awake-ashsynth

Awake-AshSynth

Demos: Demo 1 · Demo 2

A norns script that pairs the Awake sequencer with the AshSynth engine.
It follows the same sequencing structure as awake-passersby, but uses the Ash engine instead of Passersby.

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Overview

Awake uses two overlapping sequencers:

Layer	Role
Top (one)	Melody. Sound only triggers when this layer has a note
Bottom (two)	Pitch offset. Added to the top layer to set the final pitch

final pitch = scale[ one[step] + two[step] ]

A bottom value of 0 is not a rest — it means offset 0. If the top layer has a note, sound still plays even when the bottom is 0.

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Requirements

• norns
• ashsynth must also be installed (ashsynth/lib/Engine_Ash.sc)
• The SuperCollider engine file should live in ashsynth only. A separate Engine_Ash.sc inside awake-ashsynth will cause duplicate engine errors
• Grid (optional): monome grid or toga integration
• lib/ash_engine.lua and lib/beatclock-crow.lua are included in this script

Installation

norns/dust/code/awake-ashsynth/   ← this script
norns/dust/code/ashsynth/         ← Ash engine (required)

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Engine / Sound

• Engine: engine.name = "Ash" — same as ashsynth
• Parameters: lib/ash_engine.lua — same Ash parameter set as ashsynth
• Differences from ashsynth
  • No awake halfsecond (softcut) delay loop — direct engine output
  • noteOff → noteOn each step to retrigger ADSR (sequencer behavior)
  • TIE support for legato / glide between steps
  • SOUND mode shortcuts: cutoff, reso, drive, reverb, delay, fdbk

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Controls

E1 cycles modes: STEP → LOOP → SOUND → OPTION

STEP

Input	Action
E2	Move edit position
E3	Change note value (current channel: one / two)
K2	Switch one ↔ two channel
K2 + K1 hold	Clear entire pattern (including TIE)
K3	Morph (current channel)
K3 + K1 hold	Random (resets TIE)
K1 hold + E2	Probability

LOOP

Input	Action
E2	Top loop length
E3	Bottom loop length
K2	Reset playhead
K2 + K1 hold	Reset clock
K3	Random jump

SOUND

Input	Action
K2 / K3	Select parameter pair
E2 / E3	Adjust selected Ash parameters

Shortcuts: cutoff, reso, drive, reverb, delay, fdbk

OPTION

Input	Action
E2	BPM
E3	Root note
K1 hold + E2	Step length
K1 hold + E3	Scale

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Grid (toga / monome)

Note editing

• Top 8 rows (or upper half of a 16-row grid): one pattern
• Bottom 8 rows (or lower half of a 16-row grid): two pattern
• Press a step (column) to toggle a note. Press again to delete

On an 8-row grid, use K2 to switch between one / two.

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TIE (legato)

Awake retriggers every step (noteOff → noteOn), so every note is the same length and legato glide does not work on its own.
TIE connects one step into the next: the gate stays open, the envelope is not retriggered, and glide can slide pitch across steps.

Default Glide Mode is Legato — glide applies on TIE-connected steps. Raise the glide amount in params or SOUND mode.

How to toggle

1. Hold K1
2. Press a step column on the grid (the step must already have a note)
3. Press again to turn TIE off

Works on top or bottom layer. On a 16-row grid, use the upper half for top TIE and the lower half for bottom TIE.

What TIE does

A TIE on step N means: when the sequencer reaches step N+1, do not cut the note first.

Layer	Effect
Top TIE	Melody degree carries into the next step
Bottom TIE	Pitch offset carries into the next step (works even if bottom goes to 0)

Either layer can trigger legato. Sound still only plays when the top layer has a note.

Visual feedback

Display	Normal note	TIE step
Grid	Bright cell at note position	Entire column dim; note cell off
norns screen	Horizontal note bar	Dim vertical line; note bar dark
Playback	—	Current step highlighted on top of TIE display

Glide

Glide Mode	Behavior
All	Glide on every step
Legato (default)	Glide only on TIE-connected steps

Without TIE, each step is a fresh attack. With TIE + Legato + glide, pitch slides into the next step.

Examples

Bottom layer glide (common case — top holds, bottom moves):

Top (one):    3   3   3   3
Bottom (two): 2   5   7   0
TIE:              ●       (TIE on step 2 → legs into step 3)

→ pitch glides from scale[3+5] to scale[3+7]

Top layer glide:

Top (one):    2   5   7   4
TIE:          ●   ●
Bottom (two): 0   0   0   0

→ melody glides across tied top steps

TIE is cleared when

• The note on that step is deleted
• K2 + K1 hold clear pattern
• K3 + K1 hold random

TIE state is saved with norns params / presets on your device.

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MIDI output

params output: audio / midi / audio + midi / crow, etc.

MIDI Program Change (PC 0–15) can recall saved presets on your norns (dust/data/awake-ashsynth/).

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vs. awake-passersby

	awake-passersby	awake-ashsynth
Engine	Passersby	Ash (ashsynth)
Delay	halfsecond softcut	Engine delay only
SOUND shortcuts	filter, resonance, lfo rate, lfo depth, delay, delay fb	cutoff, reso, drive, reverb, delay, fdbk
TIE / legato	No	Yes
Sequencer / UI / grid	Same	Same

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File structure

awake-ashsynth/
├── awake-ashsynth.lua      # main script
└── lib/
    ├── ash_engine.lua      # Ash params & engine bridge
    └── beatclock-crow.lua  # clock

ashsynth/
├── ashsynth.lua            # main script
└── lib/
    ├── ash_engine.lua      # Ash params & engine bridge
    └── Engine_Ash.sc       # engine

Presets are saved locally on norns under dust/data/awake-ashsynth/ (not included in this repo).

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License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0).
See LICENSE for the full text.

Third-party components

Component	License	Notes
awake	GPL-3.0 (norns ecosystem)	Sequencer structure & UI
awake-passersby	GPL-3.0	Direct basis for this script
passersby	GPL-3.0	awake-passersby engine reference
ashsynth	Apache 2.0	lib/ash_engine.lua; requires Engine_Ash.sc from ashsynth

lib/ash_engine.lua is derived from ashsynth (Apache 2.0) and is included in this GPL-3.0 distribution per Apache–GPL compatibility.

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Credits

• Awake sequencer: @tehn
• Based on awake-passersby / awake
• Ash engine: ashsynth