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The scanning green line sweeps its circular path to encounter markers organized on concentric rings and output trigger pulses to sequence rhythms. Each marker can be dragged to greater magnitudes to affect gate lengths or control voltages on a secondary output jack. And, at the push of a button, the whole thing goes polyphonic for interesting routing options. A case of convergent evolution, the Sonar Sequencer might look like a tool for submarine guidance, but it was designed to maximize freedom in rhythm design while minimizing the difficulty of going off-grid.
Modulation allows the markers to tremble and bounce, the tempo to accelerate and stall, markers to go in and out of a pattern as rings multiply or recede, and patterns of the MEM dial to take turns and create variations. Sync, clock, and subdivision options allow control of the spinning green line, kicking it back to 12:00 or on to the next of up to 16 subdivisions.
As you dig into it, the Sonar Sequencer will push you to rhythms that are normally off the radar and allow possibilities that other sequencers cannot replicate. It is straightforward, but is also quite flexible and can be bent into alternate usages. For instance, the BPM slider can be dropped to zero while the markers can be modulated with a constant voltage so that the whole thing operates like a turntable. Feeding the CV jack of the BPM slider with an envelope while sending the sync in jack a trigger pulse allows this device to be used as a fill generator.