Korg CV Sequencer and Sync Box (SQ1),black,small

I have two of these SQ-1s now, and potentially see more of them in my future. They're affordable, simple, hands-on sequencers that afford quite a bit of flexibility in a small package. The small package is a blessing and a curse, I suppose - the patch panel can be a little cramped, and the knobs are tiny. I have itty little fingers, so the knob size doesn't exactly bother me, but visualizing the rotation of a given knob is quite difficult. The rubber on/off buttons could stand to be a bit more tactile as well, but they are pretty mashable. Row B is obviously easier to get to, and thus better suited for things that one may wish to change on-the-fly. The sequencer runs in a few different modes. You can do some random step selection and some back-and-forth stuff, but the primary modes in my opinion are: two sequences of 1-8 steps, one sequence of 9-16 steps, or one sequence of 1-8 steps with either variable duty cycle or variable slide. Voltage settings (1, 2, 5, or 8 lin) and quantizing (off, minor, major, chromatic) are set on a per-sequence basis, so you can (for example) feed an MS-20 mini w/ an 8v quantized melody sequence while also controlling a linear 5v clock multiplier. Sync in/out works flawlessly between units, and integrates well enough with other equipment also. Sync out is 5v, and while the manual does not seem to specify what sync in needs, I would guess it expects 5v as well, and I have had to amplify LFOs and such to get a reliable sync. I have not and likely will not use these boxes for MIDI, so cannot comment there. There are only a few global settings that require a cheat sheet, everything one would need to know for actual sequencing/performance is very clearly labeled on the panel. This makes the whole thing very easy to use, and very immediate feeling. While the knobs are knobs and are obviously not reset on power-down, the on/off states of the buttons in their various modes is not saved, which can be a minor inconvenience. Sequence settings (Voltage/quantization) are saved. All in all, I love these little sequencers. I have thought about tossing a Ryo Penta or something in my rack, but for the cost of a cheap 'extra' sequencer, I can ultimately just keep adding SQ-1s. The cost of these little boxes truly belies their utility.

This little box is a great value and fills an important need for anyone looking for a hardware sequencer. I have mine paired with a Moog Sub Phatty. It's built like a tank - the metal box is compact and extremely sturdy, and the selector switch, knobs, jacks and buttons are all tight. Select from various pattern step directions, turn individual notes on and off, and select the pitch for each step with the knobs over 1 to 3 octaves. You can select pitch in C Major or C minor scales, chromatically or in "linear mode," which is cool for microtonal pieces. It can output 2 discrete sequences of 8 notes long, through 2 different CV or midi channels, or a single 16 note sequence; genius! The nature of having to dial-in your note without seeing what the note is, along with modes that produce poly rhythmic sequences with Volcas and other gear, makes it a very creative tool, lending itself to lots of exploring and happy accidents. Minor gripes/suggestions: while the "hunt for the right note" process lends itself to creativity, a single display that showed the note value as you turned each knob would have been helpful and a time saver; especially important if you are making a sequence in chromatic mode and in a different scale/key as the defaults. A tempo divider, like the Volca keys (1/2, 1/4) would have given the SQ-1 some additional versatility. While the SQ-1 is well-built, it's shape is high and a bit awkward with my other gear. I understand their is a lot of extra space inside, and would have preferred it to be 3/4" thinner or in a format similar to the Volca series. I would have paid a little more for these extras, but as it stands, the SQ-1 has to be a unique and essential piece of any hardware synth setup.

Great for the price. This is really a "beginner" sequencer, designed for people who are absolutely new to the field and just want something small that works. For that purpose, and because of the price, you can't beat it. What you get: -8-step sequencer, with two notes per step, and one knob to adjust pitch/voltage per note. You can flip the switch to get 16 notes, or a variety of other modes. -Simple ins and outs. You have a gate in and a gate out, midi in or midi out, USB midi, CV in or out, all the big hitters are here. The SQ-1 will connect to just about anything. -Plug-and-play. There's no fiddly setup, unless you need to tune your output voltages precisely (and that always requires calibration, nothing new here) What you don't get: -Analogue midi in and out together. The device will do either MIDI in or out with no questions asked, but to do both at once or even use USB-in with MIDI out poses limitations. Read up before you buy this, if that's a concern. -Not a lot of choice for how the device steps. Sure you can go wraparound left-to-right or bounce left-to-right-to-left, or do random or sequential modes, but that's about it. You can't readily make the device trigger into the third step, for instance. Anything you do to start or stop modes starts from step one, no matter what you're doing. For a beginning that's fine, but for audio professionals little quirks like this could be a killer. -You don't get a 9V battery. You need really 9V to help drive a 5V output signal, so this seems like a glaring omission for a lot of users. Overall, what I wanted this unit for is to drive either a Moog Werkstatt using 5V control voltage, or to interface with LittleBits. This device does both in a way that will keep me happy for a long time to come. Sure it has limitations, but for the price, it's gold.

its 1/3rd the price of a comparable eurorack sequencer, and its portable, and very good working. Ad a little delay to the mix and its a magical piece of gear!

Rien à dire sur la livraison et l emballage tout est ok. Le sequenceur sera long à apprivoiser tant il faut de la patience pour trouver ce qui sonne bien. Mais ça reste interressant si la démarche est d explorer. Le compartiment des piles est curieusement protégé par une vis. Connecté aux korg volca c est pas mal et cela leur donne un nouveau souffle. Petit regret sur l absence de suggestions de connexions. Les possibilités sont sûrement plus importantes que ce que l on pense mais korg pourrait faire un effort là dessus et montrer davantage de schémas de connexion avec le matériel existant même chez les autres marque. Youtube c est bien mais pas assez précis à ce niveau là. Le prix vient encore de baisser c est le moment ...

Ich habe mir diesen Sequenzer bestellt da er CV/Gate ausgänge sowie einen Midi Ausgang (via 3,5 klinke) besitzt und damit sehr flexibel einzusetzen ist. Ein einfacher 16 Step Sequenzer der aber durch verschiedene modi zu punkten weiss! Mann muss sich auch nicht am festen Takt bzw. Steps halten und kann sehr ausgefallene Takte mit der "Active Step" funktion realisieren. Slide funktion ist auch am start :) Der Sequenzer kann verschiedene Steuerspannungen ausgeben von 1V-8V. Die 3,5 sync in-out buchsen sind sehr interessant für leute die besitzer der volca serie oder der neuen electribe sind! Sehr interessant sind die verschiedenen Laufrichtungen die durch einen Dreh-Poti ausgewählt werden können. Der Sequenzer kann per USB oder 2x Mingnon 1,5v Batterien betrieben werden, wobei er mit Batterien nicht lange durchhält... Mann kann den Sequenzer wohl auch über USB an eine DAW ankoppeln, aber dazu kann ich keine informationen geben da ich nur Hardware benutzte... :))) Ich werde mir in absehbarer Zeit wohl noch ein SQ-1 zulegen :)

Me parece un aroegiador muy completo y de un tamaño pequeño,! Aunque un poco pesado la verdad, pero por el rendimiento que da ,está excelente,lo recomiendo ampliamente!!!

I've used an SQ-1 for a while now, and I've just ordered a second. My son already has three of them. And we use them far more than any other sequencers. But I wouldn't be likely to use them for live gigs - for that I'd go for something like my Beatstep Pro for the ability to reproduce (multiple) full arrangements on cue. The SQ-1 can't do that, and it is quite fiddly - it's almost impossible to dial in exactly the notes you want in a hurry and, instead of arrangements of multiple patterns you only get one 16-step or two 8-step patterns. And the manual is just a single page - it tells you what all the controls are for but there's very little explanation of what you can achieve with them. On the other hand. First, it's well-built, feels solid and so far, they've all been completely reliable (unlike, say, my BSP). And it's actually very easy to use when you start getting into it. It's more about getting hands-on and experimenting. It really doesn't matter if you don't know exactly what you're doing at first, it might even be an advantage in some ways. For example, I switched it on yesterday with no idea what was set up on it. So I connected it up to a little Model D synth - and clicked round playing all the notes in a zig zag pattern first, then first row followed by second row, backwards and forwards pendulum, rows separated (so I only heard one of the two 8-step patterns at a time - I think row two must have been a bassline, with higher notes on row one) and random order (my favourite, especially when I'm using it for modulation). Then I played with the speed, clicked the synth up and down octaves - and, as always, ideas just started falling out of it. Ideas I would never have dreamed of using a standard sequencer. Ideas in spades too - some very weird, some very musical. From there you start changing the odd note here and there, and shaping things more to your taste. Or taking steps out to experiment with different time sigs. And, when you hit on something you really like, it's easy enough to recreate the sequence in another sequencer or a DAW for re-use. Plus you can send the outputs to anything you like. So it's very well suited to a modular environment where you can have your gates routed to clock a Sample & Hold, or use them to trip switches and have CV controlling the speed of an LFO, or modulation intensity (anything with a socket...) rather than just the pitch of a VCO. (Using one row for pitch, and the other for accents - routed to, say, cutoff frequency or envelope intensity - can create a lot of dynamic movement in a simple bassline and funkify it all up) I use it with my Doepfer modular a lot, but it's also been a particularly good partner for Korg's MS-20 and Odyssey, Behringer Neutron, MakeNoise 0-Coast, etc. You can even get sequences to change key - run both rows in parallel, use row one for your basic sequence, then activate one note at a time manually on row two. Add the two CVs, feed that to your oscillators and by changing which step on row two is active, you get key changes. For a low-cost unit that gets you into step sequencing and gives you a wealth of possibilities to explore and experiment with, there's nothing to beat it. But if you're used to sequencing on a DAW and expect something similar, you're more likely to be disappointed.

Sure ones you say korg that is quality for sure I am planning to have one more