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Catalyst is an idea-inspiring MIDI sequencing plugin designed to keep you away from your piano roll. Use it for basslines, melodies, chord progressions and arpeggios.

It is designed to offer inspiration and help you generate ideas when you’re in a creative rut, Toneworks’ Catalyst is a new MIDI plugin that offers sequencing, harmonising and an arpeggiator, and can even host synth plugins.

Toneworks sees Catalyst as an alternative to an empty piano roll, and one that is a whole lot more creative. Choose a root note and scale and you will never stumble on any ‘wrong’ notes, no matter how limited your knowledge of music theory.

Your first stop would likely to be the monophonic step Sequencer. This enables you to create patterns of up to 32 steps long, and each step has its own pitch, velocity and gate time controls. Five pattern slots enable you to store different ideas and variations.

The Harmonizer can generate full chords from single notes. It will only ever play the seven fundamental chords in the selected key, but you can add 6th, 7th and 9th notes and change inversions to create more interesting progressions and smoother chord transitions. You can also select the number of notes in each chord.

And, you can then turn to the Arpeggiator, which will create single notes patterns from your chords. You can design your own arpeggio patterns of up to 32 steps long, and there are various functions that you can use to add further interest.

Each of the aforementioned modules can be switched on or off, so you can use them individually or in any combination. MIDI from your DAW is always routed to the first active module, and you can also send MIDI out.

As well as being a VST/AU plugin, Catalyst is also a VST/AU host, meaning that you can load a synth right into it and send MIDI notes to it. There are also dedicated parameter sequencers that can be used for parameter automation in your hosted soft synth.

Catalyst runs on PC and Mac and is currently available for the introductory price of €49 (will be €79). Find out more and download a demo on the Toneworks website.

Developer Momo Müller has released an Editor and Soundbank for the Korg Volca Kick.

Volca Kick Editor gives you direct access from your DAW to the Kick’s parameters, allowing you to integrate it into the DAW project.

You can save and reload your sounds, so you can create a sound library of kicks and basses. If you need new ideas, you can use the random function to generate new sounds. And, in your DAW, you can record controller movement, so sound changes can be saved.

Features:

• Complex sound changes can be made easily and quickly.
• All controllers can be automated.
• X-Y modulation of all parameters
• You can randomize the controls of the Volca Kick
• You can use your Volca Kick as a sound module in the DAW

The Editor are available for:

• PC as VST2 and Standalone for 32bit and VST2, VST3 and Standalone for 64bit Windows.
• MAC as VST2, VST3, AU and Standalone, compatible with MAC Intel and M1.

The Korg Volca Kick Editor and Soundbank are available now for €6,90/ $7 (Contains all versions).

Developer Fred Anton Corvest has introduced AUBE (Audio Unit Box Explorer), an AUv3 Organizer for iOS.

AUBE is designed to provide an overview of your audio units, effects and instruments, automatically listed and classified. Information such as group, categories and features, are already available for most of the known audio units. You can explore, filter, set your favorites (available on iCloud), share badges on social media and more.

Features:

• Your AUv3 effects and instruments are organized
• Information, such as group, categories and features, are already available
• Explore, filter, set your favorites
• Share description and badges on social media
• Use the keyboard extension to locate your AUv3s in your host (search text field required!)
• Universal• iCloud• Light/Dark mode

AUBE is available now for $5.99