KVR Audio

isuckatproducing · Post by **isuckatproducing** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 6:14 pm

Hi,

I've tried Scaler 2 for chord progressions but it's hard for me to get something more original out of it.
Do you guys think it's a good tool?
Or should I not bother with it and do music theory instead?

plusch · Post by **plusch** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:17 pm

I haven't used Scaler, but I own Forager (https://harvestplugins.com/forager/) and find it useful for discovering chord progressions.

llze · Post by **llze** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:26 pm

bought it, but never really got into it. I use orb composer, it sometimes delivers interesting things.

Propellerhands · Post by **Propellerhands** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 9:38 pm

I tried it myself today for the first time. It is very bloated (1GB) with tons of features I would not need, though it has also tons of chord ideas too. So maybe that's why the price is such as is. But again, too bloated for my taste.

Dirtgrain · Post by **Dirtgrain** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 9:45 pm

Maybe it can be trimmed down to just one instrument (I haven't looked to see how instrument samples are stored).

Re: OP
It's rare to find an original chord progression these days.

yellowmix · Post by **yellowmix** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:07 pm

If you learn music theory you do not need it. In fact, it may hamper your ability to learn it.

In terms of performance, you can muscle memory learn just one key (in several modes).

Also do not worry about original chord progressions in the meantime. Many good songs are built on common progressions. That is why they cannot be copyrighted.

Regarding size it is mostly samples. You can delete all but one and it'll work with that one.

HalfLife · Post by **HalfLife** » Wed Nov 02, 2022 12:58 am

I find Scaler to be quite helpful for both writing and learning theory. The sounds are surprisingly usable. It offers both keyboard and fret board visualizations of harmonies and scales. It also provides a variety of performance modes including conventional arpeggios, classical and popular music phrases.

There's a lot to explore in there.

TheMaestro · Post by **TheMaestro** » Thu Nov 03, 2022 12:23 am

Scaler is good. But they should fix the velocity issue, and/or the incredible tedious way to adjust it.

Helio131 · Post by **Helio131** » Fri Nov 25, 2022 8:19 pm

Agree yes, orb composer very interesting !

skarvika · Post by **skarvika** » Sun Nov 27, 2022 2:52 pm

I like Scaler for building chord progressions. Since I have some basic knowledge of theory (tonic, dominants, subdominants etc), it makes putting things together a little easier than having to remember what's what. I don't use it for much else.
I think you'll get the most out of it if you know a little theory but not enough to have every scale and voicing memorized.

hyperdeath666 · Post by **hyperdeath666** » Mon Nov 28, 2022 11:19 pm

yellowmix wrote: ↑Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:07 pm If you learn music theory you do not need it. In fact, it may hamper your ability to learn it.

I have to disagree here. I have a fair bit of music theory under my belt, and I still love Scaler, since it helps break me out of the chord progressions I tend to otherwise gravitate toward (the "suggest" function is really helpful here).

RoomieOfficial · Post by **RoomieOfficial** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:08 am

I think scaler can be a useful tool, but the interface is very bloated and suboptimal. I find it slows me down more than speeds me up. But I still use it from time to time and saved down my favorite chord progression presets for future use.

Shabdahbriah · Post by **Shabdahbriah** » Thu Dec 15, 2022 1:47 am

hyperdeath666 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 28, 2022 11:19 pm
yellowmix wrote: ↑Thu Oct 27, 2022 11:07 pm If you learn music theory you do not need it. In fact, it may hamper your ability to learn it.
I have to disagree here. I have a fair bit of music theory under my belt, and I still love Scaler, since it helps break me out of the chord progressions I tend to otherwise gravitate toward (the "suggest" function is really helpful here).

+1 Pretty sure that was a big part of its intended purpose.

Mr D · Post by **Mr D** » Sun Feb 18, 2024 7:55 pm

Just started playing around with Scalar, and even though i know music theory, i think it's useful, simply because it can take you away from your normal muscle (or mental muscle) memory and helps you hit on something that might surprise you.

I think it's still very useful to know music theory, because what happens when you use it to create 3 chords, and then you can hear the next one you want in your head? If you know theory, you can already wittle down the options and try a few things out to find that missing chord.

I think the interface is kind of a disaster. It has the feeling of something that probably started out very simple, and they just kept adding stuff without any vision or direction for the UI.

Ananmusatili · Post by **Ananmusatili** » Sun Feb 25, 2024 7:53 pm

isuckatproducing wrote: ↑Thu Oct 27, 2022 6:14 pm Hi,

I've tried Scaler 2 for chord progressions but it's hard for me to get something more original out of it.
Do you guys think it's a good tool?
Or should I not bother with it and do music theory instead?

Scaler 2 is reliable workhorse. It'll make piloting chord progressions and different scales much much faster even if you already know music theory. It's not about replacing the need of music theory. It's about streamlining the experience of testing things out with music theory.

I urge you to watch tutorials and maybe even buy the Scaler 2 course from the developer where they go through everything in a structured manner. It's a very powerful tool, but you need to actually learn to utilize it in order to benefit from it.