AudioGaming has released a Beta version of Groove Extractor, an interesting free (at least for now) VST/AU/AAX plugin for Windows and Mac OS which extracts groove data from audio drum loops and converts them into MIDI files.
The premise is simple, but quite intriguing. Groove Extractor loads a drum loop in WAV format and exports it as a MIDI file. The groove contained in the original audio loop is converted into five MIDI components: kick, snare, closed hats, open hats + cymbals, and toms. The final result is a General MIDI file which can be used to trigger virtually any software (or hardware) instrument while preserving the groove of the original drum loop. To make things even cooler, you can actually drag and drop MIDI data from the plugin’s GUI directly to the piano roll of your DAW. Very interesting, to say the least!
Unfortunately, I’m away from my main computer at the moment and thus I wasn’t able to test Groove Extractor prior to publishing this article. Judging by the official audio demos (these are embedded below in case you want to take a listen), the plugin is doing a nearly flawless job at converting audio drum loops to MIDI. Converting audio to MIDI isn’t a simple task, though, so I’m definitely looking forward to installing Groove Extractor on my computer and testing its performance with some more complex drum loops. The official audio demos sound almost too good to be true. If it turns out that Grove Extractor really does achieve this level of precision when converting audio to MIDI, then wow – it’s certainly an amazing creative tool to have at your disposal!
To grab your free copy of Groove Extractor, visit the product page linked below, add it to your shopping cart and proceed to free checkout (email verification is not required). The plugin will be added to your user account and you will also receive a product key which will be located in your user area. You will also gain access to a small but handy collection of demo grooves in WAV format, just in case you want to take Groove Extractor for a quick spin. Although the plugin is provided completely free of charge at the moment, there is no information on whether or not it will become a commercial product once it goes out of Beta.
If you happen to install Groove Extractor on your computer, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think about this plugin. Is it stable and how precise is the conversion process? Is it good at detecting simultaneous drum hits (such as a hi-hat which is layered over a snare drum)?
Audio Demo
Check out the Groove Extractor audio demo:
Download
Groove Extractor is available for free download via AudioGaming (8.3 MB download size, EXE installer, 32-bit & 64-bit VST/AU/AAX plugin format for Windows & Mac OS).
5 Comments
JRS
onWorks pretty well, I did a tester with a drum program. Rendered the midi drum track to audio (wav file), then ran the audio through Groove Extractor, it picked everything up pretty well when creating the midi file (note – found that you need to double click the “Render” button to generate the file). Only thing is that the midi file it generates doesn’t necessarily match how a particular drum program may be set up (eg, the hihat may be on a different note on the piano roll from where it is on the midi file created by Groove Extractor), but with a bit of shuffling you can get back to what it’s meant to be. I think this could be great for people on a budget who can record their drummer very roughly in a practice room, then use this as a drum replacer to apply something like EZDrummer to get a better drum sound.
Tomislav Zlatic
onVery cool, thanks for such a detailed review. Sounds like this one will really be a keeper!
Chroo
onAny chance you can share the demo if you still have it around ?
LAGinz
onA little confused on how installed. In download section there is a 1 and a 1.1. For each there is a package and installer. Hmmm
Parcheasy
onBeta testing is close for now :(