Pulse16
Step sequencer · iPhone, iPad, Android
Pulse16 is a step sequencer and drum machine for your phone.
Program drums on 16 pads, add a sliding 808 bass line and a bass synth, and switch between eight patterns while the beat keeps running.
Free. Saving projects costs 9.99 € once. No account, no ads.
What's in the app
Four tracks, sixteen steps, eight patterns. Three tracks are for drums, the fourth is a bass synth.
- Tracks
- A–C: drum samples or 808 kick and bass. D: bass synth.
- Steps
- 16 per pattern, accents per step. Each track can be 1–16 steps long, so tracks can run against each other.
- Patterns
- Eight patterns A–H. While playing, the next one starts on the next bar. Copy, paste, clear and shift.
- 808
- Synthesized kick and bass with a note per step. Decay, punch, click, drive, slide and glide time. Four presets.
- Synth
- Sine, square, saw, triangle. Sub oscillator, unison, low-pass and high-pass filter with envelope, ADSR, four LFOs (free or synced), distortion, drive, reverb. Nine factory sounds.
- Automation
- Draw curves over the pads of the synth track: cutoff, resonance, drive, distortion and reverb per step, gliding or held.
- Samples
- Load WAV, AIFF, MP3 and FLAC, record with the microphone, trim on the waveform. Ten built-in techno and synthwave drum sounds.
- Tempo
- 20–300 BPM, tap tempo.
- Mixer
- Volume and pan per track, master volume.
- MIDI
- USB MIDI controllers with MIDI learn.
- Grooves
- Four complete loops to start from: Acid Drive, Peak Time, Neon Nights, Midnight Run.
- Price
- Free. Saving projects and own presets: 9.99 € once, no subscription.
- Privacy
- No account, no ads, no tracking. Works offline.
Screens
Taken from the app on an iPhone. The layout is the same on Android; on tablets the panels sit next to the pads.
Drum machine on 16 pads
The 4×4 pads are the 16 steps of the pattern. Tap a pad to switch the step on, and the playing step lights up as the beat runs. Each drum track takes a sample or the 808.
808 kick and bass with slides
Turn a drum track into an 808 and give every step a note. Mark a step as slide and the 808 glides into it without a new attack, the way a TB-303 bass line does.
Bass synth with step automation
Track D is a polyphonic synth with filter, envelopes and LFOs. Draw a curve over the pads and the cutoff, resonance, drive, distortion or reverb changes from step to step.
Your own sounds, your own controller
Load samples from your files or record them with the microphone. Plug in a USB MIDI controller and map its knobs and pads with MIDI learn.
Questions
Is Pulse16 free?
Yes. The sequencer, the grooves, the 808, the synth, samples and MIDI are free. Saving projects and your own presets is a one-time in-app purchase (9.99 € in Germany, other countries vary). There is no subscription and no advertising.
Which devices does it run on?
iPhone and iPad with iOS 15 or later, and Android phones and tablets. On tablets the sound, mixer and preset panels stay open next to the pads.
Can I use my own samples?
Yes. Pulse16 loads WAV, AIFF, MP3 and FLAC files, records samples with the microphone and lets you trim each sample on its waveform.
Does it work with MIDI controllers?
Yes, with USB MIDI controllers. With MIDI learn you assign knobs, faders and pads to synth parameters, the mixer, tempo, play/stop, tracks, patterns and steps. Bluetooth MIDI is not supported.
Is the 808 a sample?
No. The 808 is synthesized: a sine with a pitch drop, a click and drive. Every step has its own note, and slide steps glide into the next note like an acid bass line.
Do I need an account or an internet connection?
No. Pulse16 works offline, has no account and collects no personal data. Details are in the privacy policy.
Who makes Pulse16?
Pulse16 is made by Navid Anzalichi, an independent developer in Germany. Feedback and bug reports: pulse16@anzalichi.de