The Record function is used to record new loops of live audio. There are several ways to start and stop a recording, in the simplest case you press the Record button once to begin recording, and again to stop recording. Immediately after the second press the loop begins playing and continues until you alter it with another function.
Before a loop is recorded for the first time, the loop is in reset mode and you will see the word Reset appear in the status display. While a loop is recording you are in record mode and will see the word Record in the status display. Unless and advanced record ending option is used, when the recording completes the loop will enter play mode and Play will appear in the status display.
If you want to discard the loop and start over you can use the Reset function to stop the loop, release all loop memory and return to reset mode. From there you can use the Record function again to record another loop.
If you want to discard the loop and immediately begin recording a new one just press Record again with while the loop is playing. The memory for the previous loop is not released until you end the new recording, you can use the Undo function to cancel the new recording and return to the original loop. Note that Undo only restores the previous loop if the previous loop was not empty (in reset mode). Once a loop is reset all history of the loop is gone, you cannot undo from reset mode.
Another way to reset a loop is to press and hold the Record button. This is referred to as a "Long Press Record" and it behaves the same as the Reset function. Using long press Record to reset the loop is a common technique when using a MIDI footswitch. Since you will amost always have a footswitch bound to the Record function you don't need to waste a footswitch bound to the Reset function, you can simply do a long press of the Record footswitch to do a reset. The loop will enter record mode for about 1/2 second (or whatever the configured long press interval is) then the loop will be reset.
Once the loop has been recorded to your satisfaction, you may begin modifying it, or combining it with loops on other tracks.
The function Sustain Record is used with triggers that can communicate both a "pressed" and "released" state. The recording starts when the trigger is pressed and stops when it is released. For a footswitch that sends MIDI notes, the recording would start when the footswitch was pressed, continue while the footswitch was held, and stop when the footswitch was released. This can make it easier to record very short loops.
If the Sustain Record function is bound to a trigger that does not support press/release states, such as a MIDI program change, it will behave the same as the Record function, requiring two presses to start and ending the recording.
The preset parameter Record Mode can be used to change the way the Record function behaves. It has these values:
RecordMode=Safe should be it's own option so you can use it with both toggle and sustain recording.
The rate shifting feature allows you to adjust the playback and recording rate of the loop so that both the perceived pitch and tempo of the loop change. This is similar to the Half Speed function except that you are not limited to a single rate shift of 1 octave down.
Rate shifting may be controlled in several ways using these functions.
The Rate Up and Rate Down functions move the rate up or down by one semitone relative to the current rate.
The Rate Next and Rate Prev functions select rates defined in the Rate Sequence preset parameter. A rate sequence is a space delimited list of numbers which represent positive or Negative rate changes in semitone increments. For example a rate of "1" is one semitone above normal, a rate of "-7" is 7 semitones below normal (or a perfect fifth lower). The rate sequence "wraps" on the edges so if you are on the last rate in the sequence, Rate Next will move to first rate in the sequence.
The Rate Normal function returns the rate to normal, no matter how it was shifted.
Perhaps the most useful function is Rate Shift. This allows you to use a keyboard controller to instantly access a large range of rates spread over several octaves. You normally bind a MIDI note event to the Rate Shift function, this becomes the rate center note. When you press the rate center note, the rate returns to normal. Where it gets interesting is that the notes above and below the center note are automatically assigned to semitone rate shifts relative to the center note. Notes below the center note lower the rate, notes above raise the rate. This allows you to "play" the loop chromatically, similar to using a sampler.
Note that Mobius will attempt to bind rate shift functions in a 4 octave range on either side of the center note. For best results, it is recommended that the center note use a MIDI channel that is not being used for any other functions. If a rate shift note is already assigned to another Mobius function, the previous function will have priority. To avoid these conflicts use a different channel.
When the rate is shifted, the playback of the loop will be affected by the setting of the Rate Shift Retrigger preset parameter. If this parameter is checked, then the loop will be retriggered whenever the rate is shifted. This makes it behave like a sampler. If the parameter is not checked, the rate is simply shifted without retriggering.
NOTE: Pitch Shifting is provided in release 1.24 as a "technology preview". There are still bugs in it and I do not consider it ready for real use. Still you may find it interesting to get a sense for what will eventually be provided.
Pitch shifting is very similar to Rate Shifting except that the pitch is changed without changing the tempo of the loop. In all other respects the functions and parameters used to control pitch shifting are identical to those for rate shifting.
Pitch shifting may be controlled in several ways using these functions.
The Pitch Up and Pitch Down functions move the pitch up or down by one semitone relative to the current pitch.
The Pitch Next and Pitch Prev functions select pitches defined in the Pitch Sequence preset parameter. The Pitch Sequence the same as the Rate Sequence described in Rate Shifting.
The Pitch Normal function returns the rate to normal, no matter how it was shifted.
Finally Pitch Shift allows you to use a keyboard controller to instantly access a large range of pitches spread over several octaves. The Pitch Shift function is bound to a MIDI note in the same way as the Rate Shift function. See Rate Shifting for more information on how the notes are selected, and the issues this can cause.
When the pitch is shifted, the playback of the loop will be affected by the setting of the Pitch Shift Retrigger preset parameter. If this parameter is checked, then the loop will be retriggered whenever the pitch is shifted. If the parameter is not checked, the pitch is simply shifted without retriggering.
The Bounce Record function allows you to capture the output of several tracks, mix them together, and copy the result into an empty track. This is similar to the bounce down mixing technique used with a multi track recorder.
When the Bounce Record function is first called, it begins capturing the output of any track that is currently playing. The track output is mixed together "post fader" so the Output Level control of each track may be used to control the track mix in the recording.
When Bounce Record is called a second time, the captured and mixed track output is copied to the first empty track (from the left). The source tracks are then immediately muted, and the new track immediately begins playing. This new track contains a single loop with the captured output from the other tracks. This loop can then be manipulated as usual.
Any number of bounce recordings can be made, but you must have at least one empty track. If there are no empty tracks when the second Bounce Record is called, the recording is thrown away.
Note that bounce recording is a special kind of "global mode" that is not related to any particular track or loop. While you are bounce recording, you can be manipulating tracks and loops in any way, including recording new loops, multiplying, overdubbing, triggering, and rate shifting. Mobius is recording the entire process.
Bounce recording can be especially useful with the Retrigger, Rate Shift and Pitch Shift functions. Once a loop is created, you can play a chord progression using Rate Shift or Pitch Shift, record the result of that performance, and bounce this into a new track to serve as a background loop.
The timing of the bouce recording may be controlled with the Bounce Quantize parameter. Bounce quantization is not affected by the Quantize parameter that is used with other functions. This is because bounce quantization is almost always set to Loop or Cycle, but you may not wish to use this same quantization for the functions that build the loop.