Just wondering what is out there like Catanya. I'm still having some issues 'swinging' Catanya, and there seems to be some stability issues at least on one of my machines. I would really love something that works similarly, even if it is bundled into a synth or sampler. I know Reaktor can do something similar but that is beyond my budget right now.

EDIT: So I found the 'perfect' arp for me in but it has some issue running in Studio One. Does anyone know of anything that works in the same way for Windows VST?

Here's the link if you are unfamiliar:

http://www.chriskerry.f9.co.uk/CK_Pattern_Arp_Plus_Info.html
Last edited by braj on Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:53 pm; edited 1 time in total

What about Z3TA+ 2.1? What is the arp like on that? I know Cakewalk has a sale till the end of the month, possibly I will get it if the arp is good.

Well, the demo was non-functional for me, maybe because of my own misunderstanding, but I pulled the trigger and took the risk because it was so cheap and got this:



http://www.chriskerry.f9.co.uk/CK_Pattern_Arp_Plus_Info.html

It is really really cool actually, much better than it looks (you can change the red notes to blue, making it much easier on the eyes ) and it takes up to 8 note chords, has a groove function (but sadly no simple swing) and you can set velocity on a note-by-note basis. Anyhow it it a great addition to my arp collection (I am a little obsessed with arps) and I'm glad I gave it a chance. It is a wee counter-intuitive putting the first note (low note) starting at the top instead of the bottom like a piano roll but it makes sense I guess outside the piano roll paradigm.

EDIT: I can't say enough how MUSICAL this arp is, it is for playing! I loaded up the classic SH101 patch in Trilian, made an arp pattern there, made an arp pattern in Pattern Arp Plus and a simple drum pattern in iDrum and it transported me back to 1983 big time! SOOOO satisfying, I have been looking and looking for this sort of arp and was scared away by the demo and apparent 'amatuerishness' of the initial first impression, but this is really the best arp I have used, of course it depends on what you program but I made a great retro feel pattern that really sings, I was dancing in my seat, having so much fun, and really feeling that same excitement that made me get into synths in the first place. If you like arps and your DAW supports midi effect plugins, don't waste time with the demo, buy this plugin right away. It is really incredible.

You might want to take a look at Sugar Bytes Thesys:
http://www.sugar-bytes.de/content/products/Thesys/index.php? lang=en

Yeah, actually I own Consequence already, Thesys is similar, I should check out the demo again. But they have a certain 'randomness' to them, at least they are a bit confusing to me (which is good for getting unexpected happy accidents.)

HG Sounds Arp is polyphonic. http://hgsounds.com/product/arp-vsti/

Yeah, just you don't define polyphonic notes, it acts generally like other arps, i wanted something that would let me define different behavior to different notes in a chord, which Pattern Arp does wonderfully. For instance you can define the first four notes you play to play a chord comp, and the top 4 to play 'melody' lines, and then depending on the key sequence you play you can have accompaniment and a very flexible melody generator that follows your improvisations with a certain control and a certain randomness. It is really a remarkable arp and I'm surprised it isn't more widely used, it is really incredible. It was a tiny challenge to get going but one you set up some basic things (note entry: fill, reset mode: play) it is really intuitive and very very flexible, very musical.

Awesome, must try that.

I think Vortex can work in the way you want if you set it up. Omnichord mode in Vortex would be good though as you have to us each sequencer as a single note in the chord atm. Plus you have to engage the tie modes to get a sustained note.

Yeah Vortex is cool, but not doing the same thing, though maybe you can make it with some fiddling. Pattern Arp is really cool because you can just finger part of your sequence and it will play maybe just the bass, or just the melody, or bass as melody, or chords higher, or lower, so many variations you can do in real time, improvising based on one set pattern, so you maintain a constant feel but with huge variety, I can't recommend this thing enough, it is very very nifty. I really play more than I record, and all these arps I fiddle with are really for that.

One thing you should know about Pattern Arp Plus, it doesn't work when the sequencer isn't playing (unlike most arps). So you won't hear anything unless the sequencer is running and there is some midi input.

Also it does 64 step patterns and you can string them together, all in the arp, so getting big evolving progressions together is easy.

Kirnu is free and great.
You can even make it play single note on one pattern and chord on the other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNWJA59HBjo&feature=related

Yeah I like Kirnu a lot, just doesn't do the same thing (though it does more of other things.)

You can do that with Vortex sans chords just by routing all the sequences to the same instrument then trigger them as you want. Andys working on some stuff with sub sequencers and pattern chaining so it should get better in that respect. Atm it's better for short musical phrases although you can get lots of variation with the pitch triggers and performance controls.

Yeah I wish I had the $70 to get it before the sale ends, though it isn't the highest sort of priority for me. I'm playing with the demo though and it looks really unique.

There is not a polyphonic arp on the Mac that I am really happy with. Zebra has a polyphonic arp which I like, though of course I would like to see more features.

I don't care if an arp is complex in that it can do multiple things at once since I would prefer to use Live's racks anyway. It is easy to put two instances of a synth with different arp settings and split the keyboard with chord arp on one side and melody arp on the other...

I quite like the arp in my Korg Z1 but it is so clumsy to program on that little screen.

If you are on a Mac you can check out Numerology