Hi, what do you think is the best plugin for visualizing the notes in a sample? I mean things like NoteGrabber, Neural Note, Melodyne, RipX... Thanks

 

Waves Key Detector - www.waves.com/plugins/key-detector

 

Key detector doesn't detect notes, only scale/key

 

Waves Key Detector

Key Detector is a time-saving tool for all music makers. Replace manual work with AI-powered key detection, for any sample, track or full mix.
Stop wasting time trying to manually detect the key of your samples, tracks, and full mixes! With Waves’ Key Detector, you can let AI do the work for you.

In just one click, you get a root note, scales (major or minor), and two likely alternatives - all thanks to Waves Neural Networks®.

Waves Key Detector Review & Demo | Find The Key Of Audio In Seconds!

 

Last edited: May 21, 2025

If you are doing it this way, instead of using Melodyne standalone app; stick the file onto a channel in your DAW and insert Auto-Tune on the track before you insert Melodyne as the next plugin on that channel strip. (You could also use Nuro Xpitch if you do not have auto-tube)

If the notes in the part are slurred, legato, reverb, etc; you can also put a transient designer plugin first before the others on the chain to shorten the tails. (or a de-reverb if you have one).

 

I remember WIDI working best for me back in the days. Together with modern AI-assisted stem separation, it still could be useful.

 

deCoda - is cool if u just want to see it - https://products.zplane.de/products/decoda/
samplab - has a really good algo behind it - https://samplab.com/ i go there over melodyne and others depending on the use case

 

Single notes? Melda's MTuner is a free plugin and is fantastic for tuning one-shots such as basses or guitars. The only one i use honestly

 

I use the in-built Ableton convert audio to midi (note or harmony). It's not perfect, and depending on the complexity of what you're working with you will get varying results.

It works for basslines and chords/melodies usually


(not a plugin technically but it will do the trick)

 

Most of this is done for unauthorized purposes anyway, or a nice clean multitrack of the session would likely be available. Or "pre-authorized" might be a better term. There is not much of a perfect one-size-fits-all answer. The main concern is just not ending up with a bunch of fragments of midi data when the audio is converted to midi. If that happens, you can stick an arpeggiator on the midi and set it extremely fast, bounce it, and reconvert that.

Just like Acon Digital realized there was a need for a better drum-focused separation plugin, AI and other options will get better at separating instruments into higher stem count numbers with more focus on parts that most options still just call "other". " Other" is where most of this junk data comes from. You can even stick a multiband tool like BlueCat's MB-7 or Fuse Audio DrumsSSX as an insert before Melodyne. This pre-processing approach fits with Melodyne best, because if you use Melodyne in your DAW you have to record the audio ("transfer") into Melodyne before it will even do anything.

 

Ive been using an AI one myself (soon to be out) that is super granular in pulling out elements of songs. Gonna be a game changer. Pair that with what youre predicting in the audio to midi realm. There will be some fun ways of understanding how others music is created! Plus many other use cases.

I like how a lot of the ability to use various styles of visualizers helped me understand how to produce my own music. Stem separation helped that even more. "oh they have ghost percussion in these parts" "there is a subtle pad under that section"

Kind of like a custom tutorial from the music we like.

 

here's what i use to analyze music (i do it often within a DAW, hence these are VST only, no standalones) and what i think of it:

Melodyne - fast and easy to read, but not as reliable as...
noteGRABBER - this even works live, harder to read though and you have to draw MIDI notes yourself, as opposed to...
NeuralNote - it doesn't pick up stuff sometimes, but it usually does, in MIDI-ready form, so just drag the piano roll back into your session

these cover 95% of my - quite advanced - needs. heard about wonders, but haven't tried any other "AI-assisted" stuff yet.

ps. if it's a single-voice sample, the new Reaper media explorer shows currently played notes on the fly! VERY useful when you're searching for a certain something.

 

Last edited: May 27, 2025