Michael A.D.

I bought Audio Modern’s ChordJam from Plugin Boutique... got it for about $36 as I had a few dollars in my account that I used. I tried the demo first and I liked how it allowed me, using only 1 finger, to generate complex chords with random velocities and timing info. I experimented feeding the output into ChordPotion and was having fun with it, so I made the purchase. Here’s a few more thoughts: 1) They don’t provide the manual with the full program (at least not the Windows version), so you might want to download the demo if you need the manual. 2) The sequencer seems to be a complete waste... I spent some time trying to get something decent out of it, but ultimately decided it was easier just to create a chord and then use the DRAG CHORD option into the DAW. 3) However, I think they need to do some work on the DRAG CHORD function as it would never line up properly where I wanted it. I was using the random time feature but I would have expected the first note to line up at the bar line or the spot I specified and the other notes would show the random timing. But no matter what I tried it would always have a large gap between the point I wanted and the first note. If I set the time function to 0 for all notes, then it would left-justify all notes at the point I wanted, but that defeats the idea of the random timing. Seems like they need to fix this. 4) There are no modulation options as far as I can tell, so if you want to have chords from 2 different keys, then the DRAG CHORD option is the only choice. You would have to change key, drag the chord, change key and drag another chord, etc. 4) The interface is a bit murky. It seems odd to me that the pull-down option you select is faded out and the options are all highlighted. I would want my selection to be highlighted and show my options as faded text. I think with an upgrade this could be quite a bit better, but overall I'm happy as I got what I had enjoyed in the demo.

Free Rock MIDI Drum Grooves: 28 MIDI rock grooves All in 4/4 9 tempos, ranging from 68 to 145 BPM Arranged for Toontrack EZdrummer & Superior Drummer, XLN Audio Addictive Drums, Steven Slate Drums, NI Studio Drummer, I-Map and of course General MIDI All recorded live by Magnus Brandell, of course not quantized Totally free of charge https://oddgrooves.com/product/straight-ahead-groovin-rock-lite/ They also have LOTS of other free MIDI drum tracks!

The original OP said he was using the "Free" version. I suggest that he goes back and uses the "Trial" version, which will have all features, but is limited to 7 days. This should confirm whether the "Free" version is causing his problems or not. http://amplesound.net/en/download.asp

Last week Loot Audio had almost the same Image Sounds guitar pack for about $18. Only difference was Loot had Acoustic Guitar 2 and Big Fish has 60's Guitar 1 - otherwise identical.

I have Cthulhu, but for a far better program for chord generation, check out Trackbout's Ripchord. It doesn't have Cthulu's arpeggiator, but it's chord progression capabilities are much nicer, much easier to edit, and it has more playback options. It also allows you to play chords rather than Cthulu's single note player. Best of all, Ripchord is free. Check it out here: https://trackbout.com/ripchord

I too grabbed this. I figured for about $11 how much do I have to lose if it's bad? But, like Reid, I have been pleasantly surprised. Lately I have been using the new randomization features of Live 11 to make ambient stuff and this Freak pack really works well for that purpose. For drums for ambient music, check out the ECM style MIDI loops from Odd Grooves. They have an entire pack devoted to that style, but you can get freebie examples from them. (They offer lots of free MIDI drum styles, so worth checking out for all styles besides ambient.) They have frequent sales too. I like their MIDI loops because they are not quantized. https://oddgrooves.com/product-category/jazz/

Also, Ample Sound freebies have a limited note range, so that may explain why you are not hearing a particular note.

Thanks Jason. I have no need for standalone use, but I do appreciate another nice upgrade from Ample Sound. Their upright bass is one of my favorite basses.

The Riffendium series is excellent, so if you don't have any, then buy pack 1 at this low price and you'll be convinced!

What is Rectangles? I saw that on the Strat upgrade and now I see it for this upgrade.

I had figured out how to use it when I got it. And that's why I called it unusable! What a nightmare of a workflow. Your diagram shows how crazy it is to use! And I see that you are using it with Ample Sound's ES-335 which already gives you the ability to create sophisticated chord patterns with precise strumming patterns. But hey, it seems like you're having fun with InstaChord and getting something out of it. I guess that's what matters most!

Horrible product. Avoid! Save your money and buy Scaler.

I too paid for this on a sale and found it unusable. I presume it's only for people who know absolutely nothing about music theory. As Zo said - very unintuitive. If you can get this for free, then you have paid too much! Avoid at all costs!

Ample Sound is great! They keep making substantial improvements to their instruments - i.e. adding 2 GB new samples in this case - and then giving those upgrades for free to their customers. Thank you Ample Sound!

I like the Ample Sound guitars - their Martin is my favorite acoustic and their Strat is my favorite electric. I also love their upright bass.

These guitars sound good, but are VERY difficult to use. I bought these on a similar sale many years ago and they never get used. Save your money and get one good guitar - there are other, much better, much easier to use guitars that the ones in this sale.

I grabbed Dumpster Fire... paid about $11 with my points. I knew I wanted it - had just been waiting for it to go on sale. Watch out for that MTM freebie... it wants to install a whole bunch of other demo programs.

Sonokinetic (Great customer support! I was having a VERY minor problem and they could not duplicate my problem so they could not give me an immediate solution. Several months went by and I received an email with a patch that solved the problem. )

NI has been doing a lot of updates for macOS 11 (Big Sur) and Apple M1 compatibility. Perhaps that's what these Scarbee updates are...(just guessing!).

I gave the Dumpster Fire demo a trial run a few months ago and really had fun with it. However, at $20 I think it's a bit overpriced. When they have a sale for around $10 I intend to grab it.

APD has become the music software equivalent of those real-world places like Dollar General, Dollar Tree, etc. You browse around in those dollar stores and you can't help but say "I could use that... and it's so cheap... oh what the heck..."

You need to check the MIDI channels for each clip. Sounds like the flute and drums are using the same MIDI channel.

They have a demo to try: https://audiomodern.com/shop/plugins/playbeat/ I bought it on a bundle sale - creates interesting grooves - worth the cost.

Ableton Live can do some great generative music stuff with it's clip Launch modes. (This is one of the only things I like about Live.) Others to check out: Transition (free!): https://www.codefn42.com/transition/index.html Stochas (free!): https://stochas.org/

Here's another for only $9 thought it does require either free Sforzando or full Kontakt: https://www.karoryfer.com/karoryfer-samples/swirly-drums