GROOVEFORGE
Genre-aware MIDI drum grooves and complete related song sections—ready to shape, mutate, and drag into your DAW.
Windows VST3 + Standalone
How-To Manual · Version 0.3.3 · August 2026
Contents
What it generates
GrooveForge creates kick, snare, hats, and percussion using genre-specific rules for strong beats, syncopation, ghost notes, fills, velocity, swing, and looseness. Song durations are selected in minutes and converted to complete musical bars at the genre tempo.
1. Install and connect
- Run
GrooveForge-0.3.3-Windows-x64-Setup.exe. - Choose Full for the VST3, standalone application, and manual, then select the VST3 folder scanned by your DAW. Administrator approval is required for the default system location.
- Restart the DAW or run its VST3 rescan.
- Add GrooveForge to an instrument track. Use a factory audition kit, or select MIDI Only and route its MIDI output to another drum instrument.
| Installed item | Default location |
|---|---|
| VST3 bundle | C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\GrooveForge.vst3 by default, or the folder selected during setup |
| Standalone and manual | C:\Program Files\EgoB\GrooveForge |
Typical DAW routing
Direct MIDI route
Track 1: GrooveForge
Track 2: sampler/drum plugin
Set Track 2 MIDI input to GrooveForge and monitor both.
Drag-and-drop route
Generate in GrooveForge, then drag PATTERN MIDI or FULL SONG MIDI directly into the arrangement.
Loading a VST3 and routing its generated MIDI are separate host capabilities. Only DAW versions named in release notes as tested should be treated as validated for live routing.
2. Make a useful beat in one minute
- Pick a Style: Boom Bap, Trap, Dub, House, Drum & Bass, Jazz-Hop, or Electronic.
- Choose a pattern length. Start with two bars; use three, five, or seven bars for evolving or polymetric ideas.
- Set Energy, Density, Syncopation, and Swing.
- Click Generate Groove.
- Choose an Audition Sound and click Play Preview to listen without starting the DAW transport.
- Lock the lane you like most, click Mutate, and repeat until the groove feels yours.
- Drag the MIDI into your DAW and edit individual notes, sounds, timing, and arrangement.
3. Interface and macro controls
| Control | What it changes | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| Density | How many eligible hits are used. | Reduce for space; raise for busier hats and supporting notes. |
| Energy | Velocity, intensity, and section lift. | Move from soft verse material to an aggressive chorus. |
| Syncopation | Off-grid and weak-beat accents. | Add pocket without simply adding more hits. |
| Swing | Delays alternating subdivisions. | Essential for Boom Bap/Jazz-Hop; use subtly in House. |
| Variation | Secondary hits, ghost notes, rolls, and changes between bars. | Raise after the foundation is working. |
| Experiment | Polymetric percussion and less predictable accents. | Use for transitions or unusual electronic patterns. |
| Timing | Instrument-specific microtiming. | Kicks remain tighter while hats and percussion move more. |
| Velocity | Per-hit dynamic variation. | Add human feel without changing note positions. |
Pattern display
The bottom grid is a visual overview, not a locked sequencer. Dot size and brightness reflect velocity. The actual result remains MIDI so you can edit it at full detail in the DAW.
4. Patterns, probability, locks, and mutation
Per-instrument probability
The four colored percentage bars control whether generated candidates for each lane are kept. At 100%, all intended hits survive. Lower a lane to create space without changing the behavior of the other instruments.
Locks and controlled mutation
- Enable the lock beside any lane that must remain unchanged.
- Adjust Variation, Syncopation, Energy, or probability if desired.
- Click Mutate. Locked MIDI is copied exactly; unlocked lanes are regenerated.
- Use New Fill to create a focused two-bar fill pattern.
5. Choose a duration and song structure
Select Song Duration. Genre Average follows a rounded production target for the selected style; explicit presets cover 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00, and 5:00. GrooveForge converts clock time to the nearest four-bar boundary using the active host tempo, falling back to the genre tempo until a host tempo is available. The displayed bar count therefore grows at faster BPMs so the complete song keeps its intended duration. Then choose a Song Structure. Either selection immediately generates a new arrangement and distributes every bar across its related sections.
| Structure | Sections | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | Intro, Verse A, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Verse B, Breakdown, Chorus High, Outro | Detailed pop/electronic development. |
| Verse / Chorus | Intro, Verse A, Chorus A, Verse B, Chorus B, Outro | Direct song forms with fast navigation. |
| Club | DJ Intro, Groove, Breakdown, Drop A, Drop B, DJ Outro | Mix-friendly dance arrangements and longer drops. |
| Minimal | Intro, Main A, Main B, Outro | Compact forms and long evolving sections. |
Preview and host playback modes
- Play Preview works without the DAW transport and uses the selected audition kit.
- Pattern Loop repeats the current pattern and follows the host tempo/transport.
- Full Song previews the complete arrangement and stops at its end, or follows host PPQ from bar 1 when the DAW plays.
- MIDI notes C4–G4 trigger Intro through Outro while Pattern Loop is selected.
6. Export editable MIDI
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Save Selected MIDI… | Saves the pattern or full song selected in the Playback control through a Windows file dialog. |
| Drag Pattern MIDI | Drag from the button into a DAW track to copy the current pattern. |
| Drag Full Song MIDI | Drag the complete selected-length arrangement into the timeline. |
Exports are standard format-1 MIDI files with a tempo/time-signature conductor track and a drum track on MIDI channel 10.
General MIDI drum map
| Lane | MIDI note(s) |
|---|---|
| Kick | 36 |
| Snare / ghost snare | 38 / 40 |
| Closed / open hats | 42 / 46 |
| Percussion and toms | 37, 45, 47, 50 |
7. Genre starting points
| Style | Engine character | Suggested first move |
|---|---|---|
| Boom Bap | Swung hats, backbeat, syncopated kicks, ghost snares. | Swing 45–65%, Variation 30–55%. |
| Trap | Half-time snare, sparse kick phrases, 16th hats and rolls. | Energy 60–80%, vary hat probability. |
| Dub | Space, one-drop influence, offbeat percussion. | Density below 45%, Syncopation around 50%. |
| House | Stable four-on-the-floor with offbeat open hats. | Keep kick at 100%; mutate percussion. |
| Drum & Bass | Fast breakbeat syncopation and ghost notes. | Use host tempo near 174 BPM and moderate Timing. |
| Jazz-Hop | Loose Boom Bap foundation with lighter accents. | Velocity 30–50%, timing 20–35%. |
| Electronic | Stable dance foundation with optional odd percussion. | Raise Experiment for transitions, then export a fill. |
EgoB production recipes
Dub-hop pocket
Dub · Density 35% · Swing 30% · Syncopation 55% · lower Hats probability to 65%.
Dusty jazz-hop
Jazz-Hop · Energy 45% · Swing 55% · Timing 30% · Velocity 40%.
Modern trap verse
Trap · Density 45% · Energy 70% · Variation 55% · lock Snare before mutation.
Electronic transition
Electronic · Experiment 65% · Perc probability 70% · generate New Fill.
8. Troubleshooting and uninstall
The plug-in is not listed
- Confirm the complete
GrooveForge.vst3folder exists in the VST3 location selected during setup. - Restart the DAW and run a full VST3 rescan.
- Use a 64-bit DAW on Windows 10 version 1809 or newer.
Pro Tools does not list GrooveForge
This is expected for the current release. Pro Tools requires AAX plug-ins, while GrooveForge is supplied as a 64-bit Windows VST3 and standalone application.
I see MIDI activity but hear no drums
Choose Studio, 808, Dusty, or Electronic under Audition Sound and confirm that the track audio output is monitored. MIDI Only intentionally produces no internal audio and should be routed into a sampler or drum instrument responding to GM notes 36–50.
The DAW cannot route MIDI from GrooveForge
Use Drag Pattern MIDI or Drag Full Song MIDI. Some hosts restrict VST3 MIDI output routing even though export works normally.
Full Song starts silently
Full Song follows absolute host PPQ from bar 1 and ends after the selected number of bars. Move the playhead into that range, or drag the full-song MIDI to any location in the timeline.
Uninstall
Open Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps, choose GrooveForge, and select Uninstall. The uninstaller removes the VST3 bundle from the location selected during setup, plus the standalone application, shortcuts, and manual.