Draw a line
Notes, octave, velocity, length and a gate per step, each lane its own length, so lanes loop against each other.
Or roll one
The dice makes a pattern in the Acid or Arp style; Fill and Jitter set how busy and how wide. Lock what you like and roll the rest.
In key
Pick a scale and a root, and every step and every roll stays in it.
Any synth
Two CC lanes move your synth’s parameters step by step; 13 synths’ CC maps built in, or your own.
Want more? Steps has the rest.
Steps Free makes the same lines as Tonestatic Steps. Steps adds the workflow around them: Mutate, eight patterns and the chain, the MIDI clip drag and four more generator styles.
| Steps Free | Steps | |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern generator, with Fill and Jitter | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dice, the whole pattern or one lane | ✓ | ✓ |
| Every lane, its length, locks and Lift | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scale, Root, Transpose, Swing, Gate, Rate, Direction | ✓ | ✓ |
| Keys from a keyboard, CC lanes, synth profiles | ✓ | ✓ |
| Undo and Redo | ✓ | ✓ |
| Factory presets | 30 | 180 |
| Drag the pattern into your DAW as a MIDI clip | – | ✓ |
| Generator styles | 2 | 6 |
| Chords: a Harmony lane, each note plays its chord | – | ✓ |
| Mutate: a variation of the current pattern | – | ✓ |
| Auto-mutate: the line evolves by itself | – | ✓ |
| 8 patterns per preset, and Chain to play them in turn | – | ✓ |
| History of every dice and mutate | – | ✓ |
| Lane colour themes | – | ✓ |
| Price | Free | $29 |
From the download to your DAW.
The first time you open Steps Free it asks for your email address, once. That unlocks it for good; nothing is sent to you unless you tick the box.
- Unzip the download (right-click > Extract All), close your DAW and run the .exe from the extracted folder.
- If Windows says “Windows protected your PC”, choose More info, then Run anyway. The installer is signed; Windows warns about any program it has not seen many times yet.
- Open your DAW and rescan its plugins. They are in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3.
- Unzip the download, close your DAW and open the .pkg.
- Open your DAW. Logic Pro finds the plugins as it starts; in Ableton Live, Settings > Plug-Ins > Rescan if they do not appear.
It makes no sound. It plays your synth.
Steps Free sends MIDI only, so a synth has to listen to it. Each DAW routes that differently; Settings > How to use in the plugin, and the manual, have the steps for each.
Tonestatic Steps Free
A free step sequencer and pattern generator for any synth, on macOS and Windows.