# Genome MIDI Sequencer — user reviews > 81 indexed App Store user reviews of Genome MIDI Sequencer by White Noise Audio Software, rated 3.30/5 from 13 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/genome-midi-sequencer/id450475494/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/genome-midi-sequencer/id450475494.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 6 · 4★ 0 · 3★ 2 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 3 ## Newest reviews (13 of 81) ### 3/5 — Old software *2020-12-21, version 2.0.3* This software has not been updated since many years. Not compatible with Apple files app ### 3/5 — Abandoned? *2020-03-16* 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. ### 3/5 — Time Sig/meter *2018-12-18* 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. ### 2/5 — Please Update *2017-11-27* 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 ### 3/5 — Has Potential *2016-06-09, version 2.0.1* 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. ### 3/5 — Weak for the price *2016-06-01* 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. ### 4/5 — Good sequencer, room for improvements *2016-05-10* 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. ### 4/5 — Solid not Perfect *2016-04-26, version 2.0.1* 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. ### 2/5 — Not updated enough? *2016-04-11, version 2.0.1* 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. ### 2/5 — Clumsy workflow *2016-03-22, version 2.0.1* Lots of features but the workflow is all over the place. It has a tendency to kill the vibe. Just overall kind of clumsy. ### 4/5 — Nice step sequencer *2016-01-11, version 2.0.1* This is a very nice step sequencer and now it has built in synth, drum machine and effects. ### 5/5 — Brilliant sequencer! *2015-06-03, version 2.0.0* This is the best midi sequencer on iOS - it's like Korg's excellent Gadget DAW but for third party synths - hook it up in Audiobus, with your favourite synth and send the output to Audioshare and capture your phrases for arranging in your favourite DAW, like Auria. ### 5/5 — The best iOS sequencer for sequencing hardware *2015-04-17, version 2.0.0* This is my first review but this app is so good I had to write one. I wanted to sequence my hardware synths from my iPad and tried various apps, midi machine, auxy (too limited) pro midi (too fiddly) etc, even tried the beta of modstep (looks good but not got to grips with it yet) . Anyway genome is the bomb. Didn't have to read the manual, simple to use, sequence up to 16 midi tracks, multiple patterns/clips for each track, clip launching, can link clips to form a song, syncs brilliantly to my drum machine, can play notes in live from midi keyboard, fantastic quantise etc, etc. This was the last one I tried but should have bought it first, fantastic app. Haven't used the new built in synth and drum machine cos not needed. Buy !!! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Not Intuitive at all *2025-04-09* Bought it, couldn’t get anything out of it or my money back. Beware ### 1/5 — Needs instructions *2025-02-23* 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. ### 1/5 — Nope *2017-06-13* 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. ### 1/5 — Nope *2016-08-05, version 2.0.1* whoever wrote the tutorial for this thing really dropped the ball and the instructional videos aren't much better. ### 1/5 — Sync issues when on off muting patterns *2015-09-18, version 2.0.0* I love this app when controlling my external midi synths, but it has one huge problem. When you mute a midi pattern and then later un mute the same pattern, it is no longer in sync with the song. Thus one can't drop patterns in and out of a song. Is this a midi note on or off problem as mentioned in a previous review? Is this a pattern change issue? I just can't use this app any longer if patterns won't stay in sync when muting. I am now back to using hardware. ### 1/5 — Worst MIDI Sequencer ever! *2015-07-18, version 2.0.0* The name is wrong. It should be called: 'Genome Step Sequencer'. Sadly, apart of Cubasis, there's no other serious MIDI sequencer for the iPad. It's a total nightmare to sequence tracks on this thing. All the beautiful potential of the iPad for zooming, scrolling, grabbing and moving notes with natural and intuitive gestures is wasted on this App. If you want to program some beats or little MIDI patterns is ok but for serious MIDI sequencing look elsewhere. It's not the cheapest App either! ### 1/5 — Bad sequencer issues *2015-06-30, version 2.0.0* This app has some serious MIDI note on/off messages that prevent it from correctly playing the notes in a sequence. Not very useful as a result. ### 1/5 — Hasn't been updated *2014-11-14, version 1.1.3* Some functions don't work under ios8 - like export. It was a great idea and this is the only sequencer that I could start with a midi command so I used it live a lot. An update to make things like export to Dropbox work would be worthwhile, hate it when IOS render a good app less usable. ### 1/5 — Mr *2014-08-20, version 1.1.3* Probably the most annoying purchase i made on itunes. Unfortunately is not fully compatible to one of the most useful apps (e.g. KORG's, Akai's, etc.) furthermore I experienced network connection issues a with Animoog (recommended app), does not send correct MIDI tempo signal to some other apps (e.g. iElectribe playing at double of the tempo), does not translate MIDI IN information correctly while sent by external MIDI devices connected through Camera Kit (officially supported, MIDI out works fine), it accepts MIDI IN tempo from external MIDI devices connected through Camera Kit, however keeps crashing if you change the bpm while playing. All these bugs are frustrating especially because most of them are meant by description to work properly. I demand a refund for this. ### 1/5 — So close to being perfect, but overpriced when flaws taken into account *2013-05-05* I really want to give this app a 5 star review, and I'm sure I will one day. However, for the current price, there are some fatal flaws that need to be adressed: -no metronome, are you kidding? makes it impossible to record midi data accurately -TAP TEMPO -when i duplicate a pattern, i would like it to also duplicate the scale. ALSO, the whole duplicate process is kind of cluttered…it should just be copy / paste from main page. also i want to be able to toggle between patterns when im in piano roll mode, so i can go back and forth quickly -maybe i just don't see it, but some basic arpeggiator functions would be nice -a good .pdf manual from the site would be nice…better than help web site all in all it's an amazing concept and pretty well done but there are just some things that are unacceptable for the price. once they are fixed i will change this to 5 stars asap :) ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — iOS MIDI-sequencing gem *2017-11-23* 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. ### 5/5 — My Favorite Sequencer *2017-11-03* 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. ### 5/5 — Best Sequencer *2017-07-23* 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. ### 5/5 — Genome is one of the Best *2016-10-21, version 2.0.3* 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. ### 5/5 — Great clip launching midi sequencer *2016-10-18, version 2.0.3* 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. ### 5/5 — Great! *2016-01-18, version 2.0.1* 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. ### 5/5 — Brilliant - still the best *2015-12-24, version 2.0.1* Big smart midi power, this app (with Audiobus) makes the dream of iPad as meta DAW come true ### 5/5 — Great! *2015-11-02, version 2.0.1* All of my Cubasis piano roll problems solved! So easy and everything just works, multiple midi channels simultaneously and midi tracks separated after export with open-in functionality. Wish I would have found it sooner. Perfect, recommend to anyone in need of an editor/sequencer. ### 5/5 — Love this app *2015-10-05, version 2.0.1* Great update! once again genome has been updated and made EVEN better than it was., i can tell you without a doubt its the best midi sequencer for ios. really awesome for live performance as well as song composition. Version 2 is sweetness time to get back to making music! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! :D ### 5/5 — I love it. *2015-06-26, version 2.0.0* At the heart of Genome is a very flexible step sequencer that allows you to develop and apply grooves to your midi notes. It connects to my Midi synths well. I'm most impressed by the flexibility of the sequencer though. It would be good to see continued development of this app as it has the potential to be a killer. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*