W. A. Production

This tool, like the other similar tool from WA "Chords Pro", has a DAW playback issue. I reported the issue to WA when I got a free copy of Chords Pro, and they denied the issue and asked me to "record video of the issue happening" but made it very difficult to upload a video so I gave up because the tool was mediocre and free anyway.

So I heard that Loop Engine was supposed to have the best aspects of Chords Pro, and a more stripped down Instacomposer sort of thing, so I decided to try it on a sale. Loop Engine has the IDENTICAL issue that Chords Pro has:

Load Loop Engine as a plugin in your DAW - any DAW. Connect it to a polyphonic synth. Load any content in Loop Engine, or build your own. Press play on your DAW while the DAW transport is in loop mode. Loop Engine plays your notes as intended, until.... every time the currently defined loop ends and repeats. Whether it's a loop length of 1, 2, 4, 8, etc, Loop Engine always goes silent for a portion of the first note of the loop. It sounds like when you set "note length" to around 50% in an arpeggiator.

As long as your transport never loops, Loop Engine (and Chords Pro) continue playing chords and notes as intended, but as soon as you put your DAW transport in loop mode, the issue begins. On top of the loop playback issue, drag and drop export from Loop Engine does NOT work and partially freezes any DAW (Cubase 12, Bitwig 5) I've tried it in.

WA seems to ignore these issues, and the only reason I still give this 2 stars is that it works when not in looped playback mode.

If the dev doesnt solve this (and the issue with Chords Pro) soon, Ill come back and drop this to 1 star. How hard is it to get your "Loop Engine" to loop and export audio properly?

Puncher 2 is a great tool for putting real thump into your drums, especially kicks. I used to use it on kick channels and it never failed to improve the impact and cut-through. These days, because I don't separate my drum channels any more, I put it on the drum mix and it works just as well. I would never even think of doing a mix without it.

It definitely works best on kicks but when used on a drum mix it can also add a bit of an edge to the other percussion sounds, too. I mostly just use the presets it comes with, one of the first 5 or 6 will always give me what I want. Trying to dial it in manually feels a lot more hit and miss, probably because I've never bothered to try and understand how it works. There is no need to. The CPU hit is minimal, the interface is simple and clean and it has never failed to give me what I want.

I try not to give 5 stars too often but this is definitely one effect I would never want to be without. Give it a go, put it on your kick channel and try a few presets and you'll understand why.

This one is bad. I don't think its a good or well made plugin. Got this some time ago for free.

Aviod.

I will come back and update this after the dev gets back to me on my support request. Im using this on Win10, on Cubase 12 pro as a plugin.

First impressions: very simple, colorful, intuitive software with an easy-to-understand workflow for designing and generating chords and note progressions. I was able to quickly set up and register the software, and routing and playback was no trouble (I also use other MIDI generator/chord/scale plugins and they all route similarly).

What stopped me in my tracks is that I couldnt get Chords Pro to play back the right number of notes per bars when my DAW was in cycle mode, no matter how many times I tried or how I approached it.

When my DAW has cycle mode off, Chords Pro will continue playing without interruption, playing back(looping) the number of bars specified at the speed specified.

When cycle mode is on, when the play head returns to the start position Chords Pro goes silent for a whole bar every time.

Also, whether cycle mode is on or off, I get a stutter note when Chords first starts to play. Every time. Instead of only the first note or chord of the pattern, it plays twice in rapid succession. This never happens again as long as it keeps playing. Ill come back later if the dev fixes this.

It's usable but basic. Scaler 2.5 is much better for the price. Far more functionality and a less cutsey and more practical interface.

Good for a quick and dirty mix just to get something out of the way but is generally unpleasant when pushed beyond just a small amount of compression. Extremely easy to overdo especially given the touchy interface.

A clever and smart Tool i recommend to use, it is pretty easy to use and makes a lot of fun.

You just need to route the MIDI OUT from Instacomp* to your Synths (to 5 of them) MIDI IN and there you go.

Hit "GO" for all Channels or for one of them, alternate each or all Sequences or let the "AI" generate a complete new Soundloop. It's so easy.

NOTES:

• Instacomp* don't start with my host (Bitwig), that i hate a lot...its a need (or is it an issue?).
• There is no UNDO/ REDO.
• The GUI looks a bit terrible, you can't change any color yet.
• A bit more Color in the chord section inside the editor would make it easier to see, how long the chords are used.
• The functionality is awesome, you can manipulate a lot (how much the result is chromatic, note population, fill ins...).
• There are a lot of Presets too, its endless fun.
• User Experience inside the Editor is acceptable, scrolling non-fluid, u can use shift/strg mouswheel for navigation.

So guys n gurls, its still Version 1.0.1 and i hope we can get an update in the next time...

Cheers*.

Finally!
Here is the plugin I have been waiting for 10 years and more. Set the parameters, press GO and you have the basis for a song. I have quite a few of them: Captain Chords, Scaler, Phrasebox, Liquid Rhythm, Rapid Composer, Chord Prism, Chord Potion, Chordz, I2C8, Melody Sauce, Scaler, Phrasebox etc.. Some of them went in that direction, some have similar other useful features, but no software came as close to what I was looking for as this one.
The price is ridiculous and the only downside is that the scales are limited to major minor and harmonic minor.
I am very hopeful that there will be more in the next update.