The groove engine for creative producers

Tonebank is a note generating plugin for your DAW that helps you create musical parts that lock together perfectly

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For Mac, Windows and Linux

Create irresistible grooves that make people move

A music creation tool that helps producers of any style make music using rhythmic and harmonic strategies found in traditional African music.

Tonebank improvises inside rhythmically patterned harmonic loops, bringing logic from ancient traditions to your DAW.

Quickly generate melodies, basslines and textures that are strong and balanced with characteristics you can shape.

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"The sequences are lively and interesting.
They teach us things while highlighting the beauty of African music.
In terms of generative music, it's one of the best models I've ever used"

David Scrufari

Accompaniment mode

An intelligent arpeggiator playing through your chord sequence. for basslines, textures, inner parts etc...

Density

Control the probability of extra notes around the core clave rhythm

Pitch Variance

Control how much the pattern changes each cycle

Rythmic Tension

Move between on-clave and off-clave notes

Note range

Control the range of possible notes

Velocity levels

Control the upper and lower velocity values

Freeze

Lock the phrase

Density

Control the probability of extra notes around the core clave rhythm

Pitch Variance

Control how much the pattern changes each cycle

Rythmic Tension

Move between on-clave and off-clave notes

Note range

Control the range of possible notes

Velocity levels

Control the upper and lower velocity values

Freeze

Lock the phrase

Melody mode

Generates melodic phrases mimicking language patterns

Density

Control note lengths within musical phrases

Development

Control how different each phrase is from the previous one

Phrase Length

Control the length of each phrase

Note range

Control the keyboard range for the melody

Phrase Mode

Control where phrases start or end, let it play continuously, or trigger phrases manually.

Freeze

Loop the musical phrase

Density

Control note lengths within musical phrases

Development

Control how different each phrase is from the previous one

Phrase Length

Control the length of each phrase

Note range

Control the keyboard range for the melody

Phrase Mode

Control where phrases start or end, let it play continuously, or trigger phrases manually.

Freeze

Loop the musical phrase

"I love Tonebank. It's already part of my chain in all projects"

Rudy Almeida aka Rootxa

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The core structure

Edit the Grid

Set up the harmonic pattern

Accent Pattern

Control high and low velocities for each division in the phrase

Mute Divisions

Less is more!

Edit the Grid

Set up the harmonic pattern

Accent Pattern

Control high and low velocities for each division in the phrase

Mute Divisions

Less is more!

Never run out of ideas again

Sync To Your DAW

Sync to your host tempo, with selectable ratios like double, half, third, or set your own BPM

Tonality and Rhythm

15 harmonic systems to choose from.
Select loop length and clave

Inspiring presets

Classic structures from traditional African styles

Sync To Your DAW

Sync to your host tempo, with selectable ratios like double, half, third, or set your own BPM

Tonality and Rhythm

15 harmonic systems to choose from.
Select loop length and clave

Inspiring presets

Classic structures from traditional African styles

Applications

Download 14-day free trial

 Sign up for 14-day free trial

Read the Manual

"Tonebank is incredible at making interesting starting places - generating immediately useful things and bending my brain around different shapes."

Jason Fernandez

Full feature list
Plugin Formats and DAW compatibility

Available as AU, VST3, and CLAP.

Works in Ableton Live (VST3 only), Bitwig, Logic Pro, FL Studio, Reaper, Studio One, Cubase.
Harmony

Select a Harmonic system and set your Tonic (root note).

Each system gives you a different set of chords (2 to 6) that create distinct musical flavours.
Rhythmic Structure

Define your cycle Length (number of beats and divisions within each beat, ie the metre).

Choose a Rhythm pattern (where harmonic changes occur - the "clave").

Select a Swing pattern giving a flavour to your groove via micro-timing relationships.
Editable Harmonic Structure

The Grid is the central visual representation of your Tonebank, synced across instances.

Each column represents a division in time, and each row represents a chord from the selected harmonic system. The chords selected follow a rhythmic design (clave).

You can edit your harmonic loop (change chords), displace the clave, and even rotate the entire chord sequence up or down within the scale.
Synchronised Tonebank instances

Shared controls (Harmony, Rhythm, Swing, Length, Grid) affect all instances of Tonebank in your project.

Instrument-specific controls (Density, Variance, Range, etc.) are independent per instance
Word-Based Melody Generation

Create melodies using syllable patterns that mimic spoken language.

Control rests between phrases in Solo Mode.

Set specific start or end points for melodic phrases within the cycle.

Manually trigger melodic phrases in Direct Mode. Great for live performance.
Tuning (with MPE support)

Choose from selected tunings specific to each harmonic system.Use MPE (MIDI Mono mode), or MIDI pitchbend. CLAP format uses note expression to control the pitch of each note.
DAW Sync

Synchronize Tonebank with your DAW's tempo and transport controls.

Adjust playback rate relative to DAW tempo: 2/3, 1, 4/3, etc.

Set independent tempo and playback when not synced to your DAW.
Instance Mute

Mute the plugin output. Great for live performance.

Set it up in your DAW

Ableton Live

Logic Pro X

FL Studio

Reaper

Frequently Asked Questions
What is your refund policy?

We offer a 30-day refund policy for all software purchases. No questions asked.
Tonebank is not showing up in Ableton on Mac

The Audio Unit (AU) version of Tonebank is not compatible with Ableton Live. Please use the VST3 version.
Do you offer educational discounts?

Yes. We offer a 50% educational discount. Please send us a message with proof of your student status.