Sugar Bytes has released Thesys – an iPad version of their ‘extremely powerful and intuitive’ MIDI step sequencer app.
Thesys provides a versatile palette of performance options, which can be triggered right from your MIDI keyboard: you can transpose, manipulate, twist up, mutate, and mangle patterns without needing to touch your iPad.
You can use Thesys on your iPad to control apps or external hardware or software synths.
Here’s a video intro to Thesys:
Note that the demo video is for an early version of the desktop version of the app – an updated demo for the iPad version has not been created yet.
iPad Edition Features:
- MIDI file Export
- Integrated Synth
- Audiobus Support (Sender)
- Full MIDI Support (Virtual, Network, Extern)
- Midi Clock Sync (Master & Slave)
- Action Section (Gatetime, Looper, Slowdown…)
- Pattern Sequencer
- Jack iOS Support
- Zoom
Thesys is available now for $14.99 in the App Store.
If you’ve used Thesys, let us know what you think of it!
First Nave, then Thor – now this!
Thursday’s becoming the day for killer iPad apps, I guess.
Looks good but can it overcome the issue in Logic and ProTools where it only sends the start command at the beginning of the song? So far none of the iOS step sequencers do which makes this Logic user bummed. (I’m happy to be wrong if somebody knows about one the will sync properly) I know that the guy from Genome is working on it with his by so far hasn’t got that out. AFAIK.
Hey rgb, have you tried Koushion? We’re working on more updates, some are background audio and many more. iOS 7 will also allow us to make some cooler UI updates as well.
Just to be clear can anybody confirm that this seems to be a SINGLE TRACK sequencer , so although they talk about bass, lead, chords …they mean only ONE at a time ? So this is comparable to StepPolyArp but not MULTI TRACK sequencers like Genome or MidiPatternSequencer , correct?
Looking at screens on the app store it’s the same hacky porting job as with Turnado. Letting the user zoom in on tiny UI elements is NOT how you optimize for touch input.
Thesys is my favorite step sequencer, very glad it’s now on iPad.
Is it only 4/4 and 16th notes? ‘twould be cool (and extremely powerful) if a step sequencer let you have more than one kind of meter.
Have you checked out Phaedra or Little Midi Machine? They both are based on traditional step sequencer concepts and you can set up multiple sequences running in different metres.
Cyclops next please……
Yes will Cyclops be next? Thanks anyway SugerBytes 🙂 Digg your stuff.
could this be what I’ve been looking for..?
can anyone confirm it runs in the background? I’ve been bitten by that nasty omission several times. and is the clock sync reliable? (eg, with loopy)
Yes, it runs on the background, and the MIDI clock is pretty solid stable.
Other than Numerology (which is overkill for what I want) it is the best Step Sequencer i’ve used. I use 4 of these together in Ableton on a tablet to run external synths. If it can do different sequences for different MIDI channels then it is a must-buy. I’m guessing it is only one channel though.
Why not just switch to Numerology? It wouldnt be overkill if it was your DAW rather than a sequencer in your DAW!
I’m not using Numerology because i’m running it on a Windows 8 tablet not on a Mac. Kinda long story but i’m sequencing a Nord Modular, need a Win OS to run the editor and need a tablet to fit with my rack case. I think Thesys is the next best thing and i’ve played with Kirnu Cream, Xfer Cthulhu and a few cool Max For Live step sequencers. It is the easiest to edit with a stylus also.
No, actually you don’t need Win OS to run Nord editor. I have 10.6.8 and it is running fine – very picky about midi interfaces tho. And there’s also the Nomad editor that runs on Lion and up.
Yes, the Nord editor works on Snow Leopard – but nothing above that. And Nomad doesn’t work on anything anymore – have you tried it? Outdated JAVA!
I use Thesys a bit as an AU. As far as the plugin version goes I can say No, it’s not just 16th and 4/4. Yes it is single track. The midi modifiers are pretty in depth as far as analogue style sequencers go. The big upside, for me is the way it handles note commands out of the box. It has an interesting function to alter your sequence when you hit a midi note. You can trigger a pattern, a nice little take on the stutter/midi delay, and a few other nice little performance bits. In true Sugar Bytes form it supports midi learn on nearly everything. Great scale library for old timers to jaded to care. All in all it’s fun, I havent been playing with it long but I do like it quite a bit.
went and bought.. the inbuilt synth is pretty cool for something billed as just a midi sequencer. seems really deep overall, and I don’t mind the zooming too much
Just played with it on my buddy’s iPad and its cool and all, but if you already have Genome and Koushion like me then you might just pass …until it goes on sale! After all, I just read that J Rudess has a new app coming out that I’m saving up for that’s like Simon Says only with wizards and overwrought piano noodling! It’s a dream come true for us all!
Anyways I’m really loving the Arpeggionome at the moment, though it differs from the other above apps in that its not purely modeled on analog sequencers but also incorporates an arpeggiator. But it’s got a really original playability to it and is truly inspiring when coupled with something like Razor- great for unusual intros and breaks and that.
I love Arpeggionome, and while I want to like Jordan Rudess he rarely if ever updates his apps. I can’t help but think he’s more of a salesman…concentrating on making money and only whimsically excited about ideas than actually committing to them. Sorry, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I won’t buy another Rudess involved app until he significantly updates his other apps. Thesys I’ve tried as an AU in Logic. It was pretty cool. But, I am going to wait a little. I want to see people using this seriously first. I spend too much money on music apps and hardware…and now Im trying to get engaged. So, it’s gotta be really good and very useful! I caved on Waldorf Nave…because hey…it’s Waldorf! I love their synths! Just don’t tell my (hopefully) future fiancee. Shhhhh!!!
“… only whimsically excited about ideas than actually committing to them.”
Isn’t it a core problem that people grab at the next thing too easily, just because its shiny? If that’s okay with you because its just a fun hobby, no problem, been there, but it tends to clog things up if you really want to step up your game. I’ve ended up with a small hybrid rig of a little old stuff and a bit of new. I’m not convinced about iPads just yet, but by adding (and subtracting) carefully, I’m at a point where I have more fun with less sweat. Don’t dismiss the new goods, but don’t let the race gobble up your time and focus, either.
LOL well dry smart ass remarks don’t always translate well when written…poorly! I was being a complete and utter dick about Rudess! SampleWiz is cool, ill admit, but i chalk that up to the devs he hired, the guy is just a complete dork in my book! All that wizard crap, all the souless wankery: the fact that he’s considered a rock star just underscores how far rock has fallen since its golden age…and I won’t even go into that goatee because anyone with sense hates it!
A Simon Says app where you try and memorize and recreate his worthless self-described “chops???” You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!!! Sorry about the rant, but I can’t have even anonymous strangers thinking I in any way approve of that freak! LOL talk about false ego trips
Rudess plays like a guy with a classical foundation from Julliard; he’s not just some dilettante. His Kurzweil Orchestral block demos were jaw-dropping. Its dazzling, but also harder for some to embrace because it takes added work to interpret. Prog, like jazz, takes a few listenings for real comprehension of the piece to set in. You have to sweat for it, so naturally, punk and disco had to oppose its more bloated excesses. I like some of it, but the majority seems overblown. Too many 64th notes wears out yer ear. I’d like to hear something between that and 4/4 dance.
Fungo McGurk, you’re my hero. Not only did you use the word “dilettante” appropriately, but you stand for musicianship, which (regrettably) is becoming increasingly rare among the Synth Circuit. (Not trying to say it’s gone, but increasingly rare I think is a fair assessment)
Well thanks! I’ve seen Keith Emerson live and I’ve seen several operas. The one common thread is how much SWEAT you can hear. It takes untold hours to really shred like that. The thing that nags at me a bit is that once I stepped past what was really easy to play, it got more interesting and became more of a passion & less of a hobby. That 2nd or 3rd level of discovery, where you start finding your own voice, is a goal very few seem to realize is the Synth Grail. That’s why simpler things sometimes leave me wanting to hear what’s on that next possible level. Few of us will ever become as capable as Rudess, but you might be surprised at what comes out if you find the right mix between tech savvy and putting your shoulder to it physically. Patrick Moraz asked some Brazilian street musicians if they could read music and they said “Oh yes, but not enough to hurt our interpretation.” That’s the ticket.
one of the big features in Thesys for me is a swing slider. Not sure about koushon but in genome I believe you have to actually quantise the notes (destructive editing) into the desired swing pattern, which kinda sucks imo. swing should be a playback modifier not ‘baked’ into the midi positions.
in fact this feature is missing in pretty much all midi sequencers I’ve liked on ipad
This is a very powerful app. I really like it.