MOLECULAR could be another arpeggiator if it would not be much more – it is the ingenious crossing of a molecular music box with a midi looper with an arpeggiator. It is a bubbling source of notes with constantly new formations, without losing it‘s musical reference.

The basic concept of Mixmux Duo follows the structure of a Dj setup, which finally makes the device extensively controllable with 3 faders only (Player A+B and Crossfader).

The playback logic resembles that of an arpeggiator but can additionally be adjusted in a way similar to a step sequencer. This allows it to be much more flexible than both the arpeggiator and the step sequencer, thus making it the perfect instrument for live performances of electronic music as well as creative studio processes with Ableton Live.

How it works: The principle behind the molecular music box

Actually, you don’t really need to know how it works, it’s just fun to screw around with it. But here’s how it works:

The rhythm is created by a simple algorithm: there are 2 adjustable cycles A and B (adjustable in beats). First, a note is created and played with each pass of cycle A. If this is set to the value 4, for example, a note is created every 4 beats, with a quantization of 1/16 thus on every 1/4. The notes are written to a loop layer and to the next layer after a loop pass is completed. To create new notes, cycle A is maintained until a newly created note meets an already set note of another layer. Then the creation cycle changes to B, e.g. every 3 beats. The rule now starts over, so if a newly set note collides with an old one, it switches back to cycle A, and so on – simple but effective.

Sessions: Examples played live