- Long-press E, then press A to enter Mode A (Sequencer).
- Set NOTE VALUE to 1/8. Turn VARIATION, LEGATO, and REST fully CCW to start clean.
- Pull LO fader (position 2) down to 0 and HI fader (position 8) up to about 3/5 for a two-octave range.
- On the semitone faders, raise C, D, E, G, A to 100% for a C-major-pentatonic pool.
- Press DICE R until its LED is on, then press DICE M until its LED is on. Each press re-rolls the stored values — roll until you like what you hear.
- Patch external clock c> meloDICER CLK IN (or use TAP for internal).
- Patch meloDICER 1V/OCT OUT p> VCO V/Oct.
- Patch meloDICER GATE OUT g> Envelope Trig; Envelope Out >> VCA CV; VCO Out -> VCA In -> Output.
- When you want a new hook, tap DICE R and/or DICE M again. Want to keep it forever? Press S, turn encoder to pick slot 1, push encoder to save.
Stochastic 16-step sequencer with independent rhythm and melody engines. DICE buttons lock a pattern or run realtime. Two CV and two gate inputs reshape pitch, rhythm, dice, mute. 16 pattern memories, four modes (sequencer, seq+gate, two quantizers).
Patch Ideas · 8
- Long-press E, then A for Mode A.
- Set NOTE VALUE to 1/16, VARIATION noon, LEGATO ~9 o'clock, REST ~10 o'clock for a busy-but-breathing rhythm.
- Raise the C, Eb, F, G, Bb faders (C minor pentatonic) to 100%; LO ~1/4, HI ~3/4.
- Press DICE R once so its LED comes on (rhythm locked as a stored pattern).
- Press-and-hold DICE M for ~1 second until its LED goes off (melody now in realtime-mode — new pitch every step).
- Patch Clock c> meloDICER CLK IN.
- Patch 1V/OCT OUT p> VCO V/Oct.
- Patch GATE OUT g> Env Trig; Env >> VCA CV; VCO -> VCA -> Output.
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- Long-press E, then B for Mode B (Seq + Gate). The internal rhythm is now bypassed.
- Raise only the scale notes you want — e.g. D minor: D, E, F, G, A, Bb, C.
- Set LO ~1/3, HI ~4/5 for a melodic mid-register.
- Press DICE M so its LED is on (stored melody); leave LEGATO at 9 o'clock and REST at 10 o'clock for occasional ties and silences.
- Patch your external sequencer's gate output g> meloDICER GATE IN 1 — each gate advances meloDICER's melody engine by one step.
- Patch meloDICER 1V/OCT OUT p> VCO V/Oct.
- Patch meloDICER GATE OUT g> Env Trig; Env >> VCA CV.
- Tap DICE M any time to re-roll the melodic phrase without changing the rhythm.
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- Long-press E, then D for Mode D (Quantizer 2).
- On the semitone faders, define your scale — e.g. C Lydian: C, D, E, F#, G, A, B. Fader height = quantize-slot width.
- Set LO to 0 and HI full up for the widest pitch window.
- Patch a slow LFO (~0.2 Hz, 0–5 V unipolar) p> meloDICER CV IN 2. If your LFO is bipolar, run it through a rectifier or offset first.
- Patch a trigger source (e.g. a kick drum's trigger, or a Pamela's Workout Euclidean output) g> meloDICER GATE IN 2 — only these moments update the pitch.
- Patch meloDICER 1V/OCT OUT p> VCO V/Oct.
- Use your trigger source (or another copy of it) g> Env Trig; Env >> VCA CV for the voice envelope.
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- Mode A (long-press E, then A).
- Press E briefly to enter the edit menu. Turn the encoder until the LED labeled 2 is lit.
- Press B (VARIATION) and D (REST) — both LEDs on. Press E to exit.
- Set NOTE VALUE to 1/8, VARIATION to 10 o'clock, REST fully CCW.
- Raise a scale you like on the faders; LO ~1/4, HI ~3/4.
- Press DICE R and DICE M so both LEDs are on.
- Patch a slow LFO (0–5 V, ~30-second cycle) p> meloDICER CV IN 2. As voltage rises, more VARIATION and more REST get added — the groove thins and gets more syncopated.
- Patch Clock c> CLK IN, 1V/OCT OUT p> VCO, GATE OUT g> Env Trig, usual envelope + VCA chain.
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- Mode A (long-press E, then A).
- Set NOTE VALUE to 1/8, VARIATION to 10 o'clock, LEGATO 0, REST 9 o'clock.
- Pull LO fader to the bottom (0) and HI fader to about 1/5 — a two-octave bass range.
- Raise scale faders C, G, Bb only (a dead-simple bass pool).
- Press DICE R and DICE M until both LEDs are on, roll until a phrase you like appears.
- Hold FIRST STEP and turn the encoder to 1. Release. Hold LAST STEP and turn the encoder until the outer LED lands on step 8. Release.
- Patch Clock c> CLK IN.
- Patch 1V/OCT OUT p> Bass VCO V/Oct (optionally through a –1 octave offset).
- Patch GATE OUT g> Env Trig; Env >> VCA CV; bass VCO -> Filter -> VCA -> Output.
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- Mode A (long-press E, then A).
- Press E briefly, turn encoder until LED 3 is lit (edit GATE IN 1).
- Press C so RE-DICE M (3-C) is armed. Press E to exit.
- Set up a playable rhythm: NOTE VALUE 1/8, VARIATION 10, REST 9, LEGATO 9.
- Raise a scale (e.g. C D E G A pentatonic), LO ~1/4, HI ~3/4.
- Press DICE R and DICE M until both LEDs are on.
- Patch a manual-gate source (button, footswitch, or another module's trigger out) g> meloDICER GATE IN 1.
- Patch Clock c> CLK IN; 1V/OCT p> VCO; GATE OUT g> Env; Env >> VCA CV; usual VCA -> output chain.
- Each time you fire the trigger, the melody is re-rolled; the rhythm keeps playing the same stored pattern.
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- Mode A.
- Press E briefly, turn encoder until LED 1 is lit (edit CV IN 1).
- Press B so TRANS SEQ (1-B) is armed (ADD SEQ and TRANS SEQ are exclusive — only one can be on). Press E to exit.
- Program a scale — e.g. C major: C D E F G A B at 100%. LO 0, HI ~3/5.
- Set NOTE VALUE 1/8, VARIATION 0, REST 0, LEGATO 0.
- Press DICE R and DICE M so both LEDs are on, roll a phrase you like.
- Patch Clock c> CLK IN.
- Patch a slow stepped CV source (an S&H, a Marbles Y, or another meloDICER's 1V/OCT) p> meloDICER CV IN 1. Keep the voltage between 0–5 V.
- Patch 1V/OCT OUT p> VCO V/Oct, GATE OUT g> Env Trig, Env >> VCA CV, VCO -> VCA -> Output.
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Behaviors
Each press rolls new random values for that engine and stores them. Subsequent bars loop those stored values — a repeatable pattern. Re-entering dice-mode from realtime brings back the last stored pattern unchanged.
The engine continuously generates fresh random values instead of looping. DICE LED goes off. A short press returns to dice-mode without re-rolling.
The 16-step window can be shortened and its position slid within the 4-beat bar. The stored random values for all 16 slots remain; you only change which slots play. Holding both buttons + push encoder returns to full 1–16.
On the next internal or external clock tick the pattern returns to its FIRST STEP position.
GATE OUT is silenced but the sequencer keeps running. Edit 5-A = resume at current position on unmute; 5-B = restart from step 1 on next clock when unmuting. Edit 5-D = auto-mute at power-up.
Decouples panel controls (rhythm, melody, pattern window, and MEX3 MIDI CC) from the running engine so you can stage changes. Press LOCK again to apply everything at once. Loading a pattern auto-engages LOCK.
Replaces the internal oscillator. MeloDICER's internal clock base locks to the incoming tempo rather than step-advancing per pulse. Starting/stopping the external clock does not instantly start/stop meloDICER — use MUTE instead. PPQN is 1, 4, or 24 (edit 8).
Full stochastic sequencer as described. All edit-parameters, save/load, and both engines are available only in this mode.
Internal rhythm (NOTE VALUE, VARIATION) is bypassed. GATE IN 1 advances the melody engine — each incoming gate produces one new note on 1V/OCT and one event on GATE OUT. LEGATO and REST still operate on the output.
CV IN 2 is continuously quantized and output on 1V/OCT. The semitone faders define which notes are allowed (higher fader = wider quantize slot). Quantization re-samples on each quarter-note clock. Pattern window (FIRST/LAST STEP) still controls sampling length.
Like Mode C, but quantization only occurs while GATE IN 2 is high. Lets an external source strobe when new pitches get captured — a gated scale-quantizer.
Rhythm and melody can each be in dice or realtime independently. A common move: lock rhythm (DICE R on) while melody runs realtime (DICE M off) for a steady groove with mutating pitches.
ADD SEQ (1-A) sums CV IN 1 unquantized into 1V/OCT. TRANS SEQ (1-B) sums it quantized to semitones. LO (1-C) and HI (1-D) doublers shift the LO/HI fader positions via CV. A+B are mutually exclusive; C and D stack with either.
In modes A/B, CV IN 2 is summed into any combination of NOTE VALUE (2-A), VARIATION (2-B), LEGATO (2-C), REST (2-D). Useful for sweeping note-length and rest-probability from an LFO or envelope.
16 slots. A pattern captures all knob/fader positions, pattern window, DICE button states, the current random values, and the note-variation edit choices — but not the CV input routings.
Controls
| Rhythm | NOTE VALUE | Sets the base note length of the rhythm engine. Static, no randomness. 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/4T, 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/32 |
| Rhythm | VARIATION | Randomly substitutes other note values around the NOTE VALUE base. Off at 12 o'clock. CCW = longer values · CW = shorter values · 1/32 & triplets opt-in via edit 6/7 |
| Rhythm | LEGATO | Probability that the 1V/OCT pitch changes without a new gate (tied note). At full CW, GATE OUT stays on continuously (+10 V). 0–100% probability · full CW = constant gate |
| Rhythm | REST | Probability that a step is replaced by a musical rest (no note, no gate). Full CW = 100% rests · full CCW = 0% rests |
| Melody | LO (fader 2) | Lower bound of the melodic range. Notes below LO are forbidden. Full down = 0 V · interacts with semitone faders |
| Melody | HI (fader 8) | Upper bound of the melodic range. Notes above HI are forbidden. If HI < LO meloDICER clamps output to one note. Full up = 5 V (5 octaves of 1V/OCT range) |
| Melody | Semitone Probability Faders (C, C#, D … B) | Twelve faders, one per semitone of the octave, setting the probability that pitch class appears in the pattern. A fader's LED lights while that note plays. Only one fader raised = that note at 100% · combine for scales/chords |
| Rhythm | DICE R | Press: rolls new random values for the rhythm engine and stores them (dice-mode). Hold ~1 s: toggles rhythm engine into realtime-mode (continuous regeneration, no loop). LED on = dice-mode · LED off = realtime-mode |
| Melody | DICE M | Press: rolls new random values for the melody engine and stores them. Hold ~1 s: toggles melody into realtime-mode. Independent of DICE R — rhythm and melody can lock/free separately |
| Pattern | FIRST STEP (button 4) | Hold and turn the encoder to set the first step of the 16-step pattern window. 1/16 resolution · hold + push encoder resets to step 1 |
| Pattern | LAST STEP (button 6) | Hold and turn the encoder to set the last step. Cannot be set before FIRST STEP. Hold both FIRST+LAST + turn encoder to slide the whole sub-range |
| Global | Rotary Encoder | Push alone = restart pattern from step 1 on the next clock tick. Turn with FIRST/LAST held = edit pattern window. Used for save-slot and edit-value selection. 16 LEDs around it show current step position |
| Clock | TAP | Taps the internal clock tempo. Two or more taps calculate BPM; more taps = more accuracy. Overridden when CLK IN is patched. Internal clock only · ignored while external clock present |
| Global | MUTE (M) | Silences GATE OUT without stopping the running sequencer. The engine keeps clocking internally. Yellow LED blinks while muted. Edit 5-A/5-B sets whether unmute continues or restarts · edit 5-D can auto-mute on power-up |
| Global | LOCK | Freezes the stochastic engine from panel changes. Move faders/knobs while locked to stage a new state; press LOCK again to apply. Red LED = locked · auto-engaged when loading a pattern · also locks MIDI CC input (MEX3) |
| Global | SAVE (S) / LOAD (L) | Store or recall one of 16 pattern memories. Press S or L, turn encoder to pick a slot 1–16, push encoder to confirm. Pattern = all knob/fader settings + DICE state + note-variation options + pattern length + current random values |
| Global | EDIT (E) — short press | Enters edit-menu. Turn encoder 1–10 to choose parameter, press A/B/C/D to set option, press E again to exit. Edit menu available only in mode A |
| Global | EDIT (E) — long press (Mode select) | Press and hold E ~1 s until red LED blinks, then press A, B, C, or D to choose operating mode. Yellow LED next to A/B/C/D shows active mode. A = Sequencer · B = Seq+Gate · C = Quantizer 1 · D = Quantizer 2 |
I/O
IN · 5
- CLK IN up to +12 V, threshold +2 V GATEExternal clock input. Overrides the internal clock. Sync on positive edge, +2 V threshold. Default 1 PPQN (one pulse per quarter); configurable to 4 or 24 PPQN via edit 8. MeloDICER follows its own internal clock base that locks to the incoming tempo — it is not a step-by-step clock follower, so stopping the external clock does not immediately stop the pattern.
- GATE IN 1 up to +12 V, threshold +2 V GATEAssignable gate/trigger input. Edit 3 routes it to one of: TGL DICE R (3-A), RE-DICE R (3-B), RE-DICE M (3-C), RESTART (3-D). In Mode B it is the required external gate that advances the melody engine.
- GATE IN 2 up to +12 V, threshold +2 V GATEAssignable gate/trigger input. Edit 4 routes it to TGL DICE R (4-A), TGL DICE M (4-B), RE-DICE M (4-C), or MUTE (4-D). In Mode D it is the quantize trigger — whenever GATE IN 2 is high, CV IN 2 is quantized to 1V/OCT.
- CV IN 1 0–5 V (safe to +12 V · ADD SEQ also accepts negatives) CVPitch CV input. Edit 1 routes it to ADD SEQ (1-A, unquantized transpose, bipolar), TRANS SEQ (1-B, quantized semitone transpose), LO doubler (1-C), and/or HI doubler (1-D). ADD SEQ and TRANS SEQ are mutually exclusive; LO and HI can be combined with either.
- CV IN 2 0–5 V (negative voltages ignored in rhythm use) CVRhythm CV input in modes A/B — edit 2 adds it to NOTE VALUE (2-A), VARIATION (2-B), LEGATO (2-C), and/or REST (2-D). In Mode C and Mode D this jack is instead the CV that gets quantized to 1V/OCT.
OUT · 2
- GATE OUT +10 V gate GATERhythm engine gate. Fires once per note event; stays high for tied (legato) notes; silent during rests or while MUTE is active.
- 1V/OCT OUT 0–5 V (5 octaves) CVMelody engine pitch CV, quantized to semitones across five octaves. In quantizer modes this carries the quantized version of CV IN 2.