BVR Instruments TS1 User manual

TS1 Reference Guide
Page 1 / 80 BVR INSTRUMENTS August 2022
T.S.1
reference guide
https://bvr-instruments.net/
This document concerns the user manual for the TS1 trigger/sequencer from bvr-instruments.
Copying, distribution or any commercial use in any way is prohibited and needs the written
permission by bvr-instruments. Specification are subject to change without notice. In case of
any question, feel free to contact us thought: contact.bvrinstrum[email protected]om
Software version V3.3(x)

TS1 Reference Guide
Page 2 / 80 BVR INSTRUMENTS August 2022
Contents
THANKS. .............................................................................................................................................................. 6
HISTORY OF TS1. ................................................................................................................................................. 6
WHAT IS TS1? .................................................................................................................................................... 8
WHO IS THE TS1 INTENDED FOR? ............................................................................................................................ 8
DO WE NEED A COMPUTER? ................................................................................................................................... 9
WHAT IS MIDI? .................................................................................................................................................. 9
INSTALLING THE TS1. ........................................................................................................................................... 9
PREVIEW OF THE FRONT PANEL. ....................................................................................................................... 10
PRESENTATION OF THE FRONT PANEL. ..................................................................................................................... 11
The upper part. ......................................................................................................................................... 11
The central part. ....................................................................................................................................... 11
The lower part. ......................................................................................................................................... 11
PLAYING POSSIBILITIES OF THE TS1. .................................................................................................................. 12
THE TS1 ALLOWS YOU TO PLAY 6 PATTERNS SIMULTANEOUSLY. ..................................................................................... 12
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TS1 SEQUENCES. ............................................................................................................... 12
The rhythmic sequences ............................................................................................................................ 12
Note and chord sequences ........................................................................................................................ 12
THE BASICS OF TS1 ............................................................................................................................................ 13
PRESENTATION OF THE TS1 GRAPHIC SCREEN. ........................................................................................................... 13
Example of screen with TS1 in Seq1 Mode. ................................................................................................ 13
THE SCREEN AREAS OF THE TS1. ............................................................................................................................ 13
Zone 1 consisting of the first two lines. ...................................................................................................... 13
Zone 2 consisting of the left margin. .......................................................................................................... 14
Zone 3 consisting of the matrix table. ........................................................................................................ 14
MENU NAVIGATION ............................................................................................................................................ 15
PARAMETERS SELECTION IN MENUS ........................................................................................................................ 15
MODIFYING A PARAMETER ................................................................................................................................... 15
VALIDATION ACTION. .......................................................................................................................................... 15
EXIT MENU ....................................................................................................................................................... 15
FIRST STEPS WITH THE TS1 ................................................................................................................................ 16
START THE TS1 ................................................................................................................................................. 16
BROWSE THROUGH NOTE/CHORD OR STEPS SEQUENCES. ............................................................................................ 16
CHOOSING A OR B PART IN A SEQUENCE. ................................................................................................................. 17
To switch from A to B part. ........................................................................................................................ 17
CREATING A STEP, NOTE OR CHORD. ...................................................................................................................... 18
Creation in « pencil mode ». ...................................................................................................................... 18
Creation in full screen mode. ..................................................................................................................... 19
Creation with an external MIDI keyboard. ................................................................................................. 20
BACKUPS ON THE TS1 ........................................................................................................................................ 21
SAVING CURRENT SEQUENCE. ................................................................................................................................ 21
TS1 GLOBAL BACKUP. ......................................................................................................................................... 21
THE TRIGGER OR DRUMS SEQUENCES OF THE TS1 ............................................................................................ 22
THE PARTICULARITY OF THE TS1 IS TO DISPLAY ONE BAR ON THE SCREEN IN A MATRIX FORMAT. THIS ONE IS COMPOSED OF 4 LINES
OF 16 COLUMNS:............................................................................................................................................... 22
EACH COLUMN REPRESENTS A STEP AMONG THE 16 INCLUDED IN THE MEASURE................................................................ 22
DESCRIPTION OF THE TRIGGER OR DRUMS TRACKS. ..................................................................................................... 22
Example of display of the 4 tracks in Trigger or Drums mode: .................................................................... 22
EDITING A TRIGGER OR DRUMS SEQUENCE. .............................................................................................................. 23
Switch to edit mode .................................................................................................................................. 23

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Insert a new Step : .................................................................................................................................... 23
Delete an existing Step : ............................................................................................................................ 23
INTRODUCING THE SIMPLIFIED NOTE DISPLAY OF THE TS1. .............................................................................. 24
DESCRIPTION OF THE MATRIX PARAMETER FOR NOTES. ................................................................................................ 24
Example of display of a note matrix........................................................................................................... 24
EDITING A NOTE SEQUENCE................................................................................................................................... 26
Switch to edit mode .................................................................................................................................. 26
Insert a Note ............................................................................................................................................. 26
Delete a Note ............................................................................................................................................ 26
Mute a note .............................................................................................................................................. 26
INTRODUCING THE SIMPLIFIED CHORD DISPLAY OF THE TS1............................................................................. 27
DESCRIPTION OF THE PARAMETER MATRIX. .............................................................................................................. 27
TS1 MODES ....................................................................................................................................................... 29
TRIGGER AND DRUMS MODES: .............................................................................................................................. 30
TRIGGER MODE: ................................................................................................................................................ 30
DRUMS MODE: ................................................................................................................................................. 30
SEQUENCE MODE 1,2,3, AND 4/CHORD: ................................................................................................................. 31
Special feature of Seq1 and Seq2 Modes: .................................................................................................. 31
Special feature of Seq3 and Seq4 Modes: .................................................................................................. 31
Seq4/Chord mode configured in Chord: ..................................................................................................... 31
SCENE MODE OVERVIEW. .................................................................................................................................. 32
SCENE MODE DESCRIPTION. .................................................................................................................................. 32
SELECT ONE OF THE 99 SCENES.............................................................................................................................. 34
SCENE MODE EDITING. ........................................................................................................................................ 34
SCENE MODE MENU. ........................................................................................................................................... 35
SONG MODE DESCRIPTION. .................................................................................................................................. 36
SELECTION OF ONE OF THE 49 SONGS. .................................................................................................................... 37
SONG MODE EDIT. ............................................................................................................................................. 37
SONG MODE MENU. ........................................................................................................................................... 37
OVERVIEW OF SETTINGS MODE. ....................................................................................................................... 38
NAVIGATING AND EDITING SETTINGS MODE PAGES. ................................................................................................... 38
Choosing the page to edit: ........................................................................................................................ 38
Choice of line to modify: ............................................................................................................................ 38
Parameter change: ................................................................................................................................... 38
SETTINGS PAGES ............................................................................................................................................... 39
GENERAL SETTINGS 1: PAGE 1: ........................................................................................................................ 39
GENERAL SETTINGS 2: PAGE 2: ........................................................................................................................ 40
EXT/CV SETTINGS: PAGE 3: .............................................................................................................................. 41
MIDI CHANNELS 1 PAGE 4: .............................................................................................................................. 42
MIDI SEQUENCES: PAGE 5. .............................................................................................................................. 42
MIDI TRIGGERS: PAGE 6. ................................................................................................................................. 43
MIDI DRUMS: PAGE 7. ..................................................................................................................................... 43
MIDI CONTROLS: PAGE 8. ................................................................................................................................ 44
MIDI TRIGGER IN: PAGE 9. ............................................................................................................................... 45
MIDI TRIGGER OUT: PAGE 10........................................................................................................................... 45
MIDI TRIGGER ON/OFF: PAGE 11. .................................................................................................................... 45
MIDI DRUM INPUT : PAGE 12. ......................................................................................................................... 46
MIDI DRUM OUTPUT: PAGE 13. ....................................................................................................................... 46
TRIGGER TIMMINGS: PAGE 14. ........................................................................................................................ 47
NOTES VELOCITIES: PAGE 15. .......................................................................................................................... 47
TR/DR VELOCITIES: PAGE 16. ........................................................................................................................... 48
SCALE SETTINGS : PAGE 17. ............................................................................................................................. 49

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COMPLETE LIST OF TS1 COMMANDS ................................................................................................................. 50
ACTIONS WITH THE MENU BUTTON ...................................................................................................................... 50
o Starting the TS1. .............................................................................................................................. 50
o Navigation in the TS1 menus. ........................................................................................................... 50
o Selection of part A/B to play............................................................................................................. 50
o Transposition of sequences. ............................................................................................................. 50
o Mute/un-mute the 4 tracks in the trigger or drums mode ................................................................. 50
ACTIONS WITH THE SHIFT BUTTON ........................................................................................................................ 50
o Navigating through the TS1 menu parameters. ................................................................................ 50
o Selecting a pattern with the sequencer stopped. .............................................................................. 50
o Selection of the next pattern to play during the play. ........................................................................ 50
o Reset Sequencer to the beginning of the pattern. ............................................................................. 50
o Mute note sequences or trigger tracks. ............................................................................................ 50
o Soloing a sequence of notes. ............................................................................................................ 50
o Saving data in the selected mode. .................................................................................................... 50
o Backup of all TS1 data. ..................................................................................................................... 50
ACTIONS WITH THE EDIT BUTTON ......................................................................................................................... 50
o Enable and disable edit mode........................................................................................................... 50
ACTIONS WITH START/STOP BOUTON .................................................................................................................. 50
o Start or stop the sequencer. ............................................................................................................. 50
ACTIONS WITH SELECT BOUTON........................................................................................................................... 50
o Selecting one of the four measures in a pattern. ............................................................................... 50
DESCRIPTION OF COMMANDS: ......................................................................................................................... 51
WITH THE MENU BOUTON. ................................................................................................................................. 51
1) Starting the TS1. .............................................................................................................................. 51
2) Navigation in the TS1 menus. ........................................................................................................... 52
3) Selection of part A/B to play............................................................................................................. 52
4) Transposition of sequences. ............................................................................................................. 53
5) Mute/un-mute the 4 tracks in the trigger or drums mode ................................................................. 53
DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMANDS WITH THE SHIFT BUTTON. ....................................................................................... 54
1) Navigating through the TS1 menu parameters. ................................................................................ 54
2) Selecting a pattern with the sequencer stopped. .............................................................................. 55
3) Selection of the next pattern to play during the play. ........................................................................ 55
4) Reset Sequencer to the beginning of the pattern. ............................................................................. 56
5) Mute note sequences or trigger tracks. ............................................................................................ 57
6) Soloing a sequence of notes. ............................................................................................................ 58
7) Saving data in the selected mode. .................................................................................................... 58
8) Backup of all TS1 data. ..................................................................................................................... 59
COMMANDS WITH EDIT BOUTON .......................................................................................................................... 60
1) Enable and disable edit mode........................................................................................................... 60
COMMANDS WITH THE START/STOP BUTTON ........................................................................................................ 61
Start or stop the sequencer. ...................................................................................................................... 61
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIONS WITH SELECT BUTTON ........................................................................................................ 62
Selecting one of the four measures in a pattern. ........................................................................................ 62
Copy current measure to next measure. .................................................................................................... 63
TS1 PATTERN MENU .......................................................................................................................................... 64
DESCRIPTION OF THE PATTERN MENU: ..................................................................................................................... 64
Measurement progress bar. ...................................................................................................................... 67
Position bar of the measure to be played. .................................................................................................. 67
Progress circle. .......................................................................................................................................... 67
Song position bar while playing. ................................................................................................................ 67
MIDI activity icon ...................................................................................................................................... 67
THE TS1 INPUT AND OUTPUT CONNECTORS ...................................................................................................... 68
THE GATE EXTSTART INPUT FORMERLY CALLED EXT1. ................................................................................................. 68
THE GATE TR5/CLK OUTPUT FORMERLY CALLED EXT2. ............................................................................................... 68

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GATES TRIGGER: TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, TR5. ............................................................................................................. 69
2 CV/GATES SEQ1 AND SEQ2 ............................................................................................................................. 69
TWO 5-PIN DIN CONNECTORS .............................................................................................................................. 69
The MIDI IN connector .............................................................................................................................. 69
The MIDI OUT connector ........................................................................................................................... 69
TS1 MIDI DATA MANAGEMENT MENU: ................................................................................................................... 70
ANNEX 1 ............................................................................................................................................................ 71
MUTE TRIGGER DRUMS AND SEQUENCES TRACKS VIA MIDI. ........................................................................................ 71
ANNEX 2 ............................................................................................................................................................ 72
TS1 DEMO PATTERNS ......................................................................................................................................... 72
ANNEX 3 ............................................................................................................................................................ 73
SERVICE MODE ................................................................................................................................................. 73
Service Mode Overview. ............................................................................................................................ 73
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION REQUIRED .............................................................................................................. 74
LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................................................................................... 74
BUGS AND TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................................................................................................ 75
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 76
REGULATIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 77
THE TS1 COMPLIES WITH THE FOLLOWING REGULATIONS: ............................................................................................ 77
ETHICAL CHOICES: .............................................................................................................................................. 77
CLEANING THE TS1: ........................................................................................................................................... 77
PEOPLES' SECURITY: ............................................................................................................................................ 77
INSTALLING THE REPROGRAMMING SOFTWARE STVP. ................................................................................................. 78
CONNECTING THE REPROGRAMMING CONNECTOR. ..................................................................................................... 78
SUMMARY OF ACTIONS TO UPDATE THE TS1. ............................................................................................................ 79

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Thanks.
Thank you for choosing Bvr-Instruments and its flagship product: the TS1
Trigger/Sequencer.
History of TS1.
Since its first design as a “TR" trigger module, the TS1 has continued to
evolve in order to offer more functionalities such as the sequencer part
with the aim of becoming a benchmark product for aiding musical creation.
Initially unveiled in the Trigger format at Syntfest 2017 with a compact 8
HP format, it will evolve over several years of development and expand to
become a 16 HP module offering the following possibilities:
• An improved trigger part to control 8 percussive instruments.
• A sequencer part with 4 monophonic parts, one of which can play
polyphony chords.
• A Song mode with sequence of scenes/sequences to play.
• Interfaces that evolve: from a simple trigger to the integration of
CV/Gates and via a MIDI In and Out interface equipped with
traditional connectors: 5-pin din.
Among these improvements, the original identity has remained with:
• The OLED graphic screen with a friendly user interface.
• A central selector which allows the choice of the mode of the TS1.
• A reduced number of control buttons to simplify user actions.
Since the official release of the TS1 in March 2022, many enthusiastic
users have helped and participated in the evolution of the TS1.
Aesthetic changes on the one hand with a new front end in a more
detailed ‘Black’ finish, and on the other hand an improvement in the
software now integrating more current features have made it possible to
add the following improvements:
• X-Factor to randomize triggers.
• Trigger dividers.
• Randomization on note degrees.
• Scale mode with 196 combinations.
• Pencil mode for quick creation of sequences…

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About this guide.
This guide is intended to familiarize you with the basic commands and the
operating principle of the TS1, find this manual in French and English on
our site: https://bvr-instruments.net/support.

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What is TS1?
The TS1 is a music sequencer for electronic musical instruments.
Note:A sequencer does not produce music but it drives your instruments
like musicians in a band.
And with the particularity of playing previously recorded sequences of
notes.
Who is the TS1 intended for?
The TS1 is intended for users who already own or wish to acquire
musical instruments such as:
• Synthesizers.
• Drum machine.
• Euro-rack modules equipped with trigger and CV/Gate inputs.
Whether you are a beginner, advanced or experienced in music:
• The TS1 has been designed to be easy to use thanks to its
friendly user interface and features for creating sequences with
randomization and pencil mode.
• The TS1 incorporates an innovation that allows the simplified
representation of notes by means of a parameter matrix.
Each note parameter is easily accessible and can be modified with
ease: No more need to know how to read a score.
• The TS1 is intended for: studios for musical creation and
“live performance”.

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Do we need a computer?
No, the TS1 is a sequencer that allows you to record and replay
musical sequences without a computer.
The TS1 has a graphical interface, creative editing possibilities, no
need for a computer to enter your scores.
Note: you can however record all your sequences played by the TS1 to a
computer equipped with a MIDI interface and MIDI recording software, by
connecting the TS1 to the MIDI interface of your computer.
What is MIDI?
MIDI stand for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a communication
protocol and file format dedicated to music.
This format is used for communication between sequencers and digitally
controlled musical instruments.
Installing the TS1.
The TS1 is a Eurorack module designed to be mounted in a box
compatible with this format and provided with its power supply.
• It is supplied with a power cord to be connected to the +12V/-12V
connector on your box.
• Its 16HP (80mm) wide size allows it to be easily inserted into your
equipment.
Note: The TS1 is equipped with a low-power processor, this feature
allows the TS1 to be inserted into a box without significantly increasing
its power consumption.

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Preview of the front panel.
[M] Menu button
[E] EDIT button
[S] Shift button
[T] Start/Stop button
[L] Select/Push button
[O] Mode selector
[1] Cv In Jack (ExtStart)
[2] CV out Jack (Tr5/Clk)
[3] Midi IN din
[4] Midi Out din
[5] Cv/Gate jack for Seq1
[6] Cv/Gate jack for Seq2
[7] Trigger jack 1-2-3-4
[D] OLED Graphic display
M
E
S
T
L
O
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
D