Akai Tom Cat, User Manual

9 

Editing Sequences 

You can edit the sequences (and fills) of each pattern in two different modes, described below: 
Record Step Mode and Record Performance Mode. 

Record Step Mode 

Record Step Mode lets you use the 16 

Step Switches

 to enter or remove notes from the sequence 

simply by pressing the corresponding Step Switches.  

To enter Record Step Mode,

 press and hold 

Shift

 and then press 

Step Switch 9 (Rec Step)

. 

To enter or remove steps, 

press the pad whose steps you want to enter or remove, and then press 

one or more 

Step Switches

 to enter or remove notes at those positions. The notes are entered with 

the default Step Switch velocity (described below).

For the disco toms, each step has a note value, which you can set in two different ways: 

•

To set the note value of a single step for the disco toms,

 press and hold the desired 

Step 

Switches

 and turn the 

Tempo

 knob. If you are adjusting only one note, the note value will be 

shown in the display. If you are adjusting multiple notes, the display will show how many 
semitones up or down you are shifting them. The disco toms’ voice has a three-octave range. 

•

To set the default note value for the disco toms,

 press and hold the 

Disco Toms

pad

 and 

turn the 

Tempo

 knob. This will be the note value that is recorded when you select a step or 

press the pad. This is useful for setting the note value before entering your steps. 

For all voices, each step has a velocity, which determines how loud the note is played. You can set 
this in two different ways: 

•

To edit a single step’s velocity,

 press and hold the 

Velocity

 button and then press the 

desired 

Step Switch

 to cycle between the available velocities: 

low 

(green), 

medium

 (amber), 

high

 (red), and 

off

 (unlit). 

•

To select the default Step Switch velocity,

 press the 

Velocity

 button to cycle through the 

available default velocities: 

low

 (green), 

medium

 (amber), and 

high

 (red). This will be the 

velocity that is recorded when you select a step or press the pad. This is useful for setting the 
velocity before entering your steps. 

Record Performance Mode 

 
Record Performance Mode lets you play the 

pads

 and/or 16 

Step Switches

 to record a sequence in 

real time. The notes you play will be quantized (aligned) automatically with the steps. Your recording 
will be “overdubbed” onto the sequence(s). 

Note:

 Any incoming MIDI performance will also be recorded. 

To enter Record Performance Mode,

 press and hold 

Shift

, and then press 

Step Switch 10 (Rec Perf)

. 

To record steps: 

•

For the drum voices,

 play the desired sequence(s), and then play the 

pads

. The pads are 

velocity-sensitive; the notes will be entered at the corresponding low, medium, or high velocities. 

•

For the disco toms’ voice,

 play the desired sequence(s), and then play the 16 

Step Switches

as you would a piano keyboard. The black switches are the same as the black keys on a piano, 
and the same is true for the white switches. To set the default note value for the disco toms, 
press and hold the 

Disco Toms

pad

 and turn the 

Tempo

 knob. The Step Switches are not 

velocity-sensitive, so you may want to edit the velocities in Record Step Mode (see 

Record 

Step Mode

 above to learn more).