rp6 includes a built-in software step sequencer that plays your pads for you in a repeating pattern. Think of it as a little drum machine layered on top of the P-6: you paint a rhythm onto a grid, press play, and rp6 fires the pads in time.
It is a host-side sequencer — the timing and the pattern live in rp6 on your computer, and it triggers the P-6's (or the emulator's) sounds. It does not program the P-6's own internal patterns.
Because both rp6's sequencer and the P-6's own sequencer would fight over the timing, run one or the other, not both at once.
The sequencer is one of rp6's toggleable "racks". Show or hide it with the SEQ button in the bottom bar (or press Ctrl+Shift+S). When lit, the sequencer panel is visible.
You can also dock the sequencer as a column to the right of the pads (see Docking below).
At the top of the panel is a row of transport and pattern controls:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Play/Stop (walking-shoes key) | Starts and stops the sequencer. The shoes "walk" while it plays. |
| TRK knob | Number of tracks shown (1–8). |
| SEQ knob | Which saved sequence slot is loaded (S01–S16). |
| Copy (⧉) | Duplicates the current sequence into the next free slot. |
| Clear (🗑) | Empties all the steps. Ctrl+click deletes the whole sequence. |
| SAVE | Saves the current sequence (name + tempo). |
| Dock (▣) | Docks/undocks the sequencer beside the pads. |
Below that is one track row per active track. Each track row has, from left to right:
- A mute key (speaker icon) — tap to mute/unmute that track.
- A bar-length key (a number) — tap to cycle the track's length 1→4 bars.
- A pad key (e.g.
A1) — names the pad this track plays, and is how you change it (see below). - The step grid — one row of 16 cells per bar. Tap a cell to turn that step on or off.
The whole track is tinted in the bank color of the pad it plays, so you can tell tracks apart at a glance.
Each track plays exactly one pad. To change which pad a track plays:
- Tap the track's pad key (the one showing
A1,B3, etc.). It lights up solidly in its accent color — this is the armed state, meaning "waiting for a pad." - Tap any pad on the pad grid (or press the pad on your P-6 hardware). That pad becomes the track's new sample.
- The track key returns to normal automatically.
Because arming is a deliberate two-step gesture, an accidental pad tap can't silently change a track's sample. If you change your mind, tap the armed track key again to cancel, or arm a different track to move the arm.
Tip: this works with taps only — no keyboard, no right-click — so it's fully usable on a touchscreen, on the web build, and on Android.
- Set how many tracks you want with the TRK knob (drag it, scroll it, or focus it and use the arrow keys).
- Assign each track a pad (see above).
- Tap step cells to place hits. Each cell is one 16th note; a row is one bar of 16 steps.
- Press Play. The playhead sweeps across the grid (a bright, moving cell) and rp6 fires the pads as it passes lit steps.
Each track can be 1 to 4 bars long, set with its bar-length key. Tracks loop independently at their own length — so a 1-bar hi-hat can run against a 3-bar bass line, and they drift in and out of phase. This is called polymeter and is an easy way to get evolving patterns.
The sequencer runs at the global TEMPO set on the main toolbar knob. Change the tempo there and the sequencer follows.
Tap a track's mute key to silence it without erasing its steps. The key greys out and shows a muted-speaker icon; tap again to bring it back. Great for building up or breaking down a groove live.
rp6 keeps 16 sequence slots (S01–S16).
- SEQ knob — choose which slot is loaded. If you change slots while the sequencer is playing, the switch is quantized to the next bar so it stays in time (the SEQ display pulses until the change lands).
- SAVE — stores the current sequence, letting you give it a name.
- Copy (⧉) — duplicates the current sequence into the next slot, so you can make a variation without disturbing the original.
- Clear (🗑) — empties the steps of the current sequence. Ctrl+click deletes the sequence entirely and closes the gap in the slot list.
Your working sequence is autosaved when you quit and reloaded next launch, so you can pick up where you left off.
Sequences are stored per sound set: the P-6 hardware, and each emulator kit you load, keep their own separate list of slots. Switching backends loads that backend's own sequences — they never mix.
Tap the Dock key (▣) to move the sequencer into a column on the right-hand side of the window, next to the pad grid, instead of stacking below. The pads shrink to share the space. Tap it again to undock. This is handy on wide displays where you want the pads and the sequence visible together.
- Show/hide sequencer: SEQ bottom-bar button / Ctrl+Shift+S
- Change a track's sample: tap the track's pad key, then tap a pad
- Cancel arming: tap the armed track key again
- Place a hit: tap a step cell
- Mute a track: tap its speaker key
- Track length: tap its number key (cycles 1→4 bars)
- Number of tracks: TRK knob (1–8)
- Switch sequence: SEQ knob (quantized to the bar while playing)
- Duplicate sequence: Copy (⧉)
- Clear steps: Clear (🗑) — Ctrl+click to delete the sequence
- Save: SAVE
- Play/Stop: the walking-shoes key