I tried to get my 606 to trigger the arpegiator on the sixtrak. The output seams to match the requirements, 5-15 volts, 20msec pulse.

Trying it with the SH09 shows the triggers are transmitting.

I wonder what the sixtrak is complaining about, and wether it would be happy with any other roland X0X?

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Hi Chaconne

What ports are you connecting with?
As far as I remember the 6 trak (still on my dream synth list ) has MIDI connections and the TR606 has a DINSync which may look similar but is not compatible.

There is probaly a convertor box vailable from kenton or someone similar.

For the sequencer the sixtrak will actually accept MIDI clock in.
The arp though is something different - and it will not clock with MIDI, nor DIN sync. Apparently Juno's and Jupiters work this way also, they have an input for a pulse clock, just a square wave pulse that triggers each note pushing the arp forward.
The sixtrak uses the footswitch in for this. In the manual it shows a Drumtraks being used for the sync pulse.

The 606 has two sync pulse outputs, separate from DIN sync, and is timed using the tom tom pattern. The 707, 505 , 626 all do this apparently. Since the output specs matched the sixtrak requirements I thought this should work - but no.

None of this should matter because the sixtrak is MIDI, but for some reason the arp running sounds totally different to the same notes triggered via MIDI - the attack is different. It is a really gorgeous german prog-tronica sound, and I would love to have it synced.

I have heard that sequential stuff can be fussy, maybe the roland pulse is not symetrical enough...I might use it as an excuse to get a Drumtraks - if I can find one.

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I have a Sixtrak and in years gone by I used to have a lot of grief trying to get the arpeggiator to sync to things I'd plug into the Footswitch socket!
(I had an Oberheim DX drum machine which send a V-trig clock pulse that I'd assumed should do the job).

It's years since I thought about this - I can't recall if the Sixtrak actually wants an S-trig pulse instead (i.e. the opposite polarity).

Try this: can you advance the arpeggiator through individual steps using a footswitch?
If so, then the socket itself isn't broken and it's just a case of getting the right signals for it...
If not, then there's your problem right there!

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~~~ A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are tossed with! www.feline1.co.uk ~~~

Yeah, thanks Feline, I tried the footswitch thing and that does work. Thats whats frustrating since the 606 seams to give out exactly what the manual requires, + polarity and 20msec. I'll have to try another another machine, maybe a 626 something cheap I can sell on if it fails.

I'm determined to get this b*$%er going.....!!!

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Cant you use a MIDI/din sync convertor mate, and take them both around via MIDI (Like a kenton box) or are you not wanting to use a MIDI sequencer?

kolacube, you can't sync the Sixtrak's arpeggiator to MIDI clock, only to analogue trigger pulses to the footswitch socket.

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~~~ A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen as you are tossed with! www.feline1.co.uk ~~~

ah right. Thats quite bizarre.

Sounds like the Sixtrak might be a "short-to-ground" type of socket. Sometimes these will trigger off the falling edge of the pulse if you put a little edge-detector circuit between them, cap-resistor-diode, but you need to test things out with a multimeter to see whats involved first.

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Adam Inglis
A Disco Ate My BABY!

Sorry, scratch that - you say a Drumtraks will trigger it? Then maybe the 606 pulse is too brief (although mine manages to trigger everything I ask of it!) - you may need a pulse stretching circuit of some kind, again, should be pretty basic..

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Adam Inglis
A Disco Ate My BABY!

In the sixtrak manual it asks for a 20msec pulse minimum.
The 606 manual says it outputs a 20msec pulse, but sequential also state that it has to be symetrical, so of course it sounds fussy - and who knows what the 606 is actually doing now 20 plus years on.

Many thanks for the help - I will look into the amateur electronics - but its not my strong point!

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The 606 puts out 14 volts or so. Despite the specs maybe that's a bit too hot for the Sixtrak? You could try attenuating the signal with a voltage divider (2 resistors).

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Adam Inglis
A Disco Ate My BABY!

Not having a breadboard or anything, I tried putting the jack through all sorts of pedals, compressors etc to see if I could alter the signal.
I got it to work through an old Joe Meek channel just by turning up the output gain a little...?

Anyhow it works, thanks for the suggestions. Got this irrational desire for a DAW less studio - its slowly happening - just need a little more junk !

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Quote Chaconne:

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Not having a breadboard or anything, I tried putting the jack through all sorts of pedals, compressors etc to see if I could alter the signal.
I got it to work through an old Joe Meek channel just by turning up the output gain a little...?

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Ha ha nice work!

Quote Chaconne:

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Got this irrational desire for a DAW less studio...

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Yep, every few months or so I re-patch the studio to allow my old Roland MC50 to control everything - making music without a computer is such good fun! No screens to look at, so guess what? You listen and imagine more! Actually, now that the Sync Lock is a central part of the studio, I am sometimes in the bizarre position where the role of the DAW is simply as the master clock for all the hardware.
Good luck...

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Adam Inglis
A Disco Ate My BABY!