The ultimate vst sequencer plugin?

[AudioBabble]

Hello folks...

I'm a big fan of working with sequencer plugins mainly because it allows me to have parts looping while recording longer free-playing takes over them without having to copy/paste a whole load of midi clips played or drawn in via the piano roll. Additionally, sequencer plugins have a different set of additional parameters to the piano roll which I find very creative (depending on which plugin it is).

Having played around with a few, I'm beginning to get an idea of what I would want in an "ultimate" vst plugin sequencer...

- piano roll style input [anything else just takes twice as long to program!]
- 128 step loop length possibility [64 is the max I've found so far]
- slide notes or the ability to overlap notes to make use of legato sounds, [e.g. "acid" basslines]
- triplets and dotted note values
- "probability" on individual notes - this is something the Hy-seq collection 2 has and it's a very handy feature for setting up some nice variation in a loop
- midi file import / step record [least essential, but would be nice]

So I was just wondering - in the vast plethora of paid and free vst sequencer plugins out there... does anyone know of something that fits most if not all of the above?

...or am I setting myself up for my first foray into VST plugin design...?

PS. Cubase 11 pro is my DAW of choice of late, although I'm far from being an expert with it, so maybe there are features within it to achieve what I want..?

[gentleclockdivider]

Loomer architect

[AudioBabble]

Loomer architect

Looks fantastic... more than I could have hoped for... downloading the non-expiring free trial now.

This is like a DAW within a DAW... to top it all off it can even host vsts within itself... including itself!

As Morpheus said to Neo: "Do you want to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes?"

[NikkiA]

You could just use MPC Beats as a vst plugin, although it's a pad grid type interface rather than piano roll. Another option is of course to use FL Studio as a vst plugin.

[chk071]

You could also try BlueARP, if you haven't already. Should do most of the things you mentioned. 64 steps, but, you can chain programs together.

[WatchTheGuitar]

I really like the sequencers from https://hy-plugins.com/ , especially the latest one HY-SEQ32 - you get loads of control over direction and speed of play, probability of play, LFOs to affect just about everything, quantising to a common scale and there's also a euclidean mode.
The other HY sequencers are fun too, there's a 303 style one with slide too.


A good and powerful free option which has a lot of generative and random power is Stochas
https://stochas.org/

[fairlyclose]

https://stochas.org/ covers a lot of what you mention and more

[mholloway]

I'm a big fan of working with sequencer plugins mainly because it allows me to have parts looping while recording longer free-playing takes over them without having to copy/paste a whole load of midi clips played or drawn in via the piano roll.

Not sure what DAW you're currently using, but this behavior is one of the primary features / reasons to use a Matrix sequencer like Ableton or Bitwig...does exactly what you've described above, and more...

[AudioBabble]

I'm a big fan of working with sequencer plugins mainly because it allows me to have parts looping while recording longer free-playing takes over them without having to copy/paste a whole load of midi clips played or drawn in via the piano roll.

Not sure what DAW you're currently using, but this behavior is one of the primary features / reasons to use a Matrix sequencer like Ableton or Bitwig...does exactly what you've described above, and more...

That's a very good point! I'm using Cubase as my main DAW but I do have Ableton 10 so could always use rewire.

Sometimes I get Cubase "tunnel vision" trying to achieve everything within the one DAW that I'm most invested in

[fairlyclose]

you can do a lot with Riffer by using it as a set pitch sequencer and randomising on velocity and setting a velocity threshold in your instrument

[morphex]

I had a bunch of credits saved up in my rewards wallet over at audioplugin.deals and was able to get Animation Station by Sample Logic for dirt cheap during the intro sale. I was familiar with their Step Animator engine from a different Kontakt instrument, so I jumped at the chance to use their arpeggiator on steroids to supercharge my other instrument plugins.

I used Logic's own arpeggiator for a while but Animation Station saves an incredible amount of time. I've programmed my own presets that suit my workflow and the randomize features are great if you're experiencing writer's block or you just need a little inspiration to point you in a direction with a melodic hook.

It's easy to set up and is very powerful. It can also become a little addictive when you realize how quickly you can come up with variations on themes, including rhythm programming. I admit that sometimes it feels a little like cheating, but in the end it's a tool to help me make music and it has proved to me to be worth every penny. I would think Sample Logic would have a Black Friday sale, so maybe that would be a good time to check it out.

[jeblo05]

In case you are working in Ableton Suite, have a closer look at Stepic:

https://devicemeister.com

[Kinh]

There ain't that many on the market cause they're redundant. What additional feature does a sequencer have over a piano roll?
I would think a piano roll has more features.

[WatchTheGuitar]

There ain't that many on the market cause they're redundant. What additional feature does a sequencer have over a piano roll?
I would think a piano roll has more features.

A number of DAW piano rolls don’t have facility to use note probabilities, change direction, quantise to a scale etc.

[vurt]

There ain't that many on the market cause they're redundant. What additional feature does a sequencer have over a piano roll?
I would think a piano roll has more features.

and that is why you fail young padawan.