I’m looking for a VST that generates random sequences. What would you suggest?
Stepic. Especially you are an an Ableton user (M4L version).
Sugar Bytes Thesys and Devicemeister Stepic are both very powerful sequencer with lots randomization options.
Which DAW are you using? Ableton Live has some generative features that can be combined with chance to create evolving random sequences and there are many free Max for Live sequencers that include randomization like the ML-185 Stage Controlled Sequencer
I’m a live user. Ideally I want something that maps all the key controls to a MIDI controller for generating sequences live.
ML-185 is completely midi mappable. I mapped it to my BCR2000 which has enough knobs and buttons for all the parameters.
The randomization in Stepic gives you more control, you can dial in the range individually (how many octaves, how much velocity, note lengths etc.) and you can set scales. ML-185 is pretty straight-forward so you can easily randomize by wildly turning knobs or target its parameters with max for live random lfos.
Thesys also can be midi controlled, I think Stepic as well, but since they are fairly complex, I never tried it.
If you have Live Suite then would test/rinse those that you already have access to - Melodic Steps (Creative Extensions pack I believe) and the new Sequencer Pack.
Excellent M4L examples too like ML-185 suggested by Schnork.
Opal-CTRL that forms part of what comes with Fors Opal is excellent too and hye, look, an incredible ‘groovebox’ VST as a bonus.
+1. Lot’s of sequencers in Live and you can also browse sequencers on maxforlive.com
If you want to randomize things like note length, velocity and other parameters individually and the device does not offer randomization over those parameters, just map an M4L lfo (or some other modulator that offers random) to it and turn the lfo on/off for a new cycle of randomization. You can also record the output into a midi track (or use Live’s midi capture) and loop different sections (with a 1/16ths grid, you can get so many new sequences from the recorded notes, it’s like moving start/end point around within the randomized sequences) and apply all sorts of midi editing techniques.
But Thesys and Stepic are still great! ![]()
The new sequencers in Live are awesome and feel a bit modernised from the older Max packs, plenty of randomisation etc. These are where I’d focus first.
Outside that Seqund is fun, though I’ve not tested it with key mapping tbh so would need a manual read. I believe it’s based on M4L sequencers that Alex built, so it’s got that M4L DNA to it but with a big interface to play with. Wait for a sale for this one.
Not completely random but worth a look and free:
In addition to the options already mentioned, you may want to consider the offerings from Audiomodern. They have sequencers with randomization options, with support for MIDI mapping so you can trigger the randomization from a hardware controller. Check out Riffer for monophonic melodic lines, Playbeat for drum sequencing, and Chordjam for chords.
For something quite different, TATAT from K-devices can produce unpredictable sequences.
I’ve tried a bunch but this is my mainstay. I really like how it can be clocked by incoming midi notes rather than just divisions of the main clock. But there’s a lot going on here, I don’t know how realistic it would be to try mapping everything - it’s easy enough to get around on Push but for a generic controller it might be too much.
Fwiw though, for me I think it also helps to focus on the essentials rather than trying to manually control everything. I set up the randomisation parameters to a range I’m comfortable with and map the randomisation buttons to dummy clips, so even with Push most of the time instead of going in and editing individual stages, if I get a pattern that isn’t working I’ll just roll the dice again. But for sure I’d want midi control over length and offset to allow for focusing in on smaller sections of the pattern, but a lot of the time I don’t really need much more beyond that.
I also like this free Turing Machine a lot:
Again can be clocked independently of the master and has that classic thing of opening it up until you find something then locking it and exploring for a while before moving on (edit Tony Surgeon explains this a bit using the modular version and an Octatrack, but also a bunch of other videos on it)
A lot depends on how much randomisation / generative stuff you want. For me a lot of the fun is in reacting to what the sequencer gives you and kinda steering it rather than going for granular control of every aspect.
If you’re looking for sequencer plugins (not M4L devices), you may also consider one of the options in the HY-Plugins Sequencer Bundle. These include controls to randomize various aspects of the sequences, and support MIDI mapping.
I’ve used these in the past … very good ![]()