Fanan team has released Betelgeuse and Betelgeuse free, arranger modules for Windows. They say:
Betelgeuse is the first semi-modular arranger keyboard plugin that brings professional-grade backing track styles to the DAW universe. It emulates hardware arrangers and workstations, offering more then 430 (and growing.) free loadable and shareable MIDI styles from any music genre, live-oriented performances and instant backing tracks.
Betelgeuse is a MIDI engine designed to seamlessly integrate with the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). While it doesn't generate sound on its own, it orchestrates virtual instruments by routing MIDI sequences through various channels, mimicking the functionality of a hardware arranger with enhanced flexibility:
- Authentic hardware arranger experience with the advantages of software flexibility.
- Vast library of loadable - shareable styles for creating backing tracks in any genre.
- Fits for live performances, jam sessions, studio production, and on-the-fly accompaniment.
- Exceptional sound quality of Pro hardware arrangers when paired with modern VSTis.
- Full DAW integration for recording, mixing, and mastering your backing tracks and performances.
- Integration with GM compliant VSTis for robust controlling and synchronization.
Fits the needs of:
- Songwriter looking for instant, professional-grade backing tracks.
- Composer seeking efficient workflow tools for arrangement and composition.
- Music student exploring arrangement techniques and style creation.
- Dedicated hobbyist aiming to elevate your craft with pro-level accompaniment.
- Pro arranger performer accompanying vocalists on live stages.
Key features:
- Dynamic tempo - use style's original tempo, your on defined tempo, double \ half tempo or tap tempo.
- Arranger \ piano modes - perform in arranger mode when the MIDI keyboard is split and defined for classic left hand - right hand performance (style chords and solos).
- Single \ multi modes for solos - play right hand solo instruments one by one or combine up to 6 instruments opened in your DAW together.
- Dynamic transitions - define the 1 bar \ 1/2 bar respond times for transitions between variations.
- Global semitone - transpose the global semitone of both right \ left hands role.
- Save \ load sets - save and load sets (combination of style + it's unique settings) to a preset file.
- MIDI learn \ keyboard key controlling - diverse controlling possibilities by using MIDI learning (right click on any significant button \ knob) or MIDI keyboard keys (notes 1- 35).
- Comments - add text comments to each set to share any critical information about it with others who use it.
- DAW start - starts playing session of the style whenever the DAW starts playing.
- Route MIDI sessions to up to 12 VSTis opened in your DAW - 6 right hand slots + 6 left hand slots can be sent internally in the DAW to any desired instruments to create a full arranger experience. GM compliant instruments are supported and can receive program change messages from Betelgeuse + controlled by the internal mixer via MIDI CC messages.
- Variations - up to 16 variations per style, including intros, main variations, fills, ends and brake.
- Synced play - prepare playing when any pressed chord is detected.
- Onpress - Play only when chord keys are pressed.
- Manual crash - trigger style drum kit's crash cymbal hit manually.
- Fingered \ one finger modes - switch chords using 3 notes chord or a single note. use single note mode to achieve both major and minor chords by double-clicking the chord's key.
- Restart - instantly restart the played style's variation from position 0.
- Styles menu-more than 430 world class inspiring styles divided into 10 categories, covering a vast of musical genres (rock, pop, dance, swing-jazz, R&B, country, Latin, ballroom, world). Including "search" feature for finding styles by name.
- Sounds menu - allows selecting sounds from target VSTi's by program change messages and also indicate which instruments are most recommended for a specific loaded style (which then can by opened manually by the user according to his taste).
- Mixer - controls volumes, octaves and pitch scales of playing instruments, balance between style's volume and solos volume and controls the master volume (whenever a GM compliant VSTi is targeted).
- Favorite sets menu - allows storing favorite sets in a bank file for instantly reloading them by a single button press. Easy sets loading by clicking on the text label under each button. Save \ load menu buttons are included in the menu stage.
- Jumps menu - defines the destination of each jumping variation (intros, fills, brake) after they finish their loop cycle.
- Crash menu - defines the cymbal crash hit's characters; selects which drum element plays the crash's role, it's length and velocity as well as in how many variation cycles the auto crash will hit.
- Settings - divided into 3 menus: registration, GUI and outdoor loopMIDI inputs selection:
- GUI - allows changing UI size.
- Outdoor loopMIDI inputs selection - allows connecting to Betelgeuse 3 additional MIDI controllers externally (since this option is not allowed by most DAWs). The connection is done by using "loopMIDI", free virtual MIDI cable which can be downloaded from their site. The user then routes his MIDI gear to an opened MIDI cable and then routes the MIDI cable's output directly to Betelgeuse by "outdoor loopMIDI" menu.
- Hold - hold the playing variation and prevent it from jumping.
- Split keyb. - allows defining the key where the keyboard is actually split.
- DAW integration - performed by using DAW's MIDI tracks internal channels routing. Betelgeuse should selected as "MIDI in" in each VSTi track. Then the matched channel should be selected. E.g: your drums VSTi in the DAW get's Betelgeuse as "MIDI in" and then the channel set to 10. In this case, the drums sequence will be sent from Betelgeuse to the drums VSTi via channel 10. The active channels of Betelgeuse are: MIDI channels 1-6 for solo 1-6, channels 10 - drums, channels 11 - percussion, channel 12 - bass, channels 13-15 - accompany instruments.
Price: Free / $55.
