Fugue Machine Rubato

Fugue Machine Rubato

Time-bending MIDI sequencer

65 ratings
59 reviews
$39.99 $29.99

Lowest price: $29.99 3 months ago (-0%)


Price history


Details

  • Released
  • Updated
  • May 20, 2025
  • June 29, 2025

Features

Fugue Machine Rubato video #1 for iPhone
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About

This app offers a unique musical canvas for creating and manipulating MIDI sequences. It features a nonlinear time engine that allows for expressive acceleration, deceleration, and directional changes of playheads, along with robust parameter automation for notes and other elements.

Time-bending playheads
Parameter automation
Nonlinear time engine
Sculpt envelopes with curves
Up to eight playheads
Per-playhead note echoes
Multiple MIDI outputs
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What users say

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What's New in Fugue Machine Rubato

1.1.0

June 29, 2025

- AUv3 support for Mac. - added AUv3 settings to customize behavior when the host is cycling around a loop.

User reviews

Karamba 🧑‍🚀 🛸

Was für ein komplexer und aufregend-intuitiv bedienbarer Monster-Sequenzer. 🧌
Mit seinen vielen einstellbaren Verläufen, welche nochmal mit Automationen beeinflusst werden können, fliegt man durch Galaxiencluster benachbarter Universen.
Und dann noch für Mac verfügbar - ein Träumchen.
Etwas klein im unteren Menübereich, trotz 13er IPad - hier würde ich mir ein Fenster zum nach oben verschieben oder nen Zoom wünschen.
Danke für diese wunderbare Neuauflage❕
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Needs more scale options, note bending,and better documentation

The lack of scale/modes/tuning is frustrating.

Please PLEASE add more scales …. There should be at least 30 scales and tunings to choose from

In many ways it’s a great tool that offers solutions to help create complex rhythmic phrasing / sequencing.

¿ Is there a way to bend notes ?
¿ Why is there NOT an easy / simple way to BEND notes?

Bending notes is very VERY important for expression.
Please implement that or explain how to glissando/bend pitches


The manual does not offer much information.

You can only have maximum 128 steps to a sequence !!!
Increasing that would be appreciated.
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Response from developer

Thanks for the message, will be getting back to rubato soon 🌀

interesting but unpolished

I’ve been using fugue machine rubato pretty regularly on both iPad and macOS.
The basic premise is interesting but there’s some major UX hurdles encountered pretty quickly.

There’s many nested menus hidden under multiple modifier buttons. Trying to save a pattern or protect has like 40 ways to easily lose all your work and one multi step process to save it. Ableton Link does not function with Ableton Live, pressing stop just resets the pattern.
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Response from developer

If you're referring to the menus within the popovers, those menus are contextual for specific parameters — essentially right click menus. The main parameters are all on the main interface. Every change you make to the sequencer is automatically written to disk and accessible in the Snapshots menu. The most recent 100 changes are stored, persisted between pattern changes, app terminations, etc.. This was designed to allow you to quickly change patterns without "Are you Sure?" menus, without worrying about losing your work if you intended to save. Ableton Link does work on my end, I just tested it again to verify. Please feel free to email fuguemachinerubato@alexandernaut.com if you'd like help troubleshooting.

interesting but poor usability

Seems like an interesting and promising app but the documentation is still very basic for such a complex app and the UI is quite bad (small text, low contrast, three-finger-tap on small button, how?).
Contacted support over a month ago but no reaction.
I hope for a future update to significantly improve overall usability. Until then, there fortunately are others apps making music with is actually fun.
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Response from developer

Apologies for missing your email, it seems to have slipped through the cracks on my end. I've been focused on some other projects recently, but will be getting back to Rubato soon. The manual, text, and contrast will be addressed. Re: 3-finger-tap on a small button, if you're referring to the shift buttons, you can tap down on the shift button and pan your finger anywhere on the screen and it will remained pressed. So you can put one finger down at a time and pan it out of the way for the next finger. This was designed to have parity between the iOS and Mac versions and to have modifiers on a touchscreen without having 4 separate modifier buttons. I find it hilarious that it actually works well, but for the record, 2/3-finger shift operations can mostly be achieved in other ways on a touchscreen

Amazing but..

I want to give this 5 stars, but I can’t do anything with this cool sequence I just did on my phone, there’s no way to render it to audio or midi or inter app audio or load this as an audio unit or anything which makes it worthless.. add any one of those and I’ll change this to a 5 star, but for a 20 something dollar app I expect at least one of those options
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Response from developer

It runs very well as an AUv3 MIDI plugin, just gotta make sure the AUv3 host supports MIDI plugins and if so, how to add them. IAA is deprecated, so I didn’t support it. And bouncing to MIDI is planned for a future update. Feel free to email me at alexander@alexandernaut.com if you have any questions

Developer apps

User experience

🐞

Reported Bugs

2 issues

Doesn't work with Logic Pro

Bug

Compatibility issues with older macOS versions

Bug

Requested Features

2 requests

Add a parameter randomizer feature

Feature

Improve documentation and provide a complete manual

Feature

FAQ

What does Fugue Machine Rubato do?

Fugue Machine Rubato is a powerful MIDI sequencer that allows users to create and manipulate musical sequences with a unique time-bending engine. It offers a multi-dimensional musical canvas where playheads can move nonlinearly, accelerating, decelerating, freezing, and changing direction.

What are the key features of Fugue Machine Rubato?

Key features include a nonlinear time engine for expressive playhead movement, robust parameter automation for notes and nearly everything else, the ability to sculpt envelopes with curves and shapes, and support for up to eight playheads simultaneously. It also offers per-playhead note echoes, arpeggiation, and extensive MIDI routing options.

How much does Fugue Machine Rubato cost?

Fugue Machine Rubato is a universal app with a one-time purchase. This single purchase allows you to use the app on your iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

What devices is Fugue Machine Rubato compatible with?

The app is compatible with iPad, iPhone, and Mac (both Intel and Apple Silicon processors). It also supports Ableton Link and MIDI, and can be used as an AUv3 MIDI plugin within compatible host applications like AUM, Logic Pro for iPad, Loopy Pro, and Cubasis.

Can I try Fugue Machine Rubato before buying?

Yes, you can try a free demo of Fugue Machine Rubato via TestFlight. To access the demo and learn more, you can visit the official website at fuguemachinerubato.com.