Acid Cell
A deep, competent sequencer that also happens to make a genuinely good acid bass. Sixteen MIDI tracks, sixteen patterns per track, each track running its own sequencing engine. Acid is the first: full accent and slide per step. One hardware panel that runs on its own or drives the same engine from a computer.
The demo is a bare 16-step pattern editor driving the acid synth DSP, not the finished product. No panel, no multi-track sequencing yet, just the sound engine.
Early build
One engine slot, per track
Every track picks its own sequencing engine rather than sharing one fixed behavior across the whole sequencer. Acid is the first: full accent and slide per step, tuned for that classic line. Mono and Poly are two more engines running on the same step data with different playback behavior. More engine types are planned. The sequencer itself doesn't care which one a given track is running.
One panel, either brain
A Raspberry Pi Pico handles every button, encoder, and LED on the panel, debouncing sixteen step keys and the accent/slide controls above them. It's being designed to work with either an embedded or computer-based engine: a Daisy Seed (built on ST's STM32H7) inside a standalone desktop unit, or a computer over USB. Today the engine itself exists as a VST3, a playable browser build, and a Daisy-class embedded build awaiting physical qualification. Connecting the panel to those editions is active product direction, not a finished integration yet.
One product, many forms
Acid Cell's sound, sequencing, and state live in a portable product engine, not in any one binary or enclosure. Thin adapters connect that engine to whatever it's running on: VST3, Web Audio, a Daisy-class embedded build, or eventually the hardware panel itself. Acid Cell is being built as one product across several forms, and the same foundation is already being tested by other instruments and performance tools in the lab.
Features
| Feature | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sequencer | 16 MIDI tracks, 16 patterns per track | Product direction |
| Per-track engines | Acid, Mono, Poly, loaded per track. More planned. | Product direction |
| Acid engine | Full accent and slide, per step | Playable now |
| Param locks | 4 parallel lanes per pattern, each with its own length, for polyrhythms | Product direction |
| Control surface | Pico-driven panel. Buttons, encoders, LEDs | Engineering prototype |
| Desktop unit | Panel + Daisy Seed (STM32H7) in one package | Product direction |
| Computer brain | VST3 and browser (WASM) editions; Daisy-class embedded cross-build | Engineering build |
Built on Nucleic Core
Acid Cell is developed on Nucleic Core, the portable real-time foundation behind nucleic lab's instruments. Its acid voice, sequencing behavior, parameters, and state belong to one product engine; VST3, browser, and embedded editions connect that engine to their platforms through separate adapters.
Explore the technology →