0 being the first pad in the row.
Save your changes to the config file and restart Molar.
If you want to undo your changes,the two number columns on the right show the default settings for your device.

Printed/drawn stickers on your Monome can really help simplify navigation.
I personaly use use clear printable window decal material that peels off with no residue.

ASSIGN FUNC 256-default 40h-default
[3] (pitch) (3) (101)
[0] metasequence (0) (0)
[6] nudge (6) (6)
[4] Collapse (4) (100)
[8] Copy/Paste (8) (1)
[9] Edit Steps (9) (2)
[10] Edit Mult (10) (3)
[11] SS Length (11) (102)
[12] Swing (12) (103)
[13] Mute (13) (104)
[14] Solo (14) (105)
[15] Pattern (15) (4)
_______________________________________________________________________
[7] wave (7) (7)
[5] Volume (5) (5)
[1] OS-Gate (1) (106)
[2] JAM (2) (107)

(Posted version spaced differently than in config file)

TOTAL CC LIST (as of June 10'th 2008)
-----------------

40h/128 cc 256 cc function
--------------------------------------------

11-18 11-26 Filter Freq rows
19-26 27-42 Filter Reso rows
41-56 41-56 draw (set) this step on visible StepSequencer
64(sus pedal) ------ toggle lowest-row functions to/from alternates (100+ in config)
73-80 73-88 StepSequencer Direction
81-88 89-104 RowMode (SND SN1 LTG LP1)
89 105 last-pressed row SND HOLD
90 106 last-pressed row SND Decay
91 107 last-pressed row Pitch
92 108 last-pressed seq FX Graph Recorder
93 109 last-pressed seq Step Graph Recorder
94-101 110-125* RowPitch Semitones (*cc123 is skipped; it resets to zero on playback in live)

ROW MODE DESCRIPTIONS (Scooped from very recent steve_duda postings)
---------------------------------------------------------

Heres two descriptions. First, from www.xferrecords.com/molar/ (needs updating, doesn't cover LTG, though the information is still correct)

___________________________________________________
(0) SN1: a one-shot sample, one-pad is active in the row at a time (intended use, each sequence in the row has multiple steps active in the stepsequencer)

(1) SND: for using the entire row to sequence a one-shot sample. Once happy, you can use metasequence to create 'performed' variations, and/or you can use Collapse to create variations with each pad in the row.

(2) LP1: a loop sample. Loop BPM is guesstimated and timestretched to fit your host BPM. If you change host BPM the loop(s) are reloaded. Your loop audiofiles should be ideally 1-2-4-8 bars exactly. Multibar samples are cropped to better match the BPM. There are no user-options for the particulars besides the timestretch method (resampled is default, i.e. change the pitch to match the tempo. You can edit this in the config to be resliced, which preserves the original pitch by equal-16th slicing/gap-filling upon load.

______________________________________________________________

and now fresh from my currently stale brain
______________________________________________________________

In much of the code (e.g. LED or GUI drawing, MIDI notes sent, etc) there are really just two mode categories: One Shot (SND/SN1) and Loop (LP1/LTG). Thus I think it makes sense to think of it that way too.


SND - "Sound Row" = One-Shot sample. Each pad in the row contains its own stepsequence. stepsequencer "stalks" represent velocity. Default pattern for SND row = "this step is on" (e.g. left most pad = 10000000, next is 01000000, third is 00100000, etc. This way you can use an entire row to activate steps (XOX style sequencing) without having to hold an Edit button.

SN1 - ("Sound Row, but monophonic") quite the same as above, but only one pad(sequencer) in the row can be active at a time. This is handy if you want to use a row for pattern variations and you never want two to play at once.


LP1 - "Loop". Intended for loading/resquencing audio loops. The load handling is different (loops automagically timestretch to host BPM). The stepsequencer draws 16 'segments' instead of velocity stalks. These segments represent 16 equal-segments of the loaded loop from low (start of audio loop) to high (step 16 of audio loop). In other words if you draw along the bottom of the graph, you will hear the first 16th of the loop play on every step (kick kick kick kick kick kick). You see a diagonal by default which is a sensible default (current step time -> play this corresponding segment of the loop).



LTG - "LoopTrig" Very similar to above, but the sequence syncs relative (retriggers) based on when you press the pad, instead of absolute sync. This is much like the way MLR presses operate (e.g. press pad X and you hear the loop jump to that relative timeposition).

In any other (non LTG) mode, pressing an active pad turns off the sequence, whereas if you press (any, active or not) LTG pad, and you will hear the loop retrigger from step1 of that pads' sequence.

One tidbit of info, I'm sure this has confused/displeased most everyone at one point or another: If you switch a LP1/LTG row to SND/SN1 or vice-versa, your stepsequencer data is "kinda obsolete", in other words if you decided to change the function of the row its best to also clear the sequences in the row back to defaults (which was very tedious to do). I've added a fast way to do this in the latest build: Load Menu->"Init This Row Seqs". I really added this function mostly for this purpose; when you change a LP1/LTG to SND/SN1 or vice versa and you'd like the 'default' sequencer data of this newly assigned rowtype.

JAM MODE (Scooped from a hypnosapian post)
------------

Jam mode lets you record real-time, quantized steps in varying velocities to snd and sn1 rows. Here's how it works:

1. Press a pad to select it in a snd or sn1 row after starting your host.

2. Hold down "jam" and play a rhythmic pattern by pressing another button in the same row. Each time you press a pad, you add a step in the sequence. The pad you press in the row determines the velocity assigned to the added step (right-most pad in row = 127, left-most = 0).

3. Let go of "jam" to return to standard view. The originally selected pad will now play the steps you just recorded as its pattern.

4. To remove the added steps, either select the pad then hold "jam" and press the left-most pad in the row when a step plays, returning its velocity to 0 (thus turning it off), or hold edit after selecting the pad and edit the steps that way.

Loading a Custom Note Grid

If you want to change the Notes assigned under each pad. You can do this by loading a MIDI Map file. The map file is just a text file formatted in a grid that matched the Monome you are using. Here is an example below for a 256. This grid puts the same note on each pad in a row, but you could assign a scale instead. To load the notes, click the "Load" button in Molar and browse to a text file with a grid in the format below.

[55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55][55]
[56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56][56]
[57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57][57]
[58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58][58]
[59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59][59]
[60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60][60]
[61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61][61]
[62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62][62]
[63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63][63]
[64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64][64]
[65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65][65]
[66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66][66]
[67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67][67]
[68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68][68]
[69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69][69]
[70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70][70]

> occular: That is wonderful. Please share when you have something. All these fragments will eventually be collected and edited into a manual.

> How do I route audio from each row in molar to a separate audio track in Live 7 ?

You hold NUDGE and press a button to the right of the lit ones (which represent outputs).

You can edit the config file if you want particular dedicated output/row assignments upon startup.

AUDIO ROUTING IN MOLAR
-------------------------------

There are two ways to go about utilizing any or all of the eight stereo audio outputs available from Molar.
The first option is to set your default audio routing in the Molar config file where it looks like this:

OUTPUT CONFIG (rows 1-16, output 1-8)
[1][1][1][1][1][1][1][1]
[1][1][1][1][1][1][1][1] (256 only)

If you want each of the eight rows to have an individual output by default, then you could change the above entry to look like this:

[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
[1][1][1][1][1][1][1][1] (256 only)
(but keep in mind you can assign outputs in any order or grouping you want)

If you are using a 256 device then you will have to decide the best way to merge the 16 rows down to as many as eight outputs.

The second method which works in conjunction with the above config file routing method allows on device realtime audio output routing.
This is accomplished by pressing the NUD (Nudge) function pad.When you press Nudge, you will see pads light up according to how you have the routing set up in the config file, or previously assigned, starting at the 5'th pad from the left which represents audio output 1 through to the 12'th pad from the left which represents audio output 8.

[edit:oops,steve beat me to it,lol! That tease looks intriguing..]

wow steve, the slicer looks really cool. Nice Idea.

All You Wanted To Know About MIDI Sequencing in Molar

One of the hard things to grasp when you first start with Molar is what all the different row modes do and how you can use them for different styles of music. At first it seems that LP1/LTG rows are strictly for samples and SND/SN1 rows are strictly for midi. I will attempt to debunk that notion. There are different strategies you can use to perform different styles of midi sequencing in Molar. Once you "Get It", Molar becomes a lot more enjoyable and you'll realize the brilliance of the design.

One tip as you experiment for different row modes is that if you change a row from SND to LP1 for instance, the edit graph does not translate well or at all. It's best at this point, to click the "Load" button, then choose "Init this row seqs" to go to the default slope in the graph. Also, to use LTG/LP1 for midi, it's best to clear out any wavs that might be playing on the row by clicking "Load" button and then "Clear this row wav".

Drum/MIDI Grid 1-64 Steps
See "Midi Sequencing Up To 64 Steps using Collapse and 4x4" posted earlier in this thread.

Melodies 1-64 Steps On One row.

In order to edit a melody up to 64 steps on one row, we will use an LP1 row and initialize it as described in the last paragraph (Load->Init this row seqs: Load->Clear this row wav"). Now let's change the SEQ LEN to 32 steps by clicking in Molar (Slightly left of edit grid).

Play the row by pressing the rows left-most button. If your midi setup is correct, you should hear a line of ascending notes that will repeat twice: 16 steps each across 32 steps.

Now the fun begins. Make sure the first pad in your LP1 row is selected (red box) .You'll see page marker arrows to the right of the edit graph that look like a Play button. These should cycle between first and second arrow as the sequence moves from page 1 (steps 1-16) to page 2 (Steps 17-32). If you hold down the "edi" (Edit) command in the lower command row, you will see the edit graph for the page that was active when you pressed EDIT. You should see the default note slope in a graph view. Keep holding EDIT and edit each note on the grid. Now release EDIT, wait until the sequence is playing over the next page (17-32) steps. Hold EDIT again and use the pads to place the second page of notes in the grid.

Melodies 1-64 Steps On Multiple Rows.

The other option for Melodies greater than 16 steps, is to use multiple rows for a single sequence by offsetting each row by the appropriate number of steps. This can be accomplished with SND and LP1 rows. LTG rows retrigger when you press them, so while you could do some cool stuff here, we will not discuss them in this context. Likewise, SN1 rows are monophonic so not suitable here for what we are doing.

There are presets for setting up Molar to use multiple rows for a single sequence. We'll try this out. First you should close the Molar window before selecting the preset from the plugin's menu. In Live the plugin menu is in bottom left square. Select "SEQ-2 Rows" from the menu. This will setup each sequence to run across 2 rows and 32 steps. You will see that every alternate row has an offset of 15. The way this works is as follows. You have 2 rows. Each row is 32 steps but the second row is offset by 16 steps. Let's try this out on a pair of SND rows first. Play the transport and select some pads on 2 SND rows. You'll see that the pads on the first row are played and then the second row after that. Essentially we are editing both rows on their first 16 steps, however the offset on the second row makes that row play it's first page on steps 17-32. You can hold down the EDIT button to edit velocities on the first or second row depending where the play head is when you press edit.

Ok, that is cool for SND rows, what can we do with LP1 rows. With LP1 rows and the same offset, we can edit a sequence across multiple rows as well. The difference is that LP1 rows will allow us to edit notes in the edit graph, which can be a really nice dynamic way to set complex melodies. Let's use 2 LP1 rows that were setup using the "SEQ-2 rows" preset. Be sure to clear out any wav on the row. TIP: The default note slope for LP1 rows has a slope on page 2. 17-32 of the row as well. You need to clear out the notes on page 2 each row since we will only be using page 1 of each row. You can do this in the edit graph (Select page 2 arrow to right of graph (Right click and drag across graph)).

Start the transport. Press and hold EDIT in the bottom row of command pads. You should see the default note slope. Edit the grid to set a different melody and release EDIT. Press and hold EDIT again when the play head is over the second row, edit that note grid. Now we have a complex melody playing across multiple LP1 rows.

continued in next post.....

[Reposted from hypno|sapien]

> Does this mean that "Solo" and "Edit Mult" are no longer available?

Solo is now controlled via the same toggle as mute and row direction. Press and hold "m s" (mute in the config), then the following:

1st pad in row = mute
2nd pad in row = solo
3rd pad in row = ->
4th pad in row = <-
5th pad in row = <>
6th pad in row = ??

When recording a WAV into Molar is there any "Trick" to be able to record a 32 or even 64 step Loop? I set the pattern length to the 32, but it just keeps looping what I played in the first 16 step pattern. Also, is there any way to collapse LP1 or LTG rows?

MOMENTARY MODE
---------------------

Momentary mode only plays back the loop while you have a pad held down or if you select a loop region.You can also change the setting in the config file to:

[0] No MLR_Style looping on momentary pads

so that if you do select a loop region, the region will continue to play when you release the pads and stop playback the next time you touch a pad.

Momentary mode is available per pad in the MODE selector just above NOTE OUT on the Molar GUI.Don't forget that unless you hold Shift+Alt/Option or Alt/Option the setting is only changed for the currently selected pad, not for the entire row or all rows.