Shakmat Four Bricks Rook User manual

16HP Eurorack Module Built & designed in Belgium www.shakmat.com
Shakmat
Four Bricks Rook

Far beyond basic step sequencing, the Four Bricks Rook brings
a highly intuitive interface to all of your rhythmic duties. Providing
a diverse array of features including a CV addressable memory
of 128 thirty-two step tables. The Four Bricks Rook can store
your own sequences, use an auto randomizer or pattern filler,
record precise timings of unquantized rhythms, all this accesible
via four modes defining the pads behavior : Play, recall Patterns,
play Fills, or Mute your sequences.
Introduction
The Four Bricks Rook requires a standard 2x5 pin eurorack
power cable. Make sure the red stripe on the cable matches
the -12V side of the power header.
Installation
Clock input
Reset input
Fill All input
Shift CV input
Length CV input
Table CV input
Outputs
Menu potentiometer & display
Menu LEDs
Table potentiometer
Length potentiometer
Shift potentiometer
Rec button & LED /
Load Pattern
Erase button /
Save Table
A/B button & LED /
Load Fill
Function button
Quantize button /
Random Amount
Track status LEDs
Pads
Mode LEDs

I

Let’s start by feeding the module with a clock signal through the
Clock input [1]. Four modes are available, defining the pads
behavior. To select one of them press Function [I] and the
corresponding pad [L] simultaneously.
Modes
In Play mode, the four pads act as manual triggers. If recording is
engaged [F], the associated LED lights on and the triggers
performed on the pads are recorded into the buffer.
PLAY
In Pattern mode, pressing a pad will cause the module to read the
sequence off a table (as defined by the Table potentiometer and
Table CV input) instead of the current buffer. To show that a track is
reading a table, the corresponding LED [K] is acting in an inverted
way so that it stays lit & turns off when a trigger is played. To return
to the buffer’s sequence, press the pad a second time. Pressing a
pad while Rec is engaged will import the pattern to the track.
PATTERN
Similarly to Pattern mode, Fill mode reads the selected table but in a
more dynamic way as the patterns play only while the pad is pressed.
This on-the-fly reinterpretation of the tables can be recorded.
Sending a gate signal to the module’s Fill All CV input [3] will
cause all the tracks to play fills for the duration of the gate signal.
FILL
This mode mutes a track by pressing on the corresponding pad. A
muted track will have a slowly pulsating status LED. While record is
engaged, this mode also allows to erase parts of a sequence.
MUTE

A sequence length is determined by the Length potentiometer [D],
in conjunction with the bipolar Length CV input [5]. Available
sequence lengths are: 32, 24, 16, 12, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 step. By
using the Reset CV input [2] you can easily play sequences of
different lengths.
The Shift potentiometer [E] addresses parts of a recorded
sequence and can also be controlled via the Shift CV input [4]. For
example, if you record a 32 step sequence and then set the Length
potentiometer down to 8 steps, the original 32 step sequence will
be divided into four 8 step long segments. Using the Shift potentio-
meter allows you to choose between these four segments on the
fly. The figure below shows that specific exemple in a visual way:
Sequences
Steps
Segments
2 3
41

The Four Bricks Rook records unquantized sequences which
can then be quantized to the incoming clock. To quantize a track
press the Quantize button [J] and corresponding pad. You can
also erase the current buffer content of a track at any time by
pressing the Erase button [G] and corresponding pad.
Quantize & Erase
The Four Bricks Rook contains two buffers stored in a volatile
memory and a variety of tables stored in a non-volatile memory.
You can directly address 8 tables via the Table potentiometer [C]
and Table CV input [6],
To load another track with 8 other tables, you can use the Load
Pattern operation by pressing Function [I] and Load Pattern [F]
buttons simultaneously. The first menu LED (labeled LP) [B] will
turn on, while the menu potentiometer and display will help you
choose between the 16 available slots.
Load Pattern
Here is another example, Length is reduced to 3 & Shift is all the
way up. The sequence is now divided into 11 segments, and the
last one is played:
The A/B function allows you to record two separate sequences in
the buffer, like two sides of a tape. To switch between bank A and
bank B, press the A/B button [H].
A/B recording

The Save Table operation saves the buffer content into the
non-volatile memory. To do so press the Function [I] and Save
Table [G] buttons simultaneously. You can choose the tracks to
be saved by pressing the corresponding pad, the destination
table using the Table potentiometer and the slot using the menu
potentiometer and display.
The Load Fill operation allows you to choose a different slot for
the Fill mode than the one used in Pattern mode. To do so press
the Function [I] and Load Fill [H] buttons simultaneously.
For Load Pattern, Save Table & Load Fill, you have to confirm
your operation by pressing the Rec, Erase or A/B button. You
can also leave the functions wihout saving the changes by
pressing the Function button [I].
Save table & Load Fill
The module contains an internal randomizer allowing you to
create random fills. The probability of playing a fill can be
modified by pressing the Function [I] and Random Amount [J].
The menu potentiometer and display [A] will allow you to set
the amount of randomization. The figure from 0 to 9 only affects
the probability of a fill to occur, the values from A to E also affect
the table from which the fill is performed. Choosing F will cause
the module to generate totally random triggers.
The Random Amount can be set for each track individually :
while being in the random amount menu, press a pad and turn
the menu potentiometer [A] simultaneously, the corresponding
track status LED will blink to notify you that the track has its own
random amount. The random algorithm is not a pure random
generator : the probability of a fill occurring gets higher near the
end of the sequence, similary to how a drummer would do fills.
Randomizer

The buffers content, trigger lengths, random amount and pointed
slots (for fills and patterns) can be stored, so you can turn off
your rack and keep all the current state in memory for your next
session. To do so press & hold the Rec button [F] for 5 seconds.
Current state storage
By default the menu potentiometer [A] acts on the trigger
length, from 4 milliseconds to a clock-period long gate. It is
possible to have different trigger lengths per track by double
clicking the Function button [I]. The display will show a dash,
you ca then press the pad corresponding to the track you want to
edit and hold it while turning the menu potentiometer to the
desired trigger length value.
Trigger length
All the tables are user editable and can be restored by a factory
reset of the module. To do so, turn your module on while
maintaining the four pads pressed for 10 seconds then release.
All the LEDs will blink to confirm the factory reset.
Factory Tables
Musicians tables
Mudd Corp's Metropolitan
Usefull Drum Device
Konstantine's Funky Patterns
Latin Classics
Old Time Classics
Euclidean Combos
Shakmat's Basics
Richard Devine's Beats
Ucture's Raight Tree
Ripit's Nasty steps
Osica's Tech Fundamentals
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Using the Length and Shift potentiometers and CV inputs can
be compared to using a slice function in a sampler. For
example, load the last table of the "Old Time Classic" slot which
is the infamous Amen break, and mangle Length and Shift. By
doing so, it is quite easy to obtain junglish breaks with any
sound you want!
Length & Shift
Even if the Four Bricks Rook is originally a trigger sequencer, it
can also generate gates, even long ones! Use the trigger length
function along with a clock multiplication table (from slot A, B or
C). As the trigger length can be set to the length of the clock
period, playing faster triggers then the received clock will cause
the output to stay high.
Gates
Tips & tricks
Utility tables
Binary divide/multiply
Ternary divide/multiply
Mixed divide/multiply
A
B
C
Multiply 1 to 8
Swing 16th
Swing 8th
D
E
F
As some users might want to keep the utility tables (A to F)
unchanged, a partial reset can be performed to restore them.
Press the three first pads for 10 seconds while turning the
module onand only the utility tables will be restored to their
default states.

Specifications
Size
16 HP
Depth
27 mm
Current Draw
25 mA @ +12V
1 mA @ -12V
CV Inputs
-5 to 5V
Many thanks to BJ_gzp, Nico Ripit, Hugo Ucture, Mudd Corp,
Vincent Vanesse, Konstantine, Osica and Richard Devine
www.shakmat.com