Review: Loomer Sequent

Loomer has recently released a new effect plug-in called Sequent.

I figured Sequent had something to do with sequences, but English is not my first language so I looked up what it means. According to my dictionary it is something that is in order or succession, or consecutive, following as a result. As an adjective it could be something in regular succession, without gaps.

Sequent — the plug-in, has step sequencers for each effect parameter so I think this is the perfect name for it.

Here’s what the product page says:

Sequent is a modular multi-effects unit, the perfect tool for mangling audio on stage or in the studio. The effects – including a flexible beat looper and a pair of filters capable of self oscillation – can be connected in practically limitless combinations by simply dragging virtual cables between them.

Audio mangling, beat looper, self oscillation… I don’t know about you but this kind of talk gets me all excited!

The signal flow is set up in the routing window in the top middle of the interface. It’s simply a matter of connecting virtual cables to the input, outputs and effect blocks. This provides a simple visual overview of what is going on.

Sequent has one input (stereo) and two outputs (both also stereo). The top and bottom output can be used to route two separate signals, e.g. a dry and wet output, or two completely different effect chains. The crossfade control sets the relative output of each output. Interesting thing about this is that you can use the crossfade to play one effect chain while you create/modify another one. Moving the crossfade values from 0% to 100% (and back to 0%) basically lets you switch between the two signal flows on the fly.

Selecting an effect block in the routing window will bring up a number of parameters related to that particular effect, including its step sequencer values. Each effect block and corresponding effect parameter’s step sequencer has a number of common controls like step sequencer length (division), random step selection, smooth value changes, etc., as well as effect specific controls.

Sequent multi-effects features

• The Looper effect — a tempo-synced delay that triggers slices of the audio, has various parameters to control the way the looper slices and plays. It has basic functionality you would expect from a looper (trigger, repeat, slice length and offset, reverse, etc.) but also more advanced things like pitch and pitch decay, a fade parameter for getting rid of audible clicks in slices, and various processing modes (gate, mix, and duck).
• Two identical multi-mode filter effects are available, featuring lowpass, highpass, and bandpass filter types, and cutoff and resonance controls.
• For adding some overdrive to the sound a distort(ion) effect block is available. It has only one control, drive. It is more powerful than you might think.
• Triggering the gate effect with its sequencer will mute the audio. Depth controls the amount (e.g. completely muted, or just lowering the audio input), and a slew parameter sets the speed of the gate.
• If you would like to play with the stereo field you will want to add the pan effect.
• Finally, a tempo-syncable delay effect is available to create time based effects. When not tempo-synced the delay time can be set to small values (ms) to create comb filter or flanger type effects.

Once you have set up everything you may want to store Sequent’s state into one of the 12 available patterns. You can copy & paste between patterns in order to create variations or completely new effect chains, accessible from the Sequent interface or by playing MIDI notes (1 octave = 12 patterns). Sequent has a simple MIDI Learn system so assigning parameters to your controller is a breeze.

To get a better idea of what Sequent can do I made a little video demonstration.

So what do I think?

Sequent is seriously good stuff. If this was food I would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. High quality effects, a flexible modular structure, various randomize options, easy-to-use sequencers… what’s not to like?

Suitable for both subtle manipulation as well as extensive FSU processing, Sequent is a versatile tool that will look good in any producer’s plug-in folder.

Just do yourself a favor and check the demo version.

More information: Loomer / Sequent

Hey there, I'm Ronnie and I run Rekkerd.org. I'm a bedroom music producer and guitar player, and I love chicken vindaloo & all things glitch.