Index Chord Dictionary in the shop

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Socram
RE Developer
Posts: 172
Joined: 04 Jul 2015

29 Nov 2016

greenson wrote: I will say that with Tome, I thought 'geeze that's one UGLY device', but I bought it anyway. I felt exactly the same with your new one as well.

I'd also update Tome to 8 strings for the guitar and six for the bass. In the metal world at least, extended string sets are becoming more common.
I appreciate the honest feedback, I can readily admit that I prioritized functionality over appearance, and the large custom display format didn't leave me much to work with.

To clarify, do you find the tangible rack device itself ugly, the display portion, or is it both? Is it so much so that it reduces the effectiveness of the devices?

If you could answer those questions it'll help me in future updates and other RE's I intend to release.

If you want to do 6 for bass you could always use the custom preset to set it to whatever 6 strings you use. I considered supporting 8 strings or even more, but at a certain point it just becomes too cramped, or would have made the device taller than I envisioned. I can look into seeing if I can squeeze in 8 string support without compromising on legibility.
Static Cling - Rack Extension Developer of Tome, Index, Optic, Chord Detector, Delta, and AutoLatch.
www.StaticCling.io
info@StaticCling.io

greenson
Posts: 26
Joined: 27 Nov 2016

29 Nov 2016

Socram wrote: To clarify, do you find the tangible rack device itself ugly, the display portion, or is it both? Is it so much so that it reduces the effectiveness of the devices?
I find everything to be unpleasing to the eye. The pixellated fonts, the color scheme. The whole thing looks like a device for Windows 95 era computing ! Also blue & Green - isn't there some old fashion statement that dictates that the two should never be worn together ? :)

Speaking of the Tome only, because I haven't even launched the new RE. I just like the concept, and at the price point, I'm happy to support a new developer with an interesting product. My mention of this is only to voice what others may be a bit reserved to say. But you seem very open to feedback, so I'll extend my thought to you.

Effectiveness and functionality (again of Tome only) is no problem. It's one of those utilities that (for me) is all about form. So please don't let my words deter you from future developments. But ultimately humans are very visual people. I remember reading a lot of threads about Hamu's RE's and that sickly looking purple. He actually changed it to be black (I think). I can appreciate that these RE's of yours are probably not going to make you anywhere close to enough revenue to pay a graphics studio
Socram wrote: If you want to do 6 for bass you could always use the custom preset to set it to whatever 6 strings you use.
Yep. That's a great feature of the device. But can it do quarter tones for the Oud ? (joking)
Socram wrote: I considered supporting 8 strings or even more, but at a certain point it just becomes too cramped, or would have made the device taller than I envisioned. I can look into seeing if I can squeeze in 8 string support without compromising on legibility.
Accommodating for 8 string is probably not a focus point. Come to think of it, I've only seen expanded guitars in the metal scene, and I'm guessing there aren't too many metalheads using Reason. This was simply one of the early things I thought about (and I only own 6 string guitars) when I first explored the Tome.

In closing, all I think this needs is a rethink of the colour scheme, which could be a lot more subtle, and a better choice of font.

I look forward to seeing what else you may develop in future. It's great to see some devs thinking outside the box.

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Mystile
Posts: 33
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

29 Nov 2016

This almost slipped by me, if it hadn't been for this forum post I probably wouldn't even know it existed, now purchased

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raccoonboy
Posts: 471
Joined: 22 Oct 2015

02 Dec 2016

Great device. Just downloaded.

Some feature requests:

I agree with Ottostrom that whatever key you are in the relevant notes should be highlighted in white, this seems obvious to me. I know you said this may be difficult. I would also suggest the Chord Look up mode should highlight the chords in another colour such as 'blue' so one can still see which keys they are pressing down in yellow. But this is not essential.



The main feature I'd like though, which would make this device truly powerful is when in reverse mode, if a scale is selected, the current interval should still be displayed without a key being held down. Having the scale set to chromatic would make it work as it currently does, or perhaps a switch to activate this mode if you prefer.

for example:

I set the key to C Major.

By pressing the C key it says 'Root'. If I then let go and press the D key it will say 'major 2nd' and if I let go of this and press Gb it will say 'Tritone'. This would be great for playing monotone melodies and still knowing what the current interval relative to the scale is. The same goes for chords. Again, in the key of C major. If I play a D minor chord it will say 'ii' and if I play an F chord it will say 'IV'. And F minor chord could say something like 'iv (substitution)', but this is not as important.

This for me would be a game changer and really help me keep track of where I am in my music composition in real time.


One other small thing, it would be nice if the inversions said not just the route but which inversion they are in the brackets, i.e. 1st, 2nd inversion.

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Ottostrom
Posts: 845
Joined: 13 May 2016

07 Mar 2017

How are the updates coming along for Index? I'm still excited to see what it might become with a few more features!

Lov2sing
Posts: 278
Joined: 15 Nov 2015

09 Mar 2017

I like the concept yet I wish it could do alternate tunings for guitar. For my other wish it would be better to look at as if one was looking at a natural set of piano keys which light up to the chord or scale choice when you pushed down on a key. I see more as a theory learning tool but it could be a trigger for other instruments. I own it but have not had the time to explore the details of it yet. Can't wait to see an update based on some of the suggestions given.
We make music for a reason

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Ottostrom
Posts: 845
Joined: 13 May 2016

21 Apr 2017

Static Cling does not disappoint! Index will work much better as a tool for songwriting after this update :D


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Taff
Posts: 166
Joined: 30 Aug 2016

22 Apr 2017

Can I ask, and excuse my naivety, but how does this differ to "scales and chords"?

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friday
Posts: 336
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

23 Apr 2017

Here the same question as asked from Taff? Would be nice to have a quick comparison?

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Ottostrom
Posts: 845
Joined: 13 May 2016

23 Apr 2017

Well in it's most basic form it's a chord dictionary. So lets say you've written a piano piece but you are not sure what you are even playing (which is the case for me most of the time). Now you can just play these chords into Index to see what these individual chords are which can be a big help if you want to alter the pattern or work on it, since there is a chords list on the right with chord that fit the key and scale. In my view, Index is more of a controlled help in writing music instead of being the actual performer of it (as with Scales & Chords).

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Taff
Posts: 166
Joined: 30 Aug 2016

23 Apr 2017

Cheers Ottostrom mate.

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Socram
RE Developer
Posts: 172
Joined: 04 Jul 2015

25 Apr 2017

Yeah the biggest difference is the reverse midi lookup, play notes into Index and it'll tell you the names of the chords, including some really strange and complex ones that Scales & Chords can't play. Super useful if you play by ear but want to know how to build from there or talk to other musicians. This feature doesn't exist anywhere else in Reason or RE.

Direct Mode, especially now that the update is live, is a lot like Scales & Chords. Some differences are that you can pick specifics extension notes be on or off, and flat the 7 for dominants and the like. It does show you how to play them visually and actually does more proper diatonic chords than the Player. The Player does have Index beat on how it handles polyphony (I can only do so much with CV unfortunately, a limitation Players don't have) and has some other features like playing inversions, adding octaves up and down, and some other minor things.

Not everyone is on 9, so direct mode in a lot of ways is for those users. I think the Reverse mode is what really makes Index unique and useful, the direct mode was just a natural companion to a more fleshed out device.

Feel free to reach out to the email below, I'm very responsive.
Static Cling - Rack Extension Developer of Tome, Index, Optic, Chord Detector, Delta, and AutoLatch.
www.StaticCling.io
info@StaticCling.io

xbitz
Posts: 154
Joined: 28 Apr 2017

21 May 2017

dear developer :) (just begin to play with it), and some hold button would be very useful

like on the rpg-8 ... which keeps the last detected chord/interval etc. message till the next one arrives (so some 1/16 korda sequencer support :puf_smile: ) to able to read it
:reason: :recycle: :re: :record: :refill: :rt:

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Socram
RE Developer
Posts: 172
Joined: 04 Jul 2015

27 Aug 2017

Hey guys just wanted to plug this and bump it to the top. Index is on sale during the summer sale for 50% off, and this reduces the price for the Tome & Index Bundle as well. Thanks for the support and keep your eyes out for a new rack extension from me by the end of year!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Static Cling - Rack Extension Developer of Tome, Index, Optic, Chord Detector, Delta, and AutoLatch.
www.StaticCling.io
info@StaticCling.io

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