Augmatic GRE Frequently Asked Questions

The HARMONIC tab and the HUB and RCV plugins exchange notes over UDP on your computer. The App Store sandbox does not allow this, so the Mac AU plugin and Standalone App 2.0 ship from the Augmatic Audio website instead.

The iPad and iPhone version stays on the App Store — it supports the new features natively.

The HARMONIC tab turns the drum pulses of each channel into chords, strums, arpeggios and bass lines. Hold a chord on a MIDI keyboard or send it from your DAW, and each drum hit plays those notes — the rhythm of your kit becomes the rhythm of the harmony.

Each of the six channels has its own SHAPE, LOCK, OCTAVE, LENGTH and OUTPUT, so one GRE instance can play a bass line, an arpeggio and a chord part at the same time.

Held keys alone make no sound — a drum pulse triggers each note. Check these in order:

1. The transport is running and the channel plays drum pulses on the PATTERN tab.
2. The MIDI IN source in SETTINGS is the keyboard or track that sends the chord. The header of the HARMONIC tab shows the note names while you hold a chord.
3. At least one cell of the channel's row is ON in the HARMONIC DRUMMING matrix. All cells are OFF by default.
4. SHAPE is not OFF.
5. OUTPUT of the channel is not OFF and points to an instrument.
6. LENGTH is not 128N or 128NT — some hosts drop notes that short. Try 64N.

Click the output LED at the right edge of a row to audition the chord without the transport.

SHAPE sets how the held notes play on each drum pulse:

• CHORD — all notes sound together as one block chord.
• STRUM — the same notes, rolled out in time like a strummed guitar. Turn the TIME knob left to roll up from the lowest note, right to roll down from the highest. Further from the centre gives a wider gap, up to an eighth note.
• Arpeggios — one note per pulse: classic UP and DOWN patterns, AS PLAYED, outside-inside, pinky and thumb pedal patterns, generative shapes that change over time, and 3-note walks for bass lines.

The User Manual shows every shape with a picture.

That is LOCK. LOCK holds the arpeggio on one pitch for a tempo-synced time, from a 64th note up to 16 bars. Dense drum pulses then repeat the same note until the time ends, which is how you get a bass line that changes once per bar.

Set LOCK to PULSE to move to the next note on every drum pulse. In CHORD and STRUM modes LOCK is always PULSE.

The DRUMS port always sends the whole kit on MIDI channel 10. Connect it to a drum instrument to hear the full pattern with no setup.

The six GRE 1..6 ports carry the channels you route on purpose — a single drum or a HARMONIC part — to a separate instrument. You select the port in the OUTPUT column of the KIT or HARMONIC tab. The ports exist in the AUv3 plugin and in the Standalone App.

A desktop MIDI plugin can send notes only to its own track. GRE uses that output for the drums. To reach other tracks, use the two companion plugins, HUB and RCV:

1. Load one HUB on its own track and leave it there. HUB is silent — it keeps track of every GRE and RCV and restores the connections when you open the project.
2. Load an RCV on each track that needs notes, and route its MIDI to the instrument as with any MIDI plugin.
3. In GRE, open the HARMONIC tab → OUTPUT column and pick the RCV for each channel.

HUB and RCV come with the VST3, CLAP and AU installers. See The Problem with MIDI Plugins on Windows and Mac.

Yes, with the OUTPUT column on the KIT tab — for example the BD to a kick synth and the SN to a sampler. The destination depends on the platform:

• Desktop DAW — an RCV plugin on the instrument's track.
• iPad and iPhone DAW — one of the GRE 1..6 MIDI outputs of the AUv3.
• Standalone App — a GRE 1..6 virtual port (on Windows, Windows 11 25H2 or newer), or any hardware or software MIDI port, with a MIDI channel per port.

The DRUMS output keeps sending the whole kit, so per-channel routing adds to it. See Output & Routing.

Up to six GRE instances, up to 36 RCVs, and exactly one HUB. Each GRE shows a letter badge A–F in its header, and a seventh GRE shows a warning instead of a letter. An RCV can receive channels from several GRE instances.

Give each GRE and RCV its own THEME to tell them apart at a glance. See Multiple Instances in DAW.

1. Make sure the project has one HUB. A second HUB shows 2ND HUB, DELETE IT! in its title — delete that one.
2. Do not remove the HUB from a project. Removing it erases the GRE–RCV connections.
3. Open GRE → SETTINGS → UDP TEST and press RUN inside the DAW you use. If it reports FAILED, your security software probably blocks UDP ports 19610–19696 on localhost — allow them.

The HUB window shows an event log and a PATCHBAY with every connection. See UDP Communication.

Each KIT is a full set of NOTE, LENGTH, OUTPUT and channel names. Switch kits during playback to change the sound of the whole drum kit — for example a ride instead of the hi-hat in the chorus, or a rimshot instead of the snare. Each kit can also go to a different instrument.

The ACTIVE KIT selector can be automated, so a kit change can happen at an exact point in the song.

• HARDWARE — reproduces the Mutable Instruments Grids module. CHAOS only adds hits, once per pattern cycle, so the beat stays recognisable.
• GRE — CHAOS can add and remove hits anywhere. Low values add ghost notes. At maximum the result is close to random.

Select the mode in SETTINGS. See CHAOS.

This is almost always a BLEND interaction. For example, if BLEND is fully left (TOPOGRAPHIC engine only) and the TOPOGRAPHIC DENSITY for a given channel is also fully left, that channel outputs nothing — even if EUCLIDEAN PULSES are set high, because Euclidean notes aren't being used at that BLEND position.

Both engines can also be muted by the Linear Drumming matrix — if a channel has low priority (dot on the right) and other channels play frequently.

Augmatic GRE is a MIDI-only plugin — it does not produce audio. You need to:

1. Make sure the MIDI notes it outputs match the notes your drum sampler or synthesizer expects. You can select output MIDI notes on the NOTE tab.
2. Use the built-in MIDI MAPPINGS or create a custom mapping for your instrument, then save it so you don't have to repeat the setup.
3. Route each channel's MIDI output to the appropriate sound in your drum engine.

BD', SN', and HH' are accent channels that correspond to the main BD, SN, and HH. In the original TOPOGRAPHIC design, accent channels represent weaker backbeat elements and are intentionally triggered less often. To reproduce that behaviour, set accent DENSITY to around 25%.

In Augmatic GRE, you're free to use accent channels however you like. Push them into more aggressive territory with DENSITY above 25%, or use them to create longer accent phrases across several bars by setting CLOCK to /2 or /4.

When you give slower accent channels higher priority in the Linear Drumming matrix, Augmatic GRE produces far more interesting, evolving patterns instead of the typical repetitive 1-bar loops.

BLEND crossfades the probability between the two engines:

• Full left → only the TOPOGRAPHIC engine (XY MAP) generates notes.
• Full right → only the EUCLIDEAN ENGINE generates notes.
• Any position in between → a probability mix (e.g. 12 o'clock = 50/50 chance of a note coming from either engine).

If BLEND is fully left, Euclidean PULSES settings have no effect — and vice versa.

MASTER SLIDERS provide one-gesture control over groups of per-channel knobs (Density, Chaos, Blend, Prob Pre, Prob Post, Level). Toggle the panel using the button next to the XY MAP.

Each slider has a Hard/Soft mode: Hard overrides all channels to the same value; Soft scales each channel relative to its individual setting. Use them for live performance sweeps, quick mix adjustments, or automating multiple channels at once.

Those are BEAT MONITOR dots — they provide visual feedback of the MIDI signal flow. Each dot flashes in the instrument's color when a beat passes through that processing stage, or gray when blocked. They appear on every tab: Pattern, Linear, and Velocity.

Beat Monitor can be toggled on/off in SETTINGS. See Interface Overview in the manual for a full explanation of each dot.

Yes. The Master CHAOS slider (located under the XY MAP) is designed for this. Bump it up to introduce variation and fills, then bring it back down. Since it's an exposed plugin parameter, it can be automated from a DAW.

Other tips for fills:

• Bumping the Master CHAOS slider produces fills that are coherent with the base pattern (since they derive from it).
• Use the MASTER SLIDERS panel to sweep DENSITY or BLEND alongside CHAOS for more dramatic fills.
• A super-slow LFO on the Master CHAOS slider can create evolving song-level structure.
• Record MIDI output while manually moving the slider to capture fills at specific points.

Not exactly. Linear Drumming is not a classic choke feature. When an instrument is set to a higher priority, it chokes all instruments with lower priority — not just a specific paired instrument.

For proper choke behaviour (e.g. open hi-hat cut off by closed hi-hat), use the choke feature in your drum sampler or synth.

Forward SHIFT (left from the center) shifts the clock forward, creating the effect of playing ahead of the beat. This makes it possible to create flam-style hits: a grace note that lands just before the main stroke, giving the sound more weight and character. Backward SHIFT delays the notes, so they land after the beat/grid.

Note: Adjusting SHIFT in real time or through automation — especially when crossing the centre point — can produce unexpected results. The parameter is still available for automation, since subtle movements work well.

Open the PRESET browser or MIDI MAPPING browser, select the file, and tap the Rename button in the action panel. Enter the new name and confirm.

Alternatively, on iOS you can rename the XML file directly in the Files app under On My iPad / On My iPhone → Augmatic GRE.

Yes! All parameters in Augmatic GRE can be automated, including the MIDI OUT notes for each channel (BD, SN, HH, etc.). This means they can also be targets for randomization.

To set it up in AUM:

1. Tap the hamburger icon to the left of Augmatic GRE, then select the “faders” icon (AU Parameters) from the menu on the right.
2. You’ll see a full list of parameters — the MIDI Note parameters (BD MIDI Note, SN MIDI Note, HH MIDI Note, etc.) are near the bottom, ordered tab by tab following the GUI layout from left to right.
3. For each note parameter, you can assign a CC number. If you have a plugin sending Sample & Hold values via CC, that signal will randomize the note — which is exactly what you’re after.

App Store version (AUv3): Install on any number of devices signed in with the same Apple ID — no extra purchase required.

Desktop version (VST3/CLAP/AU): If you are an individual, you may install and activate the Software on any number of computers you personally own and control, as long as only you use it. Business and organizational licences are per-device — a separate licence is required for each computer.

For full details, see the License Agreement.