← The eighteenUNIT 14 / 18InstrumentAU · VST3 · AAX

CADENCE

one-finger chords + scale-lock synth

A one-finger-chords, scale-locked synth — play in key with a single note and never hit a wrong chord. Songwriting on easy mode.

What's in it

What we'd love your ears on

Check the theory in a scale you know cold. Play up the keyboard and confirm every chord is the one it should be. If they're all right, please say so — that's the promise of the plugin. If one isn't, it's the best catch you could hand us (name the scale, root and chord).
Write something with one finger. Did it actually speed you up? That's the only real measure here.
Strum at slow and fast settings — musical, or too mechanical for you?
If you have Scout in the same session, confirm Cadence follows the detected key.

Learn CADENCE

QUICK-START · 5 MIN

Play full in-key chords with single notes and shape the built-in synth around them.

01
Set KEY and SCALE
Pick the song's KEY and SCALE from the selectors — from here on, every note you play is mapped into the scale, so there are no wrong chords. If SCOUT is running in the session, match what it detected.
02
Pick a CHORD type
Choose the CHORD built from each note — triads for straight writing, 7ths and extensions for R&B color. Play single MIDI notes (or click the on-screen KEYBOARD) and CADENCE voices the full chord diatonically.
03
Add STRUM
Raise STRUM to spread the chord tones over time for a strummed feel. Slow settings read as guitar; fast reads as a tight keyboard roll.
04
Shape the sound
Pick a WAVE, then sculpt with CUTOFF and RESO on the low-pass filter, DETUNE for oscillator thickness, and DRIVE for saturation. Use OCTAVE UP / DOWN to move the writing register.
05
Set the envelope
Dial ATTACK / DECAY / SUSTAIN / RELEASE — short attack and release for plucky trap keys, slow attack with long release for pads. Finish with OUTPUT to set level.

Worth knowing

Use A/B to hold two complete sound settings and flip while a loop plays — fastest way to pick between two directions.
Sanity-check the theory in a scale you know cold: play up the keyboard and every chord should be the diatonic one.
Double-click any knob to reset it; browse presets with the arrows before building from scratch.

Full control reference

Every control, its range, and what it actually does — the complete CADENCE manual.

iLok (PACE) — machine, iLok Cloud or iLok USB

Accepted testers get every Wave-1 plugin deposited to their iLok account — machine activation, iLok Cloud or iLok USB, your call.

Insert CADENCE in your DAW (AU · VST3 · AAX). First launch asks for activation via iLok License Manager.

Beta licenses run through the round. Your license codes and downloads live in the tester portal.

Universal macOS builds — Apple Silicon + Intel

Not in the round yet? Applications are open — we accept in waves.