Metropolix

Review

Metropolix is a sequencer built for performance, not programming. Descended from the Intellijel Metropolis (itself inspired by the RYK M-185 gate sequencer), it takes the slider-per-step paradigm and extends it into something far more powerful: two independent pitch/gate tracks derived from the same eight physical stages, each with their own playback order, length, clock division, swing, and slide.

The dual-track architecture is the core insight. Both tracks read the same slider positions but interpret them differently — creating counterpoint, polyrhythm, and call-and-response from a single physical gesture. Move one slider and both melodic lines shift. The 8 MOD lanes add a second dimension: per-stage modulation values that can target dozens of internal parameters or the assignable CV outputs.

At 34HP, Metropolix is a commitment. But the hands-on immediacy is unmatched. Per-stage ratchets, probability, accumulating transposition, three AUX inputs, and the Loopy mode for real-time keyboard-style playing — it rewards improvisation in a way that grid-based sequencers simply cannot. If you play live, this is the sequencer.