Mr. Paul, since my last comment I tried to make a certain rhythm that took me a couple of days to catch. That of the “triplets”. At last, I managed to implement it. It was a mix of quarters, eights and sixteenths (the trick to achieve a “kind of a triplet” in order to imitate the continuous strum of a Spanish guitar) But, I had to use a “trick”: I recorded a track in my daw with all sixteenths and then another one with my keyboard and with the rhythm I was trying to get. I realised that there was very easy then to recreate it in Strummer later. Having said that, I would dare to suggest you two new features to Strummer that would make it easier to play: 1) when creating a pattern, the ability to play certain automatic beat with a metronome and then hit the screen with a finger with the desired pattern to write, in such a way that a note or a strum were place accordingly into the strum sequence. Then, the differences would be a lot easier to adjust. 2) Derived from this, in the song sequencer, the ability to play the chosen pattern and let the app fill a new step when changing the chord played. If it is necessary the use of another pattern, the ability to begin the same process from another step, making the adjustment later and more easier. At last, the ability to copy a pattern from one file to another. Thanks a lot!
I have been watching your videos for when I got first introduce to ios music production. I am planning to get a iPad because ios offers more than android. I have a love for the guitar and this a colossal stroke of genius. I wish I could thought of this.
Putting that great 4pockets flourish and interface on an area of app development that kind of peaked around 2015 w/Guitarism and a few others, and has sat unaddressed since. Very nice work here, Paul! 👍
Just bought this Sir Paul🤴King of Devs. This is exactly what I have needed for a good couple of years. 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶 If it was any cooler it would cause a new ice age👍👍👍👍👍 Brilliant, brilliant. Thank you.
Another fine App Paul - just one minor point - I personally find the ‘inverted’ string layout counter intuitive. As a guitarist originally it feels more natural for Low E to be at the bottom of the screen and high E at the top. That also puts the lower notes at the bottom and higher notes at the top which seems more logical. By no means a deal breaker - just a preference 👍😎
It is completely backwards. Or upside down. Unless you have a see-through fretboard, this makes no sense at all. Completely counter-intuitive. Garageband and GeoShred are not like this either. Hopefully this could get changed in an update. Maybe even an option to switch view?
Hi Paul - I cant speak for @ZahProject - I think we may be talking at cross purposes - I was referring to the area top right (where the sequence appears) The chord areas is fine - that is standard orientation for a guitar chord book, but the sequence area has the LOW E string at the top, and the HIGH E string at the bottom - that doesn’t follow either guitar tab, music notation or even most sequencers. Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear enough in my original post, and if I did, sorry for repeating myself!!!! LOL As I said NOT a deal breaker for me - it is another 4Pockets must have app. Cheers
@@iainspence9680 Aha, finally I understand what everyone was talking about. Thanks for the clarification!! Well it never really occured to me that this would cause problems. Looking down at my guitar I always see the low E string on top, working its way down to the high E string on the bottom. Thats my way of thinking.
Brilliant. It was an instant buy as I was looking for something like this for a while. I’d definitely like to second the suggestion for a chord builder too. Great work.
Also, the ability to invert the order of the strings on the grid would be welcome. Years of reading tab means the strings appear upside down to my tiny brain.
@@jimparker4645 I added a button for lef handed view... not sure if this is the problem or that fact people can't visualise something rotated 90 degrees?
Hi Paul. I've just seen some of the other stuff you're working on atm.. Really interesting and useful apps I must say! However, I have hope that you will return to work a bit on this app as well ( MIDI Strummer) and maybe try to make a "live user input" for the BPM of the strummer, so it is possible to use it live with a band, not always playing the exact BPM each time 🙏 This is by far the best strumming app on the market, so this would be simply amazing to be able to use it for live playing. Best regards Chris
Loving the App. I know its fairly new but if I could suggest a record function the fill the song grid when Arp and chord buttons are selected. This would be great when entering guitar tabs from sheet music. 10/10 from me already. !!!
Just bought this yesterday, it's great! One feature I'd love to see is an improvisation mode which gives you an alternative view, similar to the chords tab in the guitar instrument in GarageBand where you can select 6 chords and freely pick or strum them manually. Now I can do this for one chord using the fretboard on the top left but it's tricky to switch between chords when trying to record something in cubasis.
(one way around this is to use song mode to play a chord progression selecting empty patterns but it means chords do always change at fixed intervals with the frequency/repetitions you set)
@@PaultheMusicMan thanks for your quick reply! you mean using a midi keyboard to switch chords? (I'd still want to use the touch screen on the fretboard for the selected chord)
Great stuff Paul! I like how you’ve expanded this from the NuRack version.. the extra controls will make this a much-used app for me.. 👍 As already mentioned, I would love to have the option(s) for alternate tunings which could lead to alternative stringed instruments (Mandolin, Banjo, Ukulele etc..) Already love what I’m seeing here.. waiting to hit the buy button on the App Store.. 🙂
Great stuff again, Paul! Thanks for that. I guess, the app could be used as an flexible arpeggiator, not only for guitar sounds (they usually sucks when imitating an acoustic instrument).
Hi Paul, Good to see you back. Hope you are doing well healthwise. I have a small question on this strummer - Is it possible to enter custom arp notes (in arp variation screen) using midi keyboard without touching the screen? I would like to set up for live performance and want to avoid touching the screen as much as possible. Also arp ideas come to my mind when I play the keyboard. It is a pain to "draw" the same idea into the screen. Possible?
Thanks Sujoy, I'm over the operation, but starting radiotherapy next week! This is not currently possible but I may be able to add this in a future version. I need to give it some thought.
there is an issue of the strummer with the syncronization with AUM. I feed the strummer from helium with chords (some ticks in advance, as recommended). Piano to Guitar (Latched). I do gypsy strumming with length 6, arp speed 3x to get triplets feeling. This works well for many bars. But after more than 50 bars (sometime earlier, sometime later) the sync suddenly jumps a quarter note or so, and then stays out of step with the rest of the tracks running from the Helium Sequencer. Stop and reset to resync is required. That issue happens reliably in this constellation. I am therefore not able to have several choruses accompanied by the strummer. real bug!
There’s a lot to like in this app so far. One thing that has me confused is I don’t know how to access the full fretboard yet. All the notes seem to be limited to a very narrow range. When I play the notes with the pop-out keyboard (on the bottom of the screen) then I can access a greater range, but not on the tap-to-place-notes view. Also, since I like to use a lot of syncopation in my music, I’d love to be able to break free of the constraints of the grid as an option. Please consider an alternate method of playing patterns to allow real strumming by the user. I will note my favorite guitar simulator app (which I’ve been using nearly ten years) is the Yonac Steel Guitar app. What it does well is slide guitar style effects and strumming, but it’s pretty terrible for playing fast solo notes. For fast solo note recording, I have to switch to either the GeoShred Pro app or the iFretless apps. Would be marvelous if I could get all of these options in ONE app! Finally, there are issues with app stability in iOS 14 that I’m sure you’re aware of. I just purchased AUM (the mixing and MIDI routing app) which has solved some crashing problems, but ideally I’d prefer to use the app as an AU plugin within GarageBand. Fantastic work so far! Thanks for making this exciting app. Right after posting this I noticed you already updated to add a custom chord editor... will investigate immediately.
Ok, I'm guessing you are not a guitar player? This is a MIDI strummer, finger picking app, that simulates what you would do as a guitar player. Most people can't stretch their fingers more than 4 frets, which is why the fretboard only shows a 4 fret range, and the number to the right of the top fret gives you the capo position. It wasn't designed to just play notes, but instead play chords. If the app only allowed you to play random notes, something that can be done with any keyboard and synth engine, and would make this whole app pointless. You can play the internal sound engine via an external keyboard, but thats just a passthrough if you need to preview the sounds.
@@PaultheMusicMan You are correct I’m not a guitarist, which is why I’ve been waiting for this app for years... probably 10 years or more! Please understand that what you’ve created has functionality beyond what you may have intended. It’s perfect for strumming and picking, but could also be used to program solo guitar lines and it would be great if the neck (in the Customized Chord view) could be swiped up or down to move up and down the neck.
I would SOOO love a live speed arp reading (depending on your "key hit TAPPING speed" on a keyboard) but I don't know of any Guitar strummer that does this.
Sorry to ask again :) Foot pedal tapping, microphone input, "special keyboard note".. just anything really where the user can control the speed of the arp would be soo amazing for keyboard players live. I hope it will come some day
Hello Mr. Paul. Recently, I have bought some of your appreciated apps, one of them “Midi strummer”. One of my favourite things is to load a song into GarageBand and then create a chain of chords with strummer. But, as the noob musician that I am, sometimes I find it very difficult and time consuming to get the job done, because it is difficult for me to count the right measures of the chords. Might I suggest you to implement some kind of “recording” option to accomplish the task? I have thought three posible ways: 1,- The most simple, but the one which would do about the 75% of the job is linking the app chord-> empty button with the metronome of GarageBand (or analog app). I assume that the song is previously load and well sincronized with the metronome, and the host sync button enabled. When starting to play the song, the user would simply hit “empty”, appending each time a blank chord cell to the chain. The magic would be if, every time that button was hit and a new empty cell was appended, the app could fill the previous cell with the measures ticked by the metronome from this previous cell until that moment. 2,- The next one, would be via midi. The same way as in point 1, but being the “empty” button substituted by a single note from the midi keyboard. This way, not only the measures would be recorded, but a “root” note also. 3,- the most demanding, but the best, would be replacing the keyboard single note by a whole chord. The rest of the chord modifications can be easily added by hand afterwards. Thank you in advance. I sincerely feel that it would be a great improvement to your app the addition of anyone of these suggestions. I send you my congratulations for your apps.
Hi Paul … thanks for another great app. If I want to create a song with a finger picking guitar style background (like the opening music of this video) can I do that easier with Midi Strummer than the strummer built in to Nu Rack or Progressions?
Yes Bill, the standalone app contains sound sources and can play in standalone mode too. The version in NuRack simply generates and sends MIDI messages and needs routing to an external sound source.
I’ve just downloaded and tried the app, great app! Sounds great! One crucial thing i’m missing is the abbility to import chord progressions I made in Suggester into to sing mode chord sequence. Can you please add this import option for the next version? I’m totally dependent on suggester for chord progressions..
I’d like to think my request has something to do with the creation of this app. Even if it doesn’t, I’m so glad to see this app coming to iOS! Thanks for your diligent work of quality. Looking forward to using it. Will the chord switching within patterns yield a sort of hammer on effect when timed just right? Being able to hammer on, slide, and pull off are the next things keyboard playing guitar enthusiasts hope to enjoy with fine products of this type!
Hello Mr. Paul. I’ve noticed that you are a little tied up with Copperhead :-) Anyway, as an user of your MIDI Strummer, and when you have the opportunity if you find my comment worth it, I would like to suggest an improvement to your app. This is the incorporation of “bending” the strings (one or many of them) and the possibility of lifting one or more fingers, maintaining the sound until you push them again on the same fret, +1 or -1 or keep them unpressed. This even could be implemented in the arpegiator, for simplicity (of the player of course, perhaps it is a hell for the programmer) at writing sequences or songs. This is a guitarrists frequent used resource. I am sorry if I have not explained myself enough, English is not my mother language, but perhaps you have understood me. Meanwhile, I wish you the best.
I fully understand your explanation and as a guitarist myself I can see how this would be useful for adding expression to your playing. Lifting fingers could be It be achieved by defining user chords but string bending is a whole new ball game. To do this I would need to make each string it's own unique sound source, and this is not possible with sound fonts as a sound source. Pitch bend in other words is global and it needs to be per string. I will give it some thought....
@@PaultheMusicMan Please, I also beg for triplets. It would be very helpful for simplifying and reducing the writing of a rythm, and it will help for creating spanish fast strums (and pop ones also). It can be added a down-up-down and an up-down-up execution of a chord to link a series of triplets accordingly. And, stablishing a kind of lateral zoom for rythms greater than 16 beats would also be very helpful, so we can follow the execution on one whole sight. Pinching the window perhaps? Thanks again and sorry for the inconveniences.
The BPM is locked to the tempo of the host app unless run in standalone mode. I admit there could be a faster way to change the tempo, but not sure how this could be done on the fly?
I absolutely love this app, but it keeps quitting in GarageBand on a brand new iPad Pro and I have to keep reloading. I can’t export a song for the same reason, too. Not always, but very often.
I wasn't aware of any issues but I will take a look and see if I can find a problem. I assume this is an issue which causes a crash at startup? Are you using custom soundfonts? Are you able to Merge down to an audio track prior to exporting?
@@PaultheMusicMan hi and thanks for your reply. Sometimes a crash at startup but more generally continuously as I’m working. Not using custom sound fonts. Yes, I’ve had to merge to an audio track just to work uninterrupted by the ‘quit/please reload’ messages that keep appearing. Which is disheartening. But despite this I really love what the app can offer and am prepared to persist. If you need screenshots I will happily send to you.
@@TheOverlordOfProcrastination I've been trying to duplicate your issue at startup on a couple of devices and so far not being able to generate any crashes. Looking at the crash logs I get from users highlights one possible area that could be problematic, but I've only receved that particular issue from users. I will take a look at putting some crash proofing around this area of code and submit a new version for testing. Chasing down these things can be a bit of a needle in a haystack.
@@PaultheMusicMan I bet it is, mate. It’s actually just happened again coincidentally. Good luck finding the issue as I really want to continue using the app. It can really add lovely texture to a track.
Hi I enjoy using the strummer however as a midi guitar player I use this as an instrument and record straight to a track in my daw , it would be alsome if a adjustable pitchbend option could be added and recieve midi on all chanels thanks for your videos and products
The problem I have is that ideally pitch bend would work per string, and since I'm using a single instance of Apple's sound font player it was not possible to implement at the time. Do you think a global pitch bend will add anything to a strummer / arperggiator?
@@PaultheMusicMan Hi Paul Yes I do think a global pitch bend would help ,its not unusual for me to run 6 instances of a plug-in , 1 for each midi Chanel , however it would be best if I could assign the amount of pitch bend rather than just the + - 2 , most the time I use a bend setting of 12 , I appreciate this would not do much for the strummer or the arpeggiator but would definitely improve things as an instrument. I wonder if it could be turned on ,under say midi input notes control and pith bend .
I'm thinking about it... the only problem is implementing chord patterns for open tunings! I can programmatically find them but they may not be the ones that people are used to (if you know what I mean). It will take some experimenting.
Right away (@ 3:27) I have a question. Can I change the tuning to 4-string mandolin tuning? If so, will the chords and the rest of the app work exactly the same?
@@paulbarnard106 Thx, I actually did end up getting DigiStix2, MidiStrummer, and Helium. Loving it. I ran Rozeta Rhythm into Digistix last night and managed to get a really interesting beat with some tweaking.
This looks fantastic! I always wanted to program some Cure Style swirling guitars on Ipad and this looks like it can do this. I presume you can program your own arpeggio patterns? and also as well as acoustic guitars I hope you will have some clean electric guitar with delay and reverb if not now in a future update.
Yes, you can create your own patterns. There are a few electric guitars avaiable but you can freely import your own soundfonts and use those if you wish, or just output the MIDI to your favourite apps such as SampleTank which has some awesome guitars.
Hi Paul, love the app. I have a question, I have "Host Sync" and "Play Notes (No MIDI Control) selected but the chord notes that are playing are not being recorded to my host (which is Beatmaker 3) when I hit record. My chord pads also don't appear to be linking with my Midi Keyboard BUT the keys are recognized when I play them. Any idea what my issue might be? I feel like I'm missing a small detail.
I'm not so familiar with BeatMaker 3, but generally if you are expecting to record MIDI output you have to load Strummer as a MIDI plugin. If you want to record audio, add Strummer as an instrument or effect plugin. Again, it depends what routing is available in BeatMaker. As for your keyboard, try running in standalone mode, open the popup keyboard, set input to Play Notes (MIDI Control). Scroll to the left on the keyboard and the control keys are marked out for you. MIDI notes 0-15 change pad, There are also keys to start and stop the arpeggiator and change pattern too. Play Notes (No MIDI Control) allows only notes and you can't change pad.
Press the delay power button. Its a scrolling left to right area of the interface with lots of effects not just those you can see. You can see this in the video.
Would it be possible to set up “Guitar Styles” as defaults? For example, rock guitar with limited echo and reverb, or acoustic with more ambient echo effects? Would be a time saver to not have to stick with the stock guitar every time a new project is started.
Yes please add the ability to add our own chords. Also humanize would be great.I touched “kill notes” and no matter what I do I cannot undo that. Help, please.
PAUL PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE GROVEL GROVEL make it so I can play the chords on the bass of my accordion and have it recognise and play the relevant stuff. Ie my accordion makes major minor 7th and diminished chords using 3 notes per chord. If it could only recognise the chord I play on my accordion over midi then it will be a game changer for me when I can finally get back to work after this COVID thing is over......
I've already talked to Wal about this idea... does your accordian output MIDI? lol Detecting notes of chords via audio is extremely difficult and would probably be very unreliable. However, I may add the ability to support other isntrument types with differing numbers of strings and tunings.
Paul the MusicMan my accordion will output midi. I can use 4 channels at once 2 for the keyboard and 2 for the bass side, one being single notes the other being chords. Also these are not fixed channels so I can assign any channel I want to any part so whatever channel you assign to operate the chords on in the app I can assign on my accordion.
Hello Mr. Paul. In these days, I am using Helium with Strummer in AUM with Tone Packets. I am suffering an issue that goes like this: In HELIUM i wrote a simple loop with three chord from you own library, namely C-F-G; then I connect Helium with strummer via MIDI; then I press play in AUM. The situation is the very first 6 cicles (always six), Strummer plays the chords with glitches; then from the 7th cycle onwards, Strummer plays as it was intended to do. If I create the loop inside Strummer all goes smoothly from the beginning. Would you like to help me? I prefer to work with Helium for various reasons. Another minor glitch I notices is that if in Helium i press Autosave, since it changes colour, the returning message is always “turned off”. I like very much both apps. Thanks!
Ok, there are a couple of things you can check. First off make sure you are sending Tone Packets and not MIDI notes, then make sure the chord track is set to ON when you long press the TRACK button. Do not set this to 1/4, 1/8 etc. only ON. All my apps work this way if using Tone Packets. Also check that the AUM buffer Size is set to 256 or at least less than 1024 as this can effect timing. One more thing, long press on Heliums Menu button and ensure Adv Timing is turned ON, and leave it ON.
@@PaultheMusicMan Thanks. I have checked all, and after some trials, I have encountered what follows: At 60 BPM, buffer 512 works OK; at 90 BPM, buffer 256 OK; at 120 BPM, buffer 128 OK; at 150 BPM, buffer 64 OK but audio begin to glitch; at 180 NOK anyways. Perhaps this is not the way that the communication between those apps was designed to work, wasn’t it? That’s strange to me. Because, at the end, the case is the apps work together ok after a few loops with buffer 512, so it have to be something that occurs at the very beginning. Thanks again. I could even send you a video, if needed.
@@Mr.Cockney Very strange, I need to look into this and see if I can replicate it on my devices. Just so I know, what device are you running and iOS version?
@@Mr.Cockney I've just run some tests at various BPM's from 60 up to 150BPM and everything is fine. I have however got my chords starting at BAR 2, because if you start at BAR 1 you need to enable a 1 BAR count in and perhaps that's your problem. I do mention this in one of the TonePackets videos. If you start out of sync, it takes a while to rectify itself. So make sure you have either a 1 bar count in in AUM, or leave 1 beat before starting your song.
Interesting very interesting look forward to playing with this I know you mentioned loading you own sound fonts but does it come with a few different sounds already like acoustic ect
Thanks Paul not a big guitar user but i do like to add guitar in my tracks every now and then as OMG guitar is a bit outdated for me and GarageBand is a bit more useful to guitar players which I'm not so this app will be really useful also interested to see what midi synths sound like through it.......the fun begins
Wow. This is life changing. Guitar riff heaven. I'm a bit confused about the relationship between the chord pads and the pattern above. Sometimes the pattern stays the same as chords are changed and sometimes the pattern changes. Also the chord chaining options seem to only contain chords of the c major scale ahh is that because it reflects only those chords programmed into the chord pads above?
If you play a pattern and change chord (using the pads) the pattern remains because it is just plucking the relvent notes on the string. You can also define variation patterns too which can be triggered either via MIDI note or via the song chain.
Paul, you should rename your channel into Paul the (app) Magician 🤓😛, what do you make beautifully apps 👌 That said, I have one thing I don’t understand about this app so far and that is: where does the accompanying (drum) rithms come from and is there a possibility to change them or use other apps like softdrummer to work together with MIDI Strummer.... ???
Wot, no cbg option? Seriously though, this looks like a really useful aid for the technically challenged. I can see myself using it for synth apps- especially acoustic and electric pianos- because I’m not a natural keyboard player, and struggle to sound at ease when playing. Now I can sound at ease when NOT playing! Just had a thought- can you dial in alternative tunings? DADGAD for example...
You mean chords Wal? You can generate whatever set of chords you like for the pads but I appreciate what your saying... I have an uncle that can play anything so long as its CFG!
Paul the MusicMan cbg = cigar box guitar in that context- more as a joke really. But it got me thinking- you’ve got 6- and 12-string options there- how difficult would it be to add the same functionality for three-string guitar, or lute, or mandolin, or ukulele, or banjo, or oud, or balalaika... My mate has a seven-string guitar (among about sixty others). But could you allow for open tunings for 6-strings? Must it be EADGBE?
@@walrtbstudios5430 The only issue with open tuning is that it requires a whole new way of thinking about chords since you are playing lots of open strings. I may well look into a way to customize the tunings and create your own custom chords sets with some kind of chord editor allowing you to select strings to play in an open fashion etc. That would be great because its only limited by your imagination and there for advanced users. Since I'm not familiar with a lot of these instruments I don't know the chords, however I could take GarageBands approach where you hide which notes are being played and stick to a scale, but I thought this more realistic.
Paul the MusicMan Well, I wouldn’t expect it in v1.0.0; v1.0.1 maybe... But while there’s certainly a market out there for guitar players, now that you have the basic structure of the app, is it feasible to do an offshoot for banjo, say? There have been an awful lot of ukes sold in the last decade- a market there too perhaps?
@@walrtbstudios5430 I guess if I allowed a configurable number of strings and the open tunings for an instrument then a soundfont of that instrument would work fine, so I may consider building it into this app.
I am very new to all of this, and it sounds like something I could use. Does this work in combination with GarageBand ? Can I create a song and then send it to GarageBand or record it somehow with GarageBand? I just got into recording music on an iPad. I’m the old dog trying to learn new tricks. 😜. Thank you.
I really don't recommend this plugin with GarageBand as it already has most of what this app does built in. Apart from that there are issues with GB under iOS14 which cause incompatbilities. However the next version 1.05 will fix those so if you really want this app wait a few days for the update.
@@PaultheMusicMan I would disagree about GarageBand having what this app provides but I trust you when you say it does not work with the latest release. GarageBand smart guitar chords are not very useful at all. I write my music with a guitar but have issues with my fingers and hands now so it’s very hard to play. This app look like it would give me the ability to enjoy writing again. Being able to make custom chords and the ability to create chord progressions along with the custom picking and strumming would be very helpful. If I am wrong about that then I will keep looking elsewhere. I have other Daw’s. I was just wondering if it would work with GB. Thanks
@@BlutosBeaters Hey Pete, the new version 1.05 will go live later today and this fixes the compatibility issue with GB on iOS14. Just wanted to let you know.
Hello Mr. Paul: I am trying to use MidiStrummer with Garageband and I am having an issue. I load MS as an Extens. Audio Units (the only way it can be done). Then I try to record a GB loop. When I strum or pick the strings directly, GB records all ok. If I play Arp with Host Sync OFF, GB records ok too. But when I try to record with Host sync ENABLED, nothing happens. The recording starts in GB but MS remains silent, as if it doesn’t receive or hear the signal to start playing. If I use MS into Cubasis 3, all functions ok instead. I have searched into the Help file and even on UA-cam but I have not found a clue. Can you help me? Because I need MS and GB work together. Thank you very much.
@@PaultheMusicMan Sorry, I didn't mention that both buttons were enabled. I tried then all the possible combinations of both, with same results. Perhaps I need to enable something on GB, because, as I said before, it works all fine on Cubasis. Do you make It work in Synced mode on GB? How do you do it, please?
@@Mr.Cockney I tried loading MS myself as an external instrument, enabled SYNC and ARP, then pressed REC in GarageBand and it recorded the notes fine for me.
@@PaultheMusicMan I have found where the issue really is (if it is really an issue): you are right when you say that MS works fine when you record IN TRACK MODE. I had the problems when I tried to record in loop mode, into the square of the loop itself. GB allows to record directly into that square its own instruments. Now I can manage if I record first in track mode and then copy and paste into the loop square. It is a workaround. You gave me the clue. Thanks a lot!
Hi Paul I've tried to make it play Pure synth through the midi on cubasis 2. I've done everything you said but I can't seem to get it to play is there anything I'm missing.? Thanks 👍
@@joshuagood4237 You were loading the Strummer in an audio Insert slot and it must be in a MIDI effect slot to control other MIDI instruments. This is because MIDI comes before an instrument and audio effects come after.
If the input mode is set to Piano to Midi it will always reset the pattern position, however if you select the Piano to Midi (latch mode) it will follow the 'reset' setting.
@@kentaccordionist Are you using the latest versions? (v1.04). I changed the functionality in this version before you even asked. Version 1.03 would work as you are describing.
@@kentaccordionist No worries mate, you had me testing my own sanity there! lol As I said before this is very much of an experimental thing I'm making up as I go just to suite your needs really.
Such a terrific, tasteful and usable app. Bravo!
Mr. Paul, since my last comment I tried to make a certain rhythm that took me a couple of days to catch. That of the “triplets”. At last, I managed to implement it. It was a mix of quarters, eights and sixteenths (the trick to achieve a “kind of a triplet” in order to imitate the continuous strum of a Spanish guitar) But, I had to use a “trick”: I recorded a track in my daw with all sixteenths and then another one with my keyboard and with the rhythm I was trying to get. I realised that there was very easy then to recreate it in Strummer later. Having said that, I would dare to suggest you two new features to Strummer that would make it easier to play: 1) when creating a pattern, the ability to play certain automatic beat with a metronome and then hit the screen with a finger with the desired pattern to write, in such a way that a note or a strum were place accordingly into the strum sequence. Then, the differences would be a lot easier to adjust. 2) Derived from this, in the song sequencer, the ability to play the chosen pattern and let the app fill a new step when changing the chord played. If it is necessary the use of another pattern, the ability to begin the same process from another step, making the adjustment later and more easier. At last, the ability to copy a pattern from one file to another. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the suggestions, I will give it some thought.
I would love a synthesizer app from this guy.
I realeased one not so long ago... check out my videos on Copperhead!
I have been watching your videos for when I got first introduce to ios music production. I am planning to get a iPad because ios offers more than android. I have a love for the guitar and this a colossal stroke of genius. I wish I could thought of this.
I have a suggestion, can you build a similar app for other instrument families such as brass and woodwind instruments.
Great app incredible value. Love it in Cubasis 3 . Wish there was a VST/AU plugin version.
Putting that great 4pockets flourish and interface on an area of app development that kind of peaked around 2015 w/Guitarism and a few others, and has sat unaddressed since. Very nice work here, Paul! 👍
Just bought this Sir Paul🤴King of Devs. This is exactly what I have needed for a good couple of years. 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶 If it was any cooler it would cause a new ice age👍👍👍👍👍 Brilliant, brilliant. Thank you.
Already love NuRack, can’t wait for this! Amazing work Paul, I don’t know how you do it, but I’m so grateful that you do!
Another fine App Paul - just one minor point - I personally find the ‘inverted’ string layout counter intuitive. As a guitarist originally it feels more natural for Low E to be at the bottom of the screen and high E at the top. That also puts the lower notes at the bottom and higher notes at the top which seems more logical. By no means a deal breaker - just a preference 👍😎
It is completely backwards. Or upside down. Unless you have a see-through fretboard, this makes no sense at all. Completely counter-intuitive. Garageband and GeoShred are not like this either. Hopefully this could get changed in an update. Maybe even an option to switch view?
@@thezahproject6766 All I've done is rotated 90" due to screen space, plus this is just for visual feedback it doesn't serve a real purpose as such!
Hi Paul - I cant speak for @ZahProject - I think we may be talking at cross purposes - I was referring to the area top right (where the sequence appears) The chord areas is fine - that is standard orientation for a guitar chord book, but the sequence area has the LOW E string at the top, and the HIGH E string at the bottom - that doesn’t follow either guitar tab, music notation or even most sequencers. Sorry if I didn’t make myself clear enough in my original post, and if I did, sorry for repeating myself!!!! LOL
As I said NOT a deal breaker for me - it is another 4Pockets must have app. Cheers
@@iainspence9680 Aha, finally I understand what everyone was talking about. Thanks for the clarification!! Well it never really occured to me that this would cause problems. Looking down at my guitar I always see the low E string on top, working its way down to the high E string on the bottom. Thats my way of thinking.
Brilliant. It was an instant buy as I was looking for something like this for a while. I’d definitely like to second the suggestion for a chord builder too. Great work.
Also, the ability to invert the order of the strings on the grid would be welcome. Years of reading tab means the strings appear upside down to my tiny brain.
@@jimparker4645 I added a button for lef handed view... not sure if this is the problem or that fact people can't visualise something rotated 90 degrees?
Hi Paul. I've just seen some of the other stuff you're working on atm..
Really interesting and useful apps I must say!
However, I have hope that you will return to work a bit on this app as well ( MIDI Strummer) and maybe try to make a "live user input" for the BPM of the strummer, so it is possible to use it live with a band, not always playing the exact BPM each time 🙏
This is by far the best strumming app on the market, so this would be simply amazing to be able to use it for live playing.
Best regards
Chris
all time fav app! love it!
I wish they’d turn this into a Vst it’s dope af
This is very exciting for a guitar minded person who doesn’t play guitar. Can’t wait to dig into this! Thanks Paul!
I'm glad people are liking the idea. Its great for driving other sounds sources too not just guitar I guess.
@@PaultheMusicMan Yes for sure!
I'm very excited about this it sounds brilliant Paul. 👍👍❤️
Fantastic app! I will definitely buy it. Thanks for creating such an amazing product.
Loving the App. I know its fairly new but if I could suggest a record function the fill the song grid when Arp and chord buttons are selected. This would be great when entering guitar tabs from sheet music. 10/10 from me already. !!!
Wow this looks incredible I definitely want to do a show on this ASAP
Just bought this yesterday, it's great! One feature I'd love to see is an improvisation mode which gives you an alternative view, similar to the chords tab in the guitar instrument in GarageBand where you can select 6 chords and freely pick or strum them manually. Now I can do this for one chord using the fretboard on the top left but it's tricky to switch between chords when trying to record something in cubasis.
Thanks, its an interesting idea worth giving some thought too.
(one way around this is to use song mode to play a chord progression selecting empty patterns but it means chords do always change at fixed intervals with the frequency/repetitions you set)
You could just send the MIDI notes to it via a MIDI keyboard and record those instead.
@@PaultheMusicMan thanks for your quick reply! you mean using a midi keyboard to switch chords? (I'd still want to use the touch screen on the fretboard for the selected chord)
@@PaultheMusicMan I'd also buy it as a separate / standalone plugin in case you prefer to keep the user interface of midi strummer simple
Will it be possible to add a Swing option in a future update?Thank you for a great work
Very interesting Paul. Will
certainly be very useful, I'll be looking out for this..
🙏 🙏
Cheers mate. Yes, its really fun to use and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.
@@PaultheMusicMan it Will be ios12 compatible?
@@PAL-MUSIC-1 Yes, no worries there.
The only thing missing is a swing option!
Great stuff Paul! I like how you’ve expanded this from the NuRack version.. the extra controls will make this a much-used app for me.. 👍
As already mentioned, I would love to have the option(s) for alternate tunings which could lead to alternative stringed instruments (Mandolin, Banjo, Ukulele etc..) Already love what I’m seeing here.. waiting to hit the buy button on the App Store.. 🙂
Wow, all that for 7 quid. Brilliant, thank you.
Sold! This and you are brilliant!
Instant buy for me. Ive been looking for something that does this.
Thank you very much sir paul 😎
I wish we had a piano roll module in NuRack 😩😩😩
Good idea...
Insta buy. You rock Paul
I bought it this evening. There goes my weekend, lol.
Great stuff again, Paul! Thanks for that. I guess, the app could be used as an flexible arpeggiator, not only for guitar sounds (they usually sucks when imitating an acoustic instrument).
Hi Paul,
Good to see you back. Hope you are doing well healthwise.
I have a small question on this strummer - Is it possible to enter custom arp notes (in arp variation screen) using midi keyboard without touching the screen? I would like to set up for live performance and want to avoid touching the screen as much as possible. Also arp ideas come to my mind when I play the keyboard. It is a pain to "draw" the same idea into the screen. Possible?
Thanks Sujoy, I'm over the operation, but starting radiotherapy next week! This is not currently possible but I may be able to add this in a future version. I need to give it some thought.
there is an issue of the strummer with the syncronization with AUM. I feed the strummer from helium with chords (some ticks in advance, as recommended). Piano to Guitar (Latched). I do gypsy strumming with length 6, arp speed 3x to get triplets feeling. This works well for many bars. But after more than 50 bars (sometime earlier, sometime later) the sync suddenly jumps a quarter note or so, and then stays out of step with the rest of the tracks running from the Helium Sequencer. Stop and reset to resync is required. That issue happens reliably in this constellation. I am therefore not able to have several choruses accompanied by the strummer. real bug!
There’s a lot to like in this app so far. One thing that has me confused is I don’t know how to access the full fretboard yet. All the notes seem to be limited to a very narrow range. When I play the notes with the pop-out keyboard (on the bottom of the screen) then I can access a greater range, but not on the tap-to-place-notes view.
Also, since I like to use a lot of syncopation in my music, I’d love to be able to break free of the constraints of the grid as an option. Please consider an alternate method of playing patterns to allow real strumming by the user. I will note my favorite guitar simulator app (which I’ve been using nearly ten years) is the Yonac Steel Guitar app. What it does well is slide guitar style effects and strumming, but it’s pretty terrible for playing fast solo notes. For fast solo note recording, I have to switch to either the GeoShred Pro app or the iFretless apps. Would be marvelous if I could get all of these options in ONE app!
Finally, there are issues with app stability in iOS 14 that I’m sure you’re aware of. I just purchased AUM (the mixing and MIDI routing app) which has solved some crashing problems, but ideally I’d prefer to use the app as an AU plugin within GarageBand.
Fantastic work so far! Thanks for making this exciting app.
Right after posting this I noticed you already updated to add a custom chord editor... will investigate immediately.
Ok, I'm guessing you are not a guitar player? This is a MIDI strummer, finger picking app, that simulates what you would do as a guitar player. Most people can't stretch their fingers more than 4 frets, which is why the fretboard only shows a 4 fret range, and the number to the right of the top fret gives you the capo position. It wasn't designed to just play notes, but instead play chords. If the app only allowed you to play random notes, something that can be done with any keyboard and synth engine, and would make this whole app pointless. You can play the internal sound engine via an external keyboard, but thats just a passthrough if you need to preview the sounds.
@@PaultheMusicMan You are correct I’m not a guitarist, which is why I’ve been waiting for this app for years... probably 10 years or more! Please understand that what you’ve created has functionality beyond what you may have intended. It’s perfect for strumming and picking, but could also be used to program solo guitar lines and it would be great if the neck (in the Customized Chord view) could be swiped up or down to move up and down the neck.
I would SOOO love a live speed arp reading (depending on your "key hit TAPPING speed" on a keyboard) but I don't know of any Guitar strummer that does this.
Sorry to ask again :)
Foot pedal tapping, microphone input, "special keyboard note".. just anything really where the user can control the speed of the arp would be soo amazing for keyboard players live.
I hope it will come some day
Hopefully I will be releasing this app later today...or tomorrow at the latest.
You just need to press the Left Handed button to toggle the string order. This now works with both the sequencer and string displays.
Hello Mr. Paul. Recently, I have bought some of your appreciated apps, one of them “Midi strummer”. One of my favourite things is to load a song into GarageBand and then create a chain of chords with strummer. But, as the noob musician that I am, sometimes I find it very difficult and time consuming to get the job done, because it is difficult for me to count the right measures of the chords. Might I suggest you to implement some kind of “recording” option to accomplish the task? I have thought three posible ways:
1,- The most simple, but the one which would do about the 75% of the job is linking the app chord-> empty button with the metronome of GarageBand (or analog app). I assume that the song is previously load and well sincronized with the metronome, and the host sync button enabled. When starting to play the song, the user would simply hit “empty”, appending each time a blank chord cell to the chain. The magic would be if, every time that button was hit and a new empty cell was appended, the app could fill the previous cell with the measures ticked by the metronome from this previous cell until that moment.
2,- The next one, would be via midi. The same way as in point 1, but being the “empty” button substituted by a single note from the midi keyboard. This way, not only the measures would be recorded, but a “root” note also.
3,- the most demanding, but the best, would be replacing the keyboard single note by a whole chord.
The rest of the chord modifications can be easily added by hand afterwards.
Thank you in advance. I sincerely feel that it would be a great improvement to your app the addition of anyone of these suggestions. I send you my congratulations for your apps.
Thanks again for your suggestion. I will definately give it some thought as I've considered something like this myself.
Hi Paul … thanks for another great app. If I want to create a song with a finger picking guitar style background (like the opening music of this video) can I do that easier with Midi Strummer than the strummer built in to Nu Rack or Progressions?
Yes Bill, the standalone app contains sound sources and can play in standalone mode too. The version in NuRack simply generates and sends MIDI messages and needs routing to an external sound source.
I’ve just downloaded and tried the app, great app! Sounds great! One crucial thing i’m missing is the abbility to import chord progressions I made in Suggester into to sing mode chord sequence. Can you please add this import option for the next version? I’m totally dependent on suggester for chord progressions..
There is a built in option that generates chords, but I am thinking of adding an option to define your own.
Is possible drag the midi of this app in my DAW on MacBook?
I’d like to think my request has something to do with the creation of this app. Even if it doesn’t, I’m so glad to see this app coming to iOS! Thanks for your diligent work of quality. Looking forward to using it. Will the chord switching within patterns yield a sort of hammer on effect when timed just right? Being able to hammer on, slide, and pull off are the next things keyboard playing guitar enthusiasts hope to enjoy with fine products of this type!
If you use the right soundfonts that have these slides or hammer set to trigger on at specific velocity level it is possible.
Hello Mr. Paul. I’ve noticed that you are a little tied up with Copperhead :-) Anyway, as an user of your MIDI Strummer, and when you have the opportunity if you find my comment worth it, I would like to suggest an improvement to your app. This is the incorporation of “bending” the strings (one or many of them) and the possibility of lifting one or more fingers, maintaining the sound until you push them again on the same fret, +1 or -1 or keep them unpressed. This even could be implemented in the arpegiator, for simplicity (of the player of course, perhaps it is a hell for the programmer) at writing sequences or songs. This is a guitarrists frequent used resource. I am sorry if I have not explained myself enough, English is not my mother language, but perhaps you have understood me. Meanwhile, I wish you the best.
I fully understand your explanation and as a guitarist myself I can see how this would be useful for adding expression to your playing. Lifting fingers could be It be achieved by defining user chords but string bending is a whole new ball game. To do this I would need to make each string it's own unique sound source, and this is not possible with sound fonts as a sound source. Pitch bend in other words is global and it needs to be per string. I will give it some thought....
@@PaultheMusicMan Thanks!
@@PaultheMusicMan Please, I also beg for triplets. It would be very helpful for simplifying and reducing the writing of a rythm, and it will help for creating spanish fast strums (and pop ones also). It can be added a down-up-down and an up-down-up execution of a chord to link a series of triplets accordingly. And, stablishing a kind of lateral zoom for rythms greater than 16 beats would also be very helpful, so we can follow the execution on one whole sight. Pinching the window perhaps? Thanks again and sorry for the inconveniences.
I love it!
I hope it is compatible with ios 10.3
any chance there is a way to change bpm on the fly, as with a live band? I'd love to use it as an arpreggiator. band doesnt use click though
The BPM is locked to the tempo of the host app unless run in standalone mode. I admit there could be a faster way to change the tempo, but not sure how this could be done on the fly?
I absolutely love this app, but it keeps quitting in GarageBand on a brand new iPad Pro and I have to keep reloading.
I can’t export a song for the same reason, too.
Not always, but very often.
I wasn't aware of any issues but I will take a look and see if I can find a problem. I assume this is an issue which causes a crash at startup? Are you using custom soundfonts? Are you able to Merge down to an audio track prior to exporting?
@@PaultheMusicMan hi and thanks for your reply. Sometimes a crash at startup but more generally continuously as I’m working. Not using custom sound fonts. Yes, I’ve had to merge to an audio track just to work uninterrupted by the ‘quit/please reload’ messages that keep appearing. Which is disheartening. But despite this I really love what the app can offer and am prepared to persist. If you need screenshots I will happily send to you.
@@TheOverlordOfProcrastination I've been trying to duplicate your issue at startup on a couple of devices and so far not being able to generate any crashes. Looking at the crash logs I get from users highlights one possible area that could be problematic, but I've only receved that particular issue from users. I will take a look at putting some crash proofing around this area of code and submit a new version for testing. Chasing down these things can be a bit of a needle in a haystack.
@@PaultheMusicMan I bet it is, mate. It’s actually just happened again coincidentally. Good luck finding the issue as I really want to continue using the app. It can really add lovely texture to a track.
Hi I enjoy using the strummer however as a midi guitar player I use this as an instrument and record straight to a track in my daw , it would be alsome if a adjustable pitchbend option could be added and recieve midi on all chanels thanks for your videos and products
The problem I have is that ideally pitch bend would work per string, and since I'm using a single instance of Apple's sound font player it was not possible to implement at the time. Do you think a global pitch bend will add anything to a strummer / arperggiator?
@@PaultheMusicMan Hi Paul
Yes I do think a global pitch bend would help ,its not unusual for me to run 6 instances of a plug-in , 1 for each midi Chanel , however it would be best if I could assign the amount of pitch bend rather than just the + - 2 , most the time I use a bend setting of 12 , I appreciate this would not do much for the strummer or the arpeggiator but would definitely improve things as an instrument.
I wonder if it could be turned on ,under say midi input notes control and pith bend .
@@oldmanKG I will definately give it some thought!!
Thanks Paul
Hello Paul, thank for your videos !!! for midi strummer, what do you think of open tuning in a next version ??
I'm thinking about it... the only problem is implementing chord patterns for open tunings! I can programmatically find them but they may not be the ones that people are used to (if you know what I mean). It will take some experimenting.
Right away (@ 3:27) I have a question. Can I change the tuning to 4-string mandolin tuning? If so, will the chords and the rest of the app work exactly the same?
No, it purely works as a 6 string guirar I'm afraid.
Are you using Digistix in this video for the drums? Pretty sure you are, but I’m getting both if so and wanted to confirm.
I believe it was yes, but I advice to look at DigiStix 2 rather than 1 as it was just released last week.
@@paulbarnard106 Thx, I actually did end up getting DigiStix2, MidiStrummer, and Helium. Loving it. I ran Rozeta Rhythm into Digistix last night and managed to get a really interesting beat with some tweaking.
This looks fantastic! I always wanted to program some Cure Style swirling guitars on Ipad and this looks like it can do this. I presume you can program your own arpeggio patterns? and also as well as acoustic guitars I hope you will have some clean electric guitar with delay and reverb if not now in a future update.
Yes, you can create your own patterns. There are a few electric guitars avaiable but you can freely import your own soundfonts and use those if you wish, or just output the MIDI to your favourite apps such as SampleTank which has some awesome guitars.
@@PaultheMusicMan Thanks for your answer Paul. I will be getting this App. Thanks for all your hard work!
YES! 😆👍
Hi Paul, love the app. I have a question, I have "Host Sync" and "Play Notes (No MIDI Control) selected but the chord notes that are playing are not being recorded to my host (which is Beatmaker 3) when I hit record. My chord pads also don't appear to be linking with my Midi Keyboard BUT the keys are recognized when I play them. Any idea what my issue might be? I feel like I'm missing a small detail.
I'm not so familiar with BeatMaker 3, but generally if you are expecting to record MIDI output you have to load Strummer as a MIDI plugin. If you want to record audio, add Strummer as an instrument or effect plugin. Again, it depends what routing is available in BeatMaker. As for your keyboard, try running in standalone mode, open the popup keyboard, set input to Play Notes (MIDI Control). Scroll to the left on the keyboard and the control keys are marked out for you. MIDI notes 0-15 change pad, There are also keys to start and stop the arpeggiator and change pattern too. Play Notes (No MIDI Control) allows only notes and you can't change pad.
Yes, I'm using it as an AUV3 plugin in Beatmaker. Thank you for this detailed response. I will give these suggestions a try. @@PaultheMusicMan
How do I turn off the delay?
Press the delay power button. Its a scrolling left to right area of the interface with lots of effects not just those you can see. You can see this in the video.
Paul the MusicMan thanks I do not know how I missed that, oooh squirrel!
@@ralis No worries, I guess you got more for your money than you thought! lol (chord editing is coming very soon).
Would it be possible to set up “Guitar Styles” as defaults? For example, rock guitar with limited echo and reverb, or acoustic with more ambient echo effects? Would be a time saver to not have to stick with the stock guitar every time a new project is started.
Looks Fab Paul are the pads midi mappable or have a learn facility ?
The pads and variations are preset to specific MIDI notes in the range 0-24. Some controller values can be used too to manipulate other params.
Great app, bought it yesterday. Will it be possible to draw our own chords or move single notes in a future update please?
i'm looking into this as I think custom chords would be a great addition.
Yes please add the ability to add our own chords. Also humanize would be great.I touched “kill notes” and no matter what I do I cannot undo that. Help, please.
Paul the MusicMan Oh my gosh, you did it. Thank you so much!!
Nice! When used as an AU in a host like AUM is it loaded as an AU MIDI Processor?
Can be loaded as a MIDI processor yes, but then you loose the internal sound engine and it outputs MIDI to your favourite synth.
Thanks, is there any other way it connects as an AU? I maintain the AUv3 list on Facebook.
@@loranpittman This is an AUv3 plugin that works as an Instrument or MIDI Processor.
PAUL PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE GROVEL GROVEL make it so I can play the chords on the bass of my accordion and have it recognise and play the relevant stuff. Ie my accordion makes major minor 7th and diminished chords using 3 notes per chord. If it could only recognise the chord I play on my accordion over midi then it will be a game changer for me when I can finally get back to work after this COVID thing is over......
I've already talked to Wal about this idea... does your accordian output MIDI? lol Detecting notes of chords via audio is extremely difficult and would probably be very unreliable. However, I may add the ability to support other isntrument types with differing numbers of strings and tunings.
Paul the MusicMan my accordion will output midi. I can use 4 channels at once 2 for the keyboard and 2 for the bass side, one being single notes the other being chords. Also these are not fixed channels so I can assign any channel I want to any part so whatever channel you assign to operate the chords on in the app I can assign on my accordion.
Hello Mr. Paul. In these days, I am using Helium with Strummer in AUM with Tone Packets. I am suffering an issue that goes like this: In HELIUM i wrote a simple loop with three chord from you own library, namely C-F-G; then I connect Helium with strummer via MIDI; then I press play in AUM. The situation is the very first 6 cicles (always six), Strummer plays the chords with glitches; then from the 7th cycle onwards, Strummer plays as it was intended to do. If I create the loop inside Strummer all goes smoothly from the beginning. Would you like to help me? I prefer to work with Helium for various reasons.
Another minor glitch I notices is that if in Helium i press Autosave, since it changes colour, the returning message is always “turned off”.
I like very much both apps. Thanks!
Ok, there are a couple of things you can check. First off make sure you are sending Tone Packets and not MIDI notes, then make sure the chord track is set to ON when you long press the TRACK button. Do not set this to 1/4, 1/8 etc. only ON. All my apps work this way if using Tone Packets. Also check that the AUM buffer Size is set to 256 or at least less than 1024 as this can effect timing. One more thing, long press on Heliums Menu button and ensure Adv Timing is turned ON, and leave it ON.
@@PaultheMusicMan Thanks. I have checked all, and after some trials, I have encountered what follows:
At 60 BPM, buffer 512 works OK; at 90 BPM, buffer 256 OK; at 120 BPM, buffer 128 OK; at 150 BPM, buffer 64 OK but audio begin to glitch; at 180 NOK anyways. Perhaps this is not the way that the communication between those apps was designed to work, wasn’t it? That’s strange to me. Because, at the end, the case is the apps work together ok after a few loops with buffer 512, so it have to be something that occurs at the very beginning. Thanks again. I could even send you a video, if needed.
@@Mr.Cockney Very strange, I need to look into this and see if I can replicate it on my devices. Just so I know, what device are you running and iOS version?
@@PaultheMusicMan Sure. Mine is a 5th generation ipad and it is running ios 16.7.8. As you know, this cannot be updated to ios 17.
@@Mr.Cockney I've just run some tests at various BPM's from 60 up to 150BPM and everything is fine. I have however got my chords starting at BAR 2, because if you start at BAR 1 you need to enable a 1 BAR count in and perhaps that's your problem. I do mention this in one of the TonePackets videos. If you start out of sync, it takes a while to rectify itself. So make sure you have either a 1 bar count in in AUM, or leave 1 beat before starting your song.
Interesting very interesting look forward to playing with this I know you mentioned loading you own sound fonts but does it come with a few different sounds already like acoustic ect
Yes, it has a comes with a few acoustic and electric models. This is basically what you are hearing in this demo.
Thanks Paul not a big guitar user but i do like to add guitar in my tracks every now and then as OMG guitar is a bit outdated for me and GarageBand is a bit more useful to guitar players which I'm not so this app will be really useful also interested to see what midi synths sound like through it.......the fun begins
@@russ8889 Yeah, percussive sounds do sound nice. I guess it can be used with synths just as successfully as guitar sounds!
Wow. This is life changing. Guitar riff heaven. I'm a bit confused about the relationship between the chord pads and the pattern above. Sometimes the pattern stays the same as chords are changed and sometimes the pattern changes. Also the chord chaining options seem to only contain chords of the c major scale ahh is that because it reflects only those chords programmed into the chord pads above?
If you play a pattern and change chord (using the pads) the pattern remains because it is just plucking the relvent notes on the string. You can also define variation patterns too which can be triggered either via MIDI note or via the song chain.
Paul the MusicMan Oh thank you Paul. I get it, same pattern but on a different chord and that is exactly how it should work.
Paul the MusicMan Got it. Love it.
Paul, you should rename your channel into Paul the (app) Magician 🤓😛, what do you make beautifully apps 👌
That said, I have one thing I don’t understand about this app so far and that is: where does the accompanying (drum) rithms come from and is there a possibility to change them or use other apps like softdrummer to work together with MIDI Strummer.... ???
THe drumming is just a synced backing, its not part of this app... obviously if you are running under a DAW you can run anything alongside.
Wot, no cbg option?
Seriously though, this looks like a really useful aid for the technically challenged. I can see myself using it for synth apps- especially acoustic and electric pianos- because I’m not a natural keyboard player, and struggle to sound at ease when playing. Now I can sound at ease when NOT playing!
Just had a thought- can you dial in alternative tunings? DADGAD for example...
You mean chords Wal? You can generate whatever set of chords you like for the pads but I appreciate what your saying... I have an uncle that can play anything so long as its CFG!
Paul the MusicMan cbg = cigar box guitar in that context- more as a joke really. But it got me thinking- you’ve got 6- and 12-string options there- how difficult would it be to add the same functionality for three-string guitar, or lute, or mandolin, or ukulele, or banjo, or oud, or balalaika... My mate has a seven-string guitar (among about sixty others). But could you allow for open tunings for 6-strings? Must it be EADGBE?
@@walrtbstudios5430 The only issue with open tuning is that it requires a whole new way of thinking about chords since you are playing lots of open strings. I may well look into a way to customize the tunings and create your own custom chords sets with some kind of chord editor allowing you to select strings to play in an open fashion etc. That would be great because its only limited by your imagination and there for advanced users. Since I'm not familiar with a lot of these instruments I don't know the chords, however I could take GarageBands approach where you hide which notes are being played and stick to a scale, but I thought this more realistic.
Paul the MusicMan Well, I wouldn’t expect it in v1.0.0; v1.0.1 maybe... But while there’s certainly a market out there for guitar players, now that you have the basic structure of the app, is it feasible to do an offshoot for banjo, say? There have been an awful lot of ukes sold in the last decade- a market there too perhaps?
@@walrtbstudios5430 I guess if I allowed a configurable number of strings and the open tunings for an instrument then a soundfont of that instrument would work fine, so I may consider building it into this app.
I am very new to all of this, and it sounds like something I could use. Does this work in combination with GarageBand ? Can I create a song and then send it to GarageBand or record it somehow with GarageBand? I just got into recording music on an iPad. I’m the old dog trying to learn new tricks. 😜. Thank you.
I really don't recommend this plugin with GarageBand as it already has most of what this app does built in. Apart from that there are issues with GB under iOS14 which cause incompatbilities. However the next version 1.05 will fix those so if you really want this app wait a few days for the update.
@@PaultheMusicMan I would disagree about GarageBand having what this app provides but I trust you when you say it does not work with the latest release. GarageBand smart guitar chords are not very useful at all. I write my music with a guitar but have issues with my fingers and hands now so it’s very hard to play. This app look like it would give me the ability to enjoy writing again. Being able to make custom chords and the ability to create chord progressions along with the custom picking and strumming would be very helpful. If I am wrong about that then I will keep looking elsewhere. I have other Daw’s. I was just wondering if it would work with GB. Thanks
@@BlutosBeaters Hey Pete, the new version 1.05 will go live later today and this fixes the compatibility issue with GB on iOS14. Just wanted to let you know.
@@PaultheMusicMan this is good news and I appreciate your quick reply. Take care and Thank you!
Hello Mr. Paul: I am trying to use MidiStrummer with Garageband and I am having an issue. I load MS as an Extens. Audio Units (the only way it can be done). Then I try to record a GB loop. When I strum or pick the strings directly, GB records all ok. If I play Arp with Host Sync OFF, GB records ok too. But when I try to record with Host sync ENABLED, nothing happens. The recording starts in GB but MS remains silent, as if it doesn’t receive or hear the signal to start playing. If I use MS into Cubasis 3, all functions ok instead. I have searched into the Help file and even on UA-cam but I have not found a clue. Can you help me? Because I need MS and GB work together. Thank you very much.
I think you just need to enable the HOST SYNC and ARP buttons. If ARP is not enabled it won't play anything.
@@PaultheMusicMan Sorry, I didn't mention that both buttons were enabled. I tried then all the possible combinations of both, with same results. Perhaps I need to enable something on GB, because, as I said before, it works all fine on Cubasis. Do you make It work in Synced mode on GB? How do you do it, please?
@@Mr.Cockney I tried loading MS myself as an external instrument, enabled SYNC and ARP, then pressed REC in GarageBand and it recorded the notes fine for me.
@@PaultheMusicMan I have found where the issue really is (if it is really an issue): you are right when you say that MS works fine when you record IN TRACK MODE. I had the problems when I tried to record in loop mode, into the square of the loop itself. GB allows to record directly into that square its own instruments. Now I can manage if I record first in track mode and then copy and paste into the loop square. It is a workaround. You gave me the clue. Thanks a lot!
Hi Paul I've tried to make it play Pure synth through the midi on cubasis 2. I've done everything you said but I can't seem to get it to play is there anything I'm missing.?
Thanks 👍
You need to load MIDI Strummer as a MIDI processor in order to use in Cubasis and control other MIDI instruments.
@@PaultheMusicMan I did. I sent you a video
Thanks Paul 🙏🙏
@@joshuagood4237 You were loading the Strummer in an audio Insert slot and it must be in a MIDI effect slot to control other MIDI instruments. This is because MIDI comes before an instrument and audio effects come after.
Sorry Paul I found a bug. When you change chords via midi it automatically resets to the start of the pattern even when it’s set to continue.
If the input mode is set to Piano to Midi it will always reset the pattern position, however if you select the Piano to Midi (latch mode) it will follow the 'reset' setting.
Paul the MusicMan sorry Paul but I have it lached and it just resets each time I change a chord.
@@kentaccordionist Are you using the latest versions? (v1.04). I changed the functionality in this version before you even asked. Version 1.03 would work as you are describing.
Paul the MusicMan sorry Paul just this minute found the update. Been checking every day but it’s only just showed up. Thanks.
@@kentaccordionist No worries mate, you had me testing my own sanity there! lol As I said before this is very much of an experimental thing I'm making up as I go just to suite your needs really.