Colorflex

Welcome

Thanks for purchasing COLORFLEX. We hope you enjoying using this tool as much as we enjoyed making it!

COLORFLEX is a unique color-based zone matrix sequencer designed to create polyrhythmic and evolving patterns and melodies.

COLORFLEX is built for Native Instruments Reaktor and free Reaktor Player.

System Requirements

In order to use our Powered by Reaktor instruments and effects, you will need to meet the following system requirements for optimal performance:

System Requirements

Installation

All Twisted Tools plugins follow a similar installation process. To learn how to install Twisted Tools Powered by Reaktor plugins, please follow the link below:

Installation

Manual Conventions

Important warnings. Always read these!

Notes: Useful notes and relevant additional information.

Tips: Tips and advanced techniques

What is COLORFLEX

COLORFLEX is a unique sequencer that uses a 256 Cell Grid system for each of its three sequencers, the MIDI NOTE SEQUENCER, MIDI CC SEQUENCER and IC SEND SEQUENCER. Each sequencer has 8 colored Zones that you can think of as tracks. Using this analogy, there are 24 tracks in total (8x3), all of which can be used freely and simultaneously.

In the MIDI NOTE SEQUENCER, you can assign a global note behavior to the Cell Grid, setup independent parameter settings and MIDI transmission channels for each colored Zone, and then move the colored Zones around freely on top of the Cell Grid to create sequences. When the colored Zone's sequencer passes over active cells, notes will be triggered based on the cell behavior and the parameter settings set for the colored Zone.

In the MIDI CC SEQUENCER, you can generate a MIDI CC message from each colored Zone based on the active cell’s ‘square size’ (think of this as a y-value), the distance between the active cells, glide time and the sequencer speed. Each colored Zone's MIDI CC can be sent out on any channel.

In the IC SEND SEQUENCER, you can generate an internal Reaktor IC Send message from each colored Zone. You can think of this as an automation message, similar to MIDI CC’s, but a bit more convenient when you want to quickly automate another Reaktor parameter(s) by choosing it from a menu, rather than having to make a MIDI CC assignment.

If you get lost while using COLORFLEX, turn "Show Info Hints" on the main Reaktor header and hover your mouse over panel objects to get their description.

Getting Started with COLORFLEX

The following sections will give you a very quick overview of how to get going with COLORFLEX. We will explain how to open COLORFLEX and how to explore and use the default factory Presets.

[TODO] How to Open COLORFLEX

[TODO] Using in plugin mode

using MIDI FX in plugin mode

[TODO] Exploring Presets

Setting Up In Plug-in Mode [todo]

Overview of COLORFLEX

The 3 Sequencer Pages Overview

Click a sequencer page label (MIDI NOTE/MIDI CC/IC SEND) to view the corresponding Cell Grid to draw cells, edit Zones and change parameter settings for that sequencer. Deactivate the power toggle to mute a sequencer. Muted sequencers output no data.

MIDI NOTE: Allows you to draw MIDI notes using the Cell Grid. Works in conjunction with Cell Mode menu, found in the lower left corner of COLORFLEX. Detailed descriptions will follow.
MIDI CC: Allows you to draw MIDI CCs using the Cell Grid. The CC value is set by right-clicking and dragging a cell and changing the square size. Detailed descriptions will follow.
IC SEND: Allows you to draw Reaktor IC send values using the Cell Grid. Values are set by right-clicking and dragging in the cell grid. See the Reaktor manual for more information on IC SENDS. Detailed descriptions will follow.

Scene Sequencer Settings

A Scene is like a preset for nearly all the settings you see on screen. You save Scenes (presets) in to Scene Assignment Slots that can be sequenced rhythmically or triggered via MIDI. The Scenes are ‘living’, in that changes you make to a scene number are automatically stored without need to ‘save’ the scene.

CPY: Copies the entire Scene (Cell Grid, settings and parameters) into a buffer to be pasted into another Scene.
PST: Pastes the last copied Scene into the currently selected Scene.
MIDI SCENE CONTROL (MIDI PORT ICON): When on, the MIDI Scene Control button allows you to change scenes by MIDI. Use the Root Note С3 + 15 to control scene playback. When off, the scenes are sequenced over time, at the speed set with the Speed control.
SPEED: The speed at which the scene order progresses and cycles. It is tempo-synced to your host.
SCENE SEQUENCER CYCLE AREA: Allows you to cycle through a particular group of Scenes at a speed determined by the Scene Speed. Click and drag to select cycle length and start/end position.
SCENE ASSIGNMENT SLOTS: In Scene Sequencer Mode, drag an assignment slot to edit/playback a Scene and choose the order of playback. In MIDI mode, a blue box indicates which Scene is currently playing back. Click on another assignment slot to switch or switch using MIDI.

Cell Functions

COPY: Copies cells into a buffer to be pasted back into the Cell Grid. Has 2 modes of application described below (Apply Current Zone/All Cells). If All Zones mode is selected, the All Cells mode is enacted.
PASTE: Pastes cells from the copy buffer into the Cell Grid. Has 2 modes of application described below (Apply Current Zone/All Cells). If All Zones mode is selected, the All Cells mode is enacted.
CLEAR: Erases cells. Has 3 modes of application described below.
SHUFFLE: Moves active cells to a random new position, without changing the number of active cells. Has 3 modes of application described below.
SET: Sets cells to a fixed value. The x-axis position of your mouse-click on the button controls the value. Has 3 modes of application described below as well as a filter (Act) to only process active (non-empty) cells.
RAND: Randomizes cells. The x-axis position of your mouse-click on the button affects the amount of randomization. Has 3 modes of application as well as a filter (Act) to only process active (non-empty) cells.
ACTIVE: When on, the Set and Rand functions will only be applied to active (non-empty) cells.

Apply To

As mentioned above, the apply section determines how the functions described are applied.

CURRENT ZONE: Copy/Paste/Clear/Shuffle/Set/Rand functions are only applied to the currently selected Zone.
ALL ZONES: Copy/Paste/Clear/Shuffle/Set/Rand functions are applied to all Zones. If All Zones mode is selected, the All Cells mode is enacted for Copy/Paste functions.
ALL CELLS: Copy/Paste/Clear/Shuffle/Set/Rand functions are only applied to all cells in the Cell Grid.

Show

The show settings control what is displayed in the Cell Grid.

CURRENT ZONE: Only the color of the currently selected Zone is displayed.
ALL ZONES: The color of each Zone is displayed.
NONE: No Zone colors are displayed.

Edit Modes

CELLS: If selected, left click and drag to create active cells on the Cell Grid. Right-click and drag to change their value. The last set value with the right-click will become the value of your left click.
ZONES: If selected, left click and drag to set the Zone area for any given color. Right-click and drag to add cells and/or change their value.

Zone Settings

ZONE COLOR TABS: Selects a colored Zone for editing and manipulating its parameters.
M: Mutes the above colored Zone's sequencer playback.
S: Solos the above colored Zone's sequencer playback.

MIDI Note Sequencer Settings

Below is a description of the MIDI NOTE Sequencer’s parameters and settings.

Cell Modes

The Cell Modes determine the note behavior of the Cell Grid when using the MIDI NOTE sequencer page. Each mode has a unique set of parameters.

MELODIC ROWS: The bottom left-corner cell of the Cell Grid will be set to the Minimum Note setting and will go up numerically horizontally until the Maximum Note setting is reached, at which point the cell layout repeats starting with the next cell in the row. For example, if 0-15 is the Min/Max note setting, the lower left corner will be 0, and the middle right corner will be 15. Row two will be the same...and so on.
TRIGGER ROWS: All cells in a row have the same note number, starting with the bottom row and moves upwards chromatically The Root Note setting determines the note # for each cell in the bottom row. So, if row 1 is set to trigger note 50, row two is set to trigger 51, row three is set to trigger 52... and so on.
TRIGGER: Each colored Zone outputs only 1 MIDI note. This mode is useful for triggering drums/one-shots.

Melodic Rows Mode Parameters

KEY: Sets the key note for the Scale lock feature. For example, if set to C and Scale is set to Ionian, only notes that are in a C major scale will be played back.
SCALE: Locks all notes to notes of the selected scale type. Works in conjunction with the Key setting described above.
HOLD: Determines the hold length of an active note.
SWING: Advances or delays 1/16th notes to create groove.
VARIATE: Performs a consistent variation of the sequence playback order. This way, you can get different patterns that repeat (as opposed to randomizing using the Rnd Step feature which will always perform random selections of cells).
RND STEP: Randomizes cells that are played back. Higher values will result in more randomization.
VEL>H: Determines the amount that the velocity of each cell will affect the hold length of the note. If Hold is set to 0, and Vel>H is set to 100, when a full velocity note is triggered (127) the hold will be at maximum. If the lowest velocity note is struck, the hold will be at 0.
P>H: Determines the amount that the pitch of each cell will affect the hold length of the note. If Hold is set to 0, and P>H is set to 100, when a the highest pitched note is triggered (127) the hold will be at maximum. If the lowest pitched note is struck (0), the hold will be at 0. This value is scaled in such a way that even if you don’t have a wide min/max note range set you will still here the effect in action.
DIR: The readout direction of the colored Zone's sequencer. When DOWN mode is on, the readout direction is from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. When UP mode is on, the readout direction is from bottom-to-top and left-to-right.
SPEED: Determines the speed of the colored Zone's sequencer.
CH#: Determines output channel for the colored Zone's sequencer.
MIN NOTE/MAX NOTE: Min sets the minimum note for the start of a melodic row, beginning in the lower left corner cell. Max sets the maximum note for a melodic row. As soon as the maximum note is reached, the layout repeats starting with the next cell in the row.

Trigger Rows Mode Parameters

KEY: Sets the key note for the scale lock feature. For example, if set to C and scale is set to Ionian, only notes that are in a C major scale will be played back.
SCALE: Locks all notes to notes of the selected scale type. Works in conjunction with the 'root' setting described earlier. This feature is applied to all colored zone areas.
HOLD: Determines the hold length of a note.
SWING: Advances or delays 1/16th notes to create groove.
VARIATE: Performs a consistent variation of the sequence playback order. This way, you can get different patterns that repeat (as opposed to randomizing using the Rnd Step feature which will always perform random selections of cells).
RND STEP: Randomizes cells that are played back. Higher values will result in more randomization.
VEL>H: Determines the amount that the velocity of each cell will affect the hold length of the note. If Hold is set to 0, and Vel>H is set to 100, when a full velocity note is triggered (127) the hold will be at maximum. If the lowest velocity note is struck, the hold will be at 0.
P>H: Determines the amount that the pitch of each cell will affect the hold length of the note. If Hold is set to 0, and P>H is set to 100, when a the highest pitched note is triggered (127) the hold will be at maximum. If the lowest pitched note is struck (0), the hold will be at 0.
DIR: The readout direction of the colored Zone's sequencer. When DOWN mode is on, the readout direction is from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. When UP mode is on, the readout direction is from bottom-to-top and left-to-right.
SPEED: Determines the speed of the colored Zone's sequencer.
CH#: Determines the output channel of the colored Zone's sequencer.
NOTE#: The root note setting determines the note # for all cells in a row, starting with the bottom row and moves upwards chromatically. So, if row 1 is set to trigger note 50, row two is set to trigger 51, row three is set to trigger 52...and so on.

Trigger Mode Parameters

SWING: Advances or delays 1/16th notes to create groove.
VARIATE: Performs a consistent variation of the sequence playback order. This way, you can get different patterns that repeat (as opposed to randomizing using the Rnd Step feature which will always perform random selections of cells).
RND STEP: Randomizes cells that are played back. Higher values will result in more randomization.
DIR: The readout direction of the colored Zone's sequencer. When DOWN mode is on, the readout direction is from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. When UP mode is on, the readout direction is from bottom-to-top and left-to-right.
SPEED: Determines the speed of the colored Zone's sequencer.
CH#: Determines the output channel of the colored Zone's sequencer.
NOTE#: Determines the note # that the colored Zone's sequencer will trigger.

MIDI CC Sequencer Settings

Below is a description of the MIDI CC Sequencer’s parameters and settings.

SWING: Advances or delays 1/16th notes to create groove.
VARIATE: Performs a consistent variation of the sequence playback order. This way, you can get different patterns that repeat (as opposed to randomizing using the Rnd Step feature which will always perform random selections of cells). Note that with Variate off (0), the default order that the sequencer reads is from up-to-down and left-to-right.
RND STEP: Randomizes cells that are played back. Higher values will result in more randomization.
GLIDE: Sets the glide time between active cells for smooth automation interpolation.
MIN: Sets the minimum value for a CC message.
MAX: Sets the maximum value for a CC message. DIR: The readout direction of the colored Zone's sequencer. When DOWN mode is on, the readout direction is from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. When UP mode is on, the readout direction is from bottom-to-top and left-to-right.
SPEED: Determines the speed of the colored Zone's sequencer.
CC#: Sets the CC# that will be output on active cells.
CH#: Determines the output channel of the colored Zone's sequencer.
RESO: Sets the MIDI resolution. Higher resolution means smoother changes, though can result in data overload. 400 is standard for good results. A safe value if you are using a lot of MIDI CC automation at once is 50-100.

IC Send Sequencer Settings

Below is a description of the IC Send Sequencer’s parameters and settings.

SWING: Advances or delays 1/16th notes to create groove.
VARIATE: Performs a consistent variation of the sequence playback order. This way, you can get different patterns that repeat (as opposed to randomizing using the Rnd Step feature which will always perform random selections of cells).
RND STEP: Randomizes cells that are played back. Higher values will result in more randomization.
GLIDE: Sets the glide time between active cells for smooth automation interpolation.
MIN: Sets the minimum value for a IC message.
MAX: Sets the maximum value for a IC message.
DIR: The readout direction of the colored Zone's sequencer. When DOWN mode is on, the readout direction is from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. When UP mode is on, the readout direction is from bottom-to-top and left-to-right.
SPEED: Determines the speed of the colored Zone's sequencer.
IC SEND: Choose where you'd like the cell value automation sent internally within Reaktor. You can choose many destinations from one IC Send.

Please note that you can’t assign separate MIDI CC control over parameters on a per colored Zone basis. This is because choosing a colored Zone re-routes the knobs you see to the selected Zone. This way, you don’t need to MIDI learn and remember tons of knobs to play with COLORFLEX quickly and easily. In other words, assign your MIDI controller knobs to all the parameters however you like, but you will not have to assign these knobs for each color in order to control them. It switches automatically when you choose the color to control what you see with the same knobs.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Changelog

1.0.0 RP (Reaktor Player release)

Colorflex is now Reaktor Player compatible and does not require the full version of Reaktor to run
Added new factory presets
Improved MIDI Clock behavior
Improved randomizers
Various minor fixes

Fix max root for scene ? 128-16 ---> removed root selection. The note is fixed now (A2 (57) +16). The reason was to have lightguide keys fixed but in the end sequencers are not supported by nks. So worst case we can bring back root selection if really needed. Another reason was that zone selection was mapped to c2 but we removed that mapping

Need to change doc part that mentions double click to mute

Previoustemp NextMSMAX

Last updated 5 years ago

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