Infinite pattern lengths, branching sequencer paths, modulatable pattern banks, rotating of output destinations, and built-in stochasticity are amongst the tools which make this sequencer so acrobatic. It gives you the precision to sequence the typically inaccessible & can be bent for serendipity.

8 horizontal lanes feed triggers, gates, or retriggering gates (“G-1” = gates that are 1 sample short of the beat length) to the array of outputs at the right. Each adjacent silver trimming dial adjusts the probability of output pulses. The ROTATION slider (lower left) shifts the lane/output designation downard (lane 2 to output 1, and so on) and can be modulated for rhythmic variation. Usefully, it slides beyond a full rotation to land such that the top four lanes switch places with the bottom four — try using the lower four to sequence drums with an alternate pattern in the upper 4 lanes, then jam the slider from bottom to top (or send gated patterns to the CV jack) to cut between the alternate patterns.

Move the pattern slider (upper left) to recall 8 different sequences which save as you make changes. Use modulation at the neighboring jack to generate pattern variations or automate switchups.

There’s an internal clock with BPM control (it’ll match your DAW tempo to start) and a clock in jack to advance each step with a pulse signal (the BPM dial will turn to report the input tempo). The clock out jack sends a pulse with each step to clock other devices. The sync out sends a pulse as the sequence loops back, useful for resetting/syncing other devices.

This also makes it chainable, like a relay race, where one unit runs its sequence and then tags the next unit to follow in kind, and so on... until the last unit loops back to the first again. Connect the sync out (flip switch to chain mode) of unit 1 to the play jack (in toggle mode) of the next unit, repeating for as many copies as you like. At the end, loop the sync out to the play jack of the first unit. Along the way, you can split the sync out to more than one parallel unit for branching pattern creation, & you can complicate the path by sending more than one sync out to the same play jack.

It’s simple when you want that, but the SEQ-88 can get as complex as you like.