Frequency Central brings the unique Berlin School way of working to your Eurorack system in a hands-on step sequencer.
The Berlin School brought me to electronic music. I’ve been a prog music fan for more than 15 years. And of course you automatically get your hands on records from Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze with their lovely repeating hipnotic sequences. These bands have shaped me a lot, how I make music today, but also a lot the prog world.
Now there is a sequencer that brings the sequencing style of Tangerine Dream etc. to the Eurorack. Or better say of the Berlin School music.
Frequency Central Berlin School
Berlin School is a new hands-on 8-step sequencer based around the classic CD4017 Johnson counter chip. All under the control of a 16F1765 PIC. It has 8 pots to adjust each step as well as one LED per step. There are different onboard clock division options (/1, /2, /3, /4, /5, /6, /7, /8 (integers) and you can also control it via external voltage.
And it’s not your classic bread and butter 8-step sequencer. Berlin School has some special features that will hypnotize any kraut rocker with only your synth drugs.
First, you can externally control the length of each individual step via the DIV. CV input socket. This allows you to create sequences where any step can last for any clock length from 1 through to 8. It also has an option to externally control the transposition via CV (trans CV). Perfect with a 1V/oct keyboard like the Arturia Keystep or any other CV source.
Alternatively, you can manually control both functionalities with the DIV and transpose knob. So you can tweak notes for each step in real time full in quantization.
Connection side, it has a quantised (chromatic) output, quantized CV inputs for the DIV and transpose functions, and CV control for the clock division. There is a switch for 4s step, 6 step and 8 step options.
Some would now say the sequencer is a bit weak with only 8 steps. However, Berlin school music does not live from the super complex sequences but often from short ones that are endlessly repeated, transposed and changed on the fly. A sequencer that I can imagine very well in my system because it suits perfectly my music. A nice release.
Frequency Central Berlin School is available now as assembled modules for £160 + VAT or in a DIY kit (PCB, pic, kit) for £37,50 + VAT.
More information here: Frequency Central
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