Installation, pattern creation, MIDI routing and performance controls.
Sequencer is a MIDI-effect plugin. The main plugin is installed as VST3; there is no standalone application. The optional Max for Live device opens and controls the same VST3 inside Ableton Live, so the VST3 is always required even when Max for Live is selected.
| Platform | Machine architecture | Plugin format | Max for Live |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS | Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x86_64), Universal binary | VST3 — required | Optional |
| Windows | 64-bit Intel and AMD (x64) | VST3 — required | Optional |
Sequencer-macOS.pkg.The VST3 is installed in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/. When selected, the Max device is installed in ~/Music/Ableton/User Library/Presets/MIDI Effects/Max MIDI Effect/.
Sequencer_Setup.zip.Sequencer_Setup.exe.The VST3 is installed in the system Common Files VST3 directory. When selected, the Max device is installed in Documents\Ableton\User Library\Presets\MIDI Effects\Max MIDI Effect\.
Sequencer receives MIDI notes, transforms them through the active pattern and sends the resulting MIDI to the next instrument. It does not generate audio, so an instrument must receive its MIDI output.
Compatible VST3 host: MIDI input → Sequencer VST3 → instrument → audio output.
Ableton Live: MIDI input → Sequencer Max for Live device/VST3 → next instrument → audio output.
Sequencer keeps playback, pattern editing and performance controls in one window. The large editor on the right shows the selected lane across 32 steps, while the controls on the left define how the pattern starts, advances and responds to incoming MIDI.
Choose the play mode, save and browse presets, move to the previous or next preset, open the main menu and select the MIDI Center note from the controls across the top.
Play enables sequence output and Record captures incoming MIDI into the pattern. The shift buttons move the pattern, while Rand and Reset modify the selected lane. Retrigger and Impose determine how new notes interact with a sequence already in progress.
Select Pitch, Velocity, Gate, Pan, Rate or CTRL 1–4 to decide what the pattern editor displays. When a CTRL lane is selected, the Amount and Offset controls shape its outgoing values.
Sync and Beat/Time control the timing source and step duration. Direction selects the playback order, while Start and Step define the starting position and movement through the pattern.
The two 16-step rows form one 32-step pattern. Drag inside a step to edit the selected lane, and use the trigger row to enable or disable individual steps. The small triangle marks the selected starting step.
A pattern contains 32 steps, displayed as two rows of 16. Each step combines an on/off trigger with the value of the currently selected section. This lets the same 32-step pattern control pitch, velocity, gate, pan, rate and all four CTRL lanes.
First select the section you want to edit, then click or drag vertically inside the value area of a step. The line and value label update to show the new setting. Drag across multiple steps to draw a continuous pattern in one gesture.
Use the trigger strip at the top of each step to include or remove that step from playback. A lit trigger is active; a dark trigger is disabled. Disabled steps remain part of the pattern but do not generate a sequenced note.
The small triangle at the left edge of a step marks the current Start position. Change it with the Start control, and Sequencer will begin from that position when the pattern is started or restarted.
Hold Alt on Windows or Option on macOS while changing a step to apply the change across all 32 steps in the currently selected section. On the trigger strip, the first clicked step determines the result: clicking an inactive trigger activates every trigger, while clicking an active trigger disables every trigger.
A drag from mouse-down to mouse-up is treated as one edit for Undo and Redo, even when the gesture changes multiple steps.
Every lane stores its own value for each of the 32 steps. Select a lane to display and edit it without changing the values stored in the other lanes. The illuminated indicator shows which lane is currently visible in the pattern editor.
Transposes each generated note in semitones. Choose the editing range from Pitch Range in the main menu: −12 to +12, −24 to +24, 0 to +12, 0 to +24 or 0 to +15. Notes recorded outside the selected range are folded by octaves so their pitch class remains inside the visible range.
Sets the note strength for every step on a displayed 0–100 scale, which is converted to the MIDI velocity range of 0–127. When Vel: From MIDI is enabled, the incoming note velocity scales the value stored in this lane.
Controls how long the generated note remains on within its step. Lower values create short, detached notes; higher values hold the note for more of the step duration.
Stores a left-to-right position for each step. When Send Pan (CC 10) is enabled in the main menu, Sequencer sends these values to the next MIDI device or instrument. Disable Send Pan when you want the destination’s pan control to remain independent.
Changes the duration of individual steps relative to the main Beat or Time setting. Values include straight, dotted and triplet divisions from 4/1 through 1/64. This can create patterns whose rhythm changes from one step to the next.
Provide four independent 0–100 control lanes for parameter movement. They send MIDI CC 110–113 and can be mapped to controls in the next instrument or effect with MIDI Learn. Selecting a CTRL lane also enables its Amount and Offset knobs.
Rand and Reset normally affect only the selected lane. Hold Shift while pressing either button to apply the action to every lane, including the trigger pattern. The affected lane indicators briefly highlight to confirm the scope of the action.
These controls define the sequence clock, playback order and active section of the 32-step pattern. Drag a knob vertically to change it; its current value appears while the pointer is over the control.
Enable Sync to follow the DAW tempo and timeline. Sequencer uses the host PPQ position when the host provides it, with its internal sample scheduler as a fallback. Disable Sync to use a fixed time in milliseconds instead.
In Sync mode, the upper-left knob is Beat and selects a musical division from 4/1 through 1/64, including dotted and triplet values. With Sync off, the same position becomes Time and sets the base step duration from 10 to 2000 ms. Values in the Rate lane scale this base duration per step.
The Direction knob provides five playback orders:
Chooses the first step of the active sequence from 1 to 32. The small triangle in the pattern editor marks this position. Changing Start also prepares playback to restart from the selected step.
Sets the active sequence length from 1 to 32 steps. The length begins at Start and wraps past step 32 when necessary. Steps outside this active range appear dimmed and are skipped during playback.
Tip: Hold Alt on Windows or Option on macOS and click a knob to return it to its default value.
Play Mode controls how incoming notes start, select and stop the sequence. Retrigger decides when a new note returns playback to the Start step, while Impose controls whether automation is sent on steps whose note trigger is disabled.
The main Play button must be enabled before incoming notes can activate any Play Mode.
Drag the Retrigger knob to choose how another Note On affects an active sequence:
Step is the smooth default for tempo-based playback because it changes the note while preserving the current step boundary. Now is useful when every key press must begin the pattern immediately.
Normally, a step with its trigger disabled sends no note and no pattern automation. Enable Impose to continue sending Pan and CTRL 1–4 values on those disabled note steps. Impose does not turn the note trigger back on; it lets the control lanes continue moving the destination while the note pattern contains rests.
Record captures incoming note pitch and velocity directly into consecutive pattern steps. Pitch From MIDI, Velocity From MIDI and MIDI Center then determine how incoming notes are combined with the recorded pattern during normal playback.
While Record is enabled, the pattern itself does not generate sequenced notes. Incoming notes pass to the next instrument so you can hear what you are recording.
Recorded pitches are stored as offsets from C4 (MIDI note 60). If an incoming note falls outside the selected Pitch Range, Sequencer moves it by complete octaves until the same pitch class fits inside the range. For example, +13 becomes +1 in a 0 to +12 range instead of being clamped to +12.
When enabled, the incoming note’s distance from C4 (MIDI note 60) is added to MIDI Center and the Pitch lane value. This lets the same pattern transpose with the notes you play. When disabled, incoming notes only activate the selected Play Mode; output pitch comes from MIDI Center plus the Pitch lane.
When enabled, incoming note velocity scales the value stored in the Velocity lane. When disabled, the Velocity lane alone determines the output velocity.
The knob in the top bar sets the output base note. Its default is C4 (MIDI note 60). Change it to transpose the entire generated sequence without editing every Pitch step. MIDI Center is stored with the preset.
With Play off, Sequencer behaves like a bypassed MIDI effect and passes incoming MIDI to the next device. With Play on, incoming Note On and Note Off messages drive the sequencer instead of being duplicated at its output. Other MIDI—including pitch bend, modulation, sustain and aftertouch—continues downstream. Sequencer replaces only the CC messages it owns: CTRL 1–4 use CC 110–113, and Pan uses CC 10 when Send Pan is enabled.
CTRL 1–4 turn a pattern into four independent automation lanes. Each lane sends a MIDI CC value on every active step, allowing Sequencer to animate parameters in the next instrument or effect. Pan provides a separate lane using the standard Pan controller, CC 10.
| Lane | MIDI controller | Output range |
|---|---|---|
| Pan | CC 10 | 0–127 |
| CTRL 1 | CC 110 | 0–127 |
| CTRL 2 | CC 111 | 0–127 |
| CTRL 3 | CC 112 | 0–127 |
| CTRL 4 | CC 113 | 0–127 |
The learned assignment belongs to the destination instrument, effect or DAW. Some plugins store MIDI Learn assignments inside each of their own presets, so changing the destination preset may remove the mapping.
Select CTRL 1, 2, 3 or 4 to enable the Amount and Offset knobs. Each CTRL lane remembers its own pair of settings.
In formula form: output = clamp(pattern × amount + offset). For example, an
Amount of 50% and Offset of +25% transforms a 0–100 pattern into a 25–75 output range.
The knobs are disabled while Pitch, Velocity, Gate, Pan or Rate is selected. Changing a CTRL knob in the Max for Live device updates the matching plugin knob, and changes made in the plugin are reflected in Max when that CTRL lane is selected.
Open the main menu and enable Send Pan (CC 10) to transmit the Pan lane. Disable it when CC 10 would take control of a pan parameter that you want to adjust manually in the DAW. When Send Pan is disabled, the Pan lane and its right-click MIDI Learn action are disabled as well. This setting is saved with the preset.
In Ableton Live, the Max for Live device maps this lane directly to the track pan. In other DAWs, assign Pan manually: place the destination in MIDI Learn mode, right-click Pan in Sequencer and select Send MIDI CC 10. Complete the MIDI Learn operation in the destination so its pan or chosen parameter responds to the Sequencer Pan lane.
By default, Pan and CTRL values are sent on steps with active note triggers. Enable Impose when you want these control lanes to continue updating across disabled note steps.
The Sequencer Max for Live device hosts the Sequencer VST3 inside Ableton Live and places its generated MIDI directly into the device chain. It also provides direct mapping for all four CTRL lanes and optional control of the track pan.
The VST3 is required even when you use Max for Live: the Max device is its Ableton host and controller, not a separate copy of the sequencer engine.
Open Seq shows or hides the floating plugin editor. Closing the editor with its window close button also returns Open Seq to its off state. The Play button is synchronized in both directions, so changing it in Max updates the plugin and changing it in the plugin updates Max.
This Ableton mapping is direct and does not require the destination device’s MIDI Learn function. Each CTRL lane can control one mapped Live parameter.
Every mapped row includes its own Amount and Offset knobs. These are references to the matching settings inside the VST3; the calculation is performed by the plugin. Changes made in Max or in the plugin remain synchronized in both directions.
When Send Pan (CC 10) is enabled in the plugin menu, the Max device binds the Pan lane to the current Ableton track’s pan control. Disable Send Pan to release that binding and adjust the track pan manually.
MIDI enters the Max device, is processed by the hosted VST3 and then continues to the next device in the chain. The Max device restores the sample offsets produced by Sequencer so generated events keep their position inside Ableton’s audio buffer. Sequencer can also run while Live’s transport is stopped; when the transport is playing in Sync mode, the host PPQ timeline becomes the timing reference.
The hosted plugin state, CTRL mappings and Max controls are stored with the Ableton Live Set. Each Sequencer device instance keeps its own pattern, mappings and control values.
The top bar provides fast preset browsing and saving, while the main menu contains preset file tools and global Sequencer options. Undo and Redo are supplied by the DAW and therefore do not appear in this menu.
.seqx file directly.Loading a preset replaces the complete Sequencer state and starts a new editing history, so Undo cannot return to the previously loaded preset.
Hold the physical Control key while clicking Save or Save As to mark the saved preset as read-only. This uses Control on both macOS and Windows—not Command on macOS. The Save button becomes inactive after the read-only preset is loaded; use Save As when you want to create another version.
Open the preset list, hold Shift and right-click a preset, then confirm the deletion. Deleting the file cannot be undone.
Copy Sequencer includes:
The copied data is held in memory and shared by Sequencer instances in the current DAW
process. It is intended for quick transfer during the session and is not a replacement for
saving a .seqx preset.
Sequencer uses a small set of modifier keys for whole-pattern edits, preset protection and standard editing commands. Keyboard focus is especially important in Ableton Live because only the focused window receives computer-keyboard events.
| Modifier or shortcut | Where to use it | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Alt (Windows) / Option (macOS) | Click or drag a pattern value | Apply that value to all 32 steps in the selected lane. |
| Alt / Option | Click a trigger | Set all 32 triggers to the new state of the clicked trigger. |
| Alt / Option | Click a knob | Return the knob to its default value. |
| Shift | Click Rand or Reset | Apply the action to every pattern lane, including triggers. |
| Control | Click Save or Save As | Save the preset as read-only. On macOS this is Control, not Command. |
| Shift + right-click | User preset in the preset list | Open the confirmation for permanently deleting that preset. |
Sequencer has no Undo or Redo buttons and no Undo/Redo menu items. Use the standard editing shortcuts provided through the DAW environment:
When the plugin window has focus, these standard shortcuts operate on Sequencer’s pattern edit history. One mouse-down-to-mouse-up gesture is one action, even when it draws across several steps. A knob drag, Rand, Reset, shift action and Paste are also each grouped as a single action. Pattern recording is not added as a series of Undo actions, and loading a preset clears the previous editing history.
Ableton’s Computer MIDI Keyboard and the Sequencer plugin cannot both receive the same keyboard event. The routing depends on which window currently has keyboard focus.
With Sequencer focused, Ableton does not convert the computer keyboard into track MIDI; Sequencer handles the piano-key layout itself and sends the resulting notes through its MIDI output. Press Z to lower the plugin keyboard octave and X to raise it. Click the Ableton window when you want Ableton’s keyboard shortcuts or Computer MIDI Keyboard to take control again. Sequencer releases held computer-keyboard notes whenever focus changes to prevent stuck notes.
This direct computer-keyboard handling applies to the Ableton/Max for Live workflow. In other VST3 hosts, use the host’s normal MIDI input and keyboard-focus behavior.
Sequencer can be evaluated in Trial mode before activation. The trial uses one shared session timer for every Sequencer instance running in the current DAW process.
You can edit patterns and test playback during the active trial period, but Save and Save As are unavailable. Saving the DAW project does not save the Sequencer state while Trial mode is active. Trial patterns and settings therefore will not be restored when that DAW project is opened again.
When the session ends, Sequencer first releases any generated held note and then blocks both incoming and outgoing MIDI. The status changes to Trial session ended and the trial-ended view is displayed. If the editor is opened again after expiration, the same view is shown until the product is activated or the DAW session is closed.
In Ableton Live, press Open Seq on the Max for Live device and activate through the hosted VST3 editor. The Max device and VST3 use the same local Sequencer license.
A license is linked to the activated machine. If the key is already associated with another computer, Sequencer displays the available reactivation count and offers Reactivate. Confirming reactivation links the license to the current computer and uses one available reactivation.