ScaleGen vs Quantum Sequencer

ScaleGen - the ultimate scale generator and editor! Generate and manipulate musical scales in any way you can imagine. You think you know what a scale is - think again. In ScaleGen you can do all that you would traditionally imagine when it comes to scales and pitch organisation, and then much, much more. Define or change scales in the most detailed and intricate way. Audition the scales you make from within the app or export it as a MIDI file or to our app Gestrument - the revolutionary gesture-instrument. This is the tool for anyone who wants to go beyond the traditional tonalities in whichever genre. ScaleGen comes with predefined scales of all kinds - from the traditional western scales and early music (Baroque/Renaissance) scales to asian scales from India, Indonesia and elsewhere as well as more conceptual scales based in the classical contemporary music. This is the ultimate tool for experimental composers in any genre as well as for musicians who want to explore new ways of thinking about music. The educational aspects of how pitches can be organised makes ScaleGen a must have for serious music students. But the directness of the app makes the learning both fun and artistically developing. What is a scale? For most people it is a collection of pitches within one octave, with equal temperament (all half tone steps equally long) or with microtonal intonation. That kind of scales are of course possible to make and edit in ScaleGen which gives you a keyboard with complete control of up to 24 pitches within one octave. But the most interesting things with ScaleGen is when you start to think of a scale as something more open. Consider these questions: What if your scale was different in every octave? Why must a scale always go from down to up? What if you could use a variation of the overtone series as a scale? How does it sound if you divide the octave in five steps instead of twelve? In ScaleGen we define a scale as any list of MIDI pitches that you can manipulate in many ways. You can start with a keyboard to input pitches, you can use the concept of the overtone series with multiplication of frequencies, you can define the number and size of the steps in the scale or you can import MIDI files and use them as scales. Then you can fine-tune your scale in a matrix with a number of tools. You can then try and play your scale directly in the app, using built-in sounds or control your favorite external synthesizer/app through MIDI. If you want to try and play on your newly created scales in another way we recommend you open them in the app Gestrument - the revolutionary gesture-instrument. But you can also save the scales as text, Scala, or MIDI files and open them in another program.

Quantum is a performance midi sequencer which approaches music composition with an interactive creation processes - sometimes referred to as 'noodling'. Where pattern or piano-role sequencers are good for music forms (intro/verse/chorus etc) or grid entry, Quantum's approach is built around the idea of a step being the focus - think of the step as a single note or chord written on a music sheet then add a lot of extra notation (like probability of playing or ornamentation say). These highly detailed steps are then aligned into sequences (think melodies) that loop. You can have any length up to 64, but these can be further split into 4 sub-sequences that have their own set of sequencer parameters (like tempo, play direction, transpose etc). To enter step parameters such as note pitch, velocity, gated length etc, 16 general faders are available which allow you to draw, drag, select copy/paste, inc/dec & link together to edit values. These are also midi learnable (midi cc or nrpn) to allow you to use control surfaces or midi controllers. To aid you with faster control Quantum has loop actions which you can program in to carry out tasks when a sequence loops - e.g. transpose, randomise, start or load another sequence etc. With up to 24 sequences playing Quantum introduces a mixer page allowing you to blend midi velocities. Built on the MidiSequencer engine, midi FX, devices & Controllers are now possible per sequence. So why would Quantum be good for your setup? There are many midi enabled IOS & hardware synths that produce exotic timbres if you send them fast & varied midi controls that you just would not hear with keyboard playing or slow tempo tunes. Also, Quantum, embraces experimentation in melody creation and by copy/pasting allowing quick setup of arpeggios & counterpoint tunes that you can create & manipulate on the fly! note : This app sends midi information - you need to use it in conjunction with any midi enabled iOS synth app (e.g. Sunrizer) to hear sounds