252e Polyphonic Rhythm Generator

Overview

The 252e is a polyrhythmic step sequencer inspired by the Buchla 252e module. It uses concentric rings of cells to generate interlocking rhythmic patterns. Three independent clocks step through assigned rings, producing up to 4 pulse outputs and 6 CV outputs simultaneously.

Rings

The circular display shows 11 concentric rings, each with a different number of cells (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 16). Each cell can hold pulse triggers and CV values. The currently selected ring is highlighted with a gold outline.

Click a cell to cycle through pulse output assignments (P1 → P2 → P3 → P4 → off)
Right-click a cell to edit CV values (in Pulse mode, toggles all pulses on/off)

Clocks

Three independent clocks drive the sequencer. Each clock is assigned to one ring and steps through its cells at the current tempo.

Clock 1 (red) — default: Ring 3
Clock 2 (green) — default: Ring 6
Clock 3 (blue) — default: Ring 9

Use the Ring dropdown to assign a clock to any ring. The DIV slider sets a clock divider (1–8), slowing the clock by that factor. Only rings with a clock assigned will produce output.

Transport

Play — starts the sequencer
Stop — stops playback and clears output LEDs
Reset — stops playback and rewinds all ring positions to step 0 (patterns are preserved)
BPM — sets the tempo (20–300). Clocks tick at 16th-note subdivisions of this tempo

Display Modes

The display tabs change what is shown on the ring cells:

Pulses — shows which pulse outputs each cell triggers (red/green/blue/yellow)
CV 1-3 — shows CV output values 1–3 as RGB color intensity
CV 4-6 — shows CV output values 4–6 as RGB color intensity

Ring Editor

Ring selector — click a numbered button to select a ring for editing
Cells — adjust the number of cells in the selected ring (3–16)
Phase — rotates the ring's pattern by an offset
Eucl Hits — sets the number of hits for Euclidean pattern generation
Euclidean — fills the ring with a Euclidean rhythm (evenly distributed hits)
Random — fills the ring with random pulses and CV values
Clear — removes all pulses and CV values from the ring

Outputs

The outputs panel shows real-time activity:

Pulse 1–4 — trigger outputs with audio feedback (different pitches per output)
CV 1–6 — continuous value outputs (0.0–1.0), taken from the highest active cell value

Pulse Scope

A rolling waveform display showing the last 64 ticks of pulse output activity for all four pulse channels.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Space — toggle Play / Stop
R — Reset
E — apply Euclidean pattern to selected ring

Tips

Assign multiple clocks to rings with different cell counts to create complex polyrhythms (e.g., 3 vs 7 vs 11)
Use the DIV control to create slower clock divisions for longer patterns
Euclidean rhythms distribute hits as evenly as possible — try E(3,8) or E(5,12) for classic patterns
Phase offsets let you shift patterns without reprogramming them