new sequencer (Sequitur)

[exh]

Hey all, I mostly lurk here but I thought I would post a note for anyone that's interested in checking out a new host. My friends and I have one we've been working on and we just released an early beta: http://www.angryredplanet.com/.

Sequitur is a MIDI-focused sequencer -- so MIDI focused that we've disabled audio sequencing for the first release. The goal is to have something that works extremely well for basic MIDI editing but also provides some more sophisticated features like interactive destructive processing (see the Using an advanced tool section of the how to guide for an explanation).

Please note that this really is early beta software, there are still many known bugs, it can crash and hang and eat children etc. That disclaimer aside, feedback is welcome!

thanks,
eric

[Reverse Engineer]

That looks really quite nice (aesthetically and functionwise). Will check it out

[alex zonder]

[ edited ]

Thanks. Let's try it out!

[Jason Brian Merrill]

hang and eat children etc....

thanks,
eric

it hangs them before it eats them!!!!?????
sweet! I really should invite my little bro and sis over.

[djsubject]

bump

[Reverse Engineer]

For the quick run i had, it's pretty good, doesn't work with any Synthedit synths (it will load them, but they're silent), and if you change the synth on any given track, the track will not change from the name of the intial synth that was loaded, moving phrases around can be tricky, it seems to move the notes in the piano roll instead sometimes. It's certainly something i'm going to keep at though and am looking forward to seeing it being developed. Oh, and the fact it's standalone and needs no installation is a big bonus too, that seems to be more common as of late, and it's (for a change) something good a lot of people are adopting.

[alex zonder]

Here I was able to open it once, looked smart enough, but after that it crashed 4 times already on the initial vst scan. It seems to keep no log of vst(i)'s already sucesfully scanned (as for instance REAPER does) so every time it starts all over again - and crashes.

So, I'll be patient and will keep an eye on it cause the thing certainly doesn't look like just another toy. MIDI and Audio settings however looked, in the short time I had Sequitur running, almost hidden away in the app. Nice, clean, functional design. Let's hope it will be able to digest my VST(i)s before it'll eat more

BTW please tell us here at KVR at bit more about your plans for Sequitur. What would you finally / ideally want it to be? Something else than 'just another sequencer', I suppose.

[exh]

doesn't work with any Synthedit synths (it will load them, but they're silent)

Thanks much for the report, I just tied a couple synthedit synths without problem. Care to mention which ones? Also, if you're so inclined, I'd love to get info on unsupported synths added to the wiki.

thanks,
eric

[Reverse Engineer]

doesn't work with any Synthedit synths (it will load them, but they're silent)

Thanks much for the report, I just tied a couple synthedit synths without problem. Care to mention which ones? Also, if you're so inclined, I'd love to get info on unsupported synths added to the wiki.

thanks,
eric

The ones i tried were rez 2.0, threeosc, ilosynth, mellowsound and monolisa (all can be found in the kvr database).

I'm using kx asio drivers, sblive 5.1 on a 1.7ghz p4 with 640mb ram if that helps any. To counter another post in this thread, it did save all the vst locations (as well as the other preferences) for me and didn't crash once.

As for editing the wiki, i'd rather wait in the off chance the issues are limited to me alone.

[exh]

but after that it crashed 4 times already on the initial vst scan.

You're right it should be much more graceful about dealing with plugins it can't scan. Right now it should give a status line in that startup window saying which plugin it's currently scanning so if you happened to note it I'd like to know. Or if you just have a convenient list of plugins you have I'd like to know that, too.

BTW please tell us here at KVR at bit more about your plans for Sequitur.

We're interested in having a tool that incorporates interactive, fun algorithmic techniques for inspiration. There are two broad ways to approach this, nondestructive editing and destructive editing. They both have value. Sequitur handles nondestructive editing via the pipelining behaviour, and destructive editing through the tools model in the track window. Sorry to hear it's been a rough experience for you so far, if you had gotten a little further you might have played with the echosystem tool. That in conjunction with a MIDI keyboard lets you create a series of notes in the window and manipulate the velocities to rapidly build various rhythymic and pitched landscapes.

[exh]

The ones i tried were rez 2.0, threeosc, ilosynth, mellowsound and monolisa

Great thanks, I tried rez and threeosc. Threeosc worked fine over here, rez seemed to work but after a little while I noticed there was a pause in the audio every once in awhile. Not the described problem but an indication that something is wrong.

As far as complete silence, I'm not clear if it's just these that are silent or if these were all the ones you tried and so VST is silent. If it's everything, you can try a couple things: You can insert an audio recorder after the VST to capture whatever's coming out and then take a look at the file. This will at least identify if it's with the VST or audio system.

Also, the audio output nodes that each VST is connected to have a meter bar, if it's not lighting up then no audio is reaching it, which means it isn't being produced, which is a little odd but hey you never know. If the meter is lighting up and you're just not hearing anything, it might be the default outputs sequitur is using aren't your main outs. In this case you can try clicking on one of the audio output nodes and seeing what's selected in the config panel that appears at the left. If there are more selections then are enabled, you can try turning on different channels and seeing if you can get sound out of any of them.

[soma]

Hmmm.. That echosystem thing sounds cool. I wish more hosts incorporated little inpirations like that. (I know some do... but I wish I saw more of it). I'll check it out one day.

[bobsled]

...create a series of notes in the window and manipulate the velocities to rapidly build various rhythymic and pitched landscapes...

Ya got me there, downloading now...

[blurk]

Do you have any plans to make Sequitur a VST plugin as well as a host, kind of like Sonicbytes' ERA and Phrazor? In these days of modular environments, a sequencer plugin is very useful. I know I'm still interested in trying alternative sequencer plugins to use in Plogue Bidule.

[runagate]

Looks keen I'll try it out in a couple days.

Tag and a bump.