VoltageControl

VoltageControl is a step sequencer that thinks in voltages. Every output is a control voltage, every input listens for one, and the way you patch them together is the way you program it. There are no modes.

Eight steps, four knob rows: pitch, force, time, glide. Force decides velocity, rests, and ties. Time stretches or squeezes each step, so rhythms can sit anywhere on or off the grid. Glide slides the pitch into a step, portamento with a knob per step. The plates are position sensitive: touch low for soft pressure, high for hard, and each plate remembers where you left it, a fifth lane you play by touch.

The patch bay is the soul of the instrument. Drag a cable from step 8's gate into Stop and the sequence halts at the end of a phrase. Into Reset, and touching a plate sets where the loop restarts. Touch Gate into Clock, and every tap advances one step. The Hub stacks gates and mults signals, six ports on one node. While the sequence is stopped the clock keeps firing the gate and envelope. That is not a bug; that is ratcheting.

It makes no sound of its own. It sends MIDI:

- Notes with velocity from the Force row; ties and rests come from the same knobs
- Unquantized pitch that rides the bend, with glide, or a chromatic grid if you turn quantize on
- A virtual source ("VoltageControl Out") plus direct sends to hardware and other apps
- MIDI clock in and out, with Start and Stop
- Step gates as notes on their own channel, so eight steps can drive eight drums
- Pressure to the mod wheel, the envelope to CC 11

As an AUv3 it loads in hosts such as AUM and Loopy Pro, follows the host tempo and transport, and saves with your session. The standalone plays while it is on screen and pauses when you switch apps; the AUv3 is how you run it alongside your synth.

Factory patches cover the classic moves: one-shot phrases, ping-pong, touch-controlled loop length, ratchet hold, manual clocking. Your own presets save as files you can share, and every patching move can be undo…