Muse is a recreation of the Triadex Muse, the algorithmic sequencer designed in 1972 by the computer scientists Edward Fredkin and Marvin Minsky (US Patent 3,610,801). Muse has no steps or notes to program. Its eight sliders select signals from a network of binary counters and a 31-bit linear-feedback shift register, and the combination of those digital signals produces long melodies that can run for hundreds of steps before repeating. A small slider change can produce a very different tune, but the output is always structured and deterministic, so the same settings always produce the same melody.

This version runs from an external clock and has no internal tempo. It adds a scale selector and a root control that use the same conventions as the rest of Signal Function Set, a randomize button, and chaining: a second Muse placed to the right follows the first. Muse is 16 HP.

How it works

Each clock pulse advances the counters and the shift register by one step. Each slider selects one of 40 signals, called taps:

Tap	Meaning
OFF	constant 0
ON	constant 1
C ½	the raw clock (toggles every pulse)
C1, C2, C4, C8	binary counter bits: periods of 2, 4, 8, 16 clocks
C3, C6	mod-12 counter taps: periods of 6 and 12 clocks (triplet/ternary feel)
B1 … B31	the 31 bits of a feedback shift register (B1 = newest)

The eight sliders form two banks of four:

THEME (4 sliders): the four selected tap bits are combined with XNOR to produce the next bit fed into the shift register (B1). The Theme taps set how the shift register changes from step to step, and therefore the long-term shape and length of the melody. (Muse uses XNOR rather than XOR so that an all-OFF theme settles on a stable fixed point instead of producing silence.)
INTERVAL (4 sliders): the four selected tap bits form a 4-bit number each clock. The low three bits (A, B, C) index a note in the current scale; the top bit (D) adds an octave. That note, plus the Root, becomes the pitch output as 1V/oct.

Because the shift register and counters cycle at different rates, the combined pattern can be very long before it repeats.

Controls

Control	Function
THEME 1-4 (sliders)	Select the taps XNOR’d to drive the shift register (the pattern engine)
INTERVAL 1-4 (sliders)	Select the taps that form the 4-bit pitch address each clock
ROOT	Transposes the output, ±24 semitones
SCALE	Selects the scale the interval bits read (shared canonical SFS scale list)
RUN	Start / stop the sequence (LED shows running state)
RESET	Clears the counters and shift register and restarts the pattern
RANDOMIZE	Re-rolls the slider positions (scope set in the context menu)

The live state of each tap is shown as an LED column beside the sliders, with the original Triadex-style labels, so you can watch the counters and shift register change.

Inputs

Input	Function
CLOCK	Advances the sequence one step per rising edge (Muse has no internal clock)
RESET	Trigger to reset counters and shift register
RUN	Gate that overrides the Run button (high = run)
RANDOMIZE	Trigger to re-roll the sliders
THEME 1-4 CV	±5V offsets the corresponding Theme slider’s tap selection
INTERVAL 1-4 CV	±5V offsets the corresponding Interval slider’s tap selection
ROOT CV	1V/oct added to the root
SCALE CV	Selects the scale (interchangeable with Note and Fugue)

Outputs

Output	Function
V/OCT	The melody pitch, 1V/oct (with Scale + Root applied)
GATE	A trigger on each clocked step

Presets (from the Triadex manual): 17 slider settings from the original 1972 manual, including “240-Note Pattern”, “Birds”, “Christmas Bells” and “Marvin’s Yodel”. They show the range of patterns the Muse can produce and are good starting points.
Output range: V/oct (default, standard 1V/oct with Root) or scale-quantized 1V / 2V / 5V modes that rescale Muse’s full range to that voltage span and ignore Root (useful when using Muse as a modulation source rather than a melody).
Link → Allow expander linking: when a second Muse sits directly to the right, it follows this one’s state. Chain several to play layered or harmonized voices from one engine.
Gate: Every clock pulse (default) or Only when pitch changes (tie repeated notes together).
Randomize: scope the Randomize button/CV to All 8 sliders, Theme only, or Interval only, plus a Randomize now action.

Patch ideas

Start from a preset. Load a preset from the context menu, then nudge a single Interval slider. One tap change alters the pitches throughout the melody while its rhythm stays the same.

Theme = structure, Interval = melody. If you like a pattern’s rhythm and length but not its notes, leave the Theme sliders alone and only move the Interval sliders (and vice-versa).

Choose a scale. The original always plays a fixed diatonic scale. Pick a SCALE, such as minor pentatonic, and set ROOT, and every note Muse produces is in that key. Sequence the SCALE CV from another module to change the scale over time.

Two-voice canon. Place a second Muse to the right with linking enabled. Give it a different SCALE or ROOT, or use “Only when pitch changes” gating, for a harmonized counter-melody that stays in step with the first Muse.

Muse as modulation. Switch Output range to 1V/2V/5V and patch V/OCT into a filter cutoff or wavetable index for stepped modulation that follows Muse’s long patterns.

Drum trigger source. Clock Muse fast and take the GATE (set to “Only when pitch changes”): the note changes come at irregular but repeating intervals, which makes a trigger pattern for drums.

In the synthesis guide

Logic Modules: AND, OR, XOR and Comparators
Logic modules combine gates and triggers. AND, OR and XOR produce new rhythms from existing ones, and a flip-flop divides a clock by two.

Reference

Root and Scale CV
This reference lists the voltage for every root and scale, how each module responds to them, and the format of the scale bus.

Muse