Noah Pred demonstrates how Manifest Audio’s MIDI Tool Set 3 can generate complete arrangements. beat, melody, chords, fills—from scratch. Four generators create material, and eight transformations let you remap, mutate, or evolve it. Expect musical mutation from your MIDI clips.
Building Generative Groove & Melody Without Typing a Note
1 | Rematrix – Live Beat & Rhythm Juggling
- A probability-based matrix sequencer for subdividing and selecting rhythmic elements.
- Each row lets you assign note probabilities; columns you define whether they play as 16th, 8th, 16th-note-triplets, or quarter notes (and more).
- Useful for drum loops: instant variation, shuffle sections, or new groove inversions.
- You can scale it into longer patterns—multiple bars—and generate evolving rhythms that never repeat exactly.
2 MetaGrid – Poly-Cycling Rhythmic DNA
- Layers up to eight parameter grids (pitch, velocity, length, mute, chance, octave, time, direction).
- Each grid has its own length and range, creating interlocking rhythmic/melodic cycles when extended.
- You generate poly-cyclic motifs that run for dozens or hundreds of bars without repeating the same way.
- Great for ambient patterns, evolving lead loops, or percussion beyond straight repetition.
3 Metaloom – Generative Sequencing & Permutation
- Creates evolving melodic/chord patterns with randomized adjustments over time.
- Use “fill” mode or “evolve” mode to periodically reshuffle melody or rhythm every few bars.
- Pitch, velocity, and length can all auto-randomize or shift in direction over long periods.
- Combines generative variation with control—you define intervals and evolution points.
4 Scantron – Noise-to-Music via Fractal Imaging
- Generates MIDI notes from fractal or noise-based images (with default or hand-drawn noise shapes).
- Red, green, and blue channels output into separate note voices—ideal for layered chord clusters.
- Great for ambient or glitchy chord patterns that relate visually to algorithmic structure.
5 MIDI Transformations – Sculpt & Shuffle
These tools let you transform existing MIDI material in powerful ways:
- Monetizer – Extract basslines, leads, or melodic parts from chordal content (e.g. pick highest, median, random voice).
- Refractor – Fold or limit pitch or velocity values into defined ranges; wrap around or invert pitch as needed.
- Teleport – Remap notes probabilistically based on pitch ranges, velocities, or time windows.
- Multi-Swap – Count-based remixing of user-defined note pairs (e.g. every 3rd hit of “kick” triggers “snare”).
- Pair-Swap – Probabilistic swapping of velocity or length between value ranges.
- Seeker – Insert fills or variations at specific intervals (e.g. random velocities or lengths on every 4th bar).
- Replacer – Convert MIDI note numbers (e.g. remap an old drum clip—snare on E3—to your drum rack’s D1).
- Quantographer – Non-linear quantization system for new grooves: break up notes into variable triplets/quintuplets/etc., then extract that groove to apply elsewhere.
How It All Played Out
- Noah started with Rematrix, chopping drum slices and juggling them live.
- Then he layered MetaGrid patterns over a melodic instrument to create slowly evolving cycles.
- Metaloom added melodic variance per phrase—reshuffling, randomizing, transforming melodies over long stretches.
- Scantron created ambient chord clusters via noise imaging—then Monetizer extracted matching bass and lead lines.
- Next, the transformation tools let him chop, reassign, or mutate those melodies—injecting variation or replacing specific notes.
- Everything was dynamic, modular, and highly responsive—a performance made from generative systems rather than fixed loops.
