URGENT! Samplab: Free Melodyne Alternative??

Whoa! Today we’re going to take a look at the shocking new free VST plugin from Samplab that can convert audio to MIDI and change the notes within the audio, just like a sampler! Is it a Melodyne free alternative? Let's find out! *Note: as of Nov 2021, Samplab have introduced a subscription model for processing audio over 10 seconds in length.
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----Timestamps----
00:00 Intro
00:27 Audio to MIDI: Celemony Melodyne 5
01:00 Samplab: Introduction and Convert Audio to MIDI
03:28 Samplab: Change Audio Key and Individual Notes
06:11 Conclusion - Samplab alternative Melodyne vst free download
07:08 Outro and Info on palebluedot courses
#samplab #audiotomidi #palebluedot

[@palebluedotstudios]

Thanks for watching! What do you think of Samplab as a free Melodyne alternative? Let me know in the comments below! Also let me know if you’re interested in my mini-course! Sign up at palebluedot.ca or email me at [e-mail]

[@cesar_m.p.]

Heck no, this is not a Melodyne alternative at all! Actually it seems you don't use Melodyne. Samplelab is just an audio-to-midi converter. Melodyne is that, and also an audio editor.

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@cesar_m.p. I hear your point! I tried to be clear Samplab only does one part of Melodyne: converting audio to polyphonic MIDI notes that can be edited. And that's why I jumped to make this video: nothing else does this. Sure, there's audio-to-MIDI, but this can actually separate notes! That was one of the main features I desired from Melodyne. But it's funny" now that I have Melodyne, I tend to use it mostly for vocal correction. Go figure! Cheers!

[@RandomVelocity]

Actually he probably knows that but the title is clit bait. Seems all KZbinrs do this now super annoying

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@RandomVelocity Sorry if you found it to be click-baity. I get it. I was very excited that Samplab could do polyphonic pitch-shifting, which I've only seen in Melodyne. Plus, youtubing is a balance between getting attention and being descriptive in a thumbnail. Cheers!

[@RandomVelocity]

@@palebluedotstudios well it’s not necessary. Seems useful for only 49 bucks.

[@martijnvandongen]

Wow, really impressive. I tried it out myself and it works really well! Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@palebluedotstudios]

You're welcome! Thanks so much for watching!

[@nerdexproject]

Instant sub for you for making me aware of this insane plugin mate!! Thanks!!

[@palebluedotstudios]

Awesome, thank you! Glad I could help!

[@benedictstock6539]

Thank you! Very useful

[@palebluedotstudios]

You are most welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@stefano7317]

I checked - everything is clean

[@mainacoka2292]

Thank you SO MUCH

[@palebluedotstudios]

My pleasure!! Thank you SO MUCH for watching!

[@Anthony-fr2ub]

Great, now I dont have to fall into dept in order to buy melodyne just to have polophonic audio to midi, thanks for sharing, clearly a lot of people are missing the point, great melodyne alternative for polophonic midi to audio conversion, this is actually the feature that makes melodyne so expensive, I dont use pitch correction on my vocals dont need it.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Thank you so much, my friend! Glad you got the point. :) Yes, and they just made a big update to Samplab, so I'll be releasing a video on this very soon. Cheers!

[@marceloribeirosimoes8959]

It can be used to register midi from drum loops or any percussive loop... COOL!

[@palebluedotstudios]

Exactly! You get it! Thanks for watching!

[@DaddyKing603]

You would have to do an example video using an actual vocal for me to be fully impressed. I am an FL user, and I think Abelton already has a feature like this built in. This Samplab does look to be a good midi editor. I will give it that. For free definitely useful to have especially in FL. I wish it did vocals like Melodyne.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Thanks for the suggestion! I was so excited about being able to pull audio chords apart that it didn't occur to me to try vocals. Indeed, many DAWs have a variation of the Melodyne-style pitch correction/editing for monophonic sources. However, my DAW(s) can't extract and manipulate notes from polyphonic data. Maybe FL can? I wouldn't be surprised, it's a great DAW. Thanks for watching!

[@akiise]

fl studio has newtone built in, which is a pretty solid vocal pitch correction

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@akiise Awesome! You FL users definitely have some super-enviable plugins! Thanks for watching!

[@DaddyKing603]

@@akiise Newtone is great but you have to pay Imageline to get the full version not the demo, which I will eventually.

[@Dude_Slick]

@@palebluedotstudios I'm with Allen on this one. Everyone is billing this as a free Melodyne alternative, yet nowhere is anyone using it for vocals.

[@matthewtimms3164]

Hi, thanks for the heads up on this, is great. A quick question for you though, once I have edited the audio to midi and saved the project, when I open up logic and return to the project, the actual audio is missing?, the midi is still in the project but no audio. Can you help?. Thanks. Matt

[@palebluedotstudios]

Hey Matthew! Glad you discovered the plugin! Unfortunately, I can confirm something is wrong with the latest version. I did test, and after closing/reopening a project, Samplab still played the actual audio. But then I updated to the latest version, and there is no audio playback anymore! I can even confirm it's pointing to its own data folder correctly. I'm going to hit up the developers and see if they can shed some light on this. Thanks for bringing this up!

[@matthewtimms3164]

@@palebluedotstudios Thanks, I got around this by editing the midi and bouncing to audio then inputting it back into the track, long winded but works

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@matthewtimms3164 Oh, good. It shouldn't be that difficult though. I'll see if the devs know what's going on here. Cheers!

[@arilotringer]

This looks amazing! What I didn't understand, or maybe I didn't get that part is, you have an original audio file, then you drag the midi onto a different track, did you create the original audio file with a vst and then you have that same vst instrument with the same patch you used to create that original audio file on the track you drag the midi to in order to create the new modified loop? If it is just a random audio file or something downloaded from splice or something like that, if what you're getting is the translated midi from the audio source, how do you create the new audio with that midi if maybe you don't have the same VST, haha sorry I may be missing something here 😅

[@arilotringer]

I actually just read on their website that once you drag the midi onto the track that soundlab is on, then it converts to a VST that replicates the same sound, am I right? that is just amazing, my question has been answered.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes? It makes sense now? It can be a little confusing. So in my first example, what I had there was just a pre-recorded guitar loop-no original VST instrument. And yes, you can take any wave file from Splice, Arcade, etc and once you drag it on to an instance of Samplab and put the resultant MIDI file into THAT Samplab track, Samplab is now replicating the same sound, except you can control the individual notes! It is pretty amazing! Thanks for watching!

[@bennyceca]

Maybe they have Melodyne on their servers doing the work, they automated the process, which is spitting out the MIDI back to the user, could it be?

[@palebluedotstudios]

That would be quite the scheme! But I'm going to assume the developers are playing by the rules, haha.

[@NathanEllery]

I assume you set up the midi track to play a vst with similar sound? How else was it playing sound?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Pardon me, friend: I'm not sure I understand?

[@morizanova]

I believe it using the source sound just like in another sample manipulator

[@alvincreatives3974]

Can you use this in vocals as well?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes, for sure! I'm actually showing that in my next video on Tuesday. Now, just like any other vocal pitch/time-shift effect, the more you pitch it, the more artificial it'll sound. But it can work really well on vocals and melodic leads.

[@alondraeolivo1862]

where do I get that plugin?

[@palebluedotstudios]

samplab.com/plugin - use the "go to plugin" link. Cheers!

[@blaxmuzik8299]

I'm getting an error while loading that vst in fl studio, can you please gimme a solution?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Someone else reported the same. I'm not an FL user, but I emailed their support. I'll follow up with them. Thanks for watching!

[@sadaharuproductions5334]

have the same problem :(

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@sadaharuproductions5334 Boo. I emailed support but never heard back! I'll try them again.

[@gallan544]

Hey hello, could you help me? also i have cubase as main daw and i can't install plugins with "vst.3" extension how should i do to install it?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Hello! Glad to help, if I can. Do you mean that you can't install Samplab.vst3, or ANY VST3 plugin?

[@gallan544]

i think i can't install all vst3 plugins

[@gallan544]

i usually install on my pc .dll plugins

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@gallan544 Right. .vst3 plugins go into a different folder: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3. Are you installing there?

[@gallan544]

yes, but keep on not reading it. i also chose the right file location on cubase

[@cgames1052]

Does it work with Vocals too?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes, it will work with vocals. Accuracy will depend on the complexity of the material, of course.

[@lpmusic4471]

Is that for voice too?

[@palebluedotstudios]

It will work on voice, it will divide it by pitch and let you move it around. Monophonic processing is free, stereo requires a subscription. Cheers!

[@LiamDTurner]

💪🔥💪

[@palebluedotstudios]

🔥🔥🔥 Thanks for watching!

[@Mortamer25]

It wont install correctly I cant use it on fl studio 12 or 20. Used the installer. Installed myself downloading raw plugin. Literally installed hundreds of plugins but this one just wont work. I managed my plugins and made sure it came up in fl but it says it's either not installed correctly or registered but like bro...m I used the installer from the website. Scanned the folder it was installed to. Opened in fl. And NOTHING. Been at this for hours someone pls help

[@palebluedotstudios]

Oh no! That sucks. I’m afraid I don’t have FL Studio here. I suggest you contact support at Samplab: samplab.com/

[@shahisyourenemy]

delete it immediately bro. Both the exe program and vst3 plugin is flagged as malware on virustotal

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@shahisyourenemy That's the second time I've heard that. I'm emailing the devs now to see what they say. Thanks for flagging that.

[@shahisyourenemy]

@@palebluedotstudios lemme know what they say cuz I'm pretty interested in the plugin as well. It's a shame if it turns to be "too good to be true"

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@shahisyourenemy For sure. I suspect it's a false-positive; I've seen that a few times before with VST plugins. Or maybe we know why it's free...haha

[@TrueRebel]

🍇🍷🍷🍾Thank you Canada 🤜🏼🤛🏾

[@palebluedotstudios]

My pleasure, my friend! Where are you from?

[@nds_beats]

Whats With vocals?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Pardon, I'm not sure what you mean. Like, can you process vocals? Yes!

[@nds_beats]

@@palebluedotstudios ok Thanks

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@nds_beats Cheers!

[@Dude_Slick]

I call bullshit. There are lots of claims of this being a Melodyne alternative, yet while every video on Melodyne is on vocals. I can't seem to find one video using Samplab for vocals.

[@palebluedotstudios]

I hear you. The main feature I was excited about-that was exclusive to Melodyne-was being able to pitch polyphonic audio after the fact. Samplab has nowhere near the features, but for free/cheap, you can really manipulate audio with this.

[@caloypicassocabrera360]

Dude can i download this in android?

[@palebluedotstudios]

No, I don't think they have mobile apps for this yet. Thanks for watching!

[@hettovennik2887]

Could quite become a subscription model, i'm affraid; free plugin, but can only be used for 4,99 (10 files per month) etc etc kinda thing

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes, I could see how someone would want to monetize is that way. No indication from the developer's FAQ that that is the plan, though. Thanks for watching!

[@DogFiles]

@@palebluedotstudios It's a monthly fee now.

[@rohitguru407]

The 10sec thing I can't understand inside samplab

[@palebluedotstudios]

The 10-second limit?

[@satyabratasatapathy6615]

Cakewalk by bandlab had these since years

[@palebluedotstudios]

Really? Do you know what the feature is called? I'd like to make a note of DAWs that have this feature. So far, I'm not convinced any DAW has this natively. But I'm happy to be proved wrong! Thanks for watching!

[@prikroytemusic]

Failed to connect to plugin.Try Again !!! Does not work

[@palebluedotstudios]

Oh no! What DAW are you using?

[@prikroytemusic]

@@palebluedotstudios FL studio 20.8

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@prikroytemusic Hmm. I'm not a user, so I can't test it here. Maybe reach out to Samplab for support? samplab.com/about

[@hazmatproduction4562]

looks cool, but hardly a melodyne alternative. In Melodyne you can change the notes of chords directly within audio files without extracting MIDI to a new instrument. You can make the audio follow Cubase's chord track in ARA2 mode. This looks cool for MIDI extraction but its no Melodyne killer. I'd be interested to see how it handles complex polyphonic material too

[@palebluedotstudios]

Oh yes, I did try to be clear in the video that I was talking about this one specific Melodyne feature (polyphonic MIDI extraction). Samplab is presently very limited (only short loops, only note detection, preferably guitar or keyboard, etc). Melodyne can run realtime on tracks and is a powerhouse of a beast! Thanks for pointing that out!

[@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013]

so do you have to be online to use this?

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes. Samplab has to upload the sample to their cloud for conversion. It then stores the file locally. Thanks for watching!

[@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013]

@@palebluedotstudios ah that is no good then. Seems unnecessary. I can't condone such things. Seems its only saving grace is the fact that it is free. Good vid though. :).

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013 Perfectly understandable. For what it's worth, they do address this on their FAQ. Quote: "Yes, we transfer all files securely through HTTPS. The audio files are then transformed on a Google Cloud server and are immediately deleted once the result is sent back." But that is your data on a Google server, so if you're security-conscious, it's good to know these things.

[@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013]

@@palebluedotstudios it is not just that... being online when making music can be a performance squandering game for many. It isn't just a case of security, it is almost a way to normalise DSP apps as an online service that you can never actually own or use without an active connection. Don't agree with it. I am a developer myself but i just cannot support it. I believe it to be fundamentally wrong. If it had any merit at all in having to be that way i could maybe go half way and say that i understand the point, but in this case there is literally no need for it to be that way.

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013 Yes, I totally see your point. I can't say it bothers me too much, I'm so accustomed to being online on my audio computer now, but it is a concern if you have to have always-online plugins. I assume they've done it this way to offload the processing to another computer, then all the plugin has to do is fire back local samples, a la Kontakt. And also they don't have to build the whole realtime architecture of Melodyne as well. I'm curious to see where they go, though. Big thanks for raising that concern!

[@antoniomarcoscanuto5346]

ele não é grátis como faço pra cadastrar

[@palebluedotstudios]

Hi! You can download it here: samplab.com/plugin/download/

[@mylosunglao8855]

Logic X Pro, Reason 12, and Ableton all do this themselves within the DAW. Pretty sure FL can too.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Do they do individual note extraction from polyphonic chords? I don't think so. I'd have to verify that for Ableton, don't have that DAW. Thanks for watching!

[@ygarbygar3073]

@@palebluedotstudios it does, but only on the full version. not the producer edition (the most popular)

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@ygarbygar3073 OK, so you guys got me really curious, so I downloaded the Live trial, read the manual, and tested this out. Live Suite CAN extract MIDI information from a polyphonic audio file. But that's where it stops. You cannot fire back the original sound with the generated MIDI; it's just raw MIDI that gets sent to a new rack. That's really cool, but it's too bad they didn't take it that extra step! So far no sign of this feature in Logic Pro, Reason 12 or FL (or any DAW?). They all do the same thing, convert (usually monophonic) audio to generic MIDI that doesn't control the original audio.

[@RezzyOfficial]

@@ygarbygar3073 how on ableton?

[@matthewtimms3164]

I think logic can only do this with mono not polyphonic, If I can, please tell me how. Thanks✌

[@FLH3official]

It works well, but you need to be connected to the internet...

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes, that’s true. If your DAW is not connected to the internet, or you’re concerned about that, then this might not be the right fit. I’m not sure if they plan on taking it offline in the future. Thanks for watching!

[@kidsonicofficial]

Correction. Melodyne and this software are nothing alike. Yes Melodyne can extract chords, however, you are editing the same audio using Formant algorithms like Ableton's Warp functions. This emulates Ableton's Audio to Midi functions where it listens out for specific pitches within a sound. I'm actually tired of people not researching this stuff enough and releasing false information. This is NOT a "free alternative to melodyne". If you wanna get melodyne free, get the Music Production Suite by crossgrading from the summer bundle to the tonal balance bundle, and then to the Music Production suite from there. Necar 3 comes with a free license for melodyne essential. Okay, you still have to spend money but you're getting way more for a fraction of the price.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Thanks for your feedback! I had hoped I was clear about Melodyne being a much more powerful and rich suite than Samplab. One of the Meoldyne features that made it so attractive to me was the polyphonic audio-to-MIDI editing, and I was excited to find a free alternative for that one function. Thanks so much for watching!

[@kidsonicofficial]

@@palebluedotstudios no worries!

[@kidsonicofficial]

@@palebluedotstudios Ok I can see how this is similar! This is sick! With Melodyne actually has problems with Formants but this sounds amazing!

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@kidsonicofficial Awesome! Yeah, I love this feature. I will be using it lots in the future. Thanks!

[@rabeats9346]

Thanks palebluedot studios for your great video, but I agree with the comment below. The video title is completely misleading. Maybe that's done to get views? Because your are comparing a plug-in that does one feature of melodyne so we can't really talk alternative here. In studios melodyne is used mostly to correct pitch and timing in a more natural way. And we will see more in the future alternatives to it since they now share their technology as open source if I'm not mistaken. This samplab plug-in seems nice and will demo it but a much correct title would have be something like "convert audio to midi like melodyne for free?" because this is clearly not comparable to melodyne to question if it's an alternative to it.

[@kidwithdafro7483]

works only 10 seconds...

[@palebluedotstudios]

It isn't working? Darn.

[@Tt-pf3oi]

Kuss

[@palebluedotstudios]

Thanks for watching!

[@lukather1]

Been using samplab for 3 weeks - full version - totally unreliable and unless you have very simple chords it’s crap !

[@palebluedotstudios]

I'm sad to hear that! I'm going to do a follow-up video soon, because they've made many changes in the last year or so. Thanks for your comments!

[@nutsosix7930]

its not free for real users. if you never go over 10seconds then you'll be fine with free. still have to sign in and sell your first born.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Yes, there are limitations to the free version. It's also in mono, but the new updates are expanding what Samplab can do...

[@nutsosix7930]

15dollars a month. you do not own it.

[@palebluedotstudios]

I believe there is a free version and a subscription.

[@antoniomarcoscanuto5346]

consegui

[@palebluedotstudios]

Excelente!

[@djsusan00]

This plugin really doesn't work that well, you can get the right melody on full songs sometimes, but I'd rather do it by ear.

[@palebluedotstudios]

Fair enough. I found it worked best on individual instruments, especially guitar. Hopefully they'll develop it more soon. Thanks for watching!

[@djsusan00]

@@palebluedotstudios exactly not a tuning tool per say, but it will def help you if you want to sample something, like you said. Better with stems yes. Keep it up homie. You sound like you're passionate about these videos.

[@palebluedotstudios]

@@djsusan00 Thanks! I will keep it up. Definitely passionate, lol. Thanks again.

[@DelevarOfficial]

Just crack it lmao *not recommended*

[@palebluedotstudios]

Not sure what you mean there, friend...

[@tomkent4656]

Not totally free anymore.

[@palebluedotstudios]

No, things have changed since my video...maybe I'll change the title. Thanks for pointing this out!

[@richardaranivarmamani2697]

I checked - everything is clean

[@palebluedotstudios]

What's clean, my friend?