Otoo vs RS

Otoo is a streamlined, one-screen groovebox designed for frictionless music production. Built around an innovative free-form step sequencer, Otoo breaks away from rigid grids, allowing you to place, drag, and stack notes freely across independent rows. Whether you are sketching out ideas using the native built-in engine and sampler or hosting your favorite third-party AUv3 plugins, Otoo delivers a distraction-free environment that prioritizes speed and musical flow. On iPhone, the interface dynamically scales to give your AUv3 instruments a near-fullscreen home, paired with a compact, highly responsive keyboard for immediate creation on the go. Otoo also includes Otoo MIDI, an AUv3 MIDI processor version of the app. It brings Otoo’s pattern-based sequencing into compatible AUv3 hosts, where playback follows the host timeline and instruments are routed as MIDI Out destinations instead of audio instruments. Distraction-Free Workflow • The single-screen layout keeps your sequence, arrangement and mixer visible at all times so you never have to dive into menus. • A free-form step sequencer lets you place, drag, and stack notes across any row without rigid instrument or track restrictions. • Step editing mode gives you precise control over note length, velocity, and timing subdivisions. • The gesture-driven mixer allows for quick volume adjustments, muting, and soloing directly from the main grid. • 4 rows on iPhone and 5 on iPad, with multiple instruments available in each row at different steps 
• 2-octave keyboard for playing and learning real notes Sounds and plug-ins 
• Up to 8 instruments per project
 • Built-in sounds and sampler
 • Use any installed AUv3 instruments in a large, near-fullscreen view with a compact keyboard 
• Up to 2 AUv3 effects per instrument
 • Sampler with instant key-by-key recording and chromatic mapping Patterns to full songs
 • Build songs from simple patterns
 • Draggable loop markers for quick arrangement changes Performance mode
 • Live sequencer and audio effects such as reverse, beat repeat, randomize, swing, triplet, tape, and more
 • Play the pattern like a keyboard by tapping steps directly Other features • Main output with built-in level protection • Automatic metronome when recording live into empty patterns • Export patterns or full songs as WAV or MP3 for easy sharing • Export performances as perfect loops • MIDI export • Supported time signatures: 4/4, 3/4, 4/4T and sequencer swing.

RS-1 turns your mobile device into a hardware-grade sequencer that feels like the real thing. Built for iPhone and iPad, it packs 6 tracks (8 on iPad), a tactile 16-step grid, and 8 joinable patterns you can chain into full arrangements. Drive any piece of hardware or software instrument with real-time MIDI 2.0 over Bluetooth, USB, or Wi-Fi, and lock everything to your rig with Ableton Link sync. Five unique tools let you edit, alter, and even scramble your patterns on the fly, building complex polyrhythms and melodies with just a few tweaks. The interface borrows its workflow straight from classic hardware sequencers: every control for every track sits right in front of you, so you stay locked into your musical ideas instead of menu diving. All of it slips right into your pocket. SEQUENCING The beat grid runs six horizontal tracks across sixteen vertical steps. Tap a cell to toggle its trigger gate. Each track has its own free-running playhead, so you can build polymeter by giving different tracks different effective lengths. Eight independent patterns share the same track routing - MIDI channels, mute/solo states, and output destinations carry across every pattern. Hold down the pattern buttons to chain them into a sequence, and use Copy/Paste to duplicate a pattern in a tap. FIVE CREATIVE TOOLS 1. Note Input Tool - Edit a track in focus view. Tap a track header to open five tabs, each assigning a per-step value: - Pitch: Set each step's pitch, quantised to a scale. Custom scales supported. - Velocity: Rescale overall velocity with a single slider. - Gate: Adjust note duration per step. - Ratchet: Set the number of repeats; a slider adjusts the repeat interval. - Chance: Probability-based step removal. 2. CC Tool - Edit a track's MIDI CC messages in focus view. Tap a track header to open five tabs: four CC slots plus a Program Change tab. Draw automation curves for filter sweeps and modulation, or send program changes manually for preset switching. 3. Combine Tool - Stitch adjacent steps into longer, legato notes. Drag across cells to select, then press Combine to join them. 4. Time Tool - Shape playback per track: Division (step length), Shift (rotate the pattern in time), Swing, and Loop length. 5. Order Tool - Choose from 19 play orders, ranging from straight patterns to algorithmic, generative ones. MIDI & CONNECTIVITY SETUP 1. Open the Config menu. For a wireless connection: - Bluetooth LE: Connect iOS to an external Bluetooth MIDI device. Tap "Scan" to discover nearby devices, then tap "Connect" to pair. Pairing happens once; the device reconnects automatically from then on. - Bluetooth Peripheral: Connect to macOS over Bluetooth. Turn on the switch, then open the Bluetooth page in macOS Audio MIDI Setup and click Connect. - Network MIDI: Connect to macOS over Wi-Fi. open macOS Audio MIDI Setup, create a network session, and connect to your device. - USB MIDI: Available when a USB-to-MIDI OUT cable is plugged into your device. Once connected, the device appears in the output selection. 2. Choose your MIDI output destination from the drop-down menu. NOTE: Wireless connections can introduce latency and jitter. For the most stable timing, USB is recommended. MIDI 2.0 output: per-track channel routing. Supports MIDI clock sync and MIDI transport sync. Ableton Link: Automatic beat synchronisation across devices and apps on the same network that support Link. Tempo changes follow instantly, and Start/Stop sync is available. PRESETS 16 preset slots capture everything - all patterns, tool states, MIDI routing, and settings. Slots are colour-coded for quick identification, and you can load or save in a single tap. PERMISSIONS - Bluetooth: Used to connect with Bluetooth MIDI devices. - Wireless Data: Used to connect to a macOS network Wi-Fi MIDI session. It does not access the internet. - Find Devices on Local Network: Used for Ableton Link.