A-157 is a trigger sequencer subsystem that is used to generate up to eight trigger signals controlled by a 8x16 LED/button matrix (referred to as a "Miniature Schaltwerk"). The system is still in the prototype state. Consequently the specifications at this stage are still preliminary !
The subsystem will probably contain several modules:
the LED/button matrix module A-157-1
the trigger output module A-157-2
control modules (A-157-3)
The LED/button matrix module A-157-1 is the core of the subsystem. It is used to set or reset the trigger event on each of the 16 steps of each of the 8 rows. The trigger output module A-157-2 outputs the 8 trigger signals and has an LED display for each trigger. We will probably add a mute button or mute switch for each row that allows to turn the trigger output off/on independent for each row. In the final version the modules A-157-1 and A-157-2 will be probably merged into one module only because both modules are essential for the subsystem.
The module A-157-1/2 (or the merged module that will contain both units) can be connected to a simple control module or a more sophisticated control module which is planned for the future (similar to the A-155 and A-154 conceptual design where the A-155 includes a simple control unit that can be replaced by the A-154 which offers a lot of additional functions).
At the beginning a simple control module A-157-3 similar to the A-155 control unit will be available. It offers only the functions clock, start/stop and reset (both with manual controls and control inputs). For this standard control unit the tempo (clock) is the same for all 8 rows, the direction is forward and the length of each row is 16. A more complex control module A-157-4 will allow additional functions like 128 memories for trigger sequences and different clock/start/stop/reset for 2 or 4 groups of rows.