White Noise Audio Genome review

From the day it was announced, electronic musicians have felt that Apple's iPad could be the ideal hands-on MIDI sequencer, taking the place of bulkier (and costlier) hardware MIDI sequencers and laptops for both stage use and composing on the go.

The latter role has been fulfilled quite nicely with products like NanoStudio and iSequence, standalone apps with built in synths, sounds and effects. However, dedicated MIDI sequencers that could drive hardware and software have been thin on the ground.

Genome seeks to fill the gap with a full-blown pattern and song-based sequencer dedicated to driving external MIDI devices. Genome works with either the Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer or CoreMIDI (but not both at once). It has no onboard sound generation of its own - this is all about sequencing.

The interface is built around patterns and is not unlike your average DAW, with them spread across a grid. Each pattern is assigned to a MIDI channel and you can have up to 16 playing at once.

Editing patterns is done via a piano roll and notes can be entered by tapping them in or from an external MIDI controller. Velocity, aftertouch, and MIDI CCs can be recorded, too.

You can trigger patterns live, or arrange them into a song. The former is by far the most fun. Songs can be exported as MIDI files (MIDI can also be imported into patterns). Four time signatures are offered for prog and jazz musos. Oh, and it'll sync with an external MIDI clock, too, as either master or slave.

It's easy to use and does what it claims. We were able to get both hardware and software synths pumping along quite nicely. At the price, it's a no-brainer.