The 1st MIDI Step Sequencer build by Latronic Notron

"The Notron is a British-designed MIDI step sequencer used by Björk, Howie B etc. Produced in two models, the Mark 1 was available between 1996 and May 1998. The Mark 2 was a slim blue box produced until about 2001. About 100 Mark 1 units were sold and a similar number of Mark 2s. The Notron is no longer produced.

It was designed by and developed by Gerard Campbell and the software was written by Dave Spowage of Concourse Systems (UK). The original model bodywork was designed by Martyn Seiles. It was sold under the company name Latronic.

In 1999 it won a Millennium Award from the Design Council and was exhibited at the Millennium Dome during 2000. For some time the Notron was on display in the London Science Museum.

Only about 150 Notrons were made, and production on them has been discontinued. So, already, it is a collectible instrument and will surely increase in value as time passes...

It does different reset points for each sequence, can output 4 different sequences, It does LFO shapes, weird stuttering things, step length stuff, pitch bend and mod wheel macros, chords on steps, some time-stretching emulation sort of tricks, delays, strums and reversals. Some of the other neat stuff was being able to group changes across multiple steps, and all of it in real time. A very cool machine!"

Designed for lap‑top operation, the Notron feels comfortable and is light enough (at 2.2kg) to leave propped against a convenient wall when not in use. Or to wear as an impressive codpiece, come to think of it. (Dimensions are approximately 14 inches by 18 inches by 2.5 inches high.) Let's complete the obligatory tour quickly so we can get to the interesting stuff: the Notron has a MIDI In and Out, two auxiliary inputs (for future developments such as controller devices) and an input for the external power supply. Construction is to a high standard, so there's no doubt that you're dealing with a serious piece of kit.

Each row of steps is referred to as an Element; when the sequencer is running, a chaser light loops round repeatedly between the first step and the loop point. The end point can be altered independently for each row, so you can loop patterns of unequal lengths against each other if you like. To create a sequence from an empty pattern, simply hit the Run button, then push the switch next to each step you want to play. Each LED turns red and is set to output note C2 on MIDI channel 1. As the chaser light reaches a red step, its note sounds. Hitting any switch again causes its LED to turn green, and a third press mutes the note. Being able to colour notes in this way gives you a useful function — velocity grouping. At the top of each Element are knobs for Velocity and Note Length. Directly underneath these is an LED which, when red, indicates control over the velocity of red notes. Flick the LED to green and the knob sets the velocity of green notes. This means that you can accent (or even remove) ranges of notes at will — providing that your sound module responds to velocity, of course. Toggling the LED to orange lets you raise or lower both groups of notes in parallel, maintaining their relative velocities until the maximum is reached. Winding the knob back will then restore the difference.

The Note Length knob is a handy way of making quick and dirty adjustments and, like pretty much everything else on the Notron, also lets you set note length and velocity individually for every step. Setting note pitch requires that you hit the Run button a second time, select a note, then either rotate the run knob or hit the relevant transpose interval selector, via six dedicated switches on the right. These switches transpose all non‑muted Elements by intervals of 1, 2, 5, 7 and 12 semitones, either up or down. If their status LED glows green, transposition is up; if red, it's down. In an ideal world there would have been more intervals, although you can get to anywhere you need with the options available. Using just these simple techniques, within about 10 minutes of experimentation, I was Future Sound Of London.

At the base of each Element is a control wheel and five switches. These switches control Element muting, MIDI channel selection, patch number (1‑128 — bank select is not supported), echo, controller settings, timing ratio and a whole bunch of other goodies we've not discussed yet. Because only one switch can be active at once, there's no way to suddenly mute or unmute several sequences simultaneously. The wheels can send pitch‑bend, aftertouch or any MIDI controller, with a resolution variable from fine to coarse. For example, a small movement of the wheel can be set to pan a sound instantly from far left to far right or raise the volume level from 0 to maximum.

Sequence data, plus settings for mute, tempo and so on, may be stored in any of 16 memory locations. Settings data (MIDI channels, patch number, controller assignments, and so on) is stored in a further 16 locations. Settings and patterns may be recalled at any time during playback so that if, in the midst of a performance, you get utterly lost, you can recall your base pattern and start tweaking it into looped mayhem once again.

Pros A truly interactive sequencer. Looks amazing. Gets new mileage from your existing synths. Simplifies sample loop transposition.

Cons External power supply. Review model lost its memory occasionally. Currently no SysEx backup facility. Price will put some people off.