Clockwork

Clockwork is a 6-channel polyrhythmic timing and modulation card for the Music Thing Modular Workshop Computer, inspired by ALM Pamela’s Pro Workout.

It turns the Computer into a central clock, gate generator, LFO source, and USB MIDI-to-CV interface. It provides 6 independent outputs, each capable of generating clock divisions/multiplications, Euclidean rhythms, custom LFO shapes, and decay envelopes. It can sync to external clock pulses, USB MIDI clock, or run on its own internal BPM flywheel.

What does it do?

6 outputs: Independently configurable for gates, ratchets, envelopes, LFOs, random voltages, or CV delay lines.
Euclidean sequencers: Built-in Euclidean engines per channel (0 to 16 steps) with active fills and offsets.
Auto-sync clock: Automatically locks onto incoming USB MIDI clock or external pulse clock, with fallback to an internal clock.
Web MIDI Editor: A browser-based editor (web/index.html) to configure all channels, scales, and logic routing visually.

How to control it

Clockwork uses the Workshop Computer's knobs and its 3-position toggle switch (UP, MIDDLE, and spring-loaded momentary DOWN) to navigate pages and adjust settings.

1. Page Navigation

The interface cycles through 7 pages: Channel 1 to 6 and the Global Page.

Tap DOWN: Cycles forward through the channels (indicated by a single lit LED).
Medium Tap DOWN (hold slightly and release): Cycles backward.
Global Page: Reached at the end of the cycle (all 6 LEDs will pulse gently).

2. The Knobs (3 Switch Positions)

The knobs control different parameters depending on the toggle switch position:

MIDDLE Position (Rhythm):
- Main: Speed Modifier (Divisions /2048 to /2, straight x1 at noon, and Multipliers x2 to x128).
- X: Euclidean Steps (0 to 16; 0 runs a straight clock).
- Y: Context-dependent (see "Double Duty" below).
UP Position (Sound Shape):
- Main: Waveform Shape (Gate, Ratchet, Sine, Triangle, Saw, Envelope, S&H, etc.).
- X: Output Level (bipolar -100% to +100% on outputs 1-4, phase delay on outputs 5-6).
- Y: Wave Parameter (pulse width, decay time, or math logic operator depending on active shape).
- Play/Pause Shortcut: Flicking the switch UP and releasing it back to MIDDLE quickly (<400ms) starts and stops the clock.
DOWN Position (Held - Advanced Settings): Hold the toggle DOWN and turn the knobs:
- Main: Pattern Loop Length (Clamps loop length from 1 to 64 steps, or 0 for infinite).
- X: Trigger Probability (0% to 100%, acts as a channel mute).
- Y: Context-dependent (see "Double Duty" below).

3. Double Duty (Euclidean Modes)

Knob Y changes function depending on whether Euclidean steps are active:

Rhythm Mode (MIDDLE toggle), Knob Y:
- Euclidean ON (Steps > 0): Controls Fills (number of active trigger steps).
- Euclidean OFF (Steps = 0): Controls Phase Offset (shifts the LFO wave/gate phase by 0..255).
Advanced Mode (DOWN held), Knob Y:
- Euclidean ON (Steps > 0): Controls Step Offset (shifts the Euclidean pattern rotation forward or backward).
- Euclidean OFF (Steps = 0): Controls Quantizer Scale (snaps LFO or random CV outputs to musical scales).

4. Global Settings (All LEDs pulsing)

MIDDLE position: Main = Master BPM; X = Swing; Y = Humanize (timing jitter).
UP position: Main = External Clock PPQN; X = Random Seed; Y = Sync Source.
DOWN position (Held): Preset Menu. Main = Select preset slot (1-6) or Reset. X = Turn left to Load, or right to Save. Release the toggle to execute.

External CV Inputs (Jacks 1-4)

Jacks 1 to 4 correspond to Channels 1 to 4. When a patch cable is connected, it overrides default behavior for that channel:

CV Modulation (Default): The incoming CV modulates the Wave Parameter (Knob Y in UP mode), mixing with the physical knob value.
External S&H / Smooth: The channel will sample the voltage on its input jack instead of using the internal random generator.
Delay Input: The Delay shape records and delays the CV signal coming into its own input jack.
Math Carrier: The Math shape carrier signal switches to the input jack voltage instead of the internal LFO.
External Triggers: If a channel's speed modifier is set to a cross-channel trigger, a cable in its jack allows you to use external analog triggers (with a +3V Schmitt threshold) to clock that channel's loop directly.

Special Speed Modifier Settings (Right Side of Wheel)

Rotating the Main Speed knob in MIDDLE mode past x128 accesses these special modes:

Cross-Channel Triggers (Outputs 1-6): Clocks this channel's loop from the gate transitions of another channel. If a cable is plugged into this channel's dedicated input jack, it uses the physical trigger instead.
MIDI Mode: Clocks the channel from incoming USB MIDI notes. It tracks the last played MIDI note (monophonic legato note-stacking) and automatically maps output shapes:
- S&H shape: Outputs calibrated 1V/Octave Pitch CV.
- Smooth shape: Outputs MIDI Velocity CV (0V to 6V).
- Envelope / Log Env shapes: Generates decay envelopes scaled by note velocity.
- Gate shape: Generates note gates.

Output Waveforms & Parameter Reference

When selecting shapes, the active shape is displayed on the card's 6 LEDs as a 3x2 matrix (LED 0 to 5):

Row 1: [LED 0] [LED 1]
Row 2: [LED 2] [LED 3]
Row 3: [LED 4] [LED 5]

Below, ● indicates the LED is ON and ○ indicates the LED is OFF.

1. Analog Outputs (Jacks 1-4)

These swing bipolar (-6V to +6V) for smooth waveforms, or unipolar (0V to +6V) for gate/envelope shapes.

Index	Shape Name	LED Matrix (3x2)	Y Knob Parameter
0	Gate	○○ ○○ ○○	Duty cycle / pulse width
1	Ratchet	●○ ○○ ○○	Subdivisions (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 16 pulses)
2	Sine	○● ○○ ○○	Phase offset (0° to 360°)
3	Triangle	●● ○○ ○○	Skew (falling saw ↔ triangle ↔ rising saw)
4	Saw ↑	○○ ●○ ○○	Curve skew (logarithmic ↔ linear ↔ exponential)
5	Saw ↓	●○ ●○ ○○	Curve skew (logarithmic ↔ linear ↔ exponential)
6	Trapezoid	○● ●○ ○○	Peak flat sustain duration
7	Hump	●● ●○ ○○	Peak center skew
8	Envelope	○○ ○● ○○	Linear decay duration
9	Log Env	●○ ○● ○○	Exponential decay duration
10	S&H	○● ○● ○○	No effect (holds random step CV). Cal. 1V/Oct in MIDI mode
11	Smooth	●● ○● ○○	Smoothing/slew rate. Mapped to MIDI Velocity in MIDI mode
12	Delay	○○ ●● ○○	CV delay feedback level
13	Math	●○ ●● ○○	Selects math operator (Mix, Sub, Min, Max, Mult, AND, OR, XOR)

2. Digital Gate Outputs (Jacks 5-6)

These swing unipolar (0V to +6V).

Index	Shape Name	LED Matrix (3x2)	Y Knob Parameter
0	Gate	○○ ○○ ○○	Pulse width / duty cycle
1	Ratchet	●○ ○○ ○○	Spacing between double triggers
2	Trigger	○● ○○ ○○	Phase delay (trigger is fixed at 10ms)
3	Burst	●● ○○ ○○	Pulse count (1 to 8 triggers)
4	Random	○○ ●○ ○○	Max random gate width scale
5	Utility	●○ ●○ ○○	Mode select (1 PPQN, 4 PPQN, 24 PPQN, Run Gate)

Math Operators (Analog Shape 13)

When set to Math, you combine the active channel's carrier wave with another channel's output (selected using the Speed knob). Knob Y selects the operator:

Mix/Sum (+): Sums both channels.
Difference (-): Subtracts modulator from carrier.
Minimum (min): Outputs the lowest voltage of the two.
Maximum (max): Outputs the highest voltage of the two.
Multiply (*): Bipolar ring modulator / VCA logic.
AND (&): High (+6V) if both channels are positive, otherwise Low (-6V).
OR (|): High (+6V) if either channel is positive, otherwise Low (-6V).
XOR (^): High (+6V) if only one channel is positive, otherwise Low (-6V).

Quantizer Scales (Analog channels, steps = 0)

Turn Knob Y in Advanced mode (DOWN held) to snap smooth random walks or LFOs to musical scales: OFF (Raw CV), CHRO (Chromatic), MAJ (Major), MPEN (Major Pentatonic), MIN (Natural Minor), MINP (Minor Pentatonic), DOR (Dorian), MIXO (Mixolydian), LYD (Lydian), PHRY (Phrygian), HMIN (Harmonic Minor).

USB MIDI CC Map

Map parameters to your DAW or MIDI controller using these MIDI CC numbers:

Global Settings

BPM: CC 70
Swing: CC 71
Humanize: CC 72
Seed: CC 73
Sync Mode: CC 74

Channel Settings (Outputs 1-6)

Each channel maps to 9 sequential CCs: Speed, Steps, Fills, Shape, Parameter, Probability, Scale, Loop Length, Level.

Output 1: CC 10 to 18
Output 2: CC 20 to 28
Output 3: CC 30 to 38
Output 4: CC 40 to 48
Output 5: CC 50 to 58
Output 6: CC 60 to 68

Web MIDI Manager

Open web/index.html in Chrome or Edge.

How to Connect:

Connect a USB-C data cable from the card's USB port to your computer.
Open the page. It will automatically search for and connect to Clockwork MIDI. (Note: close other DAW or MIDI applications if the port fails to open).

Key Features:

Real-time Telemetry & Scope: Live oscilloscope view of the voltages running out of all 6 outputs.
Euclidean Orbits: Interactive rings showing Euclidean steps, active fills, and phase rotations.
Preset Manager: Save and load patch configurations, name your presets, and back them up directly to your computer as files.
Advanced Routing: Configure cross-channel trigger routing, quantizer scales, and mathematical logic operations using simple dropdowns.
Instant Sync: Any changes made in the web browser interface update the hardware immediately.

Created for the Music Thing Modular Workshop System by Vincent Maurer (https://github.com/vincent-maurer/) with assistance from Google Gemini.

Thank you to everyone on the Workshop System Discord server and especially to Tom Whitwell for the module and Chris Johnson (https://github.com/chrisgjohnson) for the ComputerCard library and the great support.

Workshop Computer Program Cards

Clockwork

README

Clockwork

What does it do?

How to control it

1. Page Navigation

2. The Knobs (3 Switch Positions)

3. Double Duty (Euclidean Modes)

4. Global Settings (All LEDs pulsing)

External CV Inputs (Jacks 1-4)

Special Speed Modifier Settings (Right Side of Wheel)

Output Waveforms & Parameter Reference

1. Analog Outputs (Jacks 1-4)

2. Digital Gate Outputs (Jacks 5-6)

Math Operators (Analog Shape 13)

Quantizer Scales (Analog channels, steps = 0)

USB MIDI CC Map

Global Settings

Channel Settings (Outputs 1-6)

Web MIDI Manager

How to Connect:

Key Features: