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tonespace

MIDI FX / Utility Plugin by mucoder
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tonespace has an average user rating of 4.83 from 6 reviews

Rate & Review tonespace

User Reviews by KVR Members for tonespace

tonespace

Reviewed By edipciftci [all]
July 29th, 2023
Version reviewed: 2.9 on Windows

simply amazing...

Even in the first use, I got really good results. It takes a little learning, but it's worth it... SPENDING TIME WITH THIS VST IS ANOTHER WORLD.

thank you very much... God bless you always brother...

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tonespace

Reviewed By MarkyMark [all]
December 28th, 2019
Version reviewed: 2.5 on Windows

Great job! Absolutely awesome. I can't believe it's free. A must....end this guy some beer money.

Great for drummers and guitarist that do not know how to play keyboards.

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tonespace

Reviewed By mixyguy2 [all]
January 31st, 2019
Version reviewed: 1 on Windows

As someone else said, great for trying out chord progressions, whether you're well-versed in chords/music theory or not. A great niche plugin to have handy and highly recommended.

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tonespace

Reviewed By Enkerli [all]
January 31st, 2017
Version reviewed: 2.5.544 on Mac

This plugin (and associated app) can really do wonders for monophonic instruments like Wind Controllers (Akai EWI, Yamaha WX-5...).

Sure, some DAWs have MIDI chord support: you play a note and it plays a chord based on that note. In some cases, it even makes it so that the chords always fit the scale in which you are. (In Ableton Live, this is achieved by using both the Chord and Scale MIDI effects. Nice trick!) So, it's not like there aren't already solutions to play chords with a monophonic input.

What tonespace does is much deeper. For one thing, you have much more control over chord types and voicings. Plus the visualization in "spaces" is much more useful than simply letting a DAW build chords based on preset intervals. The plugin has an educational side and it manages to help you learn about chords even if you don't pay attention to that aspect.

Where tonespace shines, in my perspective, is in opening up the diversity of chord choices to a performance context. DAWs typically only allow for one chord type at a time, in my experience (though you can obviously change that type, possibly with MIDI control). The way tonespace does this through two distinct modes of "assist". Much easier to use that a separate MIDI control, such as a foot pedal.

In one mode, "Fit chord to scale (cycle)", tonespace will let you play different chords from the same note by cycling through the choices, from the most-fitting chord through the least fitting ones ending with a unison. The effect of this can be quite interesting as you can quickly play different chord types. It can get a bit repetitive, as you need to repeatedly play the same note to reach other chords, but it can add a bit of variety to your musicking.

In "Fit chord to scale (rand)", tonespace builds random (but scale-fitted) chords on top of the note you input. With a bit of practice, you can use that to play with tension and release, as you can move from a dissonant chord to a more consonant one. Since it's random, it can get a bit tricky, but it's really fun and creative. And since non-scale notes don't build chords in that mode, they work as passing notes. Again, the effect can be fun and creative. If, for instance, you're playing in a mode based on the C major scale (the "white keys" on a piano), you can use a pentatonic scale of passing notes (the "black keys"). These notes play solo, so you can play a melody based on them and add some chords for effect by playing one of the scale notes. Since tonespace supports several scale types, you could even do the reverse (play melodies on the "white keys" and have simple chords play when you hit the "black keys"). Life is full of possibilities.

Obviously, there are other chorders out there. One of them has explicit support for what we may call the "Michael Brecker Effect", after the well-known sax player who really put wind controllers on the map. In performance, Brecker was playing random chords through the Oberheim Xpander driven by his EWI but instead of having the chords built on top of the input note as a root, his melody was supported by chords built under it. The difference may sound a bit subtle, but it's rather large in terms of output. With tonespace, you basically play root notes for diverse chords, so you end up with different top notes from what you play (either randomly or deterministically but distinct from what you play). In the "Brecker Effect", you simply play melodies and other notes are added below it to provide accompaniment. Really wish tonespace supported this type of top note input to allow for a "Brecker Effect".

A huge advantage for a struggling musician is that we can use tonespace without paying any money. Since it exists as a standalone app, it can even be used without a DAW. It even has a Linux version, which can open up interesting possibilities (though it probably doesn't run on ARM-based boards, like the Raspberry Pi). If there were a mobile app with similar functionalities, it could make for a very compact setup. But, as it stands, tonespace will probably be my excuse to bring a laptop on stage.

(And speaking of my setup: either a Mac mini running macOS Sierra or a Lenovo laptop running Windows 10 or Ubuntu; Yamaha WX-11 wind controller plugged using a generic USB-MIDI cable; Alesis VMini for MIDI controls, triggers, and inexperienced keyboarding; Ableton Live Lite on macOS or Windows; iPhone 6s Plus or 3rd generation iPad running Sunrizer, iWavestation, etc.; Studiomux/MIDImux to connect iOS devices to Live; tonespace to play chords in realtime.)

In other words: love tonespace. So thankful to mucoder for making it available at no cost! Will surely give them money if it allows me to get a paid gig. ;-)

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tonespace

Reviewed By anp27 [all]
March 15th, 2015
Version reviewed: 2.5.544 on Mac

An amazing plugin! And it's free! It generates chords and so much more, great for trying out chord progressions. Especially useful for musicians who aren't necessarily good at playing chords on the keyboard.

Note to the developer: As mentioned in my review for moocher's other fabulous plugin 'Hypercyclic', please port this wonderful plugin over as a MIDI FX insert in Logic X, that would be killer.

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tonespace

Reviewed By leahzero [all]
February 1st, 2007
Version reviewed: 1.0.150 on Windows

This review is from the perspective of someone just beginning to learn music theory, so I won't be able to credibly comment on some of the features or accuracy of this plugin.

That said, as a beginner, Tonespace has been tremendously helpful and instructive. I previously used ChordSpace to learn chords/sketch out progressions etc., but was beginning to brush up against the limitations of that plugin. I've searched for and tried out alternatives and found nothing better until Tonespace came along. This is the most robust, flexible, and intuitive scale- and chord-related MIDI plugin I've seen, period.

The concept of Tonespace is quite intuitive--chords in a scale are laid out in colored customizable grids, with a bevy of excellent preset layouts to get you started. The array of options for shaping chords is huge and I have yet to feel limited by this plugin. To be honest, there are already so many features in such a mature, useable state that it almost makes me feel guilty that Tonespace is free. The depth and quality of it is something you would expect to find as an exclusive bundled plugin in a high-caliber sequencer. Documentation is complete, clear, and instructive, with examples of how to set up the plugin in many popular sequencers, and the author has been active on the forums here helping users.

The only criticism I have of Tonespace is its GUI. It is quite sharp and user-friendly, but there are two small quirks. First, some of the grid layouts are clipped off by the edges of the plugin window--however, the author has stated this is intentional. Second, I've run into a small graphical error several times now (that could very well be the fault of something else) where my mouse pointer becomes offset while hovering over the Tonespace window. Neither of these issues detract from the stunning scope, functionality, and educational value of the plugin, however.

If you are looking for a MIDI plugin that handles scales and chords, Tonespace is in its own league beyond anything else available, and amazingly enough, it's free.
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Latest 6 reviews from a total of 6

Comments & Discussion for mucoder tonespace

Discussion
Discussion: Active
Michael L
Michael L
1 February 2017 at 6:13am

Thank you, Enkerli for perhaps the best-written review I have read here. Tonespace deserves it.

Enkerli
Enkerli
4 February 2017 at 11:38pm

All the pleasure is mine.

Agreed that tonespace deserves to be reviewed carefully. There's a lot of plugins out there for diverse audio effects. But not that many for MIDI effects and especially not that many no-cost ones.

From experiments with tonespace, now trying to do some similar things with my own Pure Data patches. Turns out, it's actually easier than expected, especially with help from the PdPatchRepo forum. Nice thing with that option is that it should work on a Raspberry Pi, including audio output.

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