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tap.808.seq~ + tap.303.seq~: the sequencers (plan, objects, vertical slices) #52

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tap merged 9 commits into from
Jul 18, 2026
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tap.808.seq~ + tap.303.seq~: the sequencers (plan, objects, vertical slices) #52

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ef70ba2
plans: the coordinated phase-3 sequencer design (tap.seq.md)
claude Jul 18, 2026
b6f4bff
plans: tap.seq.md — §6 blocking decisions approved by the author
claude Jul 18, 2026
2c55af4
tap.seq: the sequencers — tap.808.seq~ + tap.303.seq~ (slices 0-3)
claude Jul 18, 2026
ce6ebbb
tap.seq: house-style pass (clang-format + mandatory braces) + kernel …
claude Jul 18, 2026
5665bd9
tap.303.seq~: snake_case the todict locals (clang-tidy naming gate)
claude Jul 18, 2026
9d92ac5
tap.seq: kernel pin bump for the step_seq verification notebook + doc…
claude Jul 18, 2026
4e1cdb1
tap.303/tap.808: kernel pin bump for the book chapters + REVIVAL note
claude Jul 18, 2026
cdd7e2c
book: kernel pin bump for the Part VI rhythm-section machine chapters
claude Jul 18, 2026
7a1654d
tap.seq: repin submodules/taptools to the kernel's merged main
claude Jul 18, 2026
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69 changes: 61 additions & 8 deletions REVIVAL.md
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Expand Up @@ -1008,6 +1008,57 @@ GitHub Actions CI.
Phase 2 of `plans/tap.303.md` is **complete**; what remains for the 303 program is runtime
validation in Max and the deferred phase-3 sequencer.

- ✅ **The sequencers — `tap.808.seq~` + `tap.303.seq~` (2026-07-18).** The coordinated
phase 3 both family plans deferred, designed and author-approved same day as
**`plans/tap.seq.md`** and shipped end to end: **one shared kernel engine**
(`step_seq.h`, `taptools::seq`) — phase-clocked from a `phasor~` ramp
(floor(phase × length), swing warping the odd steps, sample-accurate entries,
stateless against phase), 16 slots with cycle/step/now-quantized recall — with two
thin emitters speaking the shipped voice contracts verbatim. **`tap.808.seq~`**: one
drum row, impulses whose amplitude 0..1 is the accent (plain 0.01 = the 4 V base bus,
accented 0.5 = the accent knob at noon; provenance `tr808_kick.h`'s 4–14 V mapping),
`hits`/`accents`/`velocities` surfaces, `pulse` widening for envelope consumers.
**`tap.303.seq~`**: the acid line emitting the `tap.303~` pitch + gate pair (1.0/2.0
accent amplitudes; gate duty 0.5 per Open303's `AcidPattern`), **slide as gate-hold**
across the boundary — chained slides and the across-the-wrap slide pinned by test —
with per-step pitch/gate/accent/slide, live `transpose`, and the slide flag on the
*target* step per the package `note` convention (hardware stores it on the source;
divergence documented in the kernel header). Both rows: `length` 1..64 (polymeter off
one phasor — the triplet pre-scale generalized), swing (beyond-hardware, default 0),
`store`/`recall`, `todict`/`fromdict` dictionary patterns, a 1-based step-index UI
outlet (coalescing audio→scheduler handoff, the `tap.sift~` idiom). Kernel: 19 new
scenarios (suite 129/129), including the tb303-voice pairing test asserting slid
steps glide without retrigger. Wrappers: min-api unittests (compiled and run against
the mock kernel), maxrefs, help patchers, maxtest starters — and
**`help/tap.808.maxhelp` rebuilt on real rows** (one phasor, nine rows, the old
metro/counter/sel pattern retired), with `help/tap.303.seq~.maxhelp` superseding the
`tap.303~-pattern.maxpat` dry run (which stays as the event-domain alternative).
**Runtime validation in Max still pending**, as everywhere.

- ✅ **The sequencer verification notebook (2026-07-18).** **`notebooks/step_seq.ipynb`**
(kernel repo), house pattern: the shipping `step_seq.h` driven through the C ABI
(extended with `taptools_seqtrig`/`taptools_seqnote` + a minimal `taptools_kick`).
Six executed, asserted sections: the analytic grid (≤ 1 sample; polymeter), the swing
warp (odd-step delay = swing/2), the trigger-bus levels (0.01/0.5/1.0) + `pulse_ms`,
the 303 line signals (duty 0.5, accent 2.0, gate-hold slide — including the
full-step hold on a slide *source* step, a case the Catch2 suite's isolated-step
scenario didn't exhibit), **four bars of acid + kick rendered from the real
`tb303_voice.h`/`tr808_kick.h` off one phasor ramp** (embedded audio), and
cycle-quantized recall swapping exactly on the wrap sample.

- ✅ **"Tools on Tap" Part V — The rhythm section (2026-07-18).** Two field-guide
chapters in the kernel repo's book: *The acid machine* (`tap.diode~`/`tap.303~`/
`tap.303.seq~`) and *The drum machine* (the eight `tap.808.*` channels +
`tap.808.seq~`), every number sourced from the executed notebooks or the kernel
suite per the book's own rules; the machine deep-dives renumber to Part VI —
which same-day gained its own four rhythm-section chapters: *Seventeen, not four*
(`diode_ladder.h` — the k = 17 threshold derived, the closed-form coupled ZDF solve,
the WDF no-go), *The couplings are the instrument* (`tb303_voice.h` — the C13 wow as
three lines, the measured envmod law, the documented Open303 divergence), *One
network, eight voices* (the `tr808_*` headers — the bridged-T solved on its states,
the calibration lesson), and *Time as a function of phase* (`step_seq.h` — the O(1)
derivation, gate-hold look-ahead, armed-recall re-derivation).

---

## 8. The `taptools-min` reconciliation (2026-06-17)
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1149,11 +1200,12 @@ Roland TR-808's analog drum voices: the eight voice channels
shared kernel blocks: bridged-T resonator, metal bank, swing-VCA), the family accent-bus
contract (signal-edge amplitude = accent on the 4–14 V trigger bus), the family overview
patcher, and the kernel's `tr808_render` tool. Provenance: the Werner–Abel–Smith
DAFx-14/ICMC papers + the TR-808 Service Notes schematics, read directly. Flagged WDF
circuit-simulation upgrade path (`@circuit`, the `svf.h` two-circuit pattern) and a
potential later sequencer phase (`tap.808.seq~`) remain. See the §7 progress-log
entries (slices 1–5). Next: runtime validation in Max, §7.2 sample-pack calibration,
then the Phase 2 WDF go/no-go on the kick.
DAFx-14/ICMC papers + the TR-808 Service Notes schematics, read directly. **The phase-3
sequencer shipped 2026-07-18** as `tap.808.seq~` (see `plans/tap.seq.md` and the §7
entry — one row per voice, phase-clocked, sharing its engine with `tap.303.seq~`).
Flagged WDF circuit-simulation upgrade path (`@circuit`, the `svf.h` two-circuit
pattern) remains. See the §7 progress-log entries (slices 1–5, §7.2 calibration).
Next: runtime validation in Max, then the Phase 2 WDF go/no-go on the kick.

**11. Net-new object family — `tap.303.*` (2026-07-17).** 📋 **Plan approved; slices 1–2
shipped** — see **`plans/tap.303.md`**. The TB-303 recreation, companion to the `tap.808.*`
Expand All @@ -1166,9 +1218,10 @@ circuit documentation, Open303, x0xb0x schematics, Service Notes. **Phases 1 and
seed/tolerance + factory presets; phase 2: the `vca clean|warm` transistor stage, the
square shaper resolved via Open303's measured constants, and the author-approved WDF no-go
— grounded in the kernel repo's **`notebooks/tb303.ipynb`** verification notebook; see the
§7 entries). Remaining: the deferred sequencer phase (`tap.303.seq~`, coordinated with
`tap.808.seq~`) and **runtime validation in Max** for both objects (help patchers,
maxtests, the render WAVs, and the notebook as the evaluation material).
§7 entries). **The phase-3 sequencer shipped 2026-07-18** as `tap.303.seq~` (see
`plans/tap.seq.md` and the §7 entry — the acid line on the shared step engine, slide as
gate-hold). Remaining: **runtime validation in Max** for all three objects (help
patchers, maxtests, the render WAVs, and the notebook as the evaluation material).

Remaining (ongoing, now cross-repo — DSP lands in `tap/taptools`, then bump the submodule pin
here): lift the remaining simple inline-DSP objects' math into kernel headers opportunistically as
Expand Down
212 changes: 212 additions & 0 deletions docs/tap.303.seq~.maxref.xml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>
<?xml-stylesheet href="./_c74_ref.xsl" type="text/xsl"?>

<c74object name="tap.303.seq~" module="msp" category="TapTools, MSP Sequencing">

<digest>
Phase-clocked acid-line sequencer for tap.303~
</digest>

<description>
The <o>tap.303.seq~</o> object is a step-sequenced bass line speaking exactly the
<o>tap.303~</o> note contract: feed it a phase ramp (0..1 per pattern cycle — a
<o>phasor~</o>) and it emits the voice's inlet pair, a pitch signal (MIDI note number,
held between notes) and a gate signal whose edge amplitude encodes accent (1.0 plain,
2.0 accented; the accent amount stays on the voice's knob, like the hardware). The gate
opens at the step start and closes halfway through the step (Open303's measured duty).
A step with the slide flag is approached legato: the gate holds through the boundary
while the pitch steps, and the voice's ~60 ms glide does the rest — no retrigger,
chained slides chain, and a slide across the pattern wrap works. Per-step data mirrors
the hardware pattern memory (pitch, gate/rest, accent, slide; pitch as a MIDI float
subsumes the octave up/down flags), without recreating the 1981 entry workflow:
patterns are lists, step messages, sixteen slots with boundary-quantized recall, and
dictionaries. Rows share the phase-clock idiom with <o>tap.808.seq~</o> — one phasor
runs a whole rhythm section in sample lock, and this row's gate edge also triggers any
tap.808.* voice directly. The design of record is plans/tap.seq.md.
</description>


<!--METADATA-->
<metadatalist>
<metadata name="author">74 Objects</metadata>
<metadata name="tag">TapTools</metadata>
<metadata name="tag">Audio</metadata>
<metadata name="tag">Sequencing</metadata>
<metadata name="tag">Synthesis</metadata>
</metadatalist>


<!--INLETS/OUTLETS-->
<inletlist>
<inlet id="0" type="signal">
<digest>Phase ramp: 0..1 per pattern cycle (connect phasor~)</digest>
</inlet>
</inletlist>
<outletlist>
<outlet id="0" type="signal">
<digest>Pitch as MIDI note number — to tap.303~'s left inlet</digest>
</outlet>
<outlet id="1" type="signal">
<digest>Gate; edge amplitude 1..2 encodes accent — to tap.303~'s right inlet</digest>
</outlet>
<outlet id="2" type="int">
<digest>Current step number (1-based), sent at each step change</digest>
</outlet>
</outletlist>


<!--MESSAGES-->
<methodlist>
<method name="signal">
<arglist/>
<description>
The phase ramp. The row derives the current step from the phase (swing warps the
odd-step starts) and plays the pattern sample-accurately. Stateless against
phase: jump, scrub, or reverse the ramp and the line follows.
</description>
</method>
<method name="step">
<arglist>
<arg name="step-number" type="int" optional="0"/>
<arg name="pitch" type="float" optional="0"/>
<arg name="accent" type="int" optional="1"/>
<arg name="slide" type="int" optional="1"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Set one step and gate it on: step number (1..64), pitch as a MIDI note number
(fractional = cents), then optional accent and slide flags (0/1). A slide flag
means the step is approached legato from the note before it.
</description>
</method>
<method name="rest">
<arglist>
<arg name="step-number" type="int" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Silence one step (its pitch and flags are kept).
</description>
</method>
<method name="pitches">
<arglist>
<arg name="notes" type="list" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Set per-step pitches as MIDI note numbers (fractional = cents).
</description>
</method>
<method name="gates">
<arglist>
<arg name="steps" type="list" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Set which steps sound: one 0/1 per step (0 = rest).
</description>
</method>
<method name="accents">
<arglist>
<arg name="steps" type="list" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Set per-step accent flags: accented steps gate at 2.0 (the voice reads accent
depth = amplitude - 1).
</description>
</method>
<method name="slides">
<arglist>
<arg name="steps" type="list" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Set per-step slide flags. A flagged step is approached legato: the gate holds
through the boundary and the voice glides to it without retriggering.
</description>
</method>
<method name="store">
<arglist>
<arg name="slot" type="int" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Store the pattern in a slot (1..16).
</description>
</method>
<method name="recall">
<arglist>
<arg name="slot" type="int" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Recall a slot (1..16); it takes over at the quantize boundary (default: the next
pattern top).
</description>
</method>
<method name="todict">
<arglist>
<arg name="dictionary-name" type="symbol" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Write the pattern (length, pitches, gates, accents, slides) into a named
dictionary, for saving with the patcher or passing around as data.
</description>
</method>
<method name="fromdict">
<arglist>
<arg name="dictionary-name" type="symbol" optional="0"/>
</arglist>
<description>
Restore a pattern previously written with todict.
</description>
</method>
<method name="clear">
<arglist/>
<description>
Empty the pattern (all rests) and reset the clock state.
</description>
</method>
</methodlist>


<!--ATTRIBUTES-->
<attributelist>
<attribute name="length" get="1" set="1" type="int" size="1">
<digest>Steps per pattern cycle (1..64, default 16)</digest>
<description>
Steps per pattern cycle. A different length than the other rows on the same
phasor is polymeter.
</description>
</attribute>
<attribute name="swing" get="1" set="1" type="float" size="1">
<digest>Swing 0..1 (0 = straight; 0.67 = triplet shuffle)</digest>
<description>
Odd-numbered steps play late by up to half a step. The hardware had no swing —
0 is stock.
</description>
</attribute>
<attribute name="transpose" get="1" set="1" type="float" size="1">
<digest>Live transposition in semitones (-48..48)</digest>
<description>
Applied as notes fire — what the hardware's transpose mode did, without the mode.
</description>
</attribute>
<attribute name="quantize" get="1" set="1" type="symbol" size="1">
<digest>When a recalled pattern takes over: cycle (default), step, or now</digest>
<description>
cycle swaps at the next pattern top, step at the next step boundary, now
immediately.
</description>
</attribute>
<attribute name="mute" get="1" set="1" type="int" size="1">
<digest>Force the gate low (the clock keeps running; pitch holds)</digest>
<description>
Mutes the gate without stopping the row, so unmuting re-enters in place.
</description>
</attribute>
</attributelist>


<!--SEEALSO-->
<seealsolist>
<seealso name="tap.303~"/>
<seealso name="tap.808.seq~"/>
<seealso name="tap.adsr~"/>
<seealso name="phasor~"/>
</seealsolist>

</c74object>
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