Bastl Instruments Expanded The Functionalities Of The Knit Rider In The New V.1.5 Update

Bast Instruments is known for very special instruments, effects as well as Eurorack modules. With the Knit Rider (name after Hasselhoff’s Knight Rider?), the young company from Brno, released in the past a very powerful and creative sequencer for the Eurorack format that fits perfectly in live performances setups.

Today, the Bastl crew announced that they have expanded the functionalities of the Knit Rider and fixed many important bugs inside this module. The update procedure is somewhat different compared to other companies. So you have to buy a replacement chip where the new firmware is recorded. If you are long time user of the Knit Rider, this update will be a must have because it fixes essential functions of the module like the timing and more.

Knit Rider is a very versatile 6 voice trigger sequencer with a fast, modern workflow. There are 4 bars in one pattern, every bar has 16 steps, each of which has 4 sub-steps, which makes it 256 steps per pattern. And there are 64 patterns in total ! This allows you to create very detailed patterns while retaining the intuitivity and speed of classic 16 step sequencers. Use the bar buttons to navigate inside the 4 bars. Hold a certain step – the bar buttons will now show the substeps in that step – press the bar buttons to edit the substeps.

Active step feature allows you to set any number of steps you want to have independently for each voice (or for all voices at the same time). You can also deactivate individual steps in the middle of a sequence. All voices have mute feature and can be set to be in trigger or gate mode. You can also record the sequences by tapping on the voice buttons with adjustable quantisation. Jump feature allows you to repeat certain step of the sequence for all voices which is great for performance and non-linear playback of patterns. Knit rider can by master or slave when it comes to tempo and you can set the clock input ratio (it one clock is 1 substep, 2 substeps, 1 step or 2 steps). There is also FN button which gives you access to additional features for fast and effective workflow.

New features, improvements and bug fixes inside v.1.5

Intro Knit Rider has been very popular sequencer for many in the eurorack world and we collected a lot of feedback from the user base and finally we can present the firmware update that reflects the most desired improvements and features.

huge stability and timing improvement (rewritten the timing core)
PTRN/MUTE button can be switched to toggle mode
the trigger output can be set to 4 different fixed values or 4 different random variations (affects gate time as well)
added swing feature for both master and slave modes
minor bug fixes

Activate/deactivate PTRN/MUTE toggle :FN > PTRN/MUTE

PTRN/MUTE button can be now set to toggle mode (with one press you enter the mode with second you leave). By default the button works as momentary switch. To access the toggle mode hold FN button and press the PTRN/MUTE button so it lights up. Now the PTRN/MUTE button is in toggle mode.

Set fixed trigger length: FN+ACTIVE STEP > BAR buttons (1ms, 5ms, 10ms, 20ms)

The default length of the trigger output can be set to 1ms, 5ms, 10ms or 20ms. To access the setting you first press and hold the FN button and then press and hold the ACTIVE STEP button so both buttons are held down. Now pressing the four BAR buttons will set the trigger length from left to right to 1ms, 5ms, 10ms or 20ms.

Set random trigger lengths: FN+ACTIVE STEP > 1-4 STEP buttons (1-5ms, 5-15ms, 10-20ms, 1-20ms)

The trigger output can be set to variate randomly in different ranges. 1ms, 5ms, 10ms or 20ms. To access the setting you first press and hold the FN button and then press and hold the ACTIVE STEP button so both buttons are held down. Now pressing the four 1-4 STEP Buttons to access trigger length variations 1-5ms, 5-15ms, 1-20ms, 10-20ms.

Set swing amount: FN+ACTIVE STEP > 5-16 STEP buttons (0-60% swing)

Swing is a feature which gives a different feel to the rhythm rendered by the Knit Rider. The swing is achieved by delaying every second step by certain amount. The more delay the more pronounced the alteration of the rhythm feels. If you imagine the whole duration of the step – that would be 100%. The start of the step could be delayed in percentage points across the duration of the step. To access this setting you first press and hold the FN button and then press and hold the ACTIVE STEP button so both buttons are held down. Now pressing 5-16 STEP Buttons will give you swing amounts of 0% (no swing), 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%,50% or 60%

How to update Knit Rider