About Augmatic Audio
I'm Artur Nowak, and I built Augmatic GRE by "vibe coding" which is an AI-assisted programming approach where you describe what you want in natural language, and the AI generates the code. The whole plugin was created through my natural-language prompts, while the AI wrote the actual C++ and JUCE code.
When I first heard about vibe coding, I was skeptical. After doing it, I'm even more skeptical. The spark came from watching my son Leon build a speedcubing timer app with AI. I thought, "Okay… maybe this isn't a fairy tale." Augmatic GRE is dedicated to him. I love you Leon!
I've been using music software for a long time — over 20 years with Native Instruments Reaktor (RIP?) and more recently Max — so I wasn't starting from zero. I already knew what PPQ was, at least.
I enjoy making music on the iPad, and I always had fun tweaking Mutable Instruments Grids patterns in VCV Rack inside Ableton Live . But there was no Grids port for iPad. miRack is an option, but my Grids patch eventually became too large to use on iPad Mini inside Drambo.
So I thought: why not make my own Grids port for the iPad? Despite my experience, I was naive enough to tell the AI, "Let's build Grids." It was supposed to be simple… and then I kept adding more ideas to make the rhythms more exciting.
Vibe coding sounds easy: tell the AI what you want, and it builds it. Apps on demand, right? Yeah, but not really. This project took many evenings and weekends over six months. I lost count of how many times the AI got stuck, confidently declared "this will work," and then absolutely did not work. That's where my Reaktor/Max background saved me: I had to design proper solutions myself, then instruct the AI to implement them. At one point I nearly asked it to build ~phasor from scratch. I know, I could use RNBO… maybe I will use it for the next project. I have many ideas and instruments in Reaktor which I would love to turn into self-contained plugins!
Augmatic GRE turned out well enough that I decided to release it. The code is open, so JUCE developers can have a good laugh and explain why AI won't replace them anytime soon. They'll be right.
I hope Augmatic GRE inspires you to create exciting rhythms and tracks. That's all I wanted for myself. #makeyourownplugins
Questions, feedback, or feature requests? Get in touch.