Serge Paperface Sequencer/Programmer Patch Tips

Tempo di Roma panel

The 50th anniversary Serge Paperface system is an inspiring instrument for players who admire the flexibility a modular synthesizer provides despite what seem initially like limitations. This is especially true of the Tempo di Roma sequencer panel which is a masterclass in patch programming possibilities. These are my notes and observations I made while studying the Serge sequencer/programmer concept and my perspective is informed by playing other modular sequencers and building Gramp Utah, a Max for Live device that brings some of the 1970s step sequencer magic to Ableton Push and contemporary workflows.

The Tempo di Roma panel is, as the saying goes, “more than the sum of its parts” and in order to prove that, let me first explain some of the features and peculiarities of the modules that comprise the panel. Afterward, I’ll share some practical patch tips based on this knowledge. Let’s grab some bananas and get going!

(One of the fun things about patch programming is that it becomes a game of resource management and in order to play the instrument well, it helps to know multiple ways to patch the functions you want depending on what else is already being used.)

Sequencer

The Sequencer is a simple pulse sequencer. Traditionally, it would be used in conjunction with programmers to create CV sequences. On the Tempo di Roma panel, this is not strictly necessary since the two Sequencer/Programmers have their own CLOCK inputs, but it is still useful for a lot of creative patching and changing the order programmer steps are accessed.

It is helpful to think of Serge sequencers as counters. The sequencer counts pulses and can reset or hold which temporarily suspends counting.

I’ll explain some of the more advanced patches in a future post that covers the other panels of the 50th anniversary paperface system, but for now I will call attention to just one idiosyncrasy of the pulse Sequencer: if the CLOCK input is high and the voltage at the HOLD input changes, the changing voltages at the HOLD input act like clocks and advance the pulse sequencer.

For example, this means that you can patch the METRONOME from the Clock to the Sequencer input and use the manual GATE output from a sequencer to run the sequence selectively. This is possible to patch with the Router or Peak and Trough, too, but it takes fewer cables to do it this way and there will be times when this patch is the one to choose.

Sequencer/Programmer

The two Sequencer/Programmers are the most fully featured sequencers on the Tempo di Roma panel and they’re the major creative building blocks in the paperface sequencing idiom. Each sequencer can be stage addressed with pulses (for example, the pulse Sequencer’s outputs) or clocked. The HOLD input does not exhibit the same behavior as the pulse sequencer: successive toggling of HOLD while the CLOCK input is high does not result in multiple pulses.

The Sequencer/Programmer has a trick of its own, however: the UP/DOWN input, which may seem counterintuitive since on the panel the lights move horizontally. Recall the counter metaphor and you will realize that the sequencer moves along a number line and UP/DOWN increments or decrements the counter.

A note on RESET

The stage pulse outputs can’t be used with the RESET of the Sequencer/Programmer: patching from a pulse output of a Sequncer/Programmer to RESET will “lock it up”. Instead, you will need to patch from the pulse output of a Sequencer/Programmer to the pulse input of the stage you wish to reset to. It seems to work in the same way as contemporary Serge sequencers’ PRESET input: it resets and runs only when the gate is high. This is a useful design for one-shot sequences among other things. If you want the classic reset behavior, you can always logically invert the signal before patching it to RESET.

Clock

The clock is unsual in the world of Serge modular. In general, Serge modules require patching, have a huge range, and accept control voltage inputs for their parameters. The clock has a narrow range and no CV control, so it is ironic that it is the most confounding piece of the panel. However, it is nice having a stable clock that outputs narrow trigger pulses and that doesn’t require patching. The fine tune knob is intentionally subtle and perhaps is best for situations where it is necessary to manually sync the metronome to an external source— I have fallen into the habit of leaving the fine tune knob around 12 o’clock.

Router

The router module is composed of four smaller modules: three bi-directional routers (“switches”) and a flip flop. The top two switches are momentary: the routing changes when the voltage in the switch is above or below a threshold. The bottom bidirectional router is switched via the flip flop instead, meaning that it toggles its routing on and off: the input dipping below the threshold is not enough to change its state and instead it needs to “wait” for the next high voltage.

This arrangement of the switches is the key to some surprisingly deep sequencing options and is preferrable to having only one kind of switch or another.

Bi-directional routing means that the A0 and A1 inputs could be patched to a common output B or that A0 and A1 can be outputs to a common input B.

Different Inputs/Common Output Examples

Common Input/Different Outputs Examples

Peak and Trough

Finally, the Peak and Trough module which takes two voltages and outputs two voltages: the greatest signal above 0V and the lowest signal above 0V. The Peak and Trough is primarily useful as a control voltage utility. My typical use case is to patch a trigger signal and a control voltage row into the peak and trough inputs. Take the output from TROUGH and it will be a trigger scaled to the maximum amplitude of the step on the sequencer. This voltage is perfect to patch into a negative slew to achieve a CV controlled envelope depth. Similar patches work at audio rate to make a characterful and interesting VCA.

For experimental patching, mixing any two control voltages will make more complicated shapes such as an LFO that sometimes breaks into chaos when combined with a random voltage. Another classic patch is to use it as an automated arranger, sending a value to the “high” voice from PEAK and a low value to a bass voice from TROUGH.

Overview

In the world of Serge modular, possibilities gradually reveal themselves the more you practice patching. At first, it may seem like offering 2 4-stage, 3 channel sequencers and a separate 8-step pulse sequencer imposes pretty serious limitations on the kinds of music that can be made with it, but here are some patches you can use to patch program the Tempo di Roma panel for other popular sequencer features.

Expansion - 8-Stage, 3 channel Sequencer

Of course, the independent Sequencer/Programmers can create a simpler, more typical sequencer like a Moog 960.

As a bonus, this has the advantage of “nesting” sequences since both sequencer/programmers are counting continuously meaning that you can have access to 6 different 4 step sequences which can be combined in Peak and Trough. The pulse Sequencer and the pulse outputs of the Sequencer/Programmers are also available for expansion.

Sequential Switch

The router can be patched as a sequential switch with the help of a pulse sequencer. This is useful for turning a sequencer/programmer into a selectable arpeggio: allowing the player to select with a button press or CV pulse one of four 3-note chords.

Further explorations:

Pendulums

Another way to push the sequencers beyond their 4 steps is to patch them for pendulum motion using a Sequencer/Programmer and the flip flop Router.

This will create a six-step pendulum: 1-2-3-4-3-2. If you want the other style eight-step pendulum (1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1):

With either pendulum motion, it’s possible to experiment with different patterns and stop/start points for a range of minimalist sequencing techniques such as irregular sequence length or changing which notes are doubled.

Classic Pulse Sequencer (Ping Ping Pong)

The traditional pulse sequencer to programmer patch remains an excellent starting point for more experimental patching of your own.

Of course, there is no reaason to treat each pulse Sequencer output the same— each pulse can be used in different ways from the others since there are no common outputs like more typical sequencer designs have. This means you can trigger sample and holds, ping filters, clock, reset or hold sequencers, toggle the flip flop, start an envelope cycle, and any combination is available to the player to explore. I will share more ideas in future installments that detail the other two Paperface 50 Panels, but in the mean time hopefully this inspires you to patch in new ways.