[BETA] Sequencer Pro

[Korhaan]

Hi There,

Looking for some people willing to beta test a new version of my music app Sequencer. Just a quick description: Sequencer is a step sequencer music creation app that allows composition of loops with either audio samples or its' built in synthesizer. The application is already offered as a free app, but it is in the process of getting updated as a paid app with new features, which is what the beta test is for.

Here are the things that are likely to cause issues/bugs, so want to focus on.

- I have only tested the app on a Lumia 520 and 920, so testing on any other devices would be good.

- Sample import. Sample packs, which are just zip files containing wav files, can be loaded into the application so there are more sounds for it. Since there isn't a convenient way for quickly adding files to windows phone, they have to be downloaded into the app via a url or skydrive. I suspect there are problems here that I haven't thought of.

- Any weirdness with saves

- Any random crashes of course

- Anything that is confusing in the UI, so I can try to fix workflow or write documentation for it.

- Feature requests to get added to this or the next version.


So if anyone is interested, please send me your live ID, and I can add it to the list when I submit the app for beta. Can either PM me the ID or shoot an email to contact@sequencer.net

Thanks

- Eze
korhaan.com /sequencer

 

[Korhaan]

Thanks for everyone who showed interest in the beta. The Sequencer Pro beta app is now published and can be downloaded from the link here:
Sequencer Pro | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)

One thing to mention is that the sample import process may not be too intuitive. To download samples into the app, you must first create or have a sample pack ready to download. All a sample pack is, is a .zip file that contains uncompressed wave files. I thought this format was convenient because this the most common format you will get samples in when buying them from a store, or downloading royalty free samples from the web. There are two ways you can download sample packs into the app, via a URL, or via SkyDrive.

To Download Via URL:
- Open your phone’s web browser, and search for a sample pack on the web (You can use this free sample pack I’ve sampled from a drum machine as an example https://s3.amazonaws.com/ei_samples/Analog-Drums-1.zip)
- Once you find a sample pack you want to download, press and hold on the link, this will bring up a context menu
- Select “copy link” to copy the link to the zip file into the clipboard
- Open the Sequencer App, and in the main screen click the transfer button (Up and down arrows)
- Tap Import Sample Packs
- URL Import mode will be selected by default, so just paste the link in the text box, then click the “Import" button

To Download Via SkyDrive:
-Sequencer will look for sample packs in your SkyDrive, in folder “Sequencer Data\Import.” So this will need to be setup before you can import from SkyDrive. In your root SkyDrive folder, create a new folder “Sequencer Data”. In that folder, create a new folder named “Import”.
-Copy any sample packs you want to download into the “Import” folder.
- Open the Sequencer App, and in the main screen click the transfer button
- Tap Import Sample Packs
-Tap the “SkyDrive Import” tab, and then tap the “Sign In” button on the right to connect to SkyDrive
- The app will then search the “Import” folder for any available sample packs. Which one to download can be selected from the list picker.
- Tap “Import” to start downloading the sample pack.

 

[Korhaan]

Also, here are a few screenshots for anyone not in the beta, but still interested in seeing some pictures:


New FX Send Editor


Piano Style Pitch Editor


Imported Sample Pack Browser

 

[Korhaan]

Just an update on the beta. Have been getting some excellent feedback, thank you to everyone trying out the app! Have fixed a lot of bugs and even added a few more features. Probably only a few more builds from initial release. One of the added features is row level copy/paste so you can build your loops faster:


Copy Prompt for new Copy/Paste feature

Also, here is the changelist of patches made:

Beta build 2 fixes:
- Fixed bug where you couldn't back out of app
- Removed a bug related to imported samples that caused crash on startup
- Added wave file minimum of 500 bytes to prevent import of stub osx ".wav" files appearing in some sample packs
- Added setting to use phone's accent color as the theme color
- Updates to imported sample bank saving
- Optimizations to mixer when playing back imported samples

Beta build 2.1 fixes:
- Fixed a saving bug that happened when application was deactivated
- Optimization to sample browser loading

Beta build 2.2 fixes:
- Fixed crash that could happen on block change
- Added double-tap to show step edit mode
- Added row level copy/paste (press and hold on step grid to activate)

Beta build 2.3 fixes:
- Fixed back out of app bug regression
- Added light theming of graphics for XAML pages
- Added limit messages for cellular download and battery power download via SkyDrive
- Downloaded sample packs are now sorted by downloading first, and alphabetically
- Fixed bug where background download of SkyDrive file would be lost when quitting app

 

[Korhaan]

Hey, final update for the beta is completed, and Sequencer Pro V1 is now live! Thank you very much to everyone who took some time to try the beta and give feedback and suggestions. A few more useful features got included before the first release. Individual step volume settings as well as synthesizer note length were added (Vertical fill of a step indicates volume level and the white horizontal line on the bottom of the step indicates a synthesizer custom note length is set)

Here are a few more screenshots including the new features:




And here is a quick loop made in the app:

https://soundcloud.com/korhaan/sequencer-pro-demo-1


Sequencer Pro | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)