Not Intuitive at all
Bought it, couldn’t get anything out of it or my money back. Beware
Needs instructions
I bought this because I needed a SIMPLE midi editor. I clicked on everything that I could find to import a midi file to no avail. I’m going to try one more time before I move on.
Old software
This software has not been updated since many years.
Not compatible with Apple files app
Not compatible with Apple files app
Abandoned?
This is a fun, useful app that needs some attention. Alas, like many smaller developers, it seems to be abandoned. To bad, with a little work, this app could have been truly great.
Time Sig/meter
This is a nice app. But like other apps I've tried, there seems to be on way to change the meter on just a single bar or pattern within a song.I hoped that maybe I was just not finding the right button...
To me being able to change the meter of a bar or pattern is almost just as important as everything else they've included in this software.I don't understand why they were would leave that out. It can't be a cost issue. Maybe there's an update or something.
To me being able to change the meter of a bar or pattern is almost just as important as everything else they've included in this software.I don't understand why they were would leave that out. It can't be a cost issue. Maybe there's an update or something.
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Please Update
Essential Midi sequencing app hat has all the right features. UI can be more intuitive or a better manual.
Biggest problem so far: METRONOME can not be set to all tempos. Right now I NEED 95 BPM and it will not do it. Keeps going back to 94.
Can’t get Song Mode to work and play pattern sequences. That’s a problem because I won’t be able to record the work I’ve don’t
Please fix for ios11 and iPad Pro then I’ll give 5 stars
Biggest problem so far: METRONOME can not be set to all tempos. Right now I NEED 95 BPM and it will not do it. Keeps going back to 94.
Can’t get Song Mode to work and play pattern sequences. That’s a problem because I won’t be able to record the work I’ve don’t
Please fix for ios11 and iPad Pro then I’ll give 5 stars
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iOS MIDI-sequencing gem
As far as iOS sequencers go, Genome has a great piano roll editor and—unlike more expensive apps like modstep and Gadget—global undo/redo and MIDI file export *per clip.*
I like using it in AUM as a “quick-sketch” sequencer while I work out songs. The UI is comfortable to work with on a touchscreen, and the sequencer is extraordinarily fully-fully featured (it even supports grooves). The MIDI capabilities are especially good: if things need to move somewhere else, Genome can export songs, parts, or clips as individual MIDI files.
I like using it in AUM as a “quick-sketch” sequencer while I work out songs. The UI is comfortable to work with on a touchscreen, and the sequencer is extraordinarily fully-fully featured (it even supports grooves). The MIDI capabilities are especially good: if things need to move somewhere else, Genome can export songs, parts, or clips as individual MIDI files.
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My Favorite Sequencer
OK, I don’t have a rack of hardware synths—but I like to pretend I do! I have been using this app to sequence virtual synths on my Mac. I mostly use Propellerhead Reason, but also Apple’s Main Stage. Genome MIDI Sequencer (GMS) executes Virtual MIDI on the iPad expertly, but resource limitations of my iPad Air mean I can only get about four synths/instruments running—but GMS has 16 tracks! I can get around this a little by using a multi-instrument app like bs-16i or SampleTank, but they have little flexibility in sound design and control—and GMS is a monster controller. But with Reason on the Mac I can easily get 16 instruments loaded, and with effects on all of them. (So, Reason is my pretend rack of synths.)
I like the GMS piano roll editor the best. One can draw in a sequence or record one and edit it expertly. This app does so much so well it is too much to sing all its praises. Please read the description and the manual on the apps web page—it does all that!
There are a few things I wish it had, so I’ll list some of them.
(1) There is no polymetric capability, meaning each track must have the same time signature. Workaround: for 4 against 5, use 4/4 and make a 5 measure pattern for the 5 beat part.
(2) There is no 2/4 time, which would also give one 6/8 (compound time) thanks to the triplet feature. This is a problem with long polymetric sequences as noted in the workaround above—especially with three or more time signatures. Workaround: set the Song mode to 1 step = 1 bar, then you can escape the loop whenever you want. Otherwise, GMS will repeat the patterns until they all finish at the same time.
(3) There is no polyrhythmic capability. Workaround: set “time in ticks” and zoom in to 128th notes and meticulously count out your beat divisions—use the Euclidean algorithm to pad the note lengths. It should be close enough.
I would like to do sequencing for my Reason projects while away from the Mac, so the following two suggestions would help.
(4) Sometimes I have a drum part composed and wish I could switch to another app/drum machine. This can be easy if both apps support General MIDI mapping. But Garage Band is different, and Reason’s Kong is different still. So, I would like to be able to create drum maps. (I guess this also entails a drum editor.) Then, when changing drum sources one would only need select the corresponding drum map.
(5) Sometimes I have a note track I wish I could switch to a different synth or other instrument, but just temporarily for mobile composing. This can be easy if both instruments are assigned to the same pitches. But many synth parts/instruments are programmed at different octaves. So, it is an obstacle when there are many patterns in a track. If it is only one or two patterns it isn’t such a big deal as one can just transpose them in the editor. So, a per track octave shift would be nice—just like on a MIDI keyboard.
I like the GMS piano roll editor the best. One can draw in a sequence or record one and edit it expertly. This app does so much so well it is too much to sing all its praises. Please read the description and the manual on the apps web page—it does all that!
There are a few things I wish it had, so I’ll list some of them.
(1) There is no polymetric capability, meaning each track must have the same time signature. Workaround: for 4 against 5, use 4/4 and make a 5 measure pattern for the 5 beat part.
(2) There is no 2/4 time, which would also give one 6/8 (compound time) thanks to the triplet feature. This is a problem with long polymetric sequences as noted in the workaround above—especially with three or more time signatures. Workaround: set the Song mode to 1 step = 1 bar, then you can escape the loop whenever you want. Otherwise, GMS will repeat the patterns until they all finish at the same time.
(3) There is no polyrhythmic capability. Workaround: set “time in ticks” and zoom in to 128th notes and meticulously count out your beat divisions—use the Euclidean algorithm to pad the note lengths. It should be close enough.
I would like to do sequencing for my Reason projects while away from the Mac, so the following two suggestions would help.
(4) Sometimes I have a drum part composed and wish I could switch to another app/drum machine. This can be easy if both apps support General MIDI mapping. But Garage Band is different, and Reason’s Kong is different still. So, I would like to be able to create drum maps. (I guess this also entails a drum editor.) Then, when changing drum sources one would only need select the corresponding drum map.
(5) Sometimes I have a note track I wish I could switch to a different synth or other instrument, but just temporarily for mobile composing. This can be easy if both instruments are assigned to the same pitches. But many synth parts/instruments are programmed at different octaves. So, it is an obstacle when there are many patterns in a track. If it is only one or two patterns it isn’t such a big deal as one can just transpose them in the editor. So, a per track octave shift would be nice—just like on a MIDI keyboard.
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Best Sequencer
In my search of the app store for a midi sequencer for external hardware this app proves to be the most capable and versital. Most other apps are either too limited to things like single channel or simple step sequencers, or try to be a full production daws with libraries of built in loops and instruments that I have no interest in. This app is perfect for people who want to create actual compositions on multiple peices of external hardware. The 16 tracks of pattern based sequences that can be arranged into songs is an extremely powerful tool for both live performance and studio creation.
As far as the UI goes, I found it to be very intuitive and easy to navigate despite a lot of the critisms from others. Of course, a quick reference to the manual is necessary every now and then to understand a button or a setting, but the basic workflow is very easy to understand.
tldr: best midi sequencer for external midi gear on the app store. All functionality, no fluff.
As far as the UI goes, I found it to be very intuitive and easy to navigate despite a lot of the critisms from others. Of course, a quick reference to the manual is necessary every now and then to understand a button or a setting, but the basic workflow is very easy to understand.
tldr: best midi sequencer for external midi gear on the app store. All functionality, no fluff.
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Nope
This is the least user friendly music app I've ever attempted to use. The documentation didn't help much. All I was looking for was a sequencer that I could use with Audiobus to trigger my iOS synths. Trying to find something simple now that I wasted money on this pretty, but useless (to me, anyway), sequencer.
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Genome is one of the Best
If you want one of the best midi sequencers for IOS then get Genome. The developer has documented very well so connecting is made easier. IOS has issues with virtual midi and the documentation helps to avoid pitfalls and explain why special attention is needed because all apps handle it differently. Also the sequencing features in Genome are fantastic. There are NOT that many excellent apps in this category so you have to choose the one that best suits your needs. For what this does, it is among the top ones for sure.
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Great clip launching midi sequencer
Midi clip launching, song mode, built in synth, drum machine and effects, it's a great tool for musical composition and thanks to LINK can stay in sync with other LINK supported apps.
Nope
whoever wrote the tutorial for this thing really dropped the ball and the instructional videos aren't much better.
Has Potential
Having played around with this for a few days, there are some excellent features, and the midi playback of other synths on their respective midi channels works extremely well ... and I guess that's what the app is for, so good marks there!
Genome Midi Sequencer has some real potential.
However, it suffers from a very non-intuitive interface. Furthermore, on my iPad 3 running iOS 9.3.2, some of the features just don't work - such as song mode playback. The glitches seem to occur when app switching, but I haven't pin-pointed this for sure.
The online manual seems hastily written and is incomplete. For the life of me, I still can't find where to name a song.
If the developer could re-think the interface a bit and do some real testing, this app would be sensational. A better manual and in-app help would be nice, too.
Genome Midi Sequencer has some real potential.
However, it suffers from a very non-intuitive interface. Furthermore, on my iPad 3 running iOS 9.3.2, some of the features just don't work - such as song mode playback. The glitches seem to occur when app switching, but I haven't pin-pointed this for sure.
The online manual seems hastily written and is incomplete. For the life of me, I still can't find where to name a song.
If the developer could re-think the interface a bit and do some real testing, this app would be sensational. A better manual and in-app help would be nice, too.
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Weak for the price
Unfortunately, I'm pretty disappointed with this app considering its price point.
It does have a couple of good features. The synth that comes built in with it sounds pretty good. And I like the idea of being able to highlight a chord on the keyboard, and then punch in the rhythm and it automatically fills in the notes.
But it is not very user friendly. Everything is controlled by counterintuitive buttons that have absolutely no labels, and are not adequately explained in the uninformative and awkwardly written owners manual.
If there is a way to select notes in the piano roll to edit, quantize, copy, paste, etc., I haven't discovered it. These tasks are easy in other similar apps.
Song mode apparently only holds up to 11 measures? No way to make it full screen? Can only loop one section of the song? Not functional at all. Sometimes the song will loop, sometimes it won't.
And the inbuilt drum machine is not very great.
Also, if you minimize the screen and come back to it, half the time it will have closed your song and you have to open it again.
It does have a couple of good features. The synth that comes built in with it sounds pretty good. And I like the idea of being able to highlight a chord on the keyboard, and then punch in the rhythm and it automatically fills in the notes.
But it is not very user friendly. Everything is controlled by counterintuitive buttons that have absolutely no labels, and are not adequately explained in the uninformative and awkwardly written owners manual.
If there is a way to select notes in the piano roll to edit, quantize, copy, paste, etc., I haven't discovered it. These tasks are easy in other similar apps.
Song mode apparently only holds up to 11 measures? No way to make it full screen? Can only loop one section of the song? Not functional at all. Sometimes the song will loop, sometimes it won't.
And the inbuilt drum machine is not very great.
Also, if you minimize the screen and come back to it, half the time it will have closed your song and you have to open it again.
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Good sequencer, room for improvements
It is a good sequencer and it supports several types of midi messages. It works well with external gears. The only complain I have, is that the process of selecting and loading a file is very painful and long.
Minor but useful improvements:
the piano roll could be edited with custom names (e.g. Kick, snare, etc ). This is helpful when sequencing a drum track with an external keyboard. It would be also nice to have a small drum pad in addition to the keyboard.
Minor but useful improvements:
the piano roll could be edited with custom names (e.g. Kick, snare, etc ). This is helpful when sequencing a drum track with an external keyboard. It would be also nice to have a small drum pad in addition to the keyboard.
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Solid not Perfect
It is a very solid MIDI sequencer which does CC sequencing too and you can arrange your patterns into songs. The addition of Link support would be great though it works well with the Link to MIDI app. There are some aspects of using the app that aren't intuitive.
Use this app on a regular basis and it's a go to app when you want to sequence multiple apps or hardware as it has very flexible and comprehensive MIDI routing.
Use this app on a regular basis and it's a go to app when you want to sequence multiple apps or hardware as it has very flexible and comprehensive MIDI routing.
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Not updated enough?
I have tried very very hard to like The Best MIDI Sequencer in the App Store, but I am tearing out what little hair I have left over the UI. In the interests of vanity at the very least, I am going to have to move on now to second-best--whichever that may be.
Most of the MIDI functionality of Genome 2 is perfecly fine, and I am sad to maybe have to settle for 32nd note resolution in some other app. The pattern editor lacks nothing that I can think of in the way of features: we get triplets and 128th notes and enough time signatures to adapt for almost any style of music. But the UI itself is unusable on my iPad Mini Retina. I suspect too much is left over from the pre-retina era: the font in the settings dialogs is impossibly small. The miniscule arrows that presumably scroll through the equally miniscule tempo values are smaller than my very slim-tipped stylus! Apparently one of the buttons in the sequencer is meant to accommodate two fingers, but it disappears under my pinky.
The measure lines blink on and off as I scroll the piano roll horizontally; the chances that they will be visible when I stop to enter a note seem to be about 50/50. Nudging the editor minutely back and forth several times in hopes of knowing where I am placing the next few notes is making music writing downright painful.The blue note markers fade into the dark background at low brightness settings: very hard to work with at night, when as everyone knows we musicians are wide awake.
The sequencer is puzzling, with cryptic transport control icons that are undocunented. I have not been able to figure out how to get a whole song to play as described in the very cursory documentation on the app's website. Turning a loop on is easy enough, but turning it off? No idea. I assume there is a good You Tube tutorial out there somewhere, but I get very impatient looking for "community documentation" for apps that should come with manuals. If Genome were trivially priced I could forgive this shortcoming, but at twenty bucks a pop, the devs should be documenting this thing or paying someone else to.
Very disappointed with Genome. It was probably very nice several years ago, but this "updated" version unfortunately leaves too much of 2011 in the UI.
Drat. I wanted to love you, Genome! But you insist on living yesterday instead of today. I must leave you now. Maybe you will wake up one of these tomorrows. Until then: àdieu.
Most of the MIDI functionality of Genome 2 is perfecly fine, and I am sad to maybe have to settle for 32nd note resolution in some other app. The pattern editor lacks nothing that I can think of in the way of features: we get triplets and 128th notes and enough time signatures to adapt for almost any style of music. But the UI itself is unusable on my iPad Mini Retina. I suspect too much is left over from the pre-retina era: the font in the settings dialogs is impossibly small. The miniscule arrows that presumably scroll through the equally miniscule tempo values are smaller than my very slim-tipped stylus! Apparently one of the buttons in the sequencer is meant to accommodate two fingers, but it disappears under my pinky.
The measure lines blink on and off as I scroll the piano roll horizontally; the chances that they will be visible when I stop to enter a note seem to be about 50/50. Nudging the editor minutely back and forth several times in hopes of knowing where I am placing the next few notes is making music writing downright painful.The blue note markers fade into the dark background at low brightness settings: very hard to work with at night, when as everyone knows we musicians are wide awake.
The sequencer is puzzling, with cryptic transport control icons that are undocunented. I have not been able to figure out how to get a whole song to play as described in the very cursory documentation on the app's website. Turning a loop on is easy enough, but turning it off? No idea. I assume there is a good You Tube tutorial out there somewhere, but I get very impatient looking for "community documentation" for apps that should come with manuals. If Genome were trivially priced I could forgive this shortcoming, but at twenty bucks a pop, the devs should be documenting this thing or paying someone else to.
Very disappointed with Genome. It was probably very nice several years ago, but this "updated" version unfortunately leaves too much of 2011 in the UI.
Drat. I wanted to love you, Genome! But you insist on living yesterday instead of today. I must leave you now. Maybe you will wake up one of these tomorrows. Until then: àdieu.
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Clumsy workflow
Lots of features but the workflow is all over the place. It has a tendency to kill the vibe. Just overall kind of clumsy.
Great!
Best midi sequencer out there. Supports multiple midi interfaces but would be great if you could assign an interface to a track, rather then just a midi channel. It plays all the data out all interfaces. Great AudioBus support, I sync this and b-step pro together, works flawlessly. Very cool editing features makes this a must have for midi pros, works great for live jamming also.
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