Example setups
Sequent plays in time with whatever the DJ is playing. How it knows the tempo, and where the beat falls, depends on what it can hear. Some setups give it both, some only the tempo, and some nothing at all.
| Setup | Sequent follows | Starting | Tested | Works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDJs by USB, with Sequent.app (ours: two CDJ-3000Xs on firmware 1.40) | Tempo and the bar | By itself, on the next bar | In part | ✓ |
| CDJs on an Ethernet network (a switch or the mixer's link port), with Sequent.app | Tempo and the bar, in principle | By itself, on the next bar | Not yet | Not known |
| A DAW sending clock and Song Position (Logic, Ableton) | Tempo and the bar | From the DAW's Play | Logic, yes. Ableton, not yet | ✓ Logic |
| A DJ mixer's MIDI clock (ours: a Pioneer DJM-750MK2) | Tempo | Press Play on the one | Yes | ✓ |
| A drum machine or synth sending clock (TB-03) | Tempo | Press Play on the one | Not yet | Not known |
| An all-in-one (XDJ-RX), by USB or Ethernet | Nothing: it sends no clock and no beats | Set the tempo by hand, press Play on the one | Yes | ✗ Tempo set by hand |
| A DJ controller (DDJ-FLX4 with rekordbox) | Nothing: the tempo stays inside the DJ software | Set the tempo by hand, press Play on the one | Yes | ✗ Tempo set by hand |
| A laptop on its own | Its own tempo | Press Play | Yes | ✓ |
| A phone or tablet | Its own tempo, as no phone browser reads MIDI | Press Play | Yes | ✓ |
Following the CDJs
The tightest: Sequent knows the tempo and exactly where each bar starts, so it lands on the one without anyone pressing anything.
- Connect the Mac to a player with a USB cable, as rekordbox would be. That's all: no network to set up. Ours are two CDJ-3000Xs on firmware 1.40.
- Open Sequent.app, the small Mac app that listens to the players (download it for Mac, free). Quit rekordbox first, since both need the same network ports.
- Open turpin.studio on the same Mac and choose Connect to the CDJs in the transport.
- Play a track. Sequent follows the master deck and starts on its next bar.
The players' Ethernet network (a switch, or the mixer's link port) should work too, but hasn't been tested, and USB is the simpler way in.
Bring Sequent's sound up on a spare mixer channel: the Mac's headphone output or an audio interface, into a line input.
A mixer's MIDI clock
Tight tempo, from a mixer that sends MIDI clock over USB, such as Pioneer's DJM range.
- Connect the mixer to a computer by USB.
- Open turpin.studio in Chrome or Edge, which can read MIDI. Safari can't.
- Choose Listen for MIDI clock, and allow MIDI when asked.
- Press Play on a downbeat. A mixer's clock carries the tempo but not where the bar starts, so the press sets the one. To realign, stop and press Play again on the one.
The nudge moves Sequent a millisecond at a time, for lining it up by ear.
A DAW is different: Logic and Ableton can send their position as well as the tempo, so Sequent lands on their bar by itself, with no press on the one. Turn on Song Position (SPP) where the clock is set up.
A DJ controller
Not followed yet. A controller such as the DDJ-FLX4 is the knobs, faders and sound card for DJ software on the laptop; the decks play inside the software, so the controller never knows the tempo and sends none.
- Set Sequent's tempo to the track's, press Play on the one, and nudge it by ear, as on a laptop on its own.
- When the DJ changes the tempo in the software, change Sequent's to match.
- The page still sees the controller: its MIDI row reads "No clock from DDJ-FLX4".
Following DJ software through Ableton Link, which shares the tempo and the bar, is the likely way in, and isn't built yet.
A laptop on its own
Nothing to connect: Sequent keeps its own tempo.
- Set the tempo in the transport, press Play on the one, and nudge it by ear.
- Good for practising, building a set's patterns before a gig, or playing with no DJ at all.
A phone or tablet
Everything except following a clock: no browser on an iPhone or iPad can read MIDI.
- Open turpin.studio, and add it to the home screen to use it as an app.
- It plays with the ring/silent switch on silent.
- Shared sets open here too, so a set built on a laptop can be carried to the phone.
When something goes wrong
Sequent tells you when it notices a problem, and the same few details help track one down. Nothing is sent anywhere: it is all shown to you, and kept only in your browser.
- The build. Open the menu, top right: its last line says "Build" and ten letters and numbers. That says exactly which version of the page you had.
- A newer Sequent is out. A note across the top with Reload means this browser was running an older copy, often an installed phone app that opened without a signal. Reload and try again.
- The saved set was missing. The browser or phone cleared Sequent's storage, so it started from the default set.
- The CDJs. The transport's CDJ row lists every deck Sequent.app sees, with its tempo and track, and the app's version, which is also in its menu under About Sequent. If the menu says the ports are taken, quit rekordbox.
Send whichever of these you saw, with the browser, the device and the setup from the table above, to a person.