Shakmat Modular Harlequin's Context

MUSICAL FEATURES

Harlequin's Context is a 4-channel modulation programmer. Selectable / adjustable from a total of 3 types: 5 types of offset voltage, 3 types of LFO with built-in waveform, 2 types of envelope, random voltage with 2 modes, and 15 types of special modulators that process the generated signal of the preceding channel. The role of the channel can be changed for each scene to be switched with the SCN button (VC compatible). One set of four scenes can be stored in four banks called Acts, and one set of 4 scenes can be saved / recalled in 1 slots of non-volatile memory. Harlequin's Context, which implements many practical features in a compact 4HP interface, is a powerful tool for building live sets and a flexible multi-channel modulator for creating finely modulated signals in the studio. 

HOW TO USE

Performance Mode

The main mode of the unit, it provides easy access to all scenes and flexible control of channel parameters.

Switching Scenes & Acts

There are 16 scenes in this module, each consisting of 4 acts consisting of 4 scenes.You can use the four scene selection buttons at the bottom of the module to move through one act of four scenes.To switch to another act, hold down the ACT button and use the scene selection button.The display shows the act number.

Playing with Channels

Each channel A through D has its own knob to control its parameters.When you switch scenes, the module locks the knob to read the value from the new scene and stop referencing the knob position.To unlock the knob, turn the knob until it passes the position of the memorized value.Each channel also has a white LED to indicate if the knob is locked and a green LED to indicate the movement of the channel.

Storing Scenes

You can save the scene by pressing the STORE button.The LED of the active scene flashes and the display says'SThe'character'is displayed intermittently.Click the scene selection button corresponding to the desired scene to complete the save.You can also unlock any knob and save its value in memory while you hold down the STORE button.This function, in combination with addressing and sequencing, enables step recording of knob values.

Clearing Scenes

To clear the scene (return all channels to the positive offset 0V setting), press the CLEAR button.The LED of the active scene flashes and the screen says'CThe character'is displayed.Press the scene selection button to complete the erasure.

You can switch to another act while you are working on erasing or saving the scene.Also, to erase all 16 scenes or save the current scene to all 16 scenes, press the 1 and 4 scene selection buttons at the same time.

Roles Attribution

In this mode, you can edit the roles that determine the behavior of the channel, and 15 different roles are available. Press the FNCT button and the Role button at the same time to enter Role Attribution mode. Pressing the STORE button cycles through the four channels, with a blinking white LED indicating the currently selected channel.Use the +/- buttons to assign roles to the selected channel.

TIP: If you don't know what menu you're staying in, you can press the FNCT button to exit any menu and return to Performance mode.

• offset: There are three types of offsets available:00-5V positive electrode offset, indicated byb-5 to +5 bipolar, indicated byIThe inversion offset from 0 to -5, indicated by.
• LFOs: Use the channel knob to control the speed of the LFO.Five waveforms are available: ascending sawtooth wave, descending sawtooth wave, triangular wave, sine wave, and square wave.By default, the LFO is reset by pressing the incoming trigger to the Gate input or the scene selection button.
• Random: Control the random application with the channel knob.HStep type like sample & hold shown in, andFThere are two types of random modes available, indicated by.By default, the sample and hold values ​​are updated by pressing the incoming trigger to the Gate input or the scene selection button.
• Envelopes: EAttack-Release type (attack and release share the same timing), indicated byRRelease type, indicated byAYou can use three types of attack type envelopes indicated by.
• Series: The remaining two roles,'Level' and'Deviate', are special for processing the signals produced by the previous channel.For example, channel C is a sine wave LFO and channel D is a sine wave LFO.LWhen set to the Level indicated by, Output D produces a copy of the LFO on Channel C, but the amplitude is set by Channel D.
  Last roll,DThe'Deviate', indicated by, acts as a bipolar offset that is added to the signal of the previous channel. You can also chain two or more channels together to create an LFO with a specific rate (Channel A), amplitude (Channel B), and offset (Channel C), for example.

In the role attribute menu, you can switch between scenes of the same act (you cannot switch between acts).You can also use each knob to edit channel values ​​without locking.Changes are saved automatically, so each time you press the knob, it unlocks and saves the value in memory.

Set selection

Once you have decided on the rolls for all channels in your scene and act, set the set. In the Set menu accessed with the FNCT button and Set button, you can enable morphing functions and so on. Select a set with the + and-buttons and press the Set button again to confirm the selection.To exit the Set Selection menu without any changes, press the FNCT button.Cheat sheetThere are 14 different sets available in, and they fall into three categories: Basic, Expert, and Jester.here,0と1Focus on the two Basic sets shown in.These sets are "Morphing Off" and "Morphing On".When morphing mode is enabled, the module morphs the scene by complementing the channel values ​​and performs the role of the two scenes.Select Set 2 to enable the morphing feature.

Gate & CV Inputs

This unit has a CV input and a Gate input that can be assigned to various functions.Basically, the CV input is set to address the scene to be activated, and the Gate input is set to the envelope gate and LFO reset.

Scene selection can be done manually with the touch of a button, or by addressing / sequence via CV input.To address a scene, you need to set the range of the scenes to be addressed.Press the FNCT and Range buttons to set.The display flashes to show the address or the number of the scene to sequence.Change the range with the +/- buttons next to the display and exit with the FNCT button.For the'Expert'and'Jester' sets that provide alternatives to these inputsCheat sheet

Memory Save & Load

This unit has 16 slots and non-volatile memory from 1 to G. One slot contains 1 scenes, a selected set, and a range of their values.The first slot is read when the power is turned on.

Use the FNCT button + Save button to save the slot.This will cause the Scene 2 LED to flash at high speed. Select the desired slot with the +/- buttons and press the Save button to complete the save operation.If you want to interrupt the save operation, you can return to Performance mode without saving by pressing the FNCT button.

Use the FNCT button + Load button to load the slot.The LED in Scene 3 flashes at high speed. Select any slot with the +/- buttons and press the Load button to confirm loading.You can also select an additional slot, indicated by'r', to load a completely random slot with random role attributes and values ​​on 16 channels in 4 scenes.

Select Bus

This unit supports a select bus that uses the power rail to load and save program changes. In Harlequin's Context terminology, program changes are scenes.

This unit functions as either a transmitting device or a receiving device.To edit this mode of operation, hold down the FNCT button and press the SLCT BUS button.The Scene 1 LED flashes and the display shows the value of the select bus. Use the +/- buttons to select any mode.0Means Bus off, which does not send or receive select bus messages.Represents a receiver to set as a receiving deviceRRepresents a transmitter to set as a transmitting deviceTChoose.Press the SLCT BUS button to confirm the editing work, or press the FNCT button to return to Performance mode without making any changes.

The select bus protocol of this unit is compatible with modules from various manufacturers such as WMD, Expert Sleepers, and Malekko.Of course, using this protocol, twoIt is also possible to link Harlequin's Context.

Factory Reset

To completely clear the module's memory, hold down the Clear and Act buttons while launching the module.On the display'FWhen'is displayed, release the button and press the Store button to start the factory reset.If you want to return to normal mode without resetting the module, press the FNCT button. If you run Factory Reset, it erases all melody slots and turns off the select bus feature.

firmware

To check the version of firmware installed on a module, hold down the Scene 1 button to launch the module and hold down the button.The display shows a string starting with'FIrM', followed by three dots separated numbers (eg 3).The version information remains displayed while the button is pressed, and the module starts normally when the button is released.