Although it is still in beta, the midi code is finished and fully functional, the only feature yet to come for the official release is an internal sound engine based on Ammonite which can be used as an alternative to external midi and will allow presets to sound the same on all systems regardless of the external midi gear you may wish to control with it.

The current Beta version is public and can be downloaded HERE. Beta 5

If you’ve ever wanted 12 tempo synced step sequencers with a host of live manipulation techniques designed to make music making fun, then give Vortex a try. It designed with ease of use in mind, quick editing, and a for creating music on the fly. Once you have the triggers set up on your midi controller, the triggers become like an instrument themselves allow you to stutter, double tempo, retrigger, mute and more in real time. All triggers can be enabled/disabled per Sequencer so that the potential is almost  endless.

Vortex is Multi-Timbral meaning that it can target up to 12 separate midi channels with an inbuilt midi mixer which  also includes program changes and custom CC Knobs. This means it can be used to initialize you devices when a preset or a project is loaded.

There is also a Multi-Sequencer where two octaves of notes are used to attach any combination of sequencers to each one, each multi-sequence  having transpose and Scale Remapping. Think of it as patterns but with the freedom to do much more and all of the triggers will also work with this mode.

Main Features:

12 Independent Sequencers, one for each note in the octave. In Step Sequencer Mode, playing an octave higher will increase the pitch by an octave. When in Step Sequence mode, pressing a midi note will automatically display the sequence so that editing is intuitive and quick. It is very easy to edit notes, double clicking adds/removes them, and clicking a not e and dragging allows it to be moved about freely on the sequencer display.

Each sequencer has the following:

• Step Size -  up to 32 Steps per sequence.
• Independent Tempo – From 1 Bar to 32.
• Octave Mode -  Allows selected steps on the Octave Row to follow rules such as +1 octave or to use one of the cycle modes.
• Direction – How the sequencer plays back, which can be forwards, backwards, alternate, random or single shot.
• Transpose – A sequence can be independently transposed by +- two octaves.
• Ties mode – Determines how enabled steps on the Tie row will behave. For example Tie will release the previous note before playing the next, Legato will Release the playing note after the new note is played which is great for mono instruments for the classic mono lead sound. There are also All modes where all notes are tied and the Tie Row is ignored, and finally modes where Tie will only affect a single step.
• Velocity – How the sequence velocity is mapped, Midi will use the played velocity of the incoming midi note, Sequenced uses the velocity bars on the sequencer, and Fixed will use whatever setting the Fixed Velocity knob is set to. Note that selected notes on the Boost Row always overrides the Velocity in favour of the Vol Knob setting.
• Retrigger – Determines if the Sequence will retrigger when a new note is pressed. This can be set to no retrigger, or Hard Synced to the first played sequence. However, all sequences will always retrigger when the first sequence is played regardless of this setting.
• CC Sequencers x 2 – Each Sequencer has two dedicated CC Sequencers which can be used to control any CC Parameters that your midi gear responds to such as Filter Cutoff and Resonance. Each CC Sequencer has a choice of modes available:
• Step – Will only send values if a step is enabled.
• Step All – Will send all Step values regardless of whether a note is playing.
• Envelope Modes – Creates a smooth envelope by joining the values to form an envelope either linear or Cos. There are step modes which use only active notes, or step all which uses all steps to create the envelope. There is also single mode which will perform the same as Step except that the transition will happen in the space of a single step.
• Slope Modes – Slopes perform the transition at a much faster rate than Envelopes, Leg mode uses the next CC value to form the end slope value, and Z Mode will always use Zero as the destination value.

You can edit the CC Sequencer by clicking on the CC1 or CC2 button on the main Sequence display.

Triggers

Designed for real-time interaction, the CC Triggers are designed to be used via your midi Controller by assigning buttons to each one. They are great for creating interesting rhythmic breaks, fills and happy accidents in real time. You can basically go mad triggering and make sure the re-trigger button is in a good location to press at the start of the next bar to bring everything back in time. Here are the current triggers:

• Retrigger – This is the most important one as it allows restarting all sequences in time. It takes a little practice because it actually only retriggers when a a valid beat is met which is based on the Quantize tempo (set in the master section). As a result it must be held until this beat happens and then the sequences will retrigger. Because of this, holding the button down will also result in Retriggering happening on every quantize beat, which is a great effect in itself.
• Reverse – This one will reverse the sequence whilst it is held, if the sequence direction is Reverse already, then it will make it run forwards.
• Forward – This will instantly advance the sequence by the amount set for Forward in the master section.
• Back – This will instantly send the sequence back by the number of steps selected in the back amount option in the master section.
• Stutter – Probably the most fun Trigger – It will prevent the sequence advancing and so create a stutter effect from the current step.
• Programmable Stutter – Like Stutter this will freeze the sequence, however it will use the Stutter Row on each sequencer to decide whether to play a step or not so that a rhythmic pattern can be achieved. Each sequence has it’s own Stutter pattern and so when combined it results in a sequence within a sequence and will be different depending on which step is stuttered. This stutter does not have it’s own enable but, but uses the main Stutter button to determine whether a sequence will respond.
• Mute – This one just prevents steps from playing, and any tied sounds will hang which can be very interesting especially if it is an evolving pad. It is also great for just letting some notes through by playing it in a rhythmic way.
• Half Tempo – This halves the tempo so that all sequences with it enabled are half the speed.
• Double Tempo – Doubles the tempo. This is one of the more useful triggers for creating great rhythms, by triggering it briefly at points in the bar, and the hitting retrigger at the start of the next bar for example.
• Pause – Pauses the sequence, tied notes hang and when released the sequence will continue.
• Quantize Tempo – This will force sequences to use the current quantize tempo set in the Master section.

Midi Mixer

The Midi Mixer optionally allows control over external devices with one strip per midi channel.

• Enable – This button will enable the Knobs to send values.
• Mute – Allows temporarily muting the selected channel.
• Solo – Allows temporarily Soloing a channel, muting all others.
• Volume – Uses CC10 to control midi channel volume.
• Pan – Uses CC7 to control midi channel Pan.
• CC3/CC4 – These knobs can be assigned to any CC Parameter via the CC3/CC4 lists below.
• Pitch Bend/Mod Wheel/Aftertouch – Determines if these controller values should be passed through to the midi channel.
• Marker – For reference use only, allows marking if a channel is Instrument, drums or FX.
• Program Change – When enabled, this section allows setting the program number as well as LSB and MSB if your device supports more than one bank. Note that as long as it is enabled this section does not require the top enable to be on, they are considered separately useful functions.
• All mixer settings are sent to the device upon a patch change so that your external Midi gear is initialized ready for the preset.

Multi-Sequencer Mode

The Multi-Sequencer is a great way to control the sequences once they are all set up in Step Sequencer Mode. It provides 24 midi keys which can play have any combination of sequences attached to it, so that when that key is pressed all enabled Sequences will triggered.

There are two  separate pitch controls which allow transposing the sequences when the multi sequence is triggered. Each transpose value is independent and depending on which is enabled in each main sequence via the MTUNE1 and MTUNE2 buttons.

Finally the pitch can also be rescaled so that you can change the scale which sequences are using per Multi-Sequence, so for instance one key could squash the sequences to minor, and another could squash the sequences to Major Seventh. It is only effective on Sequences that have the RESCALE button enabled.

Here are the rules for how the Multi-Sequencer responds:

• When the 1st MS is triggered all appropriate sequences will be played and all sequences will use the tuning and Rescale of that Sequence.
• When a 2nd MS is triggered and the 1st is still held, any new sequences will be triggered, and the tuning and rescale of the 2^nd sequence will be used by all playing sequences.
• When a note is released, tuning and scale will revert back to the previous MS settings, any sequences which are not valid for still held M Sequences will be ended.
• Tuning & scale is always from the newest triggered sequence, and as M sequences are dropped, it is the newest from the remaining.
• Sequences are only retriggered if a; they are not already playing or b; they are in single shot mode.