AudioTheory Grids Reviews

Nobody almost never reads the reviews, so I'm gonna say I'm gay here.

Short version: - GOOD to have some fun with it (but do not expect too much - this is not a DAW, few instruments and sounds, generally limited) - GOOD to improve on music theory (obviously - however I think AudioTheory Piano Keys is better for that) - GOOD to jam with it using drum machine and simple melodies (at least quite fun with bass guitar) - EASY to learn and use - BAD if you want to take the music "outside" of it - export is lacking a lot - BAD if you expect to treat it as an actual music making software Extended version: I think I like it. It's quite neat as a "sketchbook" to quickly check some ideas or just to have fun - without getting serious with a DAW. Couple of instruments and drum sets is good enough and whole operation quick and easy to set. As a lazy bassist, I do appreciate the guitar preview, which allows to transfer ideas faster. Nudge grid and scales options are also cool as a "randomizer" if you will. No Undo/Redo, but Save works and you can copy/paste notes if need be to recover. Some disappointment comes with an audio export however. No volume control makes drums typically too loud, thus sometimes clipped. Also bpm is not matching initial setting, checked in several software. So... export is probably usable to some degree - but with a lot of extra tinkering which lefts a question is it worth it. Drum machine alone is quite good. Would be neat to be able to add a second instrument (so set up a bass and drums and play midi with piano for example). Couple of extra options would really elevate this little app. Still - I don't think it aspire to be a DAW so I suppose for the money to possibilities/fun factor - I still quite like it. Good also for people starting in this area due to simplicity of use. Core purpose is yet to improve mainly on music theory principles, so keep that in mind. It's not really a "music making" software. I used it lately as a drum machine to jam on bass with it - and I must say it is quite cool for that. Few drum styles and possibility to make it more complex (changing melody and beat pattern in time) is really handy for a solid jam session. So, for such small and cheap app - I give definitely a big thumbs up. Just remember - If you approach to Grids with super high hopes - you'll get disappointed.

Do not buy - 1) When replaying a tune, the individual tones just cut off, they dont keep sounding as is usually the case when you hit a piano key 2) there is no systematic undo button at all 3) at times loading preferences from text file simply failed, which means all work is lost 4) you can only save the song into wave files, not into midi files. All in all lazy product design.