Updates & News
November 30: Signature Samples and Audio Clips
The options panel now allows for even more control over how you want your templates to be generated.
"Sample Options" lets you choose between the default samples of your DAW, or for subscribers, custom-made samples specific for the genre you are working in.
These new signature samples really make the templates sound better right off the bat. More signature samples will be added soon!
You can now choose between MIDI or Audio drum patterns. With "Audio" selected, the drum patterns will no longer be midi clips but made with audio clips.
Some people prefer to work this way with their drums, so now you can choose what side you want to be on in the Audio vs MIDI drum debate.
And lastly, you can now make the timeline markers "Simple" or "Detailed". Simple will just create a marker for each section like Intro, Verse 1, Chorus 1, while "Detailed" will add a marker for each minor section, such as "Verse 1.1, Verse 1.2, Chorus 1.1"
August 30: New Options Page, Grid Update and Phonk Genre
We have redesigned the options panel on the main page! It wasn't that clever of a design before, and also prevented me from expanding out.
Now with the new smooth design I'll be able to add more options in the future, or add DAW specific options (no more FL Colors if you're using Ableton).
Additionally, an info-box has been added to help describe the options better, as it wasn't always clear what those actually did.
This new panel is only on the grid page at the moment, but should also see it's way to the converter and rearranger page... eventually.
The "minor sections" from the grid timeline have also been removed. Now you just have "Intro 1, Verse 1, Chorus 1" instead of "Intro 1.1, Intro 1.2, Intro 1.3, Verse 1.1, etc". Everything is just a lot less cluttered now.
For subscribers, a Phonk genre has been added. Enjoy the cowbell.
June 11: Simple Melodies Added
Sometimes you'll find melodies in songs that you wouldn't necessarily sing along with, but still play a role in making the track feel more full.
They aren't quite Lead melodies, nor do they have to follow along with the chord progression, so I've simply come to call them "Simple Melodies".
I find they do a quick job of making the track immediately sound fuller and more alive, and combined with presets can help inspire what a template could sound like.
Starting today these will be available in both Ableton, FL Studio, MIDI, and Bitwig with more DAWs following soon.
Because I'm now adding these Simple Melodies along with Chords & Bass I will be renaming the "Chords & Bass" option to just "Notes".
I already had "Simple Drum Notes" however, so to avoid confusion I'm renaming that option to "Simple Drum Patterns".
Please remember that Melodic Note Generation will eventually be in it's own paid tier once I am happy enough for a stable release.
This is still some time away, but I do plan on letting users who subscribed before the release date continue to use it for an extra year.
May 20: Basslines & Chords for all DAWs
You can now use the Chords & Bass Notes option for all DAWs currently available on Jukeblocks!
March 16: Basslines & Chords!
This is probably the most requested feature since Jukeblocks' inception.
Since templates could be generated, people wanted them to be filled with some sort of melodic content, and I always agreed that Note Generation would be pretty awesome to have.
For over a year I've worked on a custom algorithm for bassline generation and while there's still more to do, I feel it's ready enough to release as a beta version to subscribers.
Even back in 2020, I knew that if I was to release a new note generation feature, it would be
part of a new paid tier, as it provides much more value to the template generator.
However I won't be creating this new tier until I find the note generator to be up to my standard. I'm certain I will be tweaking it lots in the beginning.
Currently, note generation will be limited to just the House, Trap and Pop genres (the most popular three) and currently only available for Ableton, FL Studio, Studio One and Logic. More DAWs and genres will follow!
It works like this: Make sure the "Chords & Bass" option is selected. One single bassline will get added for all the bass patterns. The bass notes's length will match the most common block length in your grid's bass track. No bass variations for multiple patterns as of yet.
If the bassline is 2 bars long, then so will be the accompanying chord progression. Any instrument tracks with a matching length blocks should get the chord progression added to it. Shorter or longer patterns won't.
The chords will just be simple sustained versions. No rhythmic content there as of yet.
If you have the Random Synths option enabled then you will be able to hear the bassline and chord progression immediately. The bassline should be in the correct octave but there may be exceptions where you'll have to manually shift it up if too low.
Presets differ in loudness so chords may be loud in the mix depending on the preset and how many patterns are playing at once.
Legal disclaimer: There's only so many possible combinations of notes so it's possible for a bassline to resemble an existing one. I don't have a database of all existing basslines in the world to compare to so any similarities are purely coincidental. As the user, you take on full responsibility for any potential copyright infringement.
Please enjoy this big new feature and stay tuned for more updates. I hope it helps you in your musical journey!
PS I'm always open to feedback. If you have an issues or suggestions, feel free to contact me at: contact@jukeblocks.io
January 29: Automation Update
Since the dawn of Jukeblocks, man has wondered what that "Automation" track is all about.
The blocks weren't ever intended to be patterns filled in notes, rather just signs to the user that automation could happen, like highpassing an intro or muting the synths before the drop.
From today, most of these patterns (Highpass/Lowpass/Bandpass, Reverb and Mute) will turn into actual automation clips for native effects when downloaded to Ableton/ FL Studio (and hopefully other DAWs at a latter date).
This instantly sounds cooler when previewing a template with the default samples. This can happen on the Master, Drum, or Synth Bus.
Some patterns in the automation track won't convert to automation because they either automate a synth parameter or are specific to a single track (such as Kick or Bass). The latter is likely to be a future update.
Ideally this would be a new option you can toggle on and off, in case you didn't want this (although this is awesome so why wouldn't you). However the options would get crowded, so a redesign will have to happen before I introduce that.
December 12: Studio One Added!
Studio One has been one of the most requested DAWs to be added to Jukeblocks, so we're glad to finally support template downloads for Studio One.
It should work with both version 5 and 6. The "Default Samples" option will use two packs you may need to install but should be freely available for all SO users.
Let us know if there are any weird quirks and hope you enjoy!
September 6: The Grid Has Updated!
A big update that has been in the works since June is ready. A new
reactive grid that you can actually edit yourself! A more detailed explanation will be on the FAQ page but here's some info now:
Patterns on the grid can be moved, resized, created and removed. Instrument names and the BPM can be edited by double clicking them and removed by clicking the "x" on the side.
All changes you make will be reflected in the project files you download!
You can hover over the Instrument names to see them in the hint box at the bottom. Not only will it display the full name if truncated but also includes a description for each element.
Having an explanation for different sounds and instruments has been a request for a long time, so I'm really happy to have it in a a form that can be viewed immediately.
January 12: Bitwig Support... ?
Since the release of Bitwig 4, Bitwig has been able to open Ableton and FL Studio project files.
This is really cool (and saves me having to make a converter for it), but it was recently brought to my attention that you can also open the templates Jukeblocks creates in Bitwig and it works very well! (Thank you Ross!)
The "Bitwig 4 Supported File" option is now available (it's an Ableton file but uses Bitwig stock samples instead) as this is an easy way of letting users know of this possibility, while also seeing how many Bitwig users use Jukeblocks and if I should focus more on that DAW.
Perhaps a native version will exist in the future but this is still capable of the additional options such as Markers, Simple Drum Notes, Default Samples and Random Synths.
November 28 2021: Joy
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and best wishes for the new year!
Jukeblocks is still actively being worked on and I plan to bring you new features and improvements in the coming year!
August 18 2021: New genres
I have added 3 new genres: Future Bass, Bass House and R&B. More to come in the future...
Update September 1: And Hardstyle!
June 26 2021: FL Studio Rearranger
Last month I worked on a "rearranger" which turns an 8 bar idea into a full song structure, however this was only for Ableton.
I've spent this month on getting it working for FL Studio too now!
Give it a go and let me know what you think :)
May 9 2021: The Rearranger!
If you saw
my last video on Jukeblocks, towards the end I mentioned the idea of rearranging project files.
This rearranger would take complete and even incomplete song ideas of just a few bars, and build them out into a new song structure. The advantage here is that it also retains your synths, effects and melodies.
I have made progress in that area and today
I'm making an early version available to all Jukeblocks subscribers!
The reason it is not publicly available yet is because it's still very much in development.
There is currently only support for Ableton, only works with MIDI clips and works best with incomplete project files.
Opening it up to more DAWs and types of arrangements is next on the agenda and once it's more polished it will be made public to all users.
April 22 2021: Groups and Presets
I have added a group/bus for both the drum and synth elements of a project file, when using Ableton and FL Studio. This is in preparation for adding actual automation to the templates instead of it being represented by midi clips.
The following plugins will now also generate with a factory preset when using the Random Synths option: Serum, Korg M1, Sylenth1, Diva and Phase Plant. They also adapt to the type of element so bass instruments should receive bass presets.
More plugins should receive this feature too in the future, but are harder to implement. I'm looking at you Massive. Enjoy :D
April 3 2021: Helper Notes
In an effort to make the names of certain instrument more clear, I've added description for certain vaguely named sounds.
This can be enabled with the Helper Notes option.
For FL Studio this is nicely integrated into the Fruity Notebook on the master. Logic has helper notes in it's notepad too.
I'm not aware if the other DAWs have a similar notepad feature, so for now the notes are included in a separate text file.
The Template Notes option for Logic has been added. Default Samples and Random Synths will follow in the future. I've made the account page marginally neater too!
Edit: Just integrated the Helper Notes into Ableton as well. With "Helper Notes" selected, if you see a track with a "*" in the name it will display a description in your bottom left info-box while hovering over the track.
Big thank you to Gotno for pointing out this was even possible!
March 30 2021: Logic Project Files!
This one was a long time coming, and a highly requested feature. The generated song strucutres will now be available to download for Logic.
Almost all the features aren't availabe for the time being, but I will want to add those in at a later date.
As it's pretty new, let me know if you find any bugs!
March 23 2021: Algorithm Update
Wow, it's been almost a month since the last update here. However I've been working new features and updates everyday since then!
Today I thought I would introduce one of them, which is an update to the main song structure algorithm.
This new algorithm focuses more on reoccuring patterns throughout the song, and aims to solve weird quirks you could get in random generations from time to time.
It is still a work in progress, but it can now be enabled via the
account page.
I'm working on many other features I hope to bring to you soon! Also a download for Logic is coming (yay).
February 25 2021: Downgrade Ableton
I mostly report converter updates on the
converter page but I added the option to downgrade Ableton Live 11 files to Live 10 (or even Live 9).
Thought that was a handy feature (especially for people needing to collab between the two versions) so I'm mentioning it here as well.
February 19 2021: Simple Drum Beats
I updated the Default Notes and Template Note options for Ableton and FL Studio.
You now get a randomized percussion/crash sample (from the default sample library), along with a randomly positioned note for that percussion sample.
As you can now get a simple groove with drum samples alone, I took out the single midi notes in every synth as I don't see much purpose to it anymore.
February 12 2021: Add Random Synths
I have added the new "Random Synths" option for subscribers, which currently works with Ableton and FL Studio.
This allows you to select synth plugins from a dropdown menu in your
account page. You select the synths you want your template to randomly generate with.
If you don't have any plugins selected, it will just default to an empty track.
The plugins are currently saved to a cookie, so if you log in on a different browser/incognito mode you won't have the same list. There are over 20 synths to choose from at the moment, but I'll add more.
February 6 2021: New Grid + Trance
Thanks for the positive response on the Ableton/FL Studio converter! It's been really cool to see :)
I've updated the main Jukeblocks grid today to be a little nicer. This is a better solution to what I had before, plus I added some color to the darkmode too.
This new grid also allows for variating song segments. This means you can have an intro of 4 bars, a verse of 8 bars, and a break of 1 bar. This will only happen on a few genres for now, but helps creating more natural song arrangements.
Also finally a new genre! Trance!!! Let's gooo!
January 26 2021: Ableton/FL Studio Converter
I am
s t o k e d to announce the world's first Ableton/FL Studio project file converter!
This took a bit longer than expected as I wanted to get it right, but starting today you will be able to convert your project files to a different format.
There are still limitations and it will be an on-going process to improve it even more, but it is now in a state I am happy to share.
You can convert project files on the
Converter page and read information about what it can and can't do.
If there are any problems please let me know so I can fix them. Enjoy!!
January 4 2021: LMMS
Happy new year! Best wishes for 2021.
There haven't been any updates for a couple weeks but I haven't forgotten Jukeblocks. In fact, far from it. I've been working non-stop on new features.
Some will be out later this month, and others right now!
The biggest update right now is the inclusion of LMMS for project files. This was created by
Spekular who did an awesome job! (No options at the moment.)
As more DAWs were getting added, more buttons were being added too, which made the page cluttered. I'm now using a dropdown menu to tidy it up a bit.
Some other changes are the inclusion of an account page. It was actually here since the last update, but now I've actually added it to the navbar.
There are many other features that will be ready soon, so I can't wait to show them!
December 17 2020: Reaper
Downloads for Reaper are now available! Tested on v5.9 and above. No "Default Samples" option because Reaper doesn't come with stock samples, but Markers and Template Notes work.
I want to give a huge thanks to
Soundemote for doing the difficult work here. They make (free) plugins too!
I also added some explanations to the names/terminology used in the templates, which you can read under the
"What do the names mean?" question.
December 7 2020: MIDI 2
The MIDI download now has access to the "Template Notes" option.
This means you can see and even hear (if your program allows it) the basic drum patterns with just MIDI for all genres except Videogame/AC.
December 6 2020: MIDI
I've just added a MIDI file format that should be useable for all DAWs now.
Each note represents a different pattern. Note 60 (C3 or C5 depending on your DAW) is equal to Pattern 1, Note 61 is equal to Pattern 2, Note 62 = Pattern 3, etc.
This is not a replacement for actual project files and would make more sense in the context of generated chord/melodies/drums, but at least all DAWs can get some usage out of it.
You can also hover over the track names (on jukeblocks) in case they're too long and get cutoff.
December 3 2020: Launch Day
Thank you all for the support and feedback so far! There were some issues but they have been fixed.
Ableton: Fixed files not working on Firefox.
Ableton: The different colors per track are more subtle now. Before this update it was extremely vivid.
Currently we are working on making more DAWs available soon!
December 2 2020
Jukeblocks publically announced/released!! Welcome!!!
November 18 2020
New genre: Cyberpunk!
Turned EDM/Pop into a more general EDM genre
November 11 2020
New genres: Pop, EDM/Pop, Eurodance, Hyperpop
November 6 2020
Important updates to The Algorithm.
Added Lofi and Videogame/AC style music (un-named game featured in a tutorial)
October 28 2020
Added Synthwave
October 26 2020
Support for Ableton 9.7 (Previously only 10)
October 23 2020
New genre's added to the site! Drum & Bass, Techno and Pop/Trap
Plus some pretty waves :)
September 25 2020
Added FL Studio File support
September 19 2020
The Grid v1 was created
September 2020
Algorithm recreated in python
February 2020
xlStudio v1 released (Excel DAW)
January 2020
Ableton File Generation
December 2019
Began song structure algorithm in Excel
November 2019
First attempt at beat generation in Excel and also made a drum machine in Excel so I could test the samples