I just received the Shikensa sequencer. It's a great module but i'm a bit confused by the "level out" feature. I thought it would just be a copy of the main output, but one that could be attenuated via the "level cv" knob.. However, it seems to output some kind of envelope. According to the manual, "an internal pitch envelope is added to LVL OUT".
So three questions:
-what's the idea behind this output? It doesn't seem to be a very usable envelope, as it's not adjustable. Is it for dynamic (variable) gates? (they don't seem to quite behave like dynamic gates).
-what exactly is an "internal pitch envelope"? I'm familiar with assigning an envelope to the pitch of an oscillator, eg. to create a kick drum sound.
-is there any way to use the level cv as a simple attenuator of the main output? Ie. without first patching an external cv into the level input. I'm not sure how doing the latter has any advantage over simply patching the main output to an attenuator, as it still requires another module.
THanks for any insights into this "level out" feature!
Thanks so much, Stefan. This is really helpful.
Hey Nick, The LVL output provides a copy of the sequence after an internal VCA. You can control the amplitude by connecting a CV to the LVL CV input. You can use the LEVEL control to attenuate the CV patched to LVL CV.
If nothing is patched to LVL CV, an internal triangle LFO synchronised to TEMPO will be normalised to the LVL CV input when you turn up the LEVEL knob. This allows you to create a pitch envelope effect like drum modules have. This is particularly useful for sequencing drum sounds. You can see what this sounds like in the Shikensa demo video:
If you want to use the LVL output as an attenuator, simply connect any CV to the LVL CV input, turn up the LEVEL pot and control the amplitude of the envelope.
You cannot attenuate the entire sequence without connecting an external CV to the LVL CV input. However, you can move the CV sliders down as they also act as CV attenuators.
You can also find more information in the Shikensa quick start guide:
I hope this helps.
Best, Stefan