VX Cells

A grid instrument in the Tenori-On family: six layers play together, and each layer is a 16×16 grid of cells you paint. VX Cells is the rebirth of cellsDS, a 2008 Nintendo DS homebrew app — same sounds, same spirit, with the controls out in the open instead of behind console buttons.

Clock

Three modes, chosen with the Clock switch on the top strip.

  • Ext — patch a clock into CLK and the whole instrument runs from it. One pulse = one tick, and every layer derives its own rate from that. No clock, no sound.
  • Int — VX Cells runs on its own tempo. Press ▶ to start, ⏹ to stop. This is the only mode where the BPM box is editable.
  • Song — every layer follows the timeline. One tick per 16th, counted from the start of the song, so each layer's position is derived rather than counted: drop the playhead anywhere and all six layers resume exactly where they belong, the same every time. The BPM box dims and shows the song's tempo.

While the song is stopped, the grid shows where each layer is parked; pressing play fires that tick rather than skipping it. One nicety of this mode: multiplication rates become exact. In Ext and Int a ×8 layer squeezes its extra ticks into whatever the last clock period measured, but in Song a ×8 layer is precisely 32 ticks per beat.

⏮ rewinds. In Ext it re-phases so the next clock pulse is step 1; in Int it restarts from tick 0 on the spot; in Song it rewinds the whole song, since VX Cells' position is the song's. RST follows the same rule.

Sounds already ringing when you jump are left to ring out — they're one-shot samples, and cutting them would click for no benefit.

Memories

Sixteen memory buttons sit to the right of the grid, and each memory is a complete setup: all six layers' patterns, modes, rates, octaves, volumes, pans and sounds, plus the scale and root. Click a button to switch. Patch a CV into MEM (0–10 V sweeps memories 1–16) and the CV takes over the playing memory — the buttons lock, the live memory lights up, and an envelope or sequencer can perform whole-scene changes in time with your patch. Layer tick phase carries across switches, so memory changes land musically instead of restarting.

Layers

The tab strip on the left selects which layer you're editing; the big grid shows that layer bright and the other five as faint ghosts. Each tab shows a thumbnail of its pattern and flashes when its layer fires. The control row below the grid always belongs to the selected layer — pick a different tab and the row follows.

Modes

  • Score — the classic: a playhead sweeps the columns left to right; painted cells fire as it passes. Rows are scale degrees, bottom = low.
  • Bounce — each column with a painted cell gets a bouncing ball; the cell sets the drop height, and the note fires each time the ball hits the floor. Taller drops bounce slower — paint different heights across columns for polyrhythms. Pitch comes from the column, as in the original.
  • Arp — the painted cells are played one per tick, in a fixed left-to-right (then bottom-to-top) traversal, with a marker hopping from cell to cell. Paint a chord and it becomes a run; paint a scattered constellation and it becomes a melody.

Sounds

Each layer plays one sound from the built-in cellsDS bank — the original 174 one-shot samples, byte-for-byte, listed by name in the Sound menu. Hovering an entry in the open menu auditions it, so you can browse by ear before committing. Pitch is varispeed (the sample plays faster or slower), which is the characteristic cellsDS sound.

Controls

  • Scale / Root — how rows map to pitch. Natural Minor matches the original cellsDS tuning.
  • Per layer (the row follows the selected tab):
  • Mode — Score, Bounce, or Arp.
  • Rate — the layer's speed against the incoming clock, from ÷8 to ×8. Divisions skip clock pulses; multiplications subdivide them (in Ext/Int measured from the live clock, so they track tempo changes; in Song exact).
  • Octave — shifts the layer ±2 octaves.
  • Vol / Pan — the layer's place in the stereo mix.
  • Sound — the layer's voice, from the factory bank.

Inputs & outputs

  • CLK — the clock, in Ext mode. One pulse = one tick; every layer derives its own rate from it. Ignored in Int and Song.
  • RST — re-phases everything so the next clock pulse is step 1 (sample-aligned with the clock). In Song it rewinds the song instead.
  • MEM — CV selection of the playing memory (0–10 V → 1–16); overrides the buttons while patched.
  • L / R — the stereo mix of all six layers.

Tips

  • One layer of Score for a bassline, Bounce on a bright sound for polyrhythmic sparkle, a slow Arp (Rate ÷2) drifting over the top — that's the classic recipe.
  • Different Rate values per layer make short patterns feel much longer: 16 steps at ×1 against 16 steps at ÷3 realign only every 48 pulses.
  • Bounce with a cell on the bottom row fires every tick — a hi-hat machine. Add ×2 for sixteenths against the rest of the patch.
  • In Arp mode the number of painted cells sets the loop length — 3 cells against a 16-step Score layer gives you a rolling 3-against-16 figure.