At Superbooth 19, the Italian developer Frap Tools announced USTA, a new Eurorack sequencer. Not only the beautiful design can be said as a highlight here but also the features. It’s a 4×4 tracks sequencer for voltages and gates with variable stage duration. Each stage can store and generate up to four separate voltages what make this sequencer super powerful.
USTA has 16 encoders, each equipped with 16 LEDs that give you precise visual feedback on which stage and layer you are currently working. For me, a lovely designed sequencer with a different concept. It may not be the perfect sequencer for bloody beginners, but if you master it, it can be a bomb when you want to program very diversified compositions.
Overview
USTA is a 4×4 tracks sequencer for voltages and gates with variable stage duration, designed to quickly see and edit multiple voltage relationships in real time.”Variable stage duration” means that every single stage duration can be individually set in relation to the clock, instead of being constrained to a one-to-one ratio (i.e. one stage per every clock impulse).
“4×4 tracks” means that every stage can store and generate up to four separate voltages (two CVs and two gates), and that up to four independent stage sequences can be arranged into as many different tracks. Its architecture is based on an array of 16 ‘Stages’ which form a ‘Pattern’; 16 patterns form a ‘Track’, and four tracks form a ‘Project’. Within each track, each stage can provide two gates and two CVs, and a wide set of options is available to define and modify the value of each output (‘Layers’) and the way it is played (‘Colors’).
Every Stage is related to a dedicated stepped encoder for quick and intuitive editing, and all the 16 encoders are arranged in an oval layout with a circular playhead. Every encoder is surrounded by a ring of 16 LEDs and an RGB led, to provide visual feedback of the current setting of that step based on the layer you are working on (like raw CV, quantized CV, length, gate…) and the way it should play depending on the RGB color.
Features
- Hands-on layout with physical control per stage and intuitive visual feedback
- Variable stage length
- Independent time ratios on the internal or external clock per each track
- Complete track independence
- 4 fully independent tracks with 2 gates and 2 CV each
- Raw/quantized CV with quantization scales and roots
- Pattern mode to edit and play live dynamically, and song mode for a defined sequence of pre edited patterns
- Composition mode to edit a stopped track with CV monitoring
- Normal, skip, or length based slide CV mode per each stage
- Unified gate and ratcheting
- External CV routing to multiple targets
- Store of modulated and/or pseudo-randomized patterns in real-time
Frap Tools USTA will be available end of September/October for 749€.
More information here: Frap Tools
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