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User Guide
Most of the standard 303 sequencer functions work the same as the original or other clones, so you should be able to get started with any existing 303 sequencer tutorial.
This guide provides a quick-reference of button combos and menus specific to the OS-303 firmware.
In normal Pattern Play mode, the NORMAL MODE LED will be lit up solid, and the currently selected pattern LED flashes in sync with the tempo.
- Switch patterns using the 8 pattern selector keys, and the A/B buttons to switch sections.
Clocked Pattern Change: If you switch patterns while the clock is running, the sequencer will wait until the end of the current pattern to change. The next queued pattern LED will appear solid, while the current pattern LED is flashing.
In Write Mode, you can modify the current pattern in several ways. The familiar 303 sequencer programming functions are here:
| Buttons | Action |
|---|---|
Hold FUNCTION + press the STEP button (aka DOWN) |
Tap in the number of steps to set pattern length. |
Hold FUNCTION + the pitch keys |
Set the pattern length directly by picking the last step; C#, D#, E#, and F# are different pages of 8. |
Press PITCH
|
Enter PITCH MODE; PITCH LED glows solid; use pitched keys and modifiers to enter or edit Pitch steps. |
Press TIME
|
Enter TIME MODE; TIME LED glows solid; use the Time keys (aka UP/DOWN/ACCENT/SLIDE) to enter or edit Time steps. |
Press FUNCTION
|
Exit either PITCH or TIME mode; NORMAL MODE LED glows solid. |
Press TAP or BACK
|
Advance the sequence with the clock stopped; hold to make edits in PITCH or TIME mode. |
There are currently two actions for generating random patterns:
| Buttons | Action |
|---|---|
Hold CLEAR + press PITCH
|
fill all pitch steps with random data |
Hold CLEAR + press TIME
|
fill all time steps with random data |
After randomizing, you can use live-edits to refine the pattern in each mode...
For Time steps, the 3 familiar options are here: DOWN=Note, UP=Tie, and ACCENT=Rest.
There is also a new 4th option: SLIDE=Ratchet, which acts like a Note, but retriggered as a fast triplet. Ratchets also cause retriggering of the Accent signal on Accented notes, and do not interfere with Slides.
| Buttons | Action |
|---|---|
Press DOWN
|
Enter a Note step |
Press UP
|
Enter a Tie step |
Press ACCENT
|
Enter a Rest step |
Press SLIDE
|
Enter a Ratchet step |
With the clock stopped, holding TAP enables you to edit a specific step. With the clock running, you can edit steps in real time.
There are a few ways to clear or reset certain steps:
| Buttons | Action |
|---|---|
Hold CLEAR + press DOWN (Note) |
change all steps to Rests, clearing the pattern. |
Hold CLEAR + press UP (Tie) |
change all Ties to Rests. |
Hold CLEAR + press ACCENT (Rest) |
change all Rests to Notes. |
Hold CLEAR + press SLIDE (Ratchet) |
change all Ratchets to Notes. |
Use the 13 pitch keys to enter notes, optionally holding DOWN/UP/ACCENT/SLIDE for modifiers.
As with TIME mode, you can hold TAP to edit steps with the clock stopped, or make live edits with the clock running.
To reset certain flags for the whole pattern:
| Buttons | Action |
|---|---|
Hold CLEAR + press ACCENT
|
clear all Accents in the pattern. |
Hold CLEAR + press SLIDE
|
clear all Slides in the pattern. |
You can compose chains of patterns in either Track Play or Write mode. They will only be saved in Write Mode (or if you switch to Write Mode and back after making edits).
To clear the current chain, hold CLEAR + press BACK.
To sequence a chain, hold FUNCTION and press the pattern select buttons, using A and B to switch sections as needed. Pressing one pattern key multiple times automatically adds up to 16 repeats, indicated as a 4-bit binary number by the LEDs of the C#/D#/E#/F# keys.
From any mode, hold PITCH to modify global transpose. While holding PITCH, use the 13 pitch keys to set the root note, and the UP/DOWN keys to switch octaves.
While the clock is running, transpose changes are synced to the beginning of the pattern.
Hold FUNCTION + press CLEAR for the global config menu. Each of the 8 pattern select keys/LEDs represents a toggle option:
- MIDI Note Receive
- MIDI Clock Receive
- MIDI Note Send (not yet implemented)
- MIDI Clock Send
- MIDI Program Change Receive
- MIDI Program Change Send (not yet implemented)
- (unused)
- (unused)
Press FUNCTION to exit.
In either Play Mode, Hold FUNCTION + press PITCH for the quantizer menu. The 12 pitch keys/LEDs can be used to enable/disable each semitone. (The 13th key has no effect.)
Pitch steps will round down to the nearest enabled pitch. Quantization happens before global Transpose, so Transpose shifts the root note of the scale.
Press FUNCTION to exit.