Chapter 7 - Track Parameters¶
Every track (Chord, Melody, Bass) exposes the same set of parameters. This chapter is the reference for what each one does.
You've already met these parameters in passing in Performance Mode (Chapter 6), where the PARAMETER Knobs drive the active track's parameters live. This chapter goes deeper: every parameter, what it controls, its range, and any track-specific quirks you should know about.
The mode chapters that follow - Chord (Chapter 8), Melody (Chapter 9), and Bass (Chapter 11) - each introduce their track's PARAMS menu; when a parameter needs more detail, they refer you back here.
How to reach the parameters¶
There are two ways to change any parameter on any track.
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Live edits - the PARAMETER Knobs. When a track is active (Chord mode, Melody mode, or Bass mode; or via the active track in Performance mode), the 8 PARAMETER Knobs each expose two parameters - a primary on rotate and a secondary on press-and-rotate.
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The PARAMS menu. From any mode, press PARAMS to open the full parameter list. Grouped into categories, you can select parameters with the CONTROL Knob, then press-and-rotate CONTROL to change values.
Useful shortcuts¶
- Press a PARAMETER knob to jump the highlight straight to that knob's primary parameter
- Press and hold CONTROL and press a PARAMETER knob for the secondary parameter.
Every parameter lives here, including toggle-style items that don't sit on a knob directly.
Inside PARAMS - the button controls¶
Track Params mode has 5 CONTROL buttons assigned as:
| RESET | LOCK/UNLOCK | |
| CATEGORY | PLAY/STOP | BACK |
RESET¶
Restores parameter defaults at one of two scopes: just the currently selected parameter, or the whole track.
Pressing RESET show a confirmation screen where you pick the reset scope.
- PARAM - resets just the currently-highlighted parameter to its default. Useful when you've dialled something into an odd corner and want a quick undo without losing the rest of your work.
- TRACK - resets every parameter on the current track to its factory defaults. A hard reset of the whole track's parameter set. (Not including LOCKED parameters, see below.)
- YES - commit the reset with the chosen scope.
- CANCEL - back out without changing anything.
LOCK / UNLOCK¶
Toggles a lock on the currently-selected parameter. When locked, live edits from the PARAMETER Knobs are ignored - you can't accidentally shift the locked value mid-performance by brushing a knob.
Locked parameters show a small lock icon next to their value in the list. Press LOCK again to unlock.
LOCK is only available for the Primary and Secondary parameters.
CATEGORY¶
Jumps between the parameter categories, saving you the scroll. There are two methods:
- Quick press CATEGORY - jumps the selection to the first parameter of the next category.
- Hold CATEGORY and rotate the CONTROL Knob - cycles through categories in either direction.
Combined with the PARAMETER Knob shortcut for jumping to individual parameters, CATEGORY makes it fast to move around large parameter lists without scrolling item-by-item.
PLAY / STOP¶
The transport, same as everywhere else. Toggles the sequencer so you can hear parameter changes without leaving PARAMS.
BACK¶
Returns to the parent mode. Any changes you made are already saved.
The Categories¶
Parameters are organised into three main categories, in this order:
- PRIMARY - parameters that affect individual notes and steps. This includes the 8 primaries (Pitch, Gate, Velocity, Slice, Octave, Channel, Delay, Layers) plus a few directly related parameters.
- SECONDARY - parameters that affect the sequence as a whole. The 7 knob secondaries (Steps, Rotate, Jump, Direction, Time, Mutes, Accents).
- LOCKS - three "override" parameters that pin the track's voicing against the live chord. Covered in Chapter 8; briefly recapped below.
Plus, on the Melody Track, an additional STEPPER family (one per primary parameter) that Chapter 10 covers in depth.
Knob map¶
| Knob | Primary (rotate) | Secondary (press-and-rotate) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OCTAVE | Tempo (global; not per-track) |
| 2 | CHANNEL | STEPS |
| 3 | DELAY | ROTATE |
| 4 | LAYERS | JUMP |
| 5 | PITCH | DIRECTION |
| 6 | GATE | TIME |
| 7 | VELOCITY | MUTES |
| 8 | SLICE | ACCENTS |
Tempo is a device-wide setting rather than a track parameter; changing it always sticks. See Chapter 13.
Primary parameters - the note shapers¶
These are the parameters you reach for when you want to change how notes sound - pitch, timing, volume, layering. Eight of them live on the PARAMETER Knobs' primary layer:
PITCH¶
The scale degree offset for each played note, relative to the current chord's root. Range: –8 to +8 (0 = root of the chord).
Positive values move the note up the scale; negative values move it down. Combined with the chord chain, PITCH is how the Melody Track walks a musical line up and down a chord progression while staying in key.
Default: 0 (root).
GATE¶
Note length, expressed as a fraction of the step's total duration. Range: 1 Tick to 2 Bars.
At the low end, notes are short staccato stabs; at the high end, notes ring across their whole step and overlap into the next. GATE is the parameter that gives a phrase its articulation.
Default: 7 Ticks.
VELOCITY¶
How loudly a note plays, on the standard MIDI 0–127 scale.
Applies to every note the track produces. If you want per-step variation, use the Velocity Stepper (Chapter 10) or a Modulator (Chapter 12) targeting VELOCITY.
If you want the incoming velocity you played on your keyboard to reach UNA's output, turn on Velocity Sensitivity in Menu > CONFIG (Chapter 17).
Default: 60.
SLICE¶
Divides a step into sub-steps ("slices") to create sub-divisions. Range: 0–4 (0 = off, no slicing; higher values = more slices per step).
The way each slice sounds is controlled by the SLICE TYPE parameter (below).
Default: 0 (no slicing).
OCTAVE¶
Vertical position of the track's notes, expressed as an offset from the natural octave. Range: –3 to +3.
At 0, the track plays around C3; positive values move it up, negative down.
The exact octave a note lands in depends on the current chord's root plus this offset - unless LOCK OCTAVE is on (see Locks below), in which case OCTAVE fully controls vertical position.
Default: 0 (C3).
CHANNEL¶
Which MIDI channel the track transmits on. Range: 1–16.
Each track has an independent MIDI channel, so you can route them to different synths in your rig (Chapter 15).
Defaults: 1 (Chord ), 2 (Melody), 3 (Bass).
Where channels are stored. By default each patch stores its own channels. If Menu > CONFIG > Track Channels is set to Global (Chapter 17), the three channels are device-wide instead: editing CHANNEL changes the shared channel for that track, and the value stored in the patch is left untouched.
DELAY¶
A per-step timing offset that pushes the track's notes forward or back in time, applied according to the DELAY TYPE parameter (below). Range: 0–99%.
At 0 there is no offset; higher values delay more. It's useful when combining with other tracks to create alternating beats.
Combine with DELAY TYPE = SWING for a swing feel; leave at ALL for a straight offset, pushing all notes back.
Default: 0%.
LAYERS¶
How many notes the track plays at once, drawn from the current chord. Range: 1–4.
At 1, a single-note line is played (typical for Melody and Bass). Higher values add stacked notes - useful for octave doubling on Bass or for beefier melody lines.
Default: 1.
The Chord Track has an "As Played" that matches the layers to the number of notes in the chord. So if you press 10 keys, a 10 note chord will be heard.
Additional "Behaviour" Parameters¶
These parameters live in the PRIMARY group in the PARAMS menu but don't sit on a PARAMETER Knob directly.
MODE (Chord Track only)¶
Toggles the Chord Track between CHORD (rhythmic) and DRONE (sustained pad). Chapter 8 covers the full behaviour of both.
Values: CHORD (default), DRONE.
On the Melody and Bass tracks, MODE is disabled.
VOICE MODE¶
Sets whether the track voices notes polyphonically or monophonically.
- POLY (default) - multiple notes can overlap. Standard behaviour, good for pads, melodies, and lines that use LAYERS.
- MONO - only one note at a time; a new note-on cuts the previous note off. Good for classic mono synth leads and basslines where you want each note to bite cleanly.
DELAY TYPE¶
Controls how the DELAY value is applied across the sequence.
- ALL - DELAY nudges every step by the same amount.
- SWING (default) - DELAY offsets only the even-numbered steps (steps 2, 4, 6…), giving a swing feel. The higher the DELAY, the more shuffled the pattern.
SLICE TYPE¶
When the SLICE value is greater than 0, SLICE TYPE picks which subdivision behaviour is used. Range: one of several ornament algorithms (Chops, strums, ratchets, and trills).
Default: CHOP.
Secondary parameters - the sequence shapers¶
Where primary parameters affect individual steps, secondary parameters affect the whole sequence - its length, order, rhythm pattern, and speed. All seven live on the PARAMETER Knobs' secondary layer (press-and-rotate).
STEPS¶
The length of the track's sequence, in steps. Range: 1–32.
Default: 4.
Combined with the TIME parameter, this decides how long a full loop lasts. Shorter STEPS with a fast TIME gives a busy, repetitive loop; longer STEPS with a slow TIME gives a spread-out, breathing part.
It's worth noting that STEPS doesn't limit the length of the whole sequence, just the length of the basic sequence, the true sequence length (i.e. before it repeats) can depend on other factors, such as modulators, or independent lengths of the individual Stepper patterns. Independent pattern lengths means that patterns will repeat at different points, creating much longer sequences. This is the joy of parametric sequencing.
Chord Track quirk: default is 32 - the Chord Track's STEPS defines the length of the rhythmic pattern used for Mutes and Accents.
ROTATE¶
Shifts the whole step pattern forwards or backwards without changing its content. Range: 0–32. At 0, no rotation; higher values move step 1 further into the sequence. Useful for landing a pattern's downbeat on a different beat of the bar.
Default: 0.
JUMP¶
Skips through the sequence in jumps rather than one step at a time. Range: 1–3. At 1, plays every step in order; at 2, plays every other step; at 3, every third. Combines with DIRECTION for polyrhythm-style walks.
Default: 1 (no jump). Chord Track quirk: locked to 1.
DIRECTION¶
The order steps play in. Range of options: Forward, Reverse, Switch Inclusive, Switch Exclusive.
Forward is the natural order (1, 2, 3…); reverse plays backwards; Switch plays forwards then backward, repeating the end notes (inclusive) or not (exclusive).
Default: forward.
Disabled for Chord Track, locked to forward.
TIME¶
How long each step lasts, expressed as a musical duration (1/16, ⅛, dotted eighth, ¼, and so on). This is the single biggest control over how fast your track plays.
Together with STEPS, it decides the total length of a loop. Different values on different tracks give you polyrhythms without doing anything else.
Default: 8 (notes per bar).
MUTES¶
A 32-step Euclidean mute pattern that decides which steps of the sequence don't play - silencing chosen steps to shape a rhythm.
Range: 0–64 patterns.
When you rotate MUTES, a live preview of the pattern appears on-screen: 32 small bars, each either tall (playing) or short (muted). Combined with STEPS and ACCENTS, it's one way to turn a sequence of notes into a groove.
Default: 0 (all steps play).
ACCENTS¶
A 32-step Euclidean accent pattern that decides which steps of the sequence play louder - the opposite twin of MUTES.
Range: 0–64 patterns.
Same live-preview visualisation: 32 small bars, taller ones = accented steps.
The Accents Amount Global (Chapter 17) sets how much louder an accented step is compared to normal.
Default: 0 (no accents).
LOCKS - the override layer¶
Three "override" parameters that pin the track's voicing against whatever chord is playing:
- LOCK OCTAVE - fixes the octave to whatever OCTAVE is set to, ignoring the live chord's octave (root).
- LOCK NOTE - overrides the root pitch class. Values: OFF (default), C–B (pick one of the 12 semitones).
- LOCK CHORD - overrides the chord's intervals. One of 42 chord qualities (Major, Minor, 7th, 9th, sus4, dim, etc.). Same list as Chord Select.
All three default to OFF and reset to OFF on a fresh capture so recorded material plays back uncoloured. Locks are used for compositional tricks like pedal points (LOCK NOTE), forced octave range (LOCK OCTAVE), or "every chord plays as augmented" (LOCK CHORD).
STEPPER parameters (Melody Track only)¶
Each of the 8 primary knob parameters (Pitch, Gate, Velocity, Slice, Octave, Channel, Delay, Layers) has its own Stepper - a 32-step lane of per-step values.
Chapter 10 is the deep dive on the Stepper: how to edit, morph, load, save, and shape each lane.
The Stepper appears in the PARAMS menu as a group per parameter (PITCH STEPPER, GATE STEPPER, etc.), each containing:
- LENGTH - the number of active steps in this lane.
- ROTATION - shift the lane forwards or backwards.
- MORPH AMOUNT / MORPH FREQ - wave-based transformation of the lane values.
- SHAPE RANGE / SHAPE INVERT - scale and invert the morphed values.
- FLT EUCLID / FLT DEVIATE - Euclidean thinning and randomised deviation.
- ACTIVE - turn this lane on or off without losing its values.
If you're editing individual step values, you'll almost always do it from the Stepper's own EDIT sub-mode rather than this parameter menu - but the menu is here for when you want to tweak a lane's overall shape.
Cross-references¶
- Chapter 5 - Core Concepts: the mental model behind primary/secondary and how parameters relate to tracks.
- Chapter 6 - Performance Mode: the PARAMETER Knobs in live use; Temporary and Targeted edits.
- Chapter 8 - Chord Mode: full LOCKS deep dive; MODE (CHORD/DRONE); Chord Track–specific parameter behaviour.
- Chapter 9 - Melody Mode: the Melody Track's PARAMS entry point.
- Chapter 10 - The Stepper: per-step editing on the Melody Track.
- Chapter 11 - Bass Mode: the Bass Track's PARAMS entry point plus IMPROV parameters.
- Chapter 12 - Modulate: how Modulators target any parameter to evolve it over time.