I recently got my Metron+Voltera and have read the 33 pages of this thread

I'm very happy with it, congratulations to the WMD team for this amazing tool.
Like many here I have way too much features request in mind. The interface and form factor is so great we can all think about ways to adapt the already very well designed gestures and button combos to our needs.
This is why my first request is a question:
do WMD consider making the firmware open-source at some point ?
As a developer myself, I know how much it can be a scary and big step for a company, but it could lead to nice bug hunts and efficient feature update testing.
Also, with so many buttons available, some people could be able to make alternatives firmware with euclidian, clock dividers, turing machine or things similar to the Acid Rain Constellation, allowing the WMD team to focus on improving the X0X style sequencing.
For exemple, as a nanoloop user, I would love to try to make a version with the 4 tracks on the Matrix displayed as 4x4 square grids, like 4 Erica Drum Sequencer next to each other.
Yeah, it would be a lot of work just for making instant four-on-the-floor patterns with a single finger slide, but you get the idea.
In the meantime, here are my most wished features and +1
In FILL FX mode:
FILL FX is so perfect for performances I think most FUNCTION BUTTONS could be repurposed in that mode.
For exemple ENCODER 1 could change tempo without a press on [TEMPO] in that mode, allowing to change that button action.
Exiting FILL FX would only happen on another press on [FILL FX] or on a TRACK GROUP button.
- Mute on button release
The ability to press multiple mute buttons and release them simultaneously can massively help for making bigger transitions.
- Mute Combo button
Same spirit as above but more like in the WMD PM Mutes. Holding [TRACK 4] would allow multiple mute/unmute buttons selection, marked as Blinking LED for unmute and Breathing LED for mute, and then activate the selection on [TRACK 4] release.
- Solo Combo button
Holding [TRACK 3] then some mute buttons would temporary mute all other tracks until the mute buttons are pressed, and would stay in that configuration if you release [TRACK 3] before the buttons.
[TRACK 3] could be repurposed since it's doing the same action as [TRACK 2].
- Play/Stop button
Maybe [GATE] could act as start/stop button when in FILL FX.
For making breaks and drops, something even more useful in performance than a Play/Stop button would be a button that pause until pressed and reset on release, maybe the [TEMPO] button could be a good choice for that.
Another option for achieving this is a global setting to make the [RESET] button and the RESET IN input pause the sequence while a gate is high (or holding the button) and reset+play when the gate goes low (or the button is released).
- Playhead position display in Loop Select
The Loop Select track should display the master track playhead position, it would greatly complement the CURRENT STEP display and give a good hint of what will be looped if a Loop Select button is pressed.
I would also love if the Loop Select could allow to set start and end of loop when two buttons are pressed, but I can also imagine how hard work it is to implement that.
- Roll Select sections with separate led brightness
Just a cosmetic one, for exemple making P1 to P4 and P5 to P8 as Dim LED would improve readability in dark environments.
Combined with the playhead position in Loop Select it could make FILL FX user experience even more pleasant and intuitive.
Global Setting:
To improve readability in the Matrix, it could be great to have a global setting that can change how LEDs are lightened.
- Inside pattern length with trigger: Bright LED
- Inside pattern length without trigger: Off LED
- Outside pattern length with trigger: Breathing LED
- Outside pattern length without trigger: Dim LED
It may sound counter-intuitive to some, but If you have doubts about this, go in an inactive page and put some triggers, the difference between
Dim LED and
Off LED is much more distinct than between
Dim LED and
Bright LED, and we spend way more time in active pages than inactives ones.
The
Breathing LED is maybe the most confusing change, but in a way it can make sense that triggers in inactives part of the sequence are "waiting" to be played until you change pattern length.
Voltera:
+1 for assignable CV input to a voltera track.
+1 for assignable GATE input to randomise a step on a voltera track.
+1 for a voltera in the same form as the WMD 4TTEN (or as a big slider with 4 buttons and, why not, a random button).
I could go on, but I know that's already quite a lot.
Anyway I really hope most of these ideas are inspiring and possible to implement in some ways.