Hardware vs. Software Sequencers

John Chapman

Over the years, there has been a lot of discussion concerning the pros and
cons of using a software sequencer or a hardware sequencer. It used to be a
rather mute debate for live musicians because sequencing hardware and having it
the rack was a more reliable way to go. If you used a software sequencer then
you needed, well, a computer. I remember actually having a computer on stage and
using a keyboard on the floor in which I would gently “stomp” the space bar to
get the sequencer to stop. Wow, things have changed.

 

I have been using a software sequencer for over 10 years for my studio work and
the stage. I find them much easier to use and more robust in their features.

Back in the mid nineties I used a rather elementary software sequencer called
Passport and a Casio keyboard with midi ports as the controller. It actually did
a decent job at sequencing parts but was cumbersome to use. Plus, I had a IBM AT
clone I built myself with a whopping 2Mb of memory. This was not an optimum
setup but did allow me to program songs and play them back.



Hardware sequencers back in the mid-nineties didn’t offer much either and to me
they were much harder to program and get the sounds I wanted. Today I use
Cakewalk as my software sequencer and have learned to use it quite well. It has
so many features and benefits I have not even explored them all. I have a Roland
Sound Canvas for all the instruments and even though it is not exactly a
high-end sampler it does the job easily and affordably.



Here is great part. I can sequence all my songs in my home studio and send them
to my digital recorder. Then I can mix it down exactly as I want. Then, I dump
the songs as MP3s to an iPod and I am ready to go. I plug the iPod into the PA
on stage and I can play any sequence whenever I want—start and stop—change song
order—anything. Plus, the iPod holds a bunch of sequences. You can quite
literally be a one man band and put on a heck of a show. If you get a chance
give it a try. It keeps me out of a lot of trouble.