Audio Vitamins’ probabilistic polyrhythmic sequencer, Stochas, is now open source and FREE!
Stochas was originally developed as closed source software back in 2016 and was made available for sale by Audio Vitamins. The original idea sprang from a JSFX plugin (Reaper plugin) created by Andrew Shakinovsky called Stochasticizer which allowed semi-random sequencing of melodic and drum lines. Andrew was contacted by Dave Clissold of Audio Vitamins who suggested creating a plugin that would work in any DAW. The two worked together to design the product which was released a few months later. Due to lack of time to devote to marketing a commercial product, in 2020 it was decided to release the software as open source in the hope that it would be useful to music producers around the world.
Features
- Cross-platform MIDI sequencer surfaced as a VST/AU/etc. plugin
- Suitable for both drum and melodic programming
- Allows random selection of designated notes in a sequence (random or semi-random melodic lines)
- Allows random triggering of notes (more dynamic and varied drum patterns)
- Adjust randomness of note start times for more humanized playback
- Adjust randomness of note velocity and length
- Fully MIDI-programmable interface for live performance. Mute/unmute layers, change patterns, time signature, etc. on the fly via MIDI
- Chain mode allows procedural programming (e.g. “if this note plays/doesn’t play then always/never play this other note”)
- Adjust note start time to move sequence “off the grid”, as well as note length
- Record incoming MIDI to grid
- Use Chord mode to quickly add chords to the sequence
- Select from preset scales, or customize notes in grid along with note names; save/load note names from file
- Add swing or groove; import groove from MIDI files
- Create up to 4 layers with different time signature, playback speed and/or number of steps per layer
- Create up to 8 patterns
Stochas is open source and available for FREE from the Surge Synth Team website.