Scaler 3 to make quickly backing tracks to play along

[ClaudioPorcellana]

Hi folks

In my ceaseless hunt for a fast way to make backing-tracks and play along, I ended using ChordPulse (chord generator) + LoopMIDI (virtual cable for MIDI tools) + BassMIDI (soundfont-based synth vst)

It is fast and easy: you write down a few chords, apply some rhythm and hit Play: done!
The sound is very good if you use good soundfonts, e.g. the Timbres Of Heaven

The problem is when you find some interesting idea while practicing, because you must stop and re-create the chord progression and rhythm in Scaler and/or your DAW, but it is cumbersome and you’ll end quite commonly to get lost with routings, crashing plugins, etc

So, today I decided to try Scaler 3 and the embedded instruments, and I found that it works quite well; Certainly not fast and easy as ChordPulse, but I didn’t have any crashes at least

Here is the complex set with 3 of the Scaler 3 embedded instruments: piano, guitar, and bass; I added two S-Gear amps for the guitar and the bass, and the progressive backing track was completed in a dozen of minutes

epic.xml (2.4 KB)

The only instrument that cannot be used inside Scaler 3 is the drums, but Jamstix is perfectly able to follow Scaler, any plugin, or my axe while playing along, so no problem here

[Miki]

I have the same problem with drums. Something like “drums follow” would be a great improvement.

[davide]

What would we need and how would ‘Drums Follow’ work? Can you user a User Track to program the drum notes? It would be good to fully support third party percussion libraries so would love to have an idea from users of what’s required for each scenario.

[Miki]

I remember when I used to drag and drop beats from Addictive Drums. They had tons of grooves in different styles and BPMs, but the problem was that they weren’t adapted to my actual tempo. If a beat sounded great at 150 BPM, it didn’t help me when my project was at 60 BPM.

On top of that, I’m really bad at tapping rhythms with my fingers so creating my own patterns isn’t easy.

But we already have something close to what I’m imagining in Scaler 3. You can select a style — jazz, blues, rock, etc. — and choose shapes just like we do in Expressions. Under that category, we already have Performances, Phrases, Rhythms, Bass, and so on, where we can preview different ideas. For example, we can select Bass and see or hear several shapes that follow the tempo we set in Scaler or in the DAW.

I imagine something similar for drums. Open Expressions … Drums (a category that doesn’t exist yet). Then choose Jazz Drums, Rock Drums, Bass, etc. You’d see a list of beats with names and graphical shapes, just like the bass examples. Hover or click to listen. It could be something like dam‑dadam‑ding or da‑dadam‑dam‑dam (sorry, I’m terrible at describing rhythms). The pattern could include notes for kick, snare, cymbals, etc.

As Scaler can already generate internal instruments like synths and bass, it should be possible to include a simple drum kit, too. Then we could either use the built‑in drums with the selected beats or route the MIDI to Addictive Drums, Jamstix, or any other drum plugin.

And there is MIDI Editor for those who want to change something. Or the drum can be synchronized to Bass Follow.

[ClaudioPorcellana]

@davide

how would ‘Drums Follow’ work?

he he, this is food for a programmer like @Miki
I am satisfied more than enough by Jamstix because it follows my axe style automatically

Nevertheless, I think that a way to drive a drummer plugin directly, or to have some drum-kit in the next Scaler 3, is welcome when somebody just wants to play along more easily and quickly