Notes Beta 3 [1.0.2] [Build Date 01/23/26]

Notes Synth
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We’re getting close to releasing the update now :tada: our third beta for the 1.0.2 update is ready!

Here are the installers:
:link: macOS Beta 3 Installer
:link: Windows Beta 3 Installer

Here are the changes in this beta:

  1. New: Chromatic (diatonic) chords and other templates. These are inside the Building Blocks folder in your chord browser.
  2. New: LA Vibes Pack. This is a new pack with funky chords and shimmering analog synths inspired by the West Coast vibe and artists like Tyler, the Creator.
  3. Improved: Hovering chord previews in The Lab now shows the chord names
  4. Improved: Windows oscilloscope no longer shows artifacts when no sound is playing
  5. Improved: Dropping MIDI into The Lab / Chord Sampler now extracts the chords correctly
  6. Improved: Cleaned up various popup windows
  7. New: FLAC Files can now be dropped into The Lab / Chord Sampler

And the additions from Beta 1 & 2:

  1. New: Create your own Multikeys instruments. Read more about Multikeys here.
    Multi-keys-create

(:light_bulb: Quick note if you want to test out making your Multikeys, make sure your samples area already tuned to C before you drop them in.)

  1. Fixed: clicks in sampler when in monopoly voice mode (finger pointing down icon)
  2. “Daw Edit Mode” added to Note Settings
    When ON: black keys activate transformers while held/sustained for people who prefer to draw in their MIDI.
    When OFF: tap the black keys to turn on transformers for people who prefer to play live on their keyboard.
  3. Chord mode ON/OFF is no longer shared across multiple instances of Notes
  4. You can now easily drag MIDI chords out of The Lab into your DAW
  5. When you add chords from The Lab, the chords now use the session key
  6. When you open and close the interface, your chords in The Lab stay in place
  7. When you drop MIDI into the Chord Sampler, it now adds the chords from the MIDI file

Please check it out and let us know if you run into any bugs :folded_hands:

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Notes Beta 2 [1.0.2] [Build Date 01/16/26]
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Thanks.. now getting onto 1.0.2.

rsp

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OH JOY New presets, diggin’ these LA Vibes! The chords in “Zig Zag” are clever, especially how 5-6-7 especially get riffy. Keep the preset expansions coming, thank you.

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Thanks for the feedback @TORLEY , this helps us decided which direction to take future packs!

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I’m having no issues with the new beta on the Mac Studio M4. I haven’t had a chance to play with the new presets yet, but I’ll do so and come back to share my thoughts.

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@Gavin_FAW I’d also add these suggestions for more packs which seem practically useful + fun:

  • One targeting the anime (making use of the Ghibli base you already have) lo-fi aesthetic, also taking cues from Ryuichi Sakamoto-esque impressionism. Ethereal chimes.
  • Sort of related but its own thing, botanica with pastoral-planty sparkles. Felty keyboards, alien string swells, a lot of organic granular FX.
  • Ambient DnB/jungle chords, harkening back to the mid-1990s and also the PlayStation scene circa Wip3out that was inspired by it (a lot of these things are cyclical, aren’t they?). It’d have the benefit of being able to modify the chords, since they aren’t static samples. Bitcrushed goodness.
  • Contemporary jazz-funk-fusion, think KNOWER and other masterfully catchy bands with maximal complex chord progs and “WTF harmonies are those?” Big bold comp stabs, crisp clipping.
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Yup, I get what your talking about….

LTJ Bukem style 90s Drum n Bass…kind of jazzy but also ambient…

Just on the Ghibli style…are we not already packed with these types of progressions? Explicit youtube examples would be super useful, so we can discuss with the writers we work with and give stylistic direction.

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I’m going to leave this thread open a little longer in case you want to continue discussing but I just want to make a note that we have a new beta and new thread here: Notes Beta 4 [1.0.2] [Build Date 01/27/26]

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LTJ Bukem style 90s Drum n Bass…kind of jazzy but also ambient…

Yes exactly for that one PLUS the crispiness of earlier gaming consoles, like THIS example.

Just on the Ghibli style…are we not already packed with these types of progressions?

Yes mostly re: chords, but also thinking THE SOUNDS themselves and adjacent extensions into “city pop”, early J-pop, new romantic-baroque-disco type progressions that are gorgeous, marketing it explicitly for that sort of thing. Lemme give you examples!

The baroque angle of it goes even further, that sounds has also seen a revivification thru Daniel Lopatin’s score for Marty Supreme (very trendy haha) which I adored a lot, and goes more into new wave territory + new age too. So more influenced 1980s but NOT synthwave haha. Examples of that:

Hopefully that clarifies it!