Sinevibes Sequential 2 review

The latest Audio Unit effects plugin from Sinevibes (still no VST or Windows support, sadly) is a redesign of one of its previous successes, and while ease of use has always been a tentpole of the Sinevibes philosophy, Sequential 2 is probably its most intuitive device yet.

An effects sequencer with an understated appearance and a minimalistic control set, there's really not much to it: 16 effects processors each get a lane on a sequencing grid, which can be up to 32 steps long and run at speeds up to 1/64 per step. By activating a step on any lane other than the Dry one at the top, the effect on that lane is applied to the incoming audio signal, enabling tempo-synced 'hocketing' between effects. It's as simple as that.

The effects comprise the usual filters and bitcrushers, as well as some more intriguing modules. Circuit-bent Filter is a deliciously broken low-pass, while Glitch Oscillator seems to be some sort of sample-and-hold oscillator, and Sine Shaper and Dual Sine Shaper are a characterful pair of waveshapers.

Each effect has just one control - Cutoff for the filters, Curve for the waveshapers, Speed for the Phaser, etc - and all have been tuned to a specific range in order to give consistently usable results. Don't misinterpret "usable" as "always pleasant", though, as Sequential's output ranges from gently edgy to spectacularly aggressive. A dry/wet mix control helps to keep things under control.

Sequential comes with just shy of 50 presets, but the whole sequencer can be randomised at a click, which - given the highly source-dependent nature of the plugin - is a great way to get started with a new patch.

It's also worth noting that it's 'monotimbral', in that you can only activate one effect per step - obviously, we'd love to see the ability to combine multiple effects at once.