Strict Mode
Strict mode quantizes the timing of bursts to musically meaningful grid positions locked to the clock. It works independently for Duration and Regularity, each toggled by their own button.
Button combinations
For all combinations below, hold the first button, then press the second button.
| Hold | Press | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | Trigger | Cycle through Duration strict division values (1 through 7). The Trigger LED blinks to show the new value. |
| Regularity | Trigger | Cycle through Regularity strict division values (1 through 7). The Trigger LED blinks to show the new value. |
Duration strict mode
When Duration strict mode is active, the burst duration snaps to whole clock cycle multiples. The division value (1–7) determines which multiples are allowed:
- Division 1: Duration snaps to whole clock multiples only (1×, 2×, 3×, 4×, ..., 256×). No fractional clock values.
- Division N (2–7): Duration snaps to 1× or multiples of N clock cycles. For example, Division 3 allows 1×, 3×, 6×, 9×, 12×, and so on. Division 7 allows 1×, 7×, 14×, 21×, 28×, etc. The value 1× (one clock cycle) is always available regardless of the division setting.
Regularity strict mode
When Regularity strict mode is active, the burst positions are first calculated using the Regularity knob (the normal interpolation), then snapped to a clock-aligned grid. The division value determines the grid:
- Division 1: Bursts snap to the nearest whole clock beat. If two bursts land on the same beat (a collision), all bursts are re-snapped to a finer grid made from combined half-beat and third-beat positions.
- Division 2–7 (N): Bursts first snap to every Nth clock beat. If there's a collision, the grid is divided by N and all bursts are re-snapped. This repeats until no collisions remain, progressively refining from every Nth beat, to every beat, to every 1/Nth of a beat, and so on.
Example: At 120 BPM with 3 bursts, duration of 8 clock cycles, and Regularity at 50%:
- Without strict: bursts fire at 0 ms, 1333 ms, and 2667 ms (evenly spaced across 4000 ms)
- With strict division 1: bursts snap to 0 ms, 1500 ms, and 2500 ms (aligned to 500 ms clock beats)
Use the Rate Hike Calculator to get a visual overview of the calculation for burst positions and durations.