Getting Started with Reliq

Reliq is not just a patchbay, a sequencer, a MIDI controller, a modulation engine, or a Eurorack module. It is a Hybrid Instrument, designed to bring all of these things together into one playable and musical interface.

In this first chapter we will set up Reliq, connect a few things, and build a small hybrid patch. The goal is not to explain every feature, Reliq goes much deeper than we can cover here. The goal is to understand the basic idea of the instrument and be up and exploring within a few minutes.

What is in the box

When we open the box, we find:

• Reliq
• The Breakout Module
• The 60 W power supply
• Two cables: USB-C to USB-C (Reliq to the Breakout Module) and USB-C to USB-A (Reliq to a computer, for updating Rlx and for USB MIDI)

There is also a QR code that opens the online manual. The manual is updated together with each new Rlx version, so we recommend using it as the main reference.

Connect the Breakout Module

The Breakout Module is the physical connection point between Reliq and the rest of the setup. It provides:

• 16 analog inputs and 16 analog outputs, 3.5 mm TS mono, +/-10 V range (input impedance 100 kΩ, output impedance 51 Ω)
• 32 CV outputs, +/-10 V, two per track (A and B), with pitch at 1V/Oct, 1.2V/Oct or Hz/V
• 16 gate outputs, +10 V, with normal or inverted polarity
• clock and reset outputs, +10 V

The Breakout can stay in its enclosure, or mount into a Eurorack case by removing the four screws (32 HP, 30.5 mm deep, skiff friendly). On the left side is the USB-C connector, which connects to Reliq with the supplied USB-C cable.

Note. This is not a standard USB connection. It is a dedicated link between Reliq and the Breakout Module, carrying power and communication over Reliq's own protocol, so it connects only to Reliq, never to a computer or a USB hub.

Now we connect the power supply to Reliq and power it on.

Update Rlx

Rlx is Reliq's operating system, and before exploring we recommend updating to the latest version, since updates regularly add sequencing tools, effects and outputs that the rest of the manual assumes are present.

• Connect the computer to Reliq's USB HOST port with the USB-C to USB-A cable.
• Download the Reliq Updater from the Reliq support page, open it, press update, and follow the on-screen instructions.
• The update takes a few minutes, after which Reliq restarts on the new version.

The main pages

Now that Reliq is up to date, we can start patching and get to know the main pages. Reliq is organized into pages, each with a clear musical purpose. The pages run along the bottom of the screen, and each one has its own color to separate the different areas of the instrument.

Page	Purpose
Matrix	Connections
Mix	Levels
Sequencer	Notes, automation and movement
Keys	Playing and recording live
Clip	Variations
DAW	Bringing a computer into the setup
Song	Larger structures
Settings	Global behavior

In this chapter we visit each of these once, keeping everything simple.

Start on the Matrix page

The Matrix is one of the central parts of Reliq. In a normal modular or studio setup, we connect one output to one input with a cable, the output of an oscillator into a filter, the output of a synth into a reverb or into a mixer. The Matrix lets us make those same connections inside Reliq.

On the Matrix page, the screen shows the 16 inputs as nodes along the top and the 16 outputs as nodes along the bottom. When a connection is made, a line links the input node to the output it feeds.

We start with the physical patching at the Breakout:

• the output of a VCO to Input 1
• the output of a filter to Input 2
• the output of a reverb to Input 3

Then the destinations:

• Output 1 to the input of the filter
• Output 2 to the input of the reverb
• Outputs 14 and 15 to the master output (a stereo mixer input, an audio interface, or speakers)

At this stage the jacks are wired but nothing is routed yet. Reliq only knows which machine sits at which node.

Name your inputs and outputs

At this point we strongly recommend naming the inputs and outputs. It is not required, but it makes everything easier to follow later, especially as a setup grows.

Naming uses the node selector. Clicking the joystick encoder up or down opens the selector, and moving it left or right lands on the input or output to name. With Input 1 selected, pressing Edit I/O (the page button below the node's name) opens the on-screen keyboard, where the first five rows of grid pads mirror the keyboard for entering characters.

We name Input 1 “VCO”, Input 2 “Filter”, Input 3 “Reverb”, and Outputs 14 and 15 “Master”. If 14 and 15 are used as a stereo output, we set them as a 2-channel group. Now the Matrix is not showing numbers, it is showing the actual instruments and destinations in the setup.

Create your first routing

A connection can be made in two ways. On the grid pads, where inputs are the columns and outputs are the rows, we press the pad where an input's column meets an output's row. On the screen, we click and hold the encoder above an input node to reveal the output labels, then press the page button below the target output.

We connected the oscillator to Input 1 and the filter's input to Output 1, so to send the oscillator into the filter we connect Input 1 to Output 1. This is the same idea as taking a patch cable from the oscillator and plugging it into the filter, except this connection now lives inside Reliq.

To send the filter to the master, we connect Input 2 to Outputs 14 and 15. Audio now runs from the oscillator, into the filter, and out to the master. That is our first routing.

Create a second routing

A routing is a complete saved state of the Matrix: every connection plus the level of each input and output. Routings save automatically, so we can copy this one and vary it.

Pressing Copy and then the current routing copies it; pressing Paste and then the next slot places the duplicate. In the copy, we change the signal path so the filter runs through the reverb first: we connect Input 2 to Output 2 (the filter output into the reverb), then Input 3 to Outputs 14 and 15 (the reverb output to the master).

Now there are two routings:

• The first is dry: Oscillator > Filter > Master
• The second goes through the reverb: Oscillator > Filter > Reverb > Master

Pressing the routing pads switches between them at any time, and the arrow buttons step to the next or previous routing. What normally takes several patch cables and several hands is now a single button.

Go to the Mix page

Every routing also carries its own levels for each input and output. On the Mix page, we control those levels with the pads acting as virtual faders. Lowering the VCO a little and then switching routings shows that the routing and the mix belong together: each routing can behave like a complete scene, a different signal path and a different mix.

In this example we connected only a few modules, but the Breakout can route and mix Eurorack, line-level instruments, effects, pedals, or any other audio signal. It can serve as a studio patchbay, as a set of routings for the different parts of a live set, or almost as an instrument in itself, performed or sequenced in real time.

Sequence a modular voice

With a signal path in place, we move to the Sequencer page. Here are the tracks of Reliq, and each one can sequence notes, automation, modulation, generative material and more.

To control a Eurorack patch, we select Track 1 and open its settings by pressing the first encoder above the gear icon at the top-left of the screen, then set the output type to CV. A CV track uses two outputs and a gate:

• CV A1 carries pitch (1V/Oct, 1.2V/Oct or Hz/V). We patch it to the pitch input of the oscillator.
• CV B1 carries velocity or free control. We patch it to the cutoff input of the filter.
• Gate 1 outputs a gate marking where each note starts, for an envelope or gate input if the patch needs one.

To enter notes, we press pads on the first row, where each pad is a step. Holding a step opens its parameters, where we can set pitch, velocity, duration, probability, trigger settings and microtiming. For now we keep it simple and play a short melody.

Already, the Matrix is routing the audio and the Sequencer is controlling the pitch and cutoff of our modular voice.

Add modulation

Each track has its own envelopes and LFOs, on the Envelope and LFO pages. These are internal modulation sources, assigned to a CV output rather than sent through a gate.

We assign a simple envelope to CV B. Since CV B is connected to the filter cutoff, the envelope now shapes the filter every time the sequencer plays a note.

Add a MIDI instrument

Reliq can control MIDI instruments, drum machines, older Hz/V synths, Buchla systems and DAWs. The main unit has three TRS type-A MIDI outputs and one MIDI input, plus USB MIDI.

Back on the Sequencer page, we go to Track 2 and open its settings. Using the upper-right OUT encoder, we set the output to a MIDI output, for example MIDI Output 1. We connect a TRS type-A MIDI cable from the back of Reliq to the MIDI input of an instrument, in this case a drum machine, and change the track type to Drum. In Drum Mode the track is organized around drum sounds (up to 16) instead of a melodic keyboard.

We assign a few sounds:

• Sound 1: kick
• Sound 2: snare
• Sound 3: hi-hat

Adding steps starts them all as kicks. Holding any step changes its sound or any other parameter. For more detail, clicking the encoder above a track offset opens the matching piano roll, for example the encoder above the pitch offset opens the pitch piano roll, with sounds or pitch on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal. From there we add a snare.

Now we have a modular sequence and a MIDI drum pattern running together, on one clock and one timeline.

Record from the Keys page

We can also play parts live and record them instead of sequencing every step. On the Keys page we play and record ideas in real time, and because Track 2 is a Drum track, the page shows the drum sounds as playable pads.

We press Record, play a few hi-hats live, and stop. The hi-hat pattern is now part of the sequence, as ordinary editable steps.

Create a clip variation

A clip is a pattern on a track. To make a variation, we press Copy and select the clip we just created on Track 2, then press Paste and select the next clip slot. With the new clip selected, we return to the Keys page and record a different hi-hat pattern.

Now there are two variations. We can switch between them by hand, or use follow-ups so that one clip triggers another after a set time. Holding the second clip and then pressing the first sets the first as its follow-up, so the second clip returns to it automatically.

We will explore clips and follow-ups much deeper in a later chapter. For now, the important idea is that clips let us organize different patterns with different settings on each track.

Sequence the Matrix

We have a melody on our Eurorack patch and a drum pattern running in parallel, we are still on the first “dry” routing. But the Matrix itself can also be sequenced.

We enable the Matrix Sequencer by pressing SHIFT and Track 16. It looks like a normal track, but instead of notes, each step holds a routing. We put the dry routing on the first step and the reverb routing on a later step, for example step 9. Now the first half of the pattern uses the dry signal path and the second half uses the reverb path.

At this point we are not only sequencing notes, we are sequencing the connections between instruments. The patch itself becomes part of the music.

Bring in a DAW

So far we have changed how the setup is connected, sequenced CV, created a drum pattern with a variation, and added modulation, all completely DAWless. When we want a computer in the setup, we can.

We connect Reliq to the computer using the USB MIDI port. Reliq integrates with Ableton Live and Bitwig Studio using the scripts on the support page. Once connected, Reliq can control parts of a DAW workflow and stay synchronized with the hardware: recording the audio coming from a modular patch, controlling clips, and keeping the DAW and hardware running together.

We will cover DAW integration in a dedicated chapter. For now, the core idea is that Reliq is designed to sit between hardware, modular, MIDI and the computer.

Capture the idea in Song Mode

Finally, let's look at Song Mode. If we like what we have built, the sequence, the routing, the mix, the modulation and the clips, we can capture it as a snapshot. A snapshot stores the state of the project at that moment, and we can create several and arrange them in time to build a larger structure.

Settings

Before we finish, a quick word on Settings. The Settings page is where global behavior is configured:

• sequencer defaults
• MIDI settings
• module settings
• clock resolution
• gate voltages
• display brightness
• system information

If something needs to be adjusted across the whole instrument, this is usually where we find it.

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In the last few minutes we connected the Breakout Module, named our inputs and outputs, created matrix routings, switched between a dry and a wet signal path, adjusted levels on the Mix page, sequenced a modular voice with CV, added modulation, brought in a MIDI drum machine, recorded live from the Keys page, created clip variations, sequenced the Matrix itself, brought a DAW into the setup without touching a mouse, and captured a simple idea in Song Mode.

This is already a complete hybrid setup, and it is only the surface. Each part of Reliq goes much deeper, and the next chapters focus on each area one by one.

For now, the focus is the basic mental model:

• Pages organize the workflow.
• The Matrix controls connections.
• The Mix controls levels.
• Tracks sequence movement.
• Clips hold patterns.
• Song Mode turns ideas into structure.

We hope you are ready to explore Reliq. For any questions, the Discord community and the online manual are both there. See you in the next chapter.