Oxo Steps
Key Features
- Builds several MIDI roles from one incoming chord, including bass notes, selected-note stabs, full-note arpeggios, and in-key variation.
- Lets monophonic or polyphonic tracks use independently cycling note, octave, and gate lanes for polymetric movement.
- Offers forward, backward, ping-pong, and random pattern directions alongside probability control for repeatable variation.
- Sequences two MIDI CC lanes per track to add synchronized parameter movement to connected instruments and effects.
- Stores chord and track-pattern changes in up to eight scenes for quickly testing arrangements or switching live sections.
- Exports a performed sequence as a MIDI file so the generated material can be edited and arranged in a DAW.
- Includes a performance view, MIDI Learn, chord memory, hold/legato behavior, and per-track millisecond offsets for hands-on control.
Description
Oxo Steps is a macOS MIDI step sequencer and arpeggiator from OXO-Music that turns one held chord into several independently programmed musical parts. It can use the chord's lowest note for bass, selected notes for stabs, the whole chord for arpeggios, or in-key notes for variation, then keeps those roles aligned when the chord changes.
Each track can be monophonic or polyphonic and uses separate polymetric lanes, so note, octave, and gate cycles can run at different lengths. Forward, backward, ping-pong, and random directions, probability control, two MIDI CC lanes, chord memory, hold/legato, and per-track millisecond offsets make it useful for evolving MIDI patterns as well as straightforward rhythmic phrases.
Up to eight scenes can retain a chord and each track's pattern changes, giving live sets and writing sessions a way to compare progressions without rebuilding a sequence. Performances can be exported as MIDI files for continued editing in a DAW, while the dedicated performance view keeps scene switching and CC controls close at hand.
The official OXO-Music page supplies a direct macOS VST3/AU download and labels it Free. The separate iPad AUv3 App Store version has a two-track free tier and an optional paid unlock; that limitation does not apply to the developer's macOS desktop download route used here.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Oxo Steps generate sound by itself?
No. Oxo Steps is a MIDI performance tool, so it produces MIDI notes and controller data rather than audio. Route its output to an instrument plug-in, hardware synth, or another MIDI-capable destination in a compatible host.
How do the chord-driven tracks work?
A single input chord can feed independent tracks with different note-selection rules. That lets one track follow the lowest note as bass while other tracks use selected chord tones, all notes, fixed notes, or in-key variation.
Can I preserve or edit an idea outside the plug-in?
Yes. The official product page says performances can be recorded as MIDI files, which can then be continued in a DAW. Scenes also store a chord with per-track pattern changes for recalling arrangement ideas inside Oxo Steps.
Is the iPad version the same as the macOS desktop download?
They are separate delivery routes. OXO-Music provides the macOS VST3/AU build as a direct free download; the App Store listing describes its iPad AUv3 version as having two fully functional tracks and an optional paid unlock for all six tracks and MIDI-file recording.
