Chord Parts and Quantisation
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Setting your Key and Scale
When you create a Chord PART and assign a Key and Scale, quantisation of chords will respect the key you define for a PART. You define the key by hitting CONTROL twice. On the SEQ CTL-2 screen select your KEY and SCALE types. I will use C Major for this explanation.
Intervals (bass plus one)
When dialing a numeric interval you can select intervals 1 through to 12, where 12 is the octave of the root note. Given that there are 7 notes in a C Major scale (being 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11) we need to understand how the Vector chooses which note to play if you dial in a number that is not part of the chosen scale. Put simply, if I dial a 1, 3, 6, 8 or 10, what happens? Fortunateley, it is pretty simple.
If I select C/1 (meaning a C bass note with an additional interval of 1, being a Db) the Vector will actually output a D instead of a Db, because D is the diatonically relevant note, not Db. Even though it says C/1 on the screen, the Vector is sending C/2 because that C/1 is not true to the scale defined on SEQ CTL-2 screen.
An example in C Major
The below list explains how quantisation modifies notes within the key of C Major. It is worth noting that in C Major all out of key intervals resolve upwards to the next in key pitch. However, this will not always be the case and you should take care to ensure you have created the chord structure you want to hear. The best way to ensure this is to select the correct interval number which relates directly to the note you wish to hear within the chord note collection output by the Vector.
| Bass Note/ Interval | Unquantised Notes | Key Status | Unquantised Interval | Quantised Notes | Quantised Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C/0 | C | Yes | Unison | C | Tonic |
| C/1 | C/Db | No | m2 | C/D | M2 |
| C/2 | C/D | Yes | M2 | C/D | M2 |
| C/3 | C/Eb | No | m3 | C/E | m3 |
| C/4 | C/E | Yes | M3 | C/E | M3 |
| C/5 | C/F | Yes | P4 | C/F | P4 |
| C/6 | C/Gb | No | Tony Iommi | C/G | P5 |
| C/7 | C/G | Yes | P5 | C/G | P5 |
| C/8 | C/Ab | No | m6 | C/A | M6 |
| C/9 | C/A | Yes | M6 | C/A | M6 |
| C/10 | C/Bb | No | m7 | C/B | M7 |
| C/11 | C/B | Yes | M7 | C/B | M7 |
| C/12 | C/C^ | Yes | Octave | C/C^ | Octave |
You must remember this...
- If you do not select a key, no quantisation occurs, and the note will play as specified.
- If you do configure a Key and Scale for a part, then the Vector will only send notes that are quantised within that key.
- If you choose a number that is not part of the configured scale, the Vector rounds the interval to the next note that is in the scale.
- You have 4 octaves in which to place your additional intervals.
- Note quantisation is part of the Vector code and may behave differently to the way you expect - so test it and see for yourself
Custom Chord Mode (Bass note plus up to three relative intervals)
In Custom Chord mode you have a bass note plus 3 definable intervals. So, your harmonic structure become C/x/y/z. Numeric intervals x,y,z perform identically to the diatonic interval example. So, each numeric interval will quantise to the nearest interval if you dial a number that is not part of the defined key.
How do Modulation Sub Sequences affect quantisation?
I am not completely clear on how this works however modulation occurs prior to quantisation. So your source PRESET pitch will have any modulation variables added, and THEN quantisation will occur at the end of the chain.