xor-init v3.03OK
detect nerdseq, midi, cv16, trigger16, video, dualchordOK
engines control voltage, audio/video synthesis, midi/i2cOK
init complete — ready to trackOK
Hardware trackers
for modular systems
Patch a cable, type or play a pattern, hear it straight away, keep going. The NerdSEQ puts a full tracker on a colour screen into your rack — think of a feature, and it most probably has it. The first hardware tracker keeps surprising you.
XOR Electronics is one engineer in the Netherlands, building instruments that stay supported.
Thomas Margolf is a German electronics engineer who has been writing music and building DIY synthesizers since the nineties. In 2013 he started work on a groovebox named NerdSynth built around a tracker interface. It became the NerdSEQ, and reached Eurorack in 2017.
There is no product team here, and no roadmap deck. Features get designed, written and tested on one bench, then released as a free firmware update — nine years running. Even NerdSEQs from the first batch keep gaining capability as a result.
XOR Electronics
| Since | 2015 |
| Founded by | Thomas Margolf |
| Based in | Netherlands |
| Company size | 1 |
| NerdSEQ shipping | Since 2017 |
| Main Products | 10 |
| Firmware updates | Free, ongoing since 2017 |
| Longest-supported unit | First batch, still updated |
The ecosystem
Nine ways to grow your NerdSEQ. Start with the sequencer and add what the music actually asks for — everything connects through internal expansion connections.
MIDI · Gamepad
Midi-IO Expander
MIDI in and out, MIDI recording, polyphonic sequencing over several channels — plus a Sega gamepad port.
+ MIDI I/O
Midi Compact
2HP MIDI-Expander
TRS-A MIDI in just 2 HP, for the case that ran out of room a while ago. Same midi functionality as the bigger siblings.
+ TRS-A MIDI
Connectivity
Multi-IO Expander
Everything Midi: TRS-A, USB host and device, two I2C ports, three buttons and an encoder knob. The best connection to the XOR Tools.
+ USB MIDI · I2C
Rhythm
Trigger 16 Expander
Sixteen more trigger and gate outputs, for when one drum voice quietly becomes eight.
+ 16 TRIGGERS/GATES
Voltage
CV16 Expander
Sixteen further CV outputs for pitches, envelopes and slow modulation across the rack. Perfect for eurorack presets.
+ 16 CV
Visuals
Video-IO
Clone to a big screen using HDMI or composite out with a video synthesizer built in, and a USB keyboard input for faster entry.
+ VIDEO OUT + VIDEOSYNTH
Sound
Dualchord
Two banks of four high-quality oscillators. Or a full 4 oscillator paraphonic voice with envelope, vca, filter and FX. More than just chords.
+ 8 OSCILLATORS
ART Protocol
ART Add-On
Polyphonic sequencing over Tiptop’s ART protocol, straight from a NerdSEQ track.
+ 2 ART
Performance
Sega Gamepad Expander
A port for a Sega Genesis gamepad, for people who would rather perform with a D-pad than a menu.
+ GAMEPAD IN