Optimised for stacking oscillators to create a classic unison effect.
Processes submodules in parallel, similar to Stack in Sum Audio mode, with built-in detune and stereo spread.
Each submodule receives a differently detuned Pitch signal, and the outputs are spread across the stereo field before being summed.
Levels are automatically scaled to maintain consistent gain.
A more natural sound is achieved when oscillators use random start phases on note-on.
Detune: Sets the maximum detune depth in cents.
Stereo: Sets how widely voices are spread in the stereo field.
Unison is part of Collection 5 and listed under the Signal Router category.
Other Changes
Nesting: The Group and Ungroup features have been generalised into Nest In and Unnest, extending support to container modules such as Stack, Effect, MIDI Group and Unison.
Mid-Side: The module now supports Poly mode and no longer collapses a Poly signal to Mono.
Slew: Allows Rise and Fall parameters to go as low as 0.01 ms.
Parameters: The Enter Value menu item now appears above the parameter presets.
Presets: Updated the default preset.
Strummer: Fixed edge cases that caused unexpected behaviour.
Note Length: Fixed a bug where the note length was not updated when adjusting the Time parameter.
Modules: Fixed a 7.1 regression that prevented intensity values from being duplicated when a modulator was duplicated.
The Mela 7.1 update introduces Collection 5, featuring creative and essential audio modules such as Frequency Shifter for metallic and inharmonic textures, a transparent brickwall Limiter, plus new modulation tools including Slew, CC Modulator, and Mod Oscilloscope.
Collection 5 will continue to expand with every 7.x update and is available as a one-time purchase.
Frequency Shifter
Frequency Shifter offsets all frequency components in the Audio signal by a fixed amount, producing metallic or inharmonic textures unlike pitch shifting.
Provides useful tweaks with parameters: Shift, Range, Mode, Stereo, Mix.
Shift: Sets the shift amount within the selected Range. Linear ranges map directly, while Cubic uses a non-linear curve for finer control near 0.
Range: Selects the maximum shift amount. Linear ranges map -100% to 100% directly. Cubic is non-linear and spans ±5 kHz.
Mode: Selects how energy behaves around 0 Hz. Clean is single-sideband. Reflect preserves down-shifted components below 0 Hz. Duplicate adds mirrored components when shifting up. Both combines reflect and duplicate.
Stereo: When enabled, left and right channels shift in opposite directions.
Limiter
Limiter is a brickwall limiter that provides transparent peak control using a lookahead gain envelope.
Includes standard controls such as input gain, attack, release, and channel linking, along with a gain reduction meter.
Offers character modes for either faster response or smoother, lower-distortion limiting.
Slew
Slew is a modulator that smoothly ramps the Mod signal toward a target value.
The target is set by the Value parameter and can itself be modulated to smooth another Mod signal.
Ramping can be linear, exponential, or a blend of both, controlled by the Curve parameter.
The Rise and Fall parameters determine how quickly the Mod signal responds when the Value parameter changes.
The indicator lets you visualise the current value of the Mod signal.
CC Modulator
CC Modulator uses incoming MIDI CC messages to modulate parameters.
Unlike other modulators, each target can be configured to use a different MIDI CC source.
This provides an alternative way to automate parameters from the host.
The host can send MIDI CC automation curves, which are translated into parameter modulation.
CC Modulator is a Mela Lab module.
Mod Oscilloscope
Mod Oscilloscope visualises the modulated value of its Offset parameter.
Modulating Offset at 100% intensity displays the modulator’s Mod signal directly.
For best results, set Offset to 0% for unipolar Mod signals and to 50% for bipolar signals.
The module can also be used to visualise how another parameter is being modulated.
To do so, apply the same modulation settings to Offset as the target parameter.
MIDI Meter
Added the MIDI Meter module for visualising incoming MIDI values.
Displays a 16-circle vertical meter and a numeric value readout.
MIDI Meter is part of Collection 0 and listed under the Visualiser category.
Arpeggiator
Added an indicator that visualises the active note position within the chord.
Added Manual mode, where the new Position parameter selects the next chord position across the active Oct Range.
The Position parameter is a great target for automation or modulation, enabling custom arpeggio patterns.
Other Changes
Meter: The module now has a more minimalistic appearance with no sidebar, as there is little benefit to keeping it collapsed or showing its name.
Meter: Updated the DSP implementation for a more natural response.
Band Pass: Now supports Poly mode and no longer collapses Poly signal to Mono.
Module Actions Menu: The menu now displays the module name as the title. If the type is not clear from the name, the type name is appended in brackets.
Modulators: Refined the appearance of the modulators’ drag target icon.
Module Categories: Replaced the Utility module category with Visualiser.
Pitch Ramp: The module has graduated from Mela Lab and can now be found under the Pitch Processor category.
Presets: Updated the default preset to use MIDI Meter.
Automation: Fixed a 7.0 regression that prevented parameter automation from working in some hosts.
Note Stack: The module now ensures that generated note-off events precede note-on events within the same sample call.
The 7.0 update brings long-awaited Undo and Redo, making it easy to revert unwanted changes. Perform View has been generalised into remote views, allowing remote controls to be assigned to any Group or Stack module. The design has also been refined across the app to improve consistency and visual cohesion.
Undo/Redo Support
Changing a parameter value.
Adding, duplicating, moving, replacing, removing, or renaming a module or lane.
Adding, removing, or replacing a modulation assignment.
Grouping or ungrouping a module.
Adding, removing, or renaming a remote control.
Remote Views
The Perform View feature has been generalised and is now referred to as remote view.
Remote view consists of remote controls.
Group and Stack modules, in all their forms, support remote controls.
Any submodule parameter can be exposed and controlled by an ancestor module.
Since lanes are Group modules, they also support remote controls.
Because every preset is powered by a root-level Stack module, Perform View assignments in existing presets automatically migrate to remote controls and appear in the Global remote view.
Remote controls can be created or removed via the actions menu.
All parameter types are supported, including list and toggle parameters.
Remote controls can be renamed with custom names.
Controls are automatically ordered to match their appearance in the preset structure.
Lanes
Collapsed lanes now move to the bottom in a horizontal scroll view, where their remote controls remain accessible.
They still participate in lane and module drag-and-drop for rearranging.
Tapping the lane sidebar scrolls all the way to the left, unless it is already scrolled, in which case it collapses as it normally does.
Tapping the Global sidebar lets you collapse or expand all lanes.
Preset Selector & Browser
An asterisk now appears next to the selected preset name whenever there are unsaved changes.
Trying to load another preset when there are unsaved changes now displays a confirmation dialog to discard changes.
Updated the preset browser look to better complement the lanes.
Folder icons are now displayed in front of preset group titles instead of chevrons.
The User and custom group folder icons include a user badge to make them easier to distinguish from the factory presets.
Main Window & Toolbar
macOS: The window title bar and toolbar have been merged.
iPadOS 26: The window controls no longer overlap the preset selector.
When there is not enough horizontal space, toolbar buttons appear as menu items when tapping the toolbar’s ellipsis button.
The preset selector and preset browser are no longer visually linked.
The preset browser toggle button’s disclosure symbol has been replaced with the familiar Apple platform sidebar icon.
App Icon: Updated the app icon to a liquid glass style.
MIDI Source
The Input parameter has been replaced with Source and Number (or Note).
To configure the module to respond to CC messages, set Source to “Control Change” and specify the CC number using the Number parameter.
The Number parameter lets you limit the module to a specific note when Source is set to “Note-On/Off Gate” or “Flip-Flop on Note-On”.
Source now includes a “Note Number” mode, similar to “Key Track”.
While “Key Track” is optimised for frequency-based modulation, “Note Number” maps the full MIDI note range [0, 127] precisely to a [0%, 100%] Mod signal.
For example, modulating the Control Change module’s Value parameter with MIDI Source set to “Note Number” lets you convert note numbers directly into CC values.
Stack Module
Previous updates made the On parameters more performance-oriented, and this update introduces further refinements so the Stack module feels more integrated with other modules.
Toggling off a Stack submodule’s On parameter now stops outputting submodule signals completely, rather than outputting the same signal as its input.
In Sum Audio and Ring Mod modes, the Stack module’s On parameter acts as a crossfade between its input and output, just like the Audio Processor modules.
Menu Bar
Added many useful actions, along with keyboard shortcuts, to the menu bar in the standalone app.
New Preset: Loads the Init preset with the ⌘N shortcut.
Undo/Redo: Undo and redo with ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z, respectively.
Show/Hide Musical Keyboard: Toggles musical keyboard visibility with ⌘K.
Show/Hide Preset Browser: Toggles preset browser visibility with ⌘B.
Collapse All Lanes: Collapses all lanes with ⌥⌘C.
Expand All Lanes: Expands all lanes with ⌥⌘E.
Zoom: The keyboard shortcuts ⌘+, ⌘-, and ⌘0 zoom in, zoom out, and reset zoom, respectively.
Zoom
The macOS and iOS zoom resolutions now match exactly.
The macOS UI now appears slightly larger. Set the zoom to 75% to compensate.
The preset browser, toolbar, and about view no longer follow the zoom setting.
Mela FX & Mela MIDI
In some DAWs, different plug-in types are listed together, which can make it harder to see which Mela type you are selecting. This update renames the Audio Effect and MIDI Processor types to Mela FX and Mela MIDI correspondingly. Keep in mind that the only difference between the types is the number of audio and MIDI inputs and outputs. Otherwise, their features are identical and any preset created in one type can be opened in another.
MIDI Group Module
The MIDI Group module works similarly to the Group module but is optimised for processing note events.
When the module is on, the sublane receives all MIDI events from the parent.
When it is turned off, held notes are retriggered directly to the parent’s output, bypassing the sublane.
Turning it on again retriggers the held notes to the sublane’s input, and its processed output resumes being sent to the parent.
The sublane receives only the parent’s MIDI input, and only its processed MIDI output is forwarded.
All other signal types in the sublane are isolated.
MIDI Group is part of Collection 0 and is listed under the Signal Router category.
Note Hold
Added a new Mode parameter with options: Sticky, Retrig and Chord.
In Sticky mode the module behaves as before and turns every second note-on of a given note into a note-off.
Retrig holds a note and retriggers it whenever the same note is received again.
Chord builds a chord until all note-off events are received, and then releases the chord on the next note-on.
Chord mode feels very natural when used with a physical MIDI keyboard, especially when the Hold parameter is modulated using the Sustain Pedal (CC64) message.
To time out notes in Retrig and Chord modes, insert a Note Length module after Note Hold and set the Length parameter to “Fixed”.
Updated the module UI to support the new features.
Fixed an issue where the module did not always display the held notes in the correct order.
Sticky Mode: Fixed a stuck note issue that occurred when the Hold parameter was enabled between a note-on and its corresponding note-off event.
Other Changes
Euclid: When the On parameter is toggled off during an active pulse, the module no longer retriggers held notes. If no pulse is active, it waits until the next pulse to retrigger them.
Note Stack: Fixed an issue where a note-on/note-off pair could pass through even when the Play parameter was set to 0, if both events arrived at exactly the same time.
Merged the “Full-Wave Rectified Sine” and “Half-Wave Rectified Sine” waveforms into a single “Rectified Sine” that supports the Shape parameter, allowing it to smoothly morph between the two shapes.
The “Alternating Sine” waveform now supports the Shape parameter, allowing it to smoothly morph from a pure sinusoid.
Factory Presets: The new “G0 Euclid” and “Demo 6.12” presets in the Synth FX group showcase the new features.
MIDI Processors
With this update, the transition to making the On parameter performance-oriented across all modules is now complete.
The On parameter of the following modules is now more performance-oriented: Arpeggiator, Note Echo, Note Range, Scale, Strummer, and Quantiser.
Each MIDI Processor uses the On parameter in a way that best suits the module’s function.
For example, the Arpeggiator retriggers the input chord when turned off, while the Quantiser simply stops quantising new notes.
Note Range & Scale: Changing any parameter, including On, updates the output by releasing some held notes and triggering new ones as required.
Chord Module: Fully rewritten internal logic, making the module more robust, especially when its parameters are modulated.
Note Stack: Removed the redundant On parameter.
Note Stack: The module no longer creates a note-on event for a note in the Wait stack if it’s also going to be released in the same call as the note-on that freed a slot in the Play stack.
Note Stack: The module no longer generates redundant note-on/off pairs when receiving multiple note-ons simultaneously.
Note Length: Fixed an issue where the note length value didn’t always initialise correctly.
Arpeggiator: Fixed an issue in Chord mode where a note-off event could be generated for a new input note-on before it was sequenced.
Transposer & Scale: Fixed a stuck note issue that could occur in certain edge cases.
Other Changes
Stuck Notes: Adding, removing, or moving a module now forces all modules to reset, preventing stuck notes even while the preset is receiving note-on events.
Amp Envelope: Fixed an issue in Mono mode where note-on events weren’t detected correctly when Legato was enabled and multiple notes were received simultaneously.
Fixed a crash that could occur when a modulator’s last target module was removed from the preset.
User Guide: Added the new “Module On Parameter” section to the Core Concepts chapter.
The On parameter of MIDI Processors is now more performance-oriented, meaning that even when turned off, they continue to monitor input and update their internal state as needed.
This prevents them from sending unnecessary note-off messages when turned off.
For example, turning off Euclid, Chord, or Transposer releases the held notes and retriggers the input note-on events.
Turning them back on sends the corresponding note-off events for the inputs and retriggers the output.
The new behaviour makes them more robust and user-friendly while helping prevent stuck notes.
Updated modules so far: Euclid, Chord, Control Change, Groove, MIDI Channel, MIDI Delay, Note Chance, Note Length, Note Pulse, Overlap Remover, and Velocity.
Modules to be updated in future versions: Arpeggiator, Note Range, Note Stack, Quantiser, Scale, and Strummer.
Transposer: Adjusting the Semitones parameter now releases held notes and triggers the new transposed notes.
Note Event: Removed the redundant On parameter.
Note Hold: Removed the redundant On parameter.
Note Hold: Fixed an issue where the Hold button wouldn’t always display the correct state when modulated.
Note Pulse: Fixed the Sync parameter defaulting to 4 bars instead of 1/4.
Chord Module
The Note On and Pitch parameters now retrigger note-on and note-off events when their values change.
This allows adjusting the parameters and hearing changes instantly without needing to feed the module a new note-on event.
Modulating these parameters can lead to interesting algorithmic compositions.
It’s recommended to place an Overlap Remover module after the Chord module to prevent earlier note-off events from interrupting the latest notes.
Velocity parameters now use percentage units, controlling how much the note velocity moves toward its minimum or maximum value: -100% moves fully toward 1, +100% fully toward 127.
Note Length Module
The Length parameter was renamed to Time.
The new Length parameter adds 3 modes, supported only in Note-On trigger mode: Min, Fixed, and Max.
In Fixed mode, the module behaves as before.
Min mode ensures notes last at least as long as the specified value, while Max mode ensures they don’t exceed it.
The Sync parameter now supports up to 16 bars.
The module is now more compact.
Oscillator Modules
Improved phase control in DS Oscillator, FM Operator, VA Oscillator, and VPS Oscillator.
Phase parameter is now updated in real-time instead of only on note-on.
Can be modulated at slow rates for vibrato or at audio rates for custom PM synthesis.
Phase range shifted from 0º…360º to -180º…+180º, simplifying bipolar modulation.
Added Trigger parameter to control phase on note-on: Free, Retrig, Legato, or Random.
Free: ignores note-on events.
Retrig: resets phase to the Phase parameter value.
Legato: resets phase unless another note is already held.
Rand: assigns a random initial phase.
Updated module UIs to support the new features.
FM Operator: Level parameter range expanded from 0%…100% to -100%…+100%.
Reset-to-Zero Envelope
The Amp Envelope module gained a new Reset parameter for controlling reset-to-zero behaviour.
Supports three modes: Off, On, or 1 ms.
Off: On note-on, the envelope restarts from its current value.
On: On note-on, the envelope restarts from zero.
1 ms: Delays audio by 1 ms and fades it to silence before restarting from zero, enabling clickless voice stealing common in synthesisers.
Other Changes
Lane Presets: Add, Insert, and Replace Lane actions now create a new lane with a chosen module in one step.
Module Categories: Insert and Replace submenus now show symbols next to each category.
Noise Module: Renamed the Noise Oscillator module to Noise.
Pitch Oscilloscope: Fixed an issue where high-pitched waveforms were sometimes graphed incorrectly.
Clipper: Added the “-0.3 dB” preset to the Peak parameter.
Drag-and-Drop: Fixed an issue on iOS where dropping below the last lane didn’t work correctly.
Factory Presets: The new “2-Note Symphony” and “Evolving Chord” presets in the MIDI FX group showcase the new features.
Factory Presets: Added the “Based” preset to the Bass group.
Factory Presets: The total number of presets just passed 200.
A module no longer dims when it or one of its ancestors is turned off.
The On parameter has changed from a binary type to a continuous one.
It is always a Mono modulation target, even if the module is in Poly mode.
For Group and Stack modules, a submodule’s effective On value is the minimum of its own On parameter and its parent’s.
Modulators: The On parameter acts as the amplitude of the modulation signal.
Pitch Processors: The On parameter crossfades between the input and the generated Pitch signal.
Audio Processors: The On parameter crossfades between the input and the generated Audio signal.
These changes mean the On parameter no longer causes clicks in audio when changing state.
Since the On parameter no longer disables a module’s processing or switches its output between Mono and Poly, it has been removed from modules where it added little value or could cause confusion.
The following modules no longer provide the On parameter: Correlation, Meter, MIDI Capture, MIDI-to-Poly, Oscilloscope, Pitch Oscilloscope, Poly-to-Mono, and Voice Activity.
Other Changes
Module Help: Built-in help for all modules has been fully refreshed and is now consistent with Core Concepts terminology.
VA Oscillator: Added the new “Bipolar Triangular Pulse” waveform.
Voice Activity: In Mono mode, the module now resizes to show a single item.
Enter Value: Percentage, decibel, and multiplier units can be used interchangeably.
For example, entering -6dB is equivalent to 50%, while entering 2x is equivalent to +6dB.
Chord Module: The Note On parameters no longer cause the corresponding Pitch and Velocity parameters to dim or become disabled.
Phase Distortion: The module has graduated from Mela Lab and can now be found under the Audio Processor category.
Pitch Oscilloscope: The module has graduated from Mela Lab and can now be found under the Utility category.
Factory Presets
Added the “Simple Perc” preset to the Synth FX group, showcasing the new waveform.
Added the “Evolved Perc” preset to the Synth FX group.
Added the “Chorus-Reverb” preset to the Audio FX group.
Added the “LR Sweeps” preset to the Audio FX group.
The Phase Distortion module uses the classic phase distortion technique to reshape any waveform.
It splits the waveform cycle into two parts, stretching the first while compressing the second.
As it is not an oscillator, it relies on the Pitch signal and note-on events (Note signal in Poly mode and MIDI in Mono mode) to determine the waveform’s start point and cycle length.
This enables many creative possibilities.
The Pitch signal can be transposed down an octave to distort a waveform an octave higher.
An unrelated Pitch signal can be used to apply phase distortion to a drum loop for unique rhythmic textures.
The Phase Graph visualises the waveform’s phase after distortion.
Dragging it horizontally or vertically adjusts the Skew or Tilt parameter correspondingly.
The Curve parameter smoothes the phase rate change at the cycle split point, with higher values producing a mellower sound and reducing aliasing.
Pitch Oscilloscope
The Pitch Oscilloscope module visualises audio waveforms, making it ideal for viewing signals from oscillators and other processors.
It uses the Pitch signal and note-on events (Note signal in Poly mode and MIDI in Mono mode) to lock onto the waveform.
A mismatch between the signal and waveform prevents proper tracking.
In Poly mode, it displays the waveform of the last triggered Voice.
It’s currently a Mela Lab module and might be integrated into the existing Oscilloscope module in the future.
Pitch Oscilloscope is added to Collection 2 so that users who have the Oscilloscope unlocked will also have this module unlocked.
Rectifier Module
Rectifier’s new Gate parameter sets the threshold level above which the signal remains unchanged, while everything below it is set to 0.
The Rectify parameter range has been extended to support negative values, which allows modification of the positive portion of the signal.
Rectify parameter now includes a “Full-Wave” preset alongside “Half-Wave”.
Drag gesture on the graph now adjusts the Gate and Rectify parameters.
The processing order: Gate Clipping → Asymmetric Gain → DC Offset.
Oscillators
The Level parameter of the DS Oscillator, FM Operator, Noise Oscillator, VA Oscillator, and VPS Oscillator modules now defaults to 0.
This removes an element of surprise, especially for new users, as previously the oscillator would generate sound immediately on insertion.
With this change, the Level parameter must be adjusted before the oscillator produces audible output.
The oscillators no longer display a flat line when the Level parameter is set to 0.
DS, VA, and VPS Oscillators now also support the Phase parameter in Mono mode.
This means the phase of these oscillators will reset on MIDI note-on events when no Poly signal is present.
Core Concepts
User Guide: The Core Concepts chapter has been significantly improved with unified signal definitions and a detailed explanation of signal flow.
Poly-to-Mono: With the Core Concepts now defining Mono and Poly signal processing modes, the Poly-to-Audio module has been renamed to Poly-to-Mono for consistency.
Signal I/O: A single arrow indicates a Mono signal, while a double arrow indicates a Poly signal.
Note-to-Pitch: The module has been moved from the Pitch Processor category to Signal Router.
It is highly recommended that all users review the updated chapter.
Factory Presets
Added “RM Side-Chain” preset, which uses a very useful side-chaining technique for drums and bass and demonstrates the updated Rectify module.
Added “Custom Dynamics”, “De-Esser”, “FB Compressor” and “Upward Expander” presets that utilise the Gain Computer and Gain modules.
Added “Classic PD & Beyond”, showcasing the new Phase Distortion and Pitch Oscilloscope modules.
Added “Soft Drift” to the Keys group.
Added “HH Enhance” to the Audio FX group.
Other Changes
Parameter Values: Increased spacing between the value and unit to improve readability.
Latency: Reduced the maximum allowed latency from 5 seconds to 1 second.
Audio Output: Fixed an issue in the standalone version where audio stopped outputting when changing the Mac’s default audio output device.
Ahead Parameter: Fixed an issue where the Enter Value action didn’t always focus on the correct field.
UI: Fixed an issue where some module names did not appear in the correct alphabetical order.
Gain Computer is a modulator module for creating custom dynamics processors.
Depending on its settings and placement in a preset, it can be used to build effects such as a feedback compressor, upward expander, look-ahead limiter, side-chain gate, or de-esser.
It computes gain reduction or expansion from the input audio signal, similar to the gain computer in traditional dynamics processors.
Instead of applying the gain change directly, it generates a modulation signal.
This signal can be used to modulate a Gain module or any other parameter to produce dynamic effects.
The Gain module pairs well with the Gain Computer module, but the modulator supports a wide range of other use cases.
The module includes all the standard dynamics processor controls.
Type Parameter: Selects between Compressor and Expander modes.
Downward Processor: When the Range parameter is set to a negative value, the modulation signal is in the range [-100 %, 0 %], ideal for downward processing.
Upward Processor: When the Range is positive, the signal is in the range [0 %, 100 %], ideal for upward processing.
To learn how to create processors with features found in traditional dynamics tools, check the module help.
Transfer Curve: Shows how parameters affect the transfer function. A horizontal pan gesture adjusts Threshold, a vertical gesture adjusts Ratio.
Oscilloscope: Displays the modulation signal in real time. A horizontal gesture adjusts Attack, a vertical gesture adjusts Release.
Gain Computer is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Gain Module
The Gain module applies gain to the audio signal.
While designed to pair with the Gain Computer module, it can also be used independently in many other ways.
It has three parameters: Down, Up, and Range.
Although Down and Up use percentage units, gain is applied in decibels.
For example, with Range set to 24 dB, Down at 50 % applies -12 dB gain, and Up at 25 % applies +6 dB.
Gain is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Latency Support
Added the Ahead parameter to Audio In and MIDI In modules.
The Ahead parameter sets how far in advance Mela requests audio and MIDI events from the host.
This allows processing to begin before the events would normally occur.
For example, it can allow an envelope follower to detect transients before they are heard.
This feature is also referred to as plug-in latency.
Most iOS hosts do not yet support plug-in latency compensation and may ignore this setting.
The “Latency Test” factory preset can help users check DAW support and assist developers with testing and debugging their hosts.
User Interface
Modulator Oscilloscope: The view XY-pan gesture now controls one parameter at a time.
Compressor Graph: The view XY-pan gesture now controls one parameter at a time.
Stereo Pan: The Pan and Spread parameter positions were swapped for consistency with other modules. Typically, the parameter below the graph is controlled by a horizontal pan gesture, while the one above is controlled by a vertical gesture.
Mela Lab: Instead of displaying a flask icon in the bottom-right corner, Mela Lab modules now use the flask symbol for the module actions menu.
In/Out Modules: The Audio In, Audio Out, MIDI In and MIDI Out modules are now more compact.
Rectifier: Fixed an issue where the dials appeared visually disconnected from the graph.
Many internal changes to improve the UI engine.
Other Changes
Default Preset: Updated the default instrument preset to make it easier to add MIDI Processor modules.
Factory Presets: Added a new effect preset.
Factory Presets: Fixed an issue where the “Digitise Drums” preset would not load.
Preset Browser: Fixed an issue where selecting a preset in a group with many presets would cause the list to scroll up.
Crash: Fixed an app crash caused by receiving an unusually large MIDI packet.
Parameter Presets
The Offset parameters have a special behaviour where they can be set to Triplet (~66.7 %) or Dotted (150 %). When selected, a checkmark appears next to the corresponding menu item, and the parameter value field displays the label instead of the numeric percentage. Some parameters also provide “Set to …” menu items for quickly entering common preset values. These two concepts have now been merged into a unified system called Parameter Presets.
Parameter presets appear above the “Enter Value” item in the parameter’s context menu.
When selected, a checkmark appears next to the preset’s menu item.
Some presets have custom names. For example, one of the Note Chance module’s Chance presets is “1/3”, instead of 33.3 %.
You can type the preset name manually to set the parameter to it. For example, enter “1/3” for the Chance parameter.
Depending on the parameter, a preset name may appear in the value field, such as Triplet or Dotted, but not all parameters display preset names.
For example, the Chance parameter displays “1/3” instead of 33.3 %, while the VA Filter’s Frequency parameter displays “262 Hz” when the C3 preset is selected.
Entering Parameter Values
Entering parameter values is now more flexible.
You can enter values in seconds, milliseconds, hertz, kilohertz, beats, or bars, and they will be automatically converted to the parameter’s supported unit.
For example, you can enter delay time in hertz or LFO frequency in milliseconds.
Supported unit suffixes include: “s” for seconds, “ms” for milliseconds, “Hz” for hertz, “kHz” or “k” for kilohertz, “b” for beats, and “B” for bars. For example: “0.5s”, “100ms”, “440Hz”, “1k”, “0.5b”, “2.25B”.
When no unit is provided, frequency defaults to hertz and time intervals default to milliseconds.
You can also enter a MIDI note name, which will be converted to the corresponding frequency. Use “#” for sharp and “b” for flat. For example: “C4”, “D#-1”, “Gb3”.
Time in beats and bars supports fractional input as well as dotted and triplet notation. For example: “4/1”, “2/5”, “1/4T”, “1/8d”, “1/3”.
By default, the host tempo is used to convert beats and bars, but you can override it using the @ symbol. For example: “1/4t@135”, “1.5B@85”.
A440 tuning is used by default for notes, but you can override this as well. For example: “G4@400”, “C#5@432”.
Note Stack Module
The Mono module has been generalised into the Note Stack module.
It can now stack more than 1 note, making it useful not just for monophonic but also polyphonic synths.
It can also be used creatively in MIDI Processor chains.
The Play parameter sets the number of notes allowed to be played simultaneously.
When the stack is full and a new note arrives, one of the held notes is released based on the value of the Release parameter.
Release has five values: Old, New, High, Low and Random.
The Wait parameter enables released notes to be brought back when space becomes available in the stack.
The Play and Wait stack views let you visualise both the held notes and the notes waiting to be brought back.
Note Pulse Module
The module has a new Mode parameter with three values: Once, Hold, and Loop.
In Loop mode, the module behaves as it previously did, generating pulses at regular intervals.
In Once mode, the module generates a single pulse immediately after each host transport restart.
This is particularly useful for resyncing LFOs.
In Hold mode, the module generates a note-on event when the transport starts and a note-off event when it stops. No other events are generated in between.
This is particularly useful for auto-starting the Euclid module’s sequencer.
The interface was updated to incorporate the new parameter.
Modulator Improvements
Simple LFO now retriggers on MIDI note-on events when not receiving a Poly signal.
Previously, Simple LFO only retriggered when receiving Poly signals.
Simple LFO behaves as if in Free mode when placed where it doesn’t receive note-on events.
LFO, Random and Simple LFO now start from an arbitrary phase in Free mode.
Improved legato detection in Glide and applicable modulator modules, for both Poly and non-Poly signals.
Other Changes
Note Range Module: Added new Clamp mode. Notes outside the range are clamped to the nearest note within the range.
Note Range Module: The interface is now more compact.
MIDI-to-Poly Module: Added a new Release mode, Random, which releases a random voice for reallocation.
MIDI-to-Poly Module: The interface is now more compact.
Quantiser Module: The interface has been slightly tweaked.
The module lets you group a sequence of modules using its sublane.
The signal flow between the containing lane and the sublane depends on the selected mode: Insert, Isolate, Split, or Merge.
The module actions menu icon displays the current mode instead of the ellipsis used by other modules.
Tapping it opens a menu to change the mode and access standard module actions.
Insert Mode
The Group module passes its input signals to the sublane and forwards the sublane’s output to its output.
Ideal for organising modules.
Isolate Mode
The Group module doesn’t provide input to the sublane and ignores its output.
The module input and output remain identical.
Ideal for creating an independent sublane that appears inline with the containing lane.
For example, it can be used for generating an envelope follower signal from a side-chain input.
Split Mode
The Group module forwards a copy of the input signals to its sublane and ignores its output.
The module input and output remain identical.
Ideal for pre-processing signals before sending them to Audio Out, MIDI Out, or Envelope Follower modules.
Merge Mode
The Group module doesn’t provide any input to the sublane, but merges the sublane’s output signals with the module’s input.
The module’s MIDI output is a merge of its input and the sublane’s output MIDI signals.
The Audio output is the sum of the module’s input and the sublane’s output signals.
The output signal is Poly only if both the module’s input and the sublane’s output are Poly.
Ideal for pre-processing signals coming from Audio In, Feedback, or MIDI In modules before merging.
Poly Buses
Audio buses in Mela now support Poly signals.
This means the Audio In, Audio Out, and Feedback modules can send and receive Poly Audio signals.
If a bus sender or receiver module isn’t receiving a Poly signal as input, the bus signal collapses to Stereo Audio at the receiver before merging with the lane Audio signal.
Note Hold Module
The Note Hold module blocks note-off MIDI events and converts every second note-on event of a given note into a note-off event.
Hold Parameter: When turned off, all held notes are released, and new events pass through the module. You can automate or modulate this parameter as needed.
Notes View: The view displays up to 9 held notes. If there are more, an ellipsis symbol appears.
Note Hold is part of Collection 4.
Feedback Module
The built-in hard clipper threshold can now be set to +6, +12, or +24 dBFS.
In most cases, +6 dBFS is recommended, but higher thresholds can be useful. For example, when creating a phaser effect with feedback.
The new clip indicator shows when the clipper is triggered. If you’re not using clipping creatively, adjust parameters to avoid activation.
The Level parameter range has been changed to [–100, +100] %.
Like the Digital Delay module, it now flushes noise below -160 dBFS to prevent buildup from the digital noise floor.
To prevent a circular dependency, the Feedback module does not collapse the incoming Poly Audio signal even if the signal received from the bus is non-Poly. This differs from the behaviour of the Audio In module.
The module has graduated from Mela Lab and is now under the Signal Router category.
Other Changes
Group & Stack: The Mode parameters are now treated as internal, meaning they can’t be modulated within Mela or automated from the host.
Stack Module: Passthru mode renamed to Isolate to better reflect its behaviour.
Lanes: Group modules used as lanes are always in Isolate mode. Turning a Group module into a lane automatically sets its Mode parameter to Isolate.
MIDI Source: In the new “Flip-Flop on Note-On” mode, the modulation signal toggles between 0% and 100% on each note-on event.
Overlap Remover: Now has a more consistent look with Note Hold.
Overlap Remover: Improved the Log view to make it clearer when new notes are removed, even if they match a previous pattern.
Overlap Remover: Now clears its history when it receives a MIDI panic message.
Modules: Since modules can be freely renamed, the module type may not always be clear. To address this, the action menu now displays the module’s type.
Modules: The add module menu now displays the name of the parent module.
Pop-up Lists: On macOS, the selected item title is now properly aligned with unselected items.
Logic Pro for Mac: Enabled parameter smoothing even when Logic’s Sample Accurate Automation is on, as its callback rate is much lower than the sample rate, causing zipper noise.
Factory Presets: Updated the “All Pass Phaser” preset and added a new preset called “Subtle Phaser”.
The module has been redesigned and now includes the Delay Path sublane.
Since the sublane provides full flexibility for processing the delayed signal, the built-in 1-pole low-pass and high-pass filters are no longer necessary and have been removed.
To keep levels under control, the module retains the built-in feedback hard clipper that limits the maximum level to +6dBFS.
However, modules like Clipper and Meter can be used to manage and monitor levels in the Delay Path sublane to avoid triggering the clipper.
Existing presets that use the Digital Delay module will automatically migrate, with their sublanes populated by Band Pass and Clipper modules replicating the original filter and clipper settings.
The inserted Clipper will have its Type set to Hard, and Peak to +6dB, while the Band Pass will use the 1-pole filter type. Feel free to adjust these settings or replace the modules as needed.
Band Pass Module
The new module processes the Audio signal using a pair of virtual analog low-pass and high-pass filters arranged in series.
It’s ideal for creating audio effects with a feedback loop by inserting it into the feedback path.
It offers 1-pole and 2-pole filter modes.
Band Pass is added to Collection 3.
Clipper Module
Added the Peak parameter, which sets the clipping level within a range of -18dB to +6dB.
The graph now displays how the positive half-cycle of a sinusoid with unity amplitude is transformed by the module based on the current parameters.
The negative half-cycle is transformed symmetrically.
Dragging the graph horizontally or vertically adjusts the Drive or Peak parameter correspondingly.
Double-tapping the graph resets the parameters to their default values.
The Peak Indicator flashes when the input signal exceeds the Peak parameter value.
Stereo Tool Module
The Phase Inverter module has been renamed Stereo Tool and now offers extended routing options.
The module now lets each left/right channel’s output be set to match its input, swap to the other channel’s input, be phase-inverted, or muted.
The updated “Ping-Pong Delay” preset utilises this module.
Module Improvements
Stack: The module has a new mode, Ring Mod. When enabled, Stack’s output Audio signal, or the Audio components of the output Poly signal, is the product of the output Audio and/or the Audio components of the output Poly signals of the submodules.
Stack Module: Fixed the scrolling not working using touch (worked when using a trackpad or mouse).
Lanes: Similar to module menu actions, added the “Replace Lane” action below “Insert Lane”.
Feedback Module: Changed Level parameter’s range from [-100%, 100%] to [-200%, 200%].
Feedback Module: To keep feedback under control, the module now has a built-in hard clipper that limits the maximum output level to +6dBFS.
Effect Module: The module graduated from Mela Lab and can be found under the Signal Router category.
Layer Module: The module has been removed since creating the same signal routing is simpler with the Stack and Group modules.
Modules: Submodules now dim when one of their ancestors is turned off.
Other Changes
Added the new Black theme to complement the White one. It’s based on Martin Breault’s MelAUM theme.
Settings: The Getting Started link has been renamed to User Guide and now opens the guide in the browser.
Voice Alignment: Fixed an issue where MIDI-to-Poly instances sharing the same MIDI input would lose voice allocation synchronisation when one of the instances was unbypassed.
Everything is a Module
This update unifies several core concepts. A Mela preset is now powered by a root-level Stack module, containing Group modules as its submodules. In other words, the root-level lanes in a preset are Group modules arranged within this Stack.
Lane Improvements
A lane can now be thought of as an instance of a Group module because that’s exactly what it is.
Lanes can now be toggled off or renamed just like other modules.
Lanes were redesigned to be more compact.
Lane headers now appear on the left, with titles aligned to module titles and an actions button.
Tapping the title collapses the lane vertically, similar to modules.
Up to 3 collapsed lanes can precede an expanded lane.
If more than 3 collapsed lanes are consecutive, the next expanded lane appears below them.
Module/Lane Drag-and-Drop
You now need to grab a module or lane by its header and hover it over a lane header or a module to insert it in front of it.
The dimming effect was replaced with a dashed outline between modules/lanes to indicate the module/lane insertion location.
The reliability of module drag-and-drop functionality has been dramatically improved.
Since lanes are modules of Group type, they can be dragged over any module to be inserted in front of it.
A Group module can now become a lane by dragging and dropping on a lane header, a new lane will be inserted before it.
If a non-Group module is dragged and dropped in front of a lane, a new lane is created before it with the module inserted.
Stack Module
Introducing Stack, the first module that processes its submodules in parallel rather than in series, like sublanes.
The Stack module feeds a copy of its input signals to all its submodules.
The module’s output signals depend on the Mode parameter, which has three states: Sum Audio, Merge MIDI, and Passthru.
Sum Audio: Stack’s output Audio, or the Audio components of the Poly signal, is the sum of the submodule output Audio and/or the Audio components of Poly signals.
Sum Audio: If Stack’s input and all submodule outputs are Poly signals, the module’s output will also be Poly. Otherwise, it will be Audio.
Sum Audio: The MIDI signal and non-Audio Poly signal components (unless collapsed) remain the same as Stack’s input.
Merge MIDI: Stack’s output MIDI signal is a merge of the submodule output MIDI signals.
Merge MIDI: The Audio and Pitch signals, or the Poly signal, remain the same as Stack’s input.
Passthru: The submodule outputs are ignored, and Stack’s output signals are identical to its inputs.
You may want to process multiple sublanes in parallel for more complex setups. To do this, simply stack Group modules.
With the Stack module, you can create simple MIDI effects, such as converting notes into chords by stacking Transposer modules, or build complex sequencers by combining Group, Euclid, and others.
You can also easily create layered synths or effects.
Stack lets you view submodules individually or as an expanded horizontal stack.
When viewed as a horizontal stack, unlike sublanes, vertical lines replace signal indicator arrows, indicating that the submodules are processed in parallel.
Stack is part of Collection 4 and can be found under the Signal Router category.
Crossover Module
The Crossover module splits the Audio signal into frequency bands using second-order crossover low- and high-pass filters.
This makes it ideal for building custom multi-band processors, such as multi-band compressors or distortion effects.
The module’s crossover filters are designed to ensure a flat frequency response.
To create a 2-band processor, route the same audio into two parallel instances, set one instance’s Band parameter to Low and the other to High, and ensure both have the same cutoff frequency by entering identical numeric values.
To create a 3-band processor, take the output of one of the instances and apply another crossover split, following the same approach.
Crossover is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Improvements
Modules: Similar to modulator modules, presets now save which tab view is active for the modules with multiple views. This includes Stereo Delay, Euclid and Note Pulse.
Modules: The rename field’s placeholder text now reflects the module type.
Modules: Control Change, Note Echo and Note Event module interfaces have been improved.
Euclid: The Accent Velocity parameter values are now expressed in percentages.
Groove Module: The module has graduated from Mela Lab and can be found under the MIDI Processor category.
Sublane/Stack Views: Improved the design of the sublane/stack brackets.
Factory Presets: Updated and added some new presets.
It has also moved to Collection 0 from Collection 4, meaning it’s now unlocked for all users.
Added “Group” and “Ungroup” menu items to the module’s actions menu.
Group Action: Moves the module into a new Group module instance.
Ungroup Action: Replaces the Group module with the modules arranged in its sublane.
Quantiser Module
The module moves MIDI notes forward to the next grid division for tighter timing.
Sync Parameter: Defines the quantisation grid.
Slack Parameter: Set how far a note can stray from the nearest grid division before quantisation occurs, with no notes moved at 100%.
Pull Parameter: Sets how strongly quantised notes are pulled toward the next grid division, fully snapping them to the grid at 100%.
Note Shift Parameter: When enabled, quantised notes keep their original duration by delaying note-off events. When disabled, note-off events remain unchanged, and notes ending before their quantised start time are removed.
Quantiser is part of Collection 4.
Groove Module
The module transforms a straight beat into a dynamic rhythm with accents and a shuffle feel.
Sync Parameter: Sets the timing grid for accents and shuffle.
Accent Parameter: Sets the amount of accent applied to notes at odd grid positions.
Shuffle Parameter: Sets the delay amount for notes at even grid positions, creating a swing or shuffle feel.
Groove is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Overlap Remover Module
The module shortens an active note when a new note with the same MIDI channel and pitch begins, ensuring the earlier note ends first.
It’s useful for preventing an earlier note’s note-off event from disrupting a synth’s playback of the latest note-on event.
Log: The view displays the last 8 shortened notes.
Overlap Remover is part of Collection 0.
Improvements
Feedback Module: Changed Level parameter’s range from [0%, 100%] to [-100%, 100%] to allow negative feedback amounts.
Feedback Module: Added the Level parameter, which sets the amount of the feedback Audio signal merged with the signal passing through.
Lanes: Added option to insert a new lane pre-configured with Signal Router modules.
Lane Configurations: Empty, Audio In/Out, MIDI In/Out, Instrument, Mono Instrument, Audio In, Audio Out, MIDI In, MIDI Out.
Fixes
Fixed a memory leak caused by the popover menu triggered by the plus button at the end of each lane.
Fixed a rare crash when moving a module from one lane to a sublane of a module in another lane.
The Mela 6.2 is a significant update, making the app fully native on macOS by moving away from MacCatalyst. It offers improved stability on macOS, particularly when used as an AUv3 plug-in within a host. It also introduces three new modules—Layer, Effect, and Group—replacing the Sublane module.
Layer Module
Layer module lets you create an audio layer easily using its sublane.
The sublane takes non-Audio signals, MIDI and Pitch or Poly (non-Audio components), as input.
The output Audio signal (or the Audio components of the Poly signal) is the sum of the module’s input and the sublane’s output.
All other signal types pass through unchanged.
While the sublane can transform a copy of the MIDI and Pitch input signals, those aren’t merged at the output, unlike the Audio signals.
The module allows you to create synth layers, where each layer can have independent processors such as filters, amp envelopes, panners, and pitch transposition.
The Volume parameter controls the volume applied to the sublane’s output before the Audio signal summing.
Layer is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Effect Module
Effect module lets you create self-contained custom audio effects.
Its sublane, called Wet Path, receives a copy of the module’s input signals.
The output Audio signal (or the Audio components of the Poly signal) is the mix of the module’s input and the sublane’s output.
While the sublane can transform a copy of the MIDI and Pitch input signals, those aren’t merged at the output, unlike the Audio signals.
The Dry parameter controls the level applied to the module’s input before the Audio signal summing.
The Wet parameter controls the level applied to the sublane’s output before the Audio signal summing.
Effect is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Group Module
Group module lets you group a sequence of modules using its sublane.
It allows you to move the submodules together or bypass them at once.
The module’s input signals are passed to the sublane.
The sublane’s output signals are passed to the module’s output.
Group modules can be nested.
Group is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Improvements
Glide: The module now handles non-Poly signals, i.e. it functions properly when following a Note-to-Pitch module.
Oscillators: The VA and DS Oscillator modules, along with the VPS Oscillator, will no longer animate changes to the Level parameter, except when its sign changes (positive to negative or vice versa). This adjustment improves visibility, as it’s harder to observe how other parameters influence the waveform shape when the Level is near zero.
DS Oscillator: The module now has the same layout as the VPS Oscillator.
DS Oscillator: The module now handles zero pitch signal gracefully.
Preset Browser: On macOS and iPad, you can now secondary-click on a preset to show the context menu instead of the long-press gesture.
Presets: When the plug-in state is saved or loaded, the “name” field now sets or retrieves the preset name. This ensures that in hosts like Logic Pro, which store presets outside Mela’s file container, the name shown in Mela matches the name of the preset loaded from the host.
Factory Presets: Updated the “All Pass Phaser” preset, adding feedback.
Factory Presets: The “Glide Riser” preset demonstrates the use of a Glide module to create a pitch riser effect.
UI: Removed the close buttons from the popovers, as they were redundant. Tap/Click outside to dismiss them.
UI: The About view is now a popover and follows the zoom setting.
Fixes
MIDI Delay: Fixed a bug where MIDI messages were delayed by twice the amount of the set tempo-sync value.
Preset Browser: Fixed a bug where long-pressing a preset shown in search results would sometimes display a wrong context menu.
Polyphony: Fixed an issue where the Reuse and Release settings were not set in the audio engine.
Polyphony: Fixed MIDI-to-Poly’s voice alignment not working for the same MIDI input in some cases.
Modulation: Fixed modulation not working correctly for the modules inserted after a module causing a Poly-to-Audio signal collapse.
Fixed Note Chance appearing twice in the module insert menu.
Mela’s modular capabilities are expanded by introducing Collection 4 with powerful new modules for advanced sound design.
The centrepiece is the Sublane module, enabling nested processing for flexible signal routing.
Also included are the MIDI Delay and Note Pulse modules, adding temporal and rhythmic control to your MIDI.
Modules like Delay and Feedback let you create custom multi-tap delays, comb filters, and physical modelling effects.
To streamline your workflow, the Vel-to-Amp module maps MIDI velocity to amplitude, while the Note-to-Pitch module converts MIDI notes into a pitch signal.
Every Mela 6.x update will add new modules to the collection. You only need to purchase it once.
Mela Classic vs Mela
With this update, the major version number has been dropped from the name—so instead of Mela 6, the app is now simply called Mela.
This change helps avoid confusion, as some users mistakenly thought Mela 6 was a separate app rather than an update to Mela 5.
To clarify: Mela 4, 5, and 6 were all the same App Store app, just with different version numbers in the name over time.
Meanwhile, Mela 3, which is a separate App Store app, will be renamed to Mela Classic.
Hopefully, this new naming system makes things clearer.
Sublane Module
Sublane is a module that contains a lane of modules, aka sublane.
Modules with sublanes can be nested inside each other.
Input Parameter: When enabled the module input signals will be passed to the sublane.
Output Parameter: When enabled the sublane output signals will be passed to the module output, otherwise, the module output will be the same as the input.
Sublane is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
Delay Module
The module delays audio signals by a specified amount. Compatible with Poly signals.
Time Mode: Set the delay time in seconds.
Synced Modes: Set the delay time using tempo-synced values.
Pitch Mode: Set the delay time based on the input pitch signal frequency. Ideal for creating comb filters or physical modelling effects.
Offset Parameter: Adjusts the delay time by 50-200%. Available in Pitch and tempo-synced modes.
Delay is part of Collection 4.
Feedback Module
In Mela, signals flow left-to-right within a lane and top-to-bottom between lanes.
However, you may want to send an Audio signal in the opposite direction to create feedback.
The Feedback module allows you to do just that by taking the output of an Audio bus, delaying it by 1 sample, and merging it with the Audio signal passing through the lane.
WARNING: Protect your ears and equipment by handling feedback with care. Ensure feedback does not build up continuously.
Feedback is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 4.
MIDI Delay Module
The module delays the MIDI signal by a specified amount.
Time Mode: Set the delay time in seconds.
Synced Modes: Set the delay time using tempo-synced values.
Offset Parameter: Adjusts the delay time by 50-200%. Available in tempo-synced modes.
MIDI Delay is part of Collection 4.
Note Pulse Module
The module generates note-on and note-off events at regular intervals, synchronised with the host transport.
Events are generated only when the transport is running.
The parameters Sync, Gate and Offset let you set the timing of the pulses.
Additional parameters allow you to set the generated note event’s channel, note, and velocity values.
Note Pulse is part of Collection 4.
Note-to-Pitch Module
The module converts MIDI notes into Pitch signals.
If an instance of MIDI-to-Poly is inserted, this module is not required unless you wish to change the tuning from the A440 pitch standard.
Tuning Parameter: Sets the tuning of the note A above middle C.
Note-to-Pitch is part of Collection 4.
Vel-to-Amp Module
The module uses MIDI note velocity to control the audio level, making notes velocity-sensitive.
Supports both Audio and Poly signal types.
Curve Parameter: Adjusts the velocity-to-amplitude mapping. Higher values increase loudness, while lower values provide more dynamic range.
Smooth Parameter: Sets the time constant for smoothing level changes between notes.
Vel-to-Amp is part of Collection 4.
Help
Updating the Getting Started guide.
The Getting Started view no longer uses a web view and instead natively renders text.
This allows it to follow Mela’s theme when deciding whether to display in light or dark mode.
The view is now presented as a popover instead of a sheet.
Fixed module help view’s dismiss button tappable area being too small.
Signal Flow
MIDI-to-Poly: The Voices parameter now uses numerical values for simplicity. To achieve mono synth behaviour, use the Mono module as before.
MIDI-to-Poly: It’s now possible to bypass the module.
Signal Flow: Right-pointing chevrons now indicate signal flow direction between modules.
Signal Flow: Double-chevron means the Poly signal type flows between modules.
Signal Flow: Bypassing a module now can affect signal type. For example, Flanger collapses Poly signal to Audio. Bypassing it will no longer cause the collapse.
User Interface
Drag-and-Drop: Moving a module from one lane to the end of another is now much easier. The plus button turns into a drop target making it clear where the module will be placed after the drop.
Drag-and-Drop: It also works when moving a module into a Sublane module.
Lanes: Empty lanes are now as tall as lanes with modules.
Modules: Duplicating a module now also copies the UI state, such as whether it’s expanded.
Modules: A duplicated module name is now based on the source module’s name. For example, if an oscillator is named “Saw”, the duplicate will be named “Saw 2” rather than something like “VA Oscillator 3”.
Modules: Presets now save whether a module’s Modulator or Targets view is active.
Pop-up List: Changed the button background shapes from capsule to rounded rectangle to visually match better with other UI components.
Perform View: No longer shrinks unnecessarily when the Preset Browser is open.
Factory Presets
Multi-Tap Delay: Demonstrates how to use the new Delay and Feedback modules to create a custom multi-tap delay effect with feedback.
Multi-Tap MIDI Delay: Demonstrates how to use the new MIDI Delay module to create a multi-tap MIDI delay effect.
Default: The default synth preset was slightly tweaked.
Init: The preset is now truly blank. It no longer loads a lane with Audio or MIDI I/O modules.
Mela 6.0 kicks off a new chapter in the app’s evolution, starting with unifying all lane types into a universal one for greater flexibility. The updated Getting Started guide explains how key concepts have evolved—be sure to check it out, along with the changelog, for a quick overview. This is just the beginning, with much more to come in the upcoming 6.x updates.
Universal Lane
All lane types (Audio, MIDI, Instrument) are now unified into a single universal lane with merged capabilities.
The preset migrator automatically converts existing presets to use universal lanes.
Lane audio and MIDI I/O settings are replaced with Signal Router modules.
Signal Routers: Audio In, Audio Out, MIDI In, MIDI Out, MIDI-to-Poly, and Poly-to-Audio.
These modules are part of Collection 0.
Audio In/Out Modules
Audio In receives Audio signals from the host or an Audio bus.
Audio Out sends Audio signals to the host or an Audio bus.
MIDI In/Out Modules
MIDI In receives MIDI messages from the host or a MIDI bus.
MIDI In includes a “Panic!” button to send “All Notes Off” MIDI messages downstream on all channels.
MIDI Out sends MIDI messages to the host or a MIDI bus.
MIDI Out a “Panic!” button to send “All Notes Off” MIDI messages on all channels to the output.
MIDI-to-Poly Module
The module converts MIDI messages into a Poly signal, replacing any existing Audio or Poly signal with a new Poly signal.
The module lets you set the polyphony settings for the preset.
Instances sharing the same MIDI input synchronise voice allocation, ensuring consistent Poly-to-Poly modulation across modules.
The Voice Priority rule is replaced with a “Release” setting, clarifying how voices are reallocated for new notes.
Previously, this functionality was handled implicitly by the Instrument lane type before sending the Poly signal to modules.
Poly-to-Audio Module
Collapses a Poly signal into an Audio signal by summing voices while retaining the last note-on Pitch signal.
Modules that don’t support Poly signals automatically perform this collapse.
The signal remains collapsed even if the collapsing module is bypassed.
Previously, this functionality was handled implicitly by the Instrument lane type before sending the Audio signal to its output.
Module Updates
Amp Envelope: Now mirrors the behaviour of the Envelope Generator. When no Poly signal is present, it uses MIDI signals to trigger attack and release states, shaping the Audio signal accordingly.
Panic Module: Removed, as the functionality is now integrated into the MIDI In and MIDI Out modules.
Voice Activity: Now displays Audio signal levels and MIDI signal’s last note and velocity when no Poly signal is present.
Voice Activity: Now automatically resizes based on the preset polyphony.
Modulators: The “Targets” view no longer scrolls to the bottom on appearance.
Improvements
Getting Started: Updated to reflect the latest changes.
Notepad: Renamed the Note Pad module to Notepad.
Fixes
Module Help: Fixed the help popover not utilising available space correctly.
Preset Load: Resolved a crash that occurred under certain conditions when changing presets.
Polyphony Settings: Fixed an issue with the Newest Release mode not initialising correctly.
Modulators: Modules without parameters, such as Notepad, no longer appear as modulation targets.
The module converts incoming MIDI notes into Euclidean rhythm.
The core idea behind Euclidean rhythms is arranging a given number of events as evenly as possible in a pattern.
The Steps, Pulses and Rotate parameters let you configure the pattern.
The Accents, Shift and Velocity parameters let you configure the accented events.
The Gate and Sync parameter lets you configure timing.
The circular sequencer view lets you visualise the resulting pattern and the current step. It reduces the Accents, Pulses and Steps to coprime values.
The module works well with Arpeggiator – insert it before Euclid and set the Retrig parameter off.
The Arpeggiator module now defaults to Retrig mode off on instantiation so that the timing is aligned with the Euclid module when inserted one after the other.
When combined with the MIDI Source’s Note-On/Off Gate mode the rhythm can be turned into a modulation signal.
Euclid is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 3.
Pitch Follower Module
Pitch Follower is a polyphonic modulator that generates a modulation signal based on the input pitch signal.
It’s similar to the MIDI Source’s Key Track, but instead of following MIDI notes, it precisely tracks the pitch signal, including pitch bends.
A change in the pitch signal by an octave results in a 10% change in the modulation signal.
The Center parameter sets the modulation’s zero point — when the input pitch matches this frequency, the modulation signal is at 0%.
To make it easier to modulate the Frequency parameters of All Pass, Comb Filter, EQ Band and VA Filter modules with Pitch Follower, they now offer “Set to” menu items with 261.6256Hz (middle C) and 624Hz (range mid-point) values.
The module can be used in both Instrument and Audio lanes.
Pitch Follower is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 3.
Correlation Module
The module helps you visualise the correlation between the left and right channels of the audio signal passing through it.
Generally, keeping signals above 0 is best. A 0 value represents an extremely wide stereo image.
When the indicator is closer to +1, the channels are highly correlated with little side content.
If it gets closer to -1, the channels are out of phase, leading to most of the signal cancelling out when summed to mono.
Correlation is part of Collection 3.
Mute Button
The Level module now features a Mute toggle, linked to the Level parameter.
When muted, the Level is set to 0%.
Unmuting restores the Level to its previous value.
Use the Level module for quick, clickless muting of a lane or part of a lane.
Stepper Control
Added a stepper style control, it’s ideal for a list or integer-valued parameters.
It consists of two buttons around a parameter title/value button.
Tapping on them sets the parameter to the previous or next value.
Dragging these buttons vertically allows you to adjust the values faster.
The behaviour is similar to dials and sliders that control list type parameters, they trigger the value change on release.
The first modules to utilise stepper controls are Euclid and Pitch Ratio.
Improvements
Chord: Simplified the module by removing the note toggle label, making it more compact.
Chord: Changed the maximum number of notes in the chord from 6 to 8.
Chord: Added “Set to” menu items to the Pitch parameters.
Pitch Ratio: The module now uses stepper controls for the Numerator and Denominator parameters, simplifying incremental value adjustments.
Pitch Ratio: The Ratio Display now updates when the module parameters are modulated, displaying the resulting ratio multiplier.
Rectifier: The Rectify parameter now offers a “Set to” menu item with the value 50%.
Comb Filter: The Frequency parameter now defaults to 624Hz, the mid-point of the parameter range.
Drag-and-Drop: Dragging modules onto empty lanes now works.
Settings: Added the link to the tutorials page under the Help section.
Getting Started: Updated the document.
Fixes
Arpeggiator: Removed redundant note-off messages sent out by the Arpeggiator module.
Toggle Control: Fixed a bug where performing the cancellation gesture on the control wouldn’t cancel and still toggle the state.
Getting Started: Fixed external URLs not opening in Safari.
The module allows MIDI notes to pass through based on a specified probability.
The Chance parameter sets the probability.
At 0% Chance, all notes are blocked; at 100%, all notes pass through.
The log view displays the last 7 processed notes, indicating whether each was blocked or passed.
Ideal for generative MIDI chains and adding controlled randomness.
Example: Modulate Chance using MIDI Source with its input set to Velocity to allow notes with higher velocities to have a higher chance of passing through.
Note Chance is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 3.
Random Module
The Random module is now more powerful with new modes and the Tilt parameter.
The Mode parameter sets the random signal generation algorithm: Random I, Random II, or Chance.
Random I: At 0% Tilt, the modulator signal randomly takes a value within the set range uniformly. Increasing Tilt toward +100% makes higher values more likely while decreasing Tilt toward -100% makes lower values more likely.
Random II: At 0% Tilt, the modulator signal randomly takes a value within the set range uniformly. Increasing Tilt toward +100% makes extreme values more likely while decreasing Tilt toward -100% makes values near the midpoint more likely.
Chance: At 0% Tilt, the modulator signal randomly takes the maximum or minimum value with equal likelihood. Increasing Tilt toward +100% makes the maximum value more likely while decreasing Tilt toward -100% makes the minimum value more likely.
Tuned White Noise
The Noise Oscillator module now includes a new Tuned noise type.
It follows the input pitch signal by downsampling white noise.
The sampling rate is 8 times the input pitch frequency, creating a pitch-tracking noise effect.
Preset Search
Mela now supports preset search for both user and factory presets.
The search field is located above preset groups in the Preset Browser.
Tap the search field to begin searching.
If the Preset Browser is closed, selecting Preset Search from the Preset Selector’s action menu will open it and focus the search field.
In the standalone version, you can also use Command-F to do the same.
Improvements
Degrader Module: Added a “Set to” menu item with the value 2093.00 Hz (3 octaves above middle C) to make it easier to create pitched noises using the Noise Oscillator module and MIDI Source’s Key Track.
Modules: Improved the random number generator algorithms.
Module Help: Improved clarity of some parameter descriptions.
MIDI Logger: Made the log background more prominent.
Note Pad: Made the text background more prominent.
Parameter Values: The internal number formatter now overrides the system locale by disabling the grouping separator.
Parameter Values: When manually entering parameter values, both period and comma will be treated as decimal separators regardless of the system locale.
Fixes
Preset Browser: If closed, the Create Group keyboard shortcut now opens the browser as expected.
MIDI Source: Fixed visual indicator drawing incorrectly for the Key Track input for MIDI values above 120.
The new module allows all frequencies to pass through without attenuation, while introducing varying phase shifts.
It includes first- and second-order filter types.
The first-order type shifts the phase by 90º and the second-order by 180º at the cutoff frequency.
The module is ideal for creating audio effects such as phasers.
The All Pass Phaser preset, found in the Audio FX group, demonstrates the module’s functionality.
All Pass is part of Collection 3.
Other Changes:
Mela now supports side-chain audio input when loaded as an instrument plug-in.
The side-chain signal comes through Audio In 1 for the instrument plug-in, but when Mela is loaded as an audio effect plug-in, it comes through Audio In 2.
Increased the number of supported lanes in a preset from 8 to 16.
The XY control has been simplified. The independent X and Y handles are gone, and the entire control area responds to touches, improving the experience for live performances.
Updated the UI layouts of the following modules: Distortion, DS Oscillator, MIDI Source, Rectifier, VA Filter, VA Oscillator, and VPS Oscillator.
Removed the on/off switch from the Panic module, as it served no purpose.
If purchasing is disabled on your device due to Content & Privacy Restrictions or a Mobile Device Management profile, Mela’s In-App Purchasing view now displays a warning.
Fixed a bug where Digital Delay synced delay times didn’t follow the host tempo.
Fixed truncated parameter labels for DC Offset in the Rectifier module and Asymmetry in the Distortion module at certain zoom levels.
Fixed a bug where some UI components wouldn’t switch to the light or dark scheme correctly in AUv3 mode.
Fixed a bug where MIDI Logger’s content wasn’t scrollable.
Fixed position value formatting in the MIDI Logger module.
From time to time new modules will be added to the Mela Lab category without any future promises, meaning their feature set is subject to change.
This freedom allows for the experimentation and exploration of new ideas.
With every update, the modules will be refined.
Once a module proves useful enough, it will become part of Mela.
Some experiments will not produce desirable results, and those modules will be removed.
Contribute to the process by submitting feedback to help with the evolution of these modules.
Always remember to bounce down audio and MIDI parts of your projects that utilise Mela Lab modules, as their behaviour may change from version to version, potentially altering the sound of your tracks.
When a preset uses at least one Mela Lab module a flask icon appears in the toolbar.
Tapping it will present the Mela Lab Help view.
Mela Lab modules display a small flask icon at the bottom right corner.
Macro Button Module:
It’s a modulator module similar to the Macro module but uses a toggle button instead of a slider.
The toggle button is linked to the Macro parameter.
When the toggle is off, the modulator signal is at 0%, and when it’s on, it jumps to 100%.
Transition between these binary states can be smoothed by adjusting the Smoothing parameter.
Macro Button module’s Macro button (and now also the Note Event module’s Event button) triggers on touch rather than release.
Toggling between the previous and new states can be done by sliding the finger in and out of the button area, allowing performance-oriented usage.
Macro Button is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 3.
Multiply-Add Module:
It’s a modulator module whose modulation signal is equal to A×B+C where A, B and C are the values of the module parameters.
Modulate some or all three parameters to create complex signals.
The module supports polyphonic modulation.
Multiply-Add is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 3.
Audio-to-Mod Module:
It’s a modulator module whose modulation signal is the average of the left and right channels of the input audio.
As all modulations happen at sample rates in Mela, feel free to modulate any parameter to create interesting sounds.
For example, modulating a level of another oscillator will result in Amplitude Modulation (AM) synthesis.
Modulating the cutoff frequency of a filter will result in FM synthesis.
The module supports polyphonic modulation.
Audio-to-Mod is a Mela Lab module and part of Collection 3.
Text Input:
The module renaming action no longer presents a separate text field for entering a new name. Instead, the label turns into a text field in place.
The preset and preset group renaming actions no longer present a separate text field for entering a new name. Instead, the label turns into a text field in place.
The “Set to” menu items now correctly format parameter values with units.
Some of the parameters of Comb Filter, LFO, Pitch Bend, Random, Relative Pitch, Transpose and Volume modules now offer useful “Set to” menu items.
Musical Keyboard now hides when iOS’s typing keyboard appears in order not to get in the way.
Other Changes:
Added the Cycles parameter to the LFO module. Set its value to 1 for one-shot behaviour.
Moved the Create Group menu item from the Preset Selector to the User and custom groups’ actions menu.
The preset management help information is now accessible via the Preset Selector’s actions menu.
It’s much more concise and has been removed from the Getting Started with Mela document for simplicity.
Added new presets.
Fixed a preset loading bug causing some parameters to initialise incorrectly.
Moved the Preset Selector to the left side of the screen.
Added disclosure button to toggle the Preset Browser view.
Tapping the preset name now presents the actions menu, removing the need for a separate button.
The Save Preset, Export & Save and Create Group actions no longer present a separate text field. Instead, the Preset Selector turns into a text field in place.
Now a confirmation dialogue will be displayed when overwriting an existing preset.
Create Group action is now accessible via the File menu or Command-G shortcut in the Mela app.
Preset Browser:
Greatly improved Preset Browser interface, now vertically scrollable on the left side.
It now feels more integrated with the Preset Selector.
The Import, Export, Rename, and Delete preset group actions are accessible via the ellipsis icon menu.
User presets offer similar actions through a long-press gesture (or right-click on macOS) and swipe left on the preset name.
Event Module:
Introduced a new MIDI Processor module for note-on and note-off events.
It’s simple yet very versatile.
With the Event module, you can create algorithmic compositions by modulating its parameters.
It can trigger envelopes or retrigger LFOs, even when Mela is inserted as an audio effect with no MIDI input.
Events can be triggered via the user interface, automation, or modulation.
Its primary parameter, Event, accepts values within the [0%, 100%] range.
When the value exceeds 50%, the module generates a note-on event.
Once the value drops to 50% or lower, it generates a corresponding note-off event.
Additional parameters allow you to set the generated event’s channel, note, and velocity values.
The note-on and note-off events can also be triggered by tapping the toggle button.
The toggle button indicates the currently held note.
The Event module is part of Collection 3.
Note-On/Off Gate:
It’s now possible to create a gate-like modulation signal using the MIDI Source module based on note-on and note-off events.
Set the Input parameter to Note-On/Off Gate to use it.
On note-on, the modulation signal jumps to 100% but it drops back to 0% on note-off.
The signal can be smoothed out using the Smoothing parameter.
You can use this instead of an envelope generator when you don’t need the complexity.
Text Input:
The Perform View parameter renaming no longer happens in a separate text field. Instead, the value label turns into a text field in place.
The Enter Value menu action and a triple tap on a dial or slider no longer display a separate text field for entering a parameter value. Instead, the value label turns into a text field in place.
For frequency-based parameters, you can now enter values by appending either “kHz” or “k”. Mela will interpret these values as kilohertz instead of assuming they are in hertz.
Similarly, for time-based parameters, appending “s” to the value will indicate to Mela to use seconds instead of the default milliseconds unit.
Added “Set to 0%” menu item above Enter Value for the Level parameters of the oscillator modules.
The Level parameter of these modules reset to the default value of 50% on double-tap, however, the 0% value is also very useful (e.g. for amplitude modulation).
In the future, other parameters may gain similar options to quickly set them to common useful values.
Other Changes:
The update includes many internal changes to continue to transition away from Mac Catalyst and towards becoming a fully native macOS app.
The MIDI Source and Note Length modules updated the Note-on/off strings to Note-On/Off to improve consistency.
The MIDI Logger module is now more compact as the Copy and Clear buttons were removed. The actions are still available via the context menu which can be accessed by tapping the console anywhere.
Added the Stereo Playground preset to the Synth FX group.
Added a workaround for Musical Keyboard getting stuck notes due to SwiftUI gesture bugs.
This update primarily focuses on internal changes to transition away from Mac Catalyst and towards becoming a fully native macOS app. The goal is to enhance Mela’s performance on macOS and address bugs specific to Mac Catalyst. Due to the scope of this change, the transition will occur over several updates.
Node Pad Module:
Introducing a new module for simple note-taking purposes.
It serves as a tool for describing presets or jotting down session notes.
The module supports limited Markdown features for text formatting: regular, bold, italic, strikethrough, monospaced, and links.
Artists, creating and distributing Mela presets, can utilise it to provide detailed information about how to best use a given preset, along with links to their websites and social media.
A new preset called Session Notes in the Audio FX group features the Note Pad module.
The Note Pad module is part of Collection 3.
UI Zoom:
Mela’s UI can now be scaled.
Supported zoom levels: 75%, 100%, 125%, and 150%.
The zoom setting can be found in Settings under the Look & Feel section.
Other Changes:
Mela on macOS now utilises “Optimize for Mac” Catalyst mode instead of “Scaled to Match iPad”.
Improved transition animation between the Restore Purchases button’s glyph and spinner.
The Restore Purchases button now displays a spinner when processing the request.
The Restore Purchases button is no longer displayed if the user owns all module collections.
As part of the 5.0 update Mela’s business model is changing. Major versions will no longer be released as separate apps but instead, Mela 5 will simply replace Mela 4. This will allow Mela to retain its App Store ranking as well as user reviews. You’ll just receive updates without needing to look for the next major version on the App Store.
New Business Model:
Mela will become a free downloadable app on the App Store.
Modules are now organised into collections.
Collection 0 is free, providing new users with the opportunity to test out Mela’s features.
Collections 1 to 3 can be purchased via in-app purchases.
Collections 1 and 2 contain all modules that shipped with Mela 4.x updates and therefore they will be unlocked for free to the Mela 4 users.
Collection 3 contains new modules and more will be added as part of Mela 5.x updates.
That means you can purchase it now and have new modules appear unlocked as they become available.
All other feature updates will be free, including updates to the modules you already own.
If you are a Mela 4 user and for some reason don’t see Collections 1 and 2 unlocked tap on “Restore Purchases”.
If you experience any issues please get in touch and I’ll try to sort it out promptly.
Digital Delay Module:
A delay effect with straight repeats and ping-pong options.
You can let the delayed signal accumulate by setting the Feedback parameter above 100%.
To keep it under control the feedback signal is hard-clipped above +6dBFS.
The Clip indicator will light up when this happens.
This feature can be used creatively to achieve interesting results.
The delay time is tempo-syncable with the usual parameter controls.
The feedback signal goes through low-pass and high-pass filters before it’s sent to the output.
Simple LFO Module:
Simple LFO is a simplified version of the LFO and Random modules.
The waveform options include all classic shapes as well as Random Glide and Random Hold.
The modulation signal only retriggers on note-on events if the module is inserted on an instrument lane. On MIDI and audio lanes, it’s free running.
Depending on the selected waveform, the signal is either unipolar or bipolar.
Dual Pan Module:
The module lets you pan left and right channel signals independently.
It can be used to create interesting stereo effects.
The module is also useful for swapping stereo channels or converting a stereo signal to mono.
Mid-Side Module:
The module lets you control the mid-side balance of a stereo signal.
It can be used to process mid and side signals separately before recombining them.
At 0%, the signal is passed through unaltered.
At -100%, the side signal is removed, and only the mid signal is output.
At +100%, the mid signal is removed, and only the side signal is output.
Note that converting the side signal to mono will result in silence.
Stereo Pan Module:
The module lets you position left and right channel signals in the stereo field.
Its Pan parameter sets the centre position of the stereo spread, whereas the Spread parameter sets the maximum stereo spread amount.
The panner graph displays where the left and right channels are placed in the stereo field.
Drag it horizontally or vertically to adjust the Pan or Spread parameter correspondingly. Double-tap the graph to reset the parameters to their default values.
Phase Inverter Module:
The module lets you invert the phase of the left and right channels independently.
Balance Module:
Renamed the Panner module to Balance.
While the module acts like a panner for mono signals, for stereo it simply adjusts levels of left and right signals.
You can use the new Stereo Pan or Dual Pan module for true stereo panning.
Other Changes:
The “Get in touch” and “Email Nikolozi” buttons now offer 3 options to contact me: Open Mail App, Copy Email Address and Use Online Form.
The Open Mail App option will launch your system’s default mail client.
The module help view’s footer now displays its release date as well as the collection the module is part of.
Added some presets to the Audio FX group.
Improved the look of graphs of various modules.
Adjusted the thickness of the parameter title and value fonts.
Adjusted the help view’s font styles.
Updated the Getting Started document.
Renamed the Filter module to VA Filter. The new name is more descriptive.
Fixed an issue where drag-and-drop modulation didn’t work with the modules that were on a duplicated lane.
Mela plug-ins were renamed to Mela 5. If Logic Pro for Mac is still showing Mela 4 run Full Audio Unit Reset via Logic Pro’s Plug-in Manager.
Removed the workaround for error alerts for macOS / MacCatalyst, as it’s no longer required.
The Mela 4.8 update mostly focused on improving the internals of the app as well as added workarounds for some UI performance issues caused by hosts such as Logic Pro for Mac/iPad. Many changes have been made to the program code to future-proof Mela and make it easier to build new features on top. Of course, future versions will continue to improve the internals and there will be more optimisation work alongside new features. Note that this version dropped support for iOS 16 and macOS 13 to maximally optimise Mela for iOS 17 and macOS 14.
Drag-and-Drop Support and Other Modulation Enhancements:
It’s now possible to view and edit a parameter’s modulator sources and their modulation intensities from a single view. Simply tap its title/value area and select Edit Modulation from the pop-up menu.
The modulator modules now have a draggle target icon. Simply hold it for a split second and then drag and drop it onto a parameter’s title/value area. The Edit Modulation popover will appear with the modulator added as one of the sources.
The modulator modules now sort module names alphabetically in the modulation target pop-up lists.
Other Changes:
Added the Replace item to the module’s action menu. Now you can replace a module using one action instead of needing to remove an existing module followed by inserting another.
Added support for the Poly Aftertouch to the MIDI Source module. When the MIDI Source module is on an instrument lane it generates a polyphonic modulation signal.
The name of a lane is now generated based on the lane type as well as the index of that type. e.g. “Instrument 2” instead of “Lane 3”.
Made animation durations shorter for various control interactions to make things feel snappier.
Renamed the Perform menu item to Edit Perform to match the Edit Modulation’s naming style.
Many other small interface tweaks and improvements.
Fixed an issue where the max values of Sync parameters weren’t set correctly internally.
Fixed the tempo text field not working correctly in standalone mode.
This update adds full Polyphony support to Mela 4, allowing you to build custom polyphonic synthesisers easily.
A Quick Guide to Polyphony:
An Instrument lane takes a MIDI signal as input and converts it to a polyphonic signal which is simply a set of independent voices.
A voice consists of note-on/off information as well as Pitch and Audio signals.
At the end of an Instrument lane, the audio signals from the voices are summed and sent to the output.
Modulators on either Audio or MIDI lanes act like monophonic sources whereas modulators on Instrument lanes generate polyphonic modulation signals.
Depending on what type of lane the target modules are on we get 3 possible configurations: poly-to-poly (this includes mono-to-mono), mono-to-poly and poly-to-mono.
With the mono-to-poly configuration, the same modulation signal will be applied to all voices that the target module is processing.
With the poly-to-poly configuration, there will be 1-to-1 mapping with the modulation source and target voice.
With the poly-to-mono configuration, the last triggered voice’s modulation signal will be used as the source.
For the full details check out Mela’s Getting Started guide.
Polyphony Settings:
These settings define voice allocation rules and are stored as part of the preset.
You can set the maximum number of active voices.
You can also set whether to reuse a voice if its associated note is the same as the newest note or always follow the Voice Priority setting. The latter makes it possible to have multiple voices playing the same note.
The Voice Priority setting prioritises voice allocation based on whether the note is newest, oldest, lowest or highest.
Voice Activity Module:
The new Voice Activity module lets you monitor voice allocation in real-time.
The module displays MIDI information as well as audio levels of each voice.
The MIDI information includes note name, velocity and release velocity.
Module & Lane Actions:
Added the “Duplicate” menu item to the module’s actions menu.
Duplicating modulator modules also duplicates the modulation targets.
Added the “Duplicate” menu item to the lane’s actions menu.
After duplicating a lane, a duplicate of a modulator module will have the same modulation targets, except for those targets whose modules were on the same lane as the original modulator. Those will be replaced with the corresponding targets from the duplicated lane.
Added “Convert to > Audio/Instrument/MIDI” menu items to the lane’s actions menu.
This makes it easier to modify presets, especially when trying to make existing presets polyphonic.
Note this action removes incompatible modules and sets input and/or output fields to off.
Backwards Compatibility:
The following modules will no longer be supported on Instrument lanes: Chorus, Compressor, Envelope Follower, Flanger, Phaser, Stereo Delay and Oscilloscope.
These modules will only be insertable on Audio lanes.
The presets created pre-polyphony will continue to work in a compatibility mode.
Note that this limitation is introduced as users generally wouldn’t want an instance of such audio effects on each voice.
Presets:
Split “Synth” preset group in “Leads”, “Pads”, “Bass”, “Keys” and “Synth FX”.
Migrated existing factory presets for v4.7. Those that made sense to be polyphonic were converted.
Added new factory presets.
Added “Open Recent”, “Save Preset” and “Save & Export” items under the File menu for the standalone mode.
You can use the keyboard shortcuts Command-S to save and Command-E to export the current preset on iPadOS and macOS.
The Instrument plug-in’s Default preset is now polyphonic.
Other Changes:
Envelope Generator now highlights the active segment.
Fixed the Meter module displaying an inaccurate value for max peak.
Fixed a bug where renaming a module would cause its animation to freeze or refresh at a lower frame rate, such as an LFO graph.
Made MIDI Source’s Smoothing parameter to default to 0ms. For most cases, Velocity and Key Track ramping doesn’t make sense.
This update introduces 3 new digital distortion modules to help you add some dirt and filth to your sound.
Clipper Module:
The Clipper module offers the following selection of clip distortion algorithms: Soft, Hard, Fold and Wrap.
Its Drive parameter sets the amount of gain applied to the input signal. The Volume module can be inserted pre and post Clipper to control the signal gain further.
Degrader Module:
The Degrader module distorts the signal by reducing its sample rate and bit depth.
Its Clock and Bits parameters control the sample rate and bit depth of the output signal.
The Mix parameter sets the effect dry/wet mix amount.
Rectifier Module:
The Rectifier module introduces asymmetric digital distortion to the signal.
The Rectify parameter sets the amount of asymmetry introduced to the negative portion of the signal.
At 50%, the effect is equivalent to half-wave and at 100%, full-wave rectification.
The DC Offset parameter sets the amount of DC offset added to the signal. This can be especially useful when a Rectifier module is followed by another non-linear processor.
Sinusoid Graphs:
All 3 modules have a graph that displays how a sinusoid with a unity amplitude would be transformed by its module given the parameters. Drag it horizontally or vertically to adjust the module parameters. Double-tap the graph to reset the parameters to their default values.
Other Changes:
Fixed the DC Blocker module’s graph view incorrectly showing twice the actual DC offset value.
EQ Band Module:
The new EQ Band module offers a selection of 2nd order filter types: Bell, Low Shelf, Low Cut, High Shelf, High Cut, Notch and Band Pass. It comes with standard parameters: Frequency, Gain and Q.
Comb Filter Module:
The module has the new Mode parameter which allows you to set the signal delay amount of the delay line in terms of frequency, time or the input Pitch signal. Depending on the type of effect you are trying to create one mode might be preferable over others.
When set to Time mode the Frequency parameter is replaced by the Time L and Time R parameters. These parameters set the time interval by which the left and right channels of the audio signal are delayed. And unlike the Frequency parameter, their value range is linear. Making them suitable for audio effects like Chorus, Doubler and Flanger.
When set to Pitch mode, the delay amount is controlled by the incoming Pitch signal. This mode is ideal when using the comb filter as an oscillator. Simply send short noise pulses on note-on events into the module.
Other Changes:
Added the Hold parameter to the Envelope Follower module.
Made internal improvements to the Envelope Follower module.
Added the Min and Max parameters to the Velocity module. The module will clamp the velocity of the note-on events to the range defined by these parameters.
The modulator intensity dials now show modulation rings when they are being modulated.
VPS Module:
The new oscillator module uses the Vector Phaseshaping synthesis algorithm, which is a generalisation of the classic Phase Distortion (PD) method. With its Skew and Formants parameters, you can create a lot of interesting waveforms.
When the Formants parameter is set to 50% the module behaves like a classic PD oscillator. Setting Skew closer to 0% or 100% turns the sinusoid into a saw-like shape. When the parameter value is very close to these extremes you may hear some aliasing. The aliasing could be considered part of the appeal of the classic PD sound, so experiment with it to taste. You can also use the Key Track as a modulation source to deal with aliasing for higher-pitched notes.
When the Formants parameter is set to a value closer to either 0% or 100% the waveform shape becomes pulse-like. Modulate the Skew parameter to achieve the PWM-style effect. When the Formants parameter value is above 100% you will start hearing formants as the module starts squeezing more sinusoid cycles in a single oscillator cycle. Modulate the parameter for interesting effects.
The module’s graph displays the waveform the oscillator is generating. It responds to the horizontal and vertical drag gestures to control the Skew and Formants parameters. The dashed line behind the waveform shows how the phase of the sinusoid is distorted. The line starts at the 0% phase and ends at 100%. When both the Skew and Formants parameters are set to 50%, the line is straight, indicating that the sinusoid is not distorted. Adjusting either of these parameters creates a breakpoint, introducing phase distortion. The Skew and Formants parameters set the (x,y) coordinates of the breakpoint.
MIDI Capture Module:
The new MIDI Capture module records all incoming MIDI messages into a MIDI file that you can drag and drop into the host or the Files app. The module is especially useful when you have a complex MIDI processor chain in your host or Mela that you want to render into a plain MIDI file for further editing.
Other Changes:
Improved the waveform generation algorithm for the VA Oscillator module.
Oscillators now only reset their phases on non-legato note-on events.
Intensity dials’ drag gesture behaviour reverted to be consistent with the other dials. i.e. to change the value of the parameter you need to perform a vertical drag gesture.
You can now drag and drop lanes to rearrange them, just as you do with the modules.
The Move Up/Down lane actions have been removed in favour of the drag-and-drop functionality.
The lane I/O section, aka lane header, that used to be located at the leading edge of the lane is now moved to the top.
Lanes can be collapsed or expanded by tapping the chevron symbol on the left or the title button.
Long pressing on the chevron icon gives you the option to Expand or Collapse all lanes.
Now it’s visually clearer when a module can not be dropped to an incompatible lane.
Perform View:
Removed the border around the Perform View to fit better with the rest of the UI changes.
Perform View dials are now always laid out on a single row. The view becomes horizontally scrollable if the plug-in window is not wide enough
The Perform View now animates changes whenever it’s updated.
DC Blocker Module:
The DC Blocker module removes DC offset from the input audio signal.
Processes like ring modulation or asymmetric distortion can introduce a DC component to the audio signal. Use the module to filter it out.
The module has a graph, which visually indicates the magnitude of the DC component present in the input audio signal.
Note that, if a module introduces some DC offset you may not always want to remove it straight away and might make sense to insert the DC Blocker module further down the processing chain. For example, distorting a signal with a DC component will produce a different sound compared to the balanced signal.
MIDI Channel Module:
The new MIDI processor module lets you control the channels of the incoming MIDI messages.
In Filter mode, the module blocks messages whose channel values don’t match the specified value.
In Modify mode, all messages pass through with their channels converted to the specified value.
Other Changes:
Added Module renaming. The new name is reflected in all modulator targets as well as in the parameter tree that hosts observe for automation purposes.
The Intensity dials (the capsule-shaped ones) will now only respond to horizontal drag gestures. All other dials will only respond to vertical drag gestures.
You will now be able to adjust dials and sliders more precisely. The further you move your finger from the UI element, in the orthogonal direction of the controlling gesture, the finer the control will become.
Added padding to the virtual musical keyboard on macOS to improve the look and feel.
Added new presets.
Fixed the Chord module blocking the drop functionality when another module was dragged on top.
Fixed a bug where modulator graphs would freeze or update very slowly due to a memory leak.
Comb Filter Module:
The new module combines the feedback and feedfoward comb filters into one design that offers a lot of flexibility, aka a universal comb filter. Depending on the Blend, Feedback and Feedforward parameter values, and the type of modulation applied to the Frequency parameter the module can be used to create many types of audio effects, such as feedback and feedforward comb filters, delay, all pass filter, resonator, doubler, chorus, flanger, slapback, vibrato and phaser.
The comb filter cutoff frequency can be thought of as the inverse of the time interval by which the signal is delayed. The parameter is in the [19.5, 19968] range, which spans exactly 10 octaves. The default value is the frequency of the middle C note. This means the module can be used as a resonator if you modulate it using the MIDI Source that has its input set to Key Track and the target modulation amount to 100%. Simply set the input to receive a short burst of noise when you play a MIDI note and have fun.
VA Oscillator Sync:
The VA Oscillator module now supports hard sync for the classic waveform types (Saw, Sine, Square, Triangle).
The Sync parameter has the [1x, 16x] range, spanning 4 octaves.
UI Improvements:
The Preset Browser no longer scrolls vertically with the modules. It stays pinned at the top.
Modules in lanes are now always left-aligned, even when the number of modules isn’t enough to fill up the horizontal width of the plug-in window.
Replaced the thin space Unicode character with the hair space one in between the parameter value and unit.
In Logic Pro for iPad, fixed the animation issues occurring when the plug-in window was being resized.
Other Changes:
Fixed an issue where Mela would assign an invalid value to the list type parameter (e.g. LFO’s Sync) which was MIDI-controlled by AUM.
Fixed the Note Echo module ignoring the input note MIDI channel information and outputting notes with MIDI channels all set to 1.
Due to a bug in the Core Audio API, added a workaround for hosts seeing the old parameter tree after loading the plug-in state.
Fixed the Control Change module generating MIDI messages with the channel value set to 15 when the module’s Channel parameter was set to 16.
This module is based on a distortion synthesis technique.
You can morph the waveform between a square and a sawtooth using the Shape parameter.
You can adjust the harmonic richness of the waveform using the Harmonics parameter.
The module graph displays the waveform the oscillator is generating.
Drag the graph horizontally to adjust the Shape parameter or vertically to adjust the Harmonics parameter.
Double-tap the graph to reset the waveform to the default shape.
In Mela 2-3, this oscillator was known as “Pitch Dist”, but the new module name describes the algorithm more accurately.
Vibrato Module:
The Pitch Processor module applies vibrato to the input Pitch signal.
It’s driven by a sinusoid LFO which retriggers on every note-on event only if no other notes are held.
The LFO’s rate can be tempo synced or set in hertz.
The module can be inserted either on the Audio or Instrument lane.
Pitch Ratio Module:
The Pitch Processor module modifies the input Pitch signal by multiplying it by a ratio of 2 integers. This is especially useful for ring and frequency modulation synthesis.
The Ratio control displays the resulting ratio multiplier that’s applied to the input Pitch signal.
The ratio is simplified by reducing the numerator and denominator to coprime numbers.
Tapping on the control gives you the option to quickly set the ratio to one of the common musical intervals.
Pitch Bend Module:
The Pitch Processor module transposes the input Pitch signal according to the Pitch Bend MIDI messages it receives.
Its parameters allow you to set positive and negative transpositions to have different values.
The module displays the current Pitch Bend value in semitones as well as provides visual indicators for the Pitch Wheel position.
MIDI Source Module:
All MIDI CC messages are now supported by MIDI Source.
The module now also supports Release Velocity.
The Input parameter’s “Random” value was renamed to “Random on Note-on” to improve clarity.
Added the Smoothing parameter, which is useful for smoothing out the discontinuities in the modulation signal generated from the incoming MIDI messages.
User Interface:
Mela’s UI has been simplified by merging the sidebar functionality into the toolbar.
Removed redundant buttons.
Tapping on the Preset Selector will toggle the Preset Browser visibility.
On the iPhone, the lanes now extend to the edges of the device, utilising the screen fully.
Theme Designer:
Added the Theme Designer in the Settings.
It allows you to customise Mela’s appearance.
When the Theme field is set to “Custom” the Theme Designer becomes accessible.
Use the Copy and Paste buttons to save and load custom themes.
It’s a list of 5 colours in hex format in plain text and can be easily shared with other Mela users.
You can view themes created by other artists by tapping on “Artist Themes”.
Added “White” as one of the selectable themes.
Other Changes:
Mela now allows the host to query for a small number of the plug-in’s most important parameters. Mela defines these based on what the user has assigned to the Perform View. For example, Logic Pro for iPad will display the first 3 parameters of the Perform View.
Changed FM Operator’s Intensity maximum value from 800% to 400%.
Fixed a preset title text to be correctly truncated when it’s too long to fit properly.
Fixed the Settings toolbar being truncated in Logic Pro for iPad.
Introducing Mela 4, the next major update:
Inspired by the Mela MIDI plug-in, the latest version takes those ideas further and unifies all 3 plug-in types into one modular design. Going from Mela 3 to Mela 4 is a big jump. It feels like a whole new environment, yet if you are a Mela user, you will feel at home with the familiar interface. You have new dimensions of possibilities for creating music and sculpting sounds. Mela 4 addresses a lot of common user requests. But the work is not done yet, Mela’s’ capabilities will continue to expand with regular updates just as it did over the past 3 years.
Signals:
There are 3 types of signals that a module can process: Audio, MIDI and Pitch.
Usually, a module processes one of the signal types and passes the others through without altering them.
A Pitch signal is a frequency and the receiving oscillator module will lock its pitch to it.
Lanes:
There are 3 types of lanes: Audio, Instrument and MIDI.
A MIDI lane takes a MIDI signal as input and produces MIDI output. Modules on this type of lane can only process a MIDI signal.
An Audio lane takes an Audio signal as input and produces Audio output. Modules on this type of lane can process Audio and Pitch signal types.
An Instrument lane takes a MIDI signal as input and produces Audio output. Modules on this type of lane can process Audio, MIDI and Pitch signal types.
An Instrument lane automatically generates the Pitch input signal by converting incoming MIDI note-on events.
Modules & Modulation:
Modules are the fundamental building blocks. Not all modules work with all lanes, so you can only insert or drag-and-drop compatible modules.
A modulator module, regardless of which lane it’s inserted in, can modulate any parameter of any module on any lane.
Every module comes with a built-in help view describing its parameters and usage.
Routing & Buses:
Signals flow from top to bottom, from left to right.
Lanes can receive and send Audio and MIDI signals to and from the host.
Note that not all hosts support multiple I/O cables.
Signals can be routed between lanes using the internal Audio and MIDI buses.
Presets:
Mela 4 has a new unified preset format and is more text editor friendly.
Since the features are identical in all 3 plug-in types, a preset created in one type can be opened by another.
It’s now possible to open a preset file from Finder or Files directly. It will launch the Mela app, import the preset and load it.
Mela 4 audio engine is quite different from the previous versions of Mela and hence Mela 1-3 presets aren’t compatible with Mela 4.
The new preset file extension is “mela”.
Recreated the best Mela MIDI presets in Mela 4 and improved them using the new features. They can be found under the MIDI FX factory group.
Inspired by the Mela FX plug-in presets, created effect presets for Mela 4 which can be found in the Audio FX factory group.
Created monosynth presets for Mela 4 which can be found in the Synth factory group.
As with the previous Mela versions many more presets will be added with each update.
Help:
The User Guide has been renamed to Getting Started with Mela.
It’s now a much shorter document, designed to help a new Mela user quickly get started and not be overwhelmed by the size of the text.
This has been made possible by each module having a built-in help view.
Colour Themes:
As with all previous major version releases of Mela, Mela 4 ships with a new default colour theme with a matching icon.
The existing colour themes have been refined.
Amp Envelope Module:
Added a 4-slider amplitude envelope that supports AR, ADR and ADSR types.
It processes incoming audio as well as works as a modulator.
In the Legato mode, the envelope generator restarts only after all notes are released.
Distortion Module:
Renamed the Bias parameter to Asymmetry and tweaked its behaviour.
The LP Filter was removed, which was controlled by the Tone parameter to simplify the module.
The XY pad has been replaced with the distortion transfer graph. It animates on parameter modulation.
Dragging the graph horizontally adjusts Drive and vertically adjusts Asymmetry.
Envelope Follower Module:
Simplified the module by removing features that could easily be added by simply inserting modules in front of it. e.g. Gain or Filter.
Added an oscilloscope to visualise the modulator signal.
FM Operator Module:
Added a simple FM operator module.
The module generates a sine carrier and uses the audio input as a modulator.
It also supports self-modulation.
Pitch Processor Modules:
Mela 4 comes with 3 Pitch Processor modules: Relative Pitch, Fixed Pitch and Glide.
Relative Pitch adjusts the incoming Pitch signal by a given semitones and cents.
Fixed Pitch ignores the incoming signal and instead generates a new signal based on its parameters. Can be set by selecting the MIDI note or frequency in hertz.
The Glide module glides the Pitch signal to the new value on a note-on event. It has settable time and trigger modes.
Macro Module:
Added the Macro module which has a slider that can control up to 8 parameters at the same time.
It’s a great tool to be able to morph the sound of a preset by adjusting a single parameter.
As with all the other parameters the slider can be assigned to one of the slots in Perform View.
MIDI Source Module:
The module generates a modulation signal that follows incoming MIDI events. It can modulate any parameter in Mela.
The transfer function graph displays how the source event values are mapped to the generated modulation signal.
The transfer function is highly flexible and follows the Gain and Bias parameters.
Mono Module:
Add a MIDI module that produces one held note at a time.
This module is generally useful to control how MIDI note events are delivered to a synth to play monophonically.
In the Stack mode, note events are output from the module in the First-In-Last-Out order.
In the Queue mode, note events are output in the First-In-First-Out order.
VA Oscillator Module:
VA Oscillator is a virtual analog oscillator module.
It comes with a wide variety of waveforms, some of which can be further tweaked with the Shape parameter.
The oscillator can ring modulate the input signal.
The selected waveform is displayed and updated when the oscillator parameters change.
Stereo Delay Module:
The delay effect module is now more sophisticated with flexible feedback options.
Added the Sync parameter with similar behaviour to other modules. When it’s set to Free, the delay times are set in seconds. Otherwise, the delay times are defined as the product of the Offset and Sync parameters.
The Feedback Modes parameter has been replaced with dials, enabling a fully custom mix of straight, inverted and cross-feedback signals.
Added independent low and high cut filters to the left and right channel delayed signals.
Added independent mix parameters for the left and right channels.
Other Modules:
The Rate parameter of the LFO and Random modules now span exactly 16 octaves, 0.01Hz to 655.36Hz. Since modulations in Mela happen at audio rates these modules can be used to create interesting effects.
The other frequency and rate parameter ranges have been changed to fit exactly 10 octaves. This means, if you modulate these parameters by 10% their values will change by an octave.
The Filter module types can now be set to low-pass, high-pass, band-pass or band-stop (new), replacing the Morph parameter. This approach seems more useful. The morph mode will be added later if there’s demand for it.
The LFO and Random modules now have a legato mode. In this mode, they won’t retrigger during a legato.
The Chorus, Flanger and Phaser module interfaces have been simplified.
Tapping on the Compressor module’s displayed gain reduction value resets it.
The Envelope Generator module now has a Legato mode.
Added the Panner module.
Added the Level module with a 0% to 100% range slider. The module is useful for modulating audio levels linearly.
Added the Volume module for adjusting audio levels in decibels.
Added the Meter module that displays level metering. Tapping on the displayed max peak value resets it.
Added the Noise Oscillator module with noise types: White, Warm (same as Mela 3) and Pink.
Added the Oscilloscope module which lets you visualise the audio waveform passing through it.
Renamed the MIDI Processor modules, Pitch to Transposer and Pitch Range to Note Range, to prevent any confusion with the Pitch Processor modules.
Added the Retrig parameter, when enabled the arpeggiator pattern restarts on the first note-on.
The new Sync and Offset parameters replaced Arpeggiator’s Rate parameter. This aligns with how the other modules work.
The Sync parameter allows you to set the Arpeggiator’s timing in powers of 2.
The Offset parameter allows you to make the Arpeggiator rate triplet or dotted, or anything in the 50-200% range.
Modulate these parameters to achieve interesting results.
Renamed the Length parameter to Gate to reduce confusion about its functionality.
LFO Module:
Added the Tilt parameter to the LFO module for the Triangle and Square waveforms.
When Tilt is at -100% or +100% the Triangle morphs into the Ramp Down or Ramp Up waveform.
For the Square, the Tilt parameter sets the pulse-width amount.
Creatively modulate it to generate even more interesting and weird LFO shapes.
Other MIDI Module Improvements:
Now it’s easier to set the sync’s Offset parameter to triplet and dotted values. In the following modules, Arpeggiator, LFO, Note Echo, Note Length, Random and Strummer, you can tap on the Offset parameter’s label and select either the Triplet or Dotted item from the pop-up menu.
Improved the design of MIDI modules’ on/off toggle.
Fixed Note Length module causing stuck notes when a note-off event would fall beyond the host’s loop end beat position, while the looping was enabled.
Fixed Note Echo module sometimes erroneously accumulating notes to repeat when the host has looping enabled.
Set a maximum number (32) of notes Note Echo will track for repeating.
MIDI Buses:
Added MIDI Buses to the Mela MIDI plug-in.
In addition to having external MIDI I/O now you can route MIDI messages between lanes.
Other Changes:
Fixed checkmarks not showing for selected items in the PopUpList on macOS.
In Settings, the Audio Engine section now also displays which type of Mela plug-in is loaded by the host: Instrument, Audio Effect or MIDI Effect. Double tapping it will show aumu, aufx or aumi respectively.
Improved plug-in’s beat position synchronisation with the host.
Repositioned the module toolbar as a vertical bar on the left side of the module, freeing up vertical space for improved parameter control layouts.
Tapping on the sidebar of a module collapses or expands it.
The LFO and Random modules now feature a segmented control that clearly indicates which page, Modulator or Targets, is being displayed.
Added the ability to insert a new module in front of another using the actions menu of the latter.
The modules are now grouped into categories to make it easier to find the desired one for insertion. The categories are Processor, Modulator and Utility.
Strummer Module:
Added the Strummer module to Mela MIDI.
The timing of strums can be synced to the host’s tempo or be specified in milliseconds.
The module allows you to customise the strumming pattern.
LFO & Random Modules:
Added the Waveform parameter to the LFO module, offering the options of Sine, Triangle and Square.
Added the Retrig parameter to both the LFO and Random modules. When enabled, the modulator signal resets to its start value on a note-on event.
Added the Phase parameter to both the LFO and Random modules.
Updated the Depth parameter in both the LFO and Random modules to default to 50%. This allows you to quickly make the signal unipolar by setting Bias to 100%.
Updated the algorithm in the LFO and Random modules so that the Bias amount is applied before Depth, allowing the Depth parameter to control the amplitude of the modulator signal when it is unipolar (Bias = 100%).
Added the ability for a double tap on the oscilloscopes of the LFO and Random modules to reset the Rate/Offset and Depth parameters to their default values.
Updated the interaction with the LFO and Random modules to allow you to adjust the Depth (rather than Bias) parameter by dragging the oscilloscope vertically.
Settings:
Renamed the “Standalone Mode” section in Settings to “Audio Engine”.
The section now also displays the sample rate used by Mela.
The tempo field is now also visible in Mela plug-ins but is in read-only mode as the tempo is provided by the host.
Both the sample rate and tempo information can be useful for troubleshooting potential mismatches between the plug-in and host.
Other Changes:
Optimised and improved the internal engine of the Mela MIDI plug-in.
Like the Random module, it can modulate any parameter and has an Oscilloscope graph.
Currently, only the Sine waveform is supported. More will come later.
The LFO rate can be tempo synced.
The Sync parameter defines the tempo-sync value, while the Offset parameter is a percentage value in the 50-200% range. Their product defines the resulting rate.
When Sync’s value is set to “Free”, the Offset parameter is replaced by Rate, allowing you to set the oscillation rate in hertz.
Random Module:
Like LFO, the Random module now supports the tempo synced rates.
Improved the rendering of the Oscilloscope graph.
Note Echo Module:
Added the ability to set the delay amount in seconds to the Note Echo module.
As with the other modules, simply set the Sync parameter to “Free”.
Note Length Module:
Added the ability to set note length in seconds to the Note Length module.
As with the other modules, simply set the Sync parameter to “Free”.
Improved how the note length is computed by the Arpeggiator and Note Length modules.
Panic Module:
Added the Panic module, which sends the “All Notes Off” MIDI message downstream on all channels on the lane it’s on.
Logger Module:
The Logger Module’s new Copy button lets you copy the MIDI log into the system’s pasteboard in CSV format.
You can paste the text into a spreadsheet app for further analysis.
Fixed the tappable area of the Logger module’s “Clear” button being too small.
Other Changes:
When adding, removing, or moving a module that doesn’t create or modify note-on events, the auto-release of held notes will no longer be triggered. These modules are Control Change, LFO, Logger, Panic, Random, and Velocity.
The app now retains the Background Audio toggle setting even after the application is killed.
The Logger module logs incoming MIDI events, displaying the DAW position, channel number, message type and value.
It can be used to monitor all incoming MIDI data as well as observe how your MIDI module chain transforms incoming MIDI messages.
Control Change Module:
The Control Change module lets you use a slider to generate MIDI CC messages.
Chain multiple instances of the module to create a virtual MIDI controller. Check out the “CC Perform” preset in Mela MIDI to see how this is done.
Other Changes:
The MIDI Module chain will now be centred if the plug-in window is wider than the chain.
Improved MIDI module drag and drop behaviour as well as fixed the memory leak bugs related to it.
Displayed parameter values now use the minus and plus characters that have the same width. This prevents the text wobble when a parameter is being adjusted.
The Intensity dials of the Mod Matrix now also support the triple tap gesture and triple click mouse event. This allows you to enter the values of the parameters using a typing keyboard or the Apple Pencil.
The Chord module converts each input note into a chord consisting of up to 6 notes.
Each row of parameter controls defines how the input note is transformed into one of the chord notes.
The chord note parameters control transposition and velocity.
Scale Module:
The Scale module ensures that its output notes are in a given scale.
The scale is defined by enabled pitches using the corresponding toggle buttons.
In Filter mode, disabled notes are filtered out. In Nearest modes, disabled notes are transposed up or down to the nearest enabled notes.
Settings:
The Settings view has been slightly tweaked.
The Forum button has been replaced with the Submit Feedback one. Tapping on it opens the new feedback site. Use it to submit bug reports, make feature requests or vote on issues.
You can still email me directly, just tap on the Email Nikolozi button.
Release Notes has been renamed to Changelog and is linked to the new page.
User Interface:
Dials and sliders that control list parameters will now only trigger a value change on release. For example, while adjusting the Arpeggiator’s Mode parameter, the sound will not be affected until the control is released.
You can now triple tap or triple click on dials and sliders to enter values of the parameters using a typing keyboard or the Apple Pencil.
Fixed an issue where the Perform View dials would stop controlling the assigned parameters after the MIDI module chain was changed.
Other Changes:
The toggle buttons now correctly send the touch automation events to the host on touch or mouse down.
Reduced voice shutdown time from 20ms to 2ms. This means that note-on events will feel more responsive when the note has to steal the synth’s voice from another.
Added new presets to the Mela MIDI plug-in showcasing the new modules.
Added the ability for re-arranging modules using drag and drop.
Added the ability to remove a module via its more menu.
Added the Note Echo module.
Added the Pitch Range module.
Note Echo Module:
The Note Echo module repeats incoming note-on and note-off messages.
The Sync parameter defines the tempo-sync value, whereas the Delay parameter is a percentage value in the 50-200% range. Their product defines the resulting note repetition interval.
The Repeats parameter sets the repetition count.
The repeating notes can be ramped up or down in pitch and/or velocity.
Pitch Range Module:
The Pitch Range module ensures that its output note messages are in the given range.
In Filter mode, notes outside of the range are filtered out.
In Transpose mode, notes outside of the range are transposed up or down a few octaves until they fall into the range.
When the Lowest parameter has a higher value than the Highest one, the behaviour is inverted. i.e. the values in between the lower and upper bound are filtered, or transposed outside of the range.
Other Changes:
Added mono-to-stereo channel configuration support for the Mela FX plug-in.
Fixed an issue where the Mela FX plug-in would fail to load in Ableton Live 11.2 beta.
Fixed an issue where the tappable areas of the oscillator tabs were blocked by the Preset Selector’s buttons, causing Mela to load another preset or show/hide the Preset Browser.
Fixed an issue where Mela audio units sometimes failed to load if a factory or custom preset group was removed between launches.
Mela MIDI plug-in’s module chain is no longer static. The modules can be arranged in any order and the chain is allowed to contain multiple instances of the same type of module. Simply press the plus or minus button to add or remove modules from the chain.
Updated Mela MIDI’s factory presets by removing unused modules.
Fixed an issue where Mela FX’s Compressor parameters weren’t being initialised to their default values for the presets that were created using earlier versions of Mela.
Fixed an issue where nil values of some parameters weren’t formatted correctly in some regions.
Added a workaround to a macOS limitation where the Email Feedback functionality was causing Mela to freeze inside a host.
The Velocity module’s Random Add parameter has been renamed to Rand Add. This prevents the parameter title from being truncated.
Fixed an issue where the Arpeggiator would ignore note-off events for the notes that had already been playing before it was turned on. This led to stuck notes.
Added a workaround for the issue where Mela UI would become unresponsive on load when inside a macOS host. This was caused by the Mela plug-in trying to display an error alert (e.g. preset version mismatch) but the dialogue wouldn’t become visible, leading to the rest of the UI becoming unresponsive.
Fixed an issue where Arpeggiator would not behave correctly when the host’s transport was in loop mode.
Arpeggiator now releases notes as soon as it receives corresponding note-off events, instead of quantising the events to the rate parameter.
Arpeggiator now releases all notes as soon as it’s switched off.
Arpeggiator now releases all notes when it receives the All Notes Off MIDI message.
Improved how the host’s loop mode is handled for all audio units.
The Velocity module’s Random parameter has been replaced with Random Add. This change should make the module more intuitive to use.
Random Add adjusts notes’ velocities by adding a non-negative random number. Changing velocities by negative amounts is still possible by simply setting the Offset parameter to a negative value.
Fixed a crash caused by a host setting Mela’s parameter to a value that was outside the allowed range.
Mela no longer uses system buttons for various controls. This means you can keep the Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Button Shapes toggled on, in the iOS Settings app, without worrying about the UI in Mela looking messed up.
In the Preset Browser, tap and long press gestures on preset and group buttons behave more reliably.
Toggle buttons now animate state changes.
Updated the formatting of triplet and dotted parameter values to improve readability.
Fixed Text Input not working for parameters with non-numeric values.
Mela 2.5 brings macOS support to both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. This means you can now use Mela and Mela FX audio units inside Logic Pro, GarageBand and Reaper on your Mac. If you begin working on a track in GarageBand on your iPhone or iPad, and later open the project in Logic Pro on your Mac, then all instances of Mela and Mela FX audio units will load just as you left them on your iOS device.
Other Changes:
Added back the ability to set the tempo in standalone mode. This can be done via the app’s settings menu.
Fixed Semitones and Cents parameters not displaying the plus sign for positive values.
Fixed an Oscillator’s Cents parameter not responding to modulation when the Semitones parameter was also wired to be modulated.
Mela modules are no longer hidden for iPhones that have zoomed mode enabled.
Fixed text input not parsing decimal separators correctly for parameter values in certain regions.
The User Guide navigation bar no longer hides on swipe.
Renamed the “Number Pad” menu item to “Enter Value”, as the user is now able to enter values using either the Apple Pencil or a hardware keyboard.
The text input, for naming presets or entering decimal values for parameters, now has a new mode. If a hardware keyboard is connected to the iPad or the Apple Pencil is used for text entry, the text field dialogue appears in the middle of the screen. Otherwise, the text field will appear above the virtual typing keyboard, as before.
Improved the look of the Text Input UI.
Disabled the Rename button when a preset with the same name already exists.
Fixed a bug where pressing the Enter button on the virtual keyboard didn’t do anything.
Settings:
Settings view has been fully rewritten and has a refreshed look.
Accessing settings inside the Mela or Mela FX audio unit no longer launches the Mela app.
You can change the colour theme or email feedback from within the audio units’ interface.
Added a TestFlight link for those users who want to actively participate in providing feedback during the Mela development process.
User Interface State:
Selected module tabs will now be stored as part of the preset. Preselect the module tabs that you think are the most relevant for the preset before saving it.
Added document UI state restoration. When the host saves the audio units’ states as part of a session, the visibility states of the Mela views will also be stored.
The User Guide view now retains the document position. So, now you can easily dismiss and present it multiple times, as you explore Mela and not worry about having to find the same section again in the user guide.
When the Preset Browser loads, it preselects the group that was last used.
Other Changes:
Deleting groups and preset menu items now have a destructive action appearance.
To prevent accidental data loss, added a confirmation dialogue when deleting a preset or group.
Fixed various bugs associated with deleting a preset group.
Added a new high-quality low-distortion compressor.
When the ratio is set to infinity it acts like a limiter.
In Mela, it’s applied after all voices are summed.
In Mela FX, it’s applied to the wet signal after filters and FX.
Visualise compression using its transfer function graph and gain reduction meter.
The mix parameter lets you do parallel compression.
Adjustable knee width lets you control compressor aggression.
Drag the transfer function pad horizontally to adjust the threshold and vertically to adjust the ratio.
The gain reduction value shows the maximum reduction level. It resets when gain reduction becomes 0 for more than 500ms.
Metering:
Added peak metering. Max peak holds are set to 1s.
In Mela, metering is added for the output signal.
In Mela FX, metering is added for the dry and wet signals.
The max peak value is displayed as text until levels drop to -inf.
When the signal is clipping the metering components turn red.
Other Changes:
The top bar layout changed in both Mela and Mela FX to better accommodate new features.
The Preset Selector’s context menu and the Preset Browser’s more button (ellipsis icon) have been merged into a single menu. It is accessible via the new button next to the Preset Selector.
Parameter controls now send automation states to hosts, such as control touch and release. Note that, this functionality may not be supported by all DAWs.
Module tab buttons now highlight when touched.
The app now displays the system status bar. This makes it easier to interact with the iPadOS 15 multi-tasking features.
Improved error handling throughout.
Added a link to the Mela Forum site in the app’s settings. If you experience any issues or for any feedback please post there.
Many internal changes to prepare Mela for future features.
Fixed the User Guide view toolbar not displaying correctly on iPadOS 15.
Added standard keyboard shortcuts for Settings and User Guide views.
Tapping the preset selector now shows/hides the preset browser. This behaviour aligns better with the user’s expectations.
The context menu is still available by long pressing the preset selector.
“Random in Group” is a new mode of preset selection. When enabled, the left/right arrows turn into dice and tapping on them randomly loads a preset from the selected preset group.
“Import” and “Export All” items have been removed from the context menu. These features are now part of the preset browser.
Preset Browser:
Added a new actions menu with the following items: “Save Preset”, “Init”, “Default”, and “Create Group”. It’s accessible by tapping on the button with an ellipsis symbol.
Added the ability to create custom preset groups. Their buttons are double in length when compared to the User or factory preset groups. And unlike them, the custom groups aren’t visible to the host.
Presets can be imported into or exported from the User or a custom group directly. To access these features, long press a preset group button.
When a preset is changed via the preset selector, the browser now automatically scrolls to the selected preset and selected group.
A preset or a group can be renamed via the context menu.
Added the ability to empty the User group.
The context menu now displays “Factory Preset” or “Factory Group” when the long press gesture is performed on a factory item.
The preset browser is now visible by default when the audio unit is loaded.
Preset group contents refresh even when the changes are made in another instance of the audio unit.
Increased minimum preset row count from 2 to 3.
Added new presets.
Parameter Controls:
Added the global dry/wet mix parameter to Mela FX. The Dry and Wet parameters can still be adjusted independently and are found in the I/O module.
The global mix parameter is now also a destination in the Mod Matrix.
Increased the precision of the intensity parameter controls in the Mod Matrix.
Double-tap-to-reset now also works on the intensity controls.
Manually entering parameter values is now possible in Mela 2. Simply select “Number Pad” from the parameter control’s context menu.
Other Changes:
Improved fade animations of controls.
In the app, the musical keyboard is now visible by default.
Preset title text size no longer follows the system’s text size setting.
Added a workaround to the iOS bug that prevents the preset importer sheet from being presented.
The user interfaces of Mela 2 AUs are highly adaptive. They make the best use of the space provided by the host’s window. Additionally, the app supports all orientations on both iPhone and iPad as well as split-screen on iPad. The vertical selector bar on the left allows you to show/hide different views as needed.
Mela has a new colour scheme. But if you are feeling nostalgic, the old colour scheme can be turned on via the settings. The app icon has been updated to match the theme.
All controls have been updated to give Mela a more consistent design language. The parameter controls always display their current values. Dials now respond to both vertical and horizontal pan gestures. They lock to the axis where the most travel is detected right after the initial touch. Double tapping on dials and sliders reset the control to its default value.
To improve the usability of the virtual musical keyboard, it was redesigned to look and work like a mini controller rather than a piano.
Perform View:
The perform view is a great way to cherry-pick the AU parameters you care about most and access them all from one place. This is especially useful when you want to make Mela or Mela FX window small inside a host and still be able to tweak the parameters. You can assign up to 8 parameters to it. When there are no parameters assigned, the perform view is hidden.
Tap on a dial or slider’s title/value text area to bring up the context menu. Via the menu, you can assign, reassign or unassign the parameter to one of the 8 slots of the perform view.
After a parameter is assigned to a perform view it automatically gets a sensible shortened title. However, you can rename it to anything you like. Simply tap on the perform view dial’s title/value text area and from the context menu select Rename. You can also select Unassign to remove the dial from the perform view.
When Mela 1.x presets are loaded in Mela 2, some useful parameters will be assigned to the perform view dials automatically. These can be easily changed.
Presets:
Added Preset Browser for improved preset navigation.
Improved Preset Selector.
Simpler import/export functionality via the context menu, which is accessible when the preset selector is tapped.
The existing Mela and Mela FX user presets will also be visible in Mela 2 and Mela FX 2.
Added many new presets.
Other Changes:
Added a share button to the user guide. This means the PDF version of the user guide can be saved or shared.
LFO and delay time synced parameters are now dials instead of pop-up lists.
Envelopes and XY pads have linked controls above them for more flexibility.
Oscillators can now be made free running by preventing them to retrigger on key press. Simply toggle on the Free parameter switch.
Added the ability to modulate Mod Matrix Intensity parameters in both Mela and Mela FX audio units.
Improved the Key source behaviour. Instead of generating only positive values relative to the C-2 key, Mela now produces a bipolar signal relative to C3. This means, that when playing the C3 note, no modulation will be applied to the target.
The factory presets have been updated to account for the above change. You may need to adjust your own presets as well, in case they sound a bit different because of the new Key source behaviour.
Improved how LFOs work internally: including the code efficiency as well as how they sync with the host.
Improved LFO waveform generation algorithms: including fixing the square waveforms not generating accurately.
Added smoothing to Mod Wheel, Aftertouch and Pitch Bend. This prevents any zipper sounds when they are used as modulation sources.
An error dialogue will be presented when trying to load a preset that was created using a newer version of Mela.
An error dialogue will be presented when trying to load a corrupted preset file.
Renamed Main and FX & Modulations pages to Design and Shape respectively.
If the audio unit’s window provided by the host is large enough, both pages can be displayed at the same by tapping on the expand button. And collapsed again, by tapping on the collapse button.
Mela FX:
Like Mela Synth, Mela FX now has 2 pages of controls.
Both pages will be displayed at the same time if the audio unit’s window provided by the host is large enough.
Added the Input section with the Pan and Level parameters.
The Input section’s Pan and Level parameters can be modulated via the Mod Matrix.
Filter FX was renamed to Filter 1 and Filter 2 was added.
Added the Routing section, which allows filters to be placed in serial or parallel. Additionally, added options for the FX section placement with respect to the filters.
General:
Added new presets for both, Mela Synth and Mela FX audio units.
In both audio units, fixed LFO 3 not receiving tempo and beat position correctly from the host.
Fixed popover lists not scrolling to the selected item when displayed.
Added a link to the Mela FAQ webpage in the app’s settings menu.
Sub-oscillator and Noise oscillator have been renamed to “Oscillator 3” and “Oscillator 4”.
All 4 oscillators now have the same functionality.
Noise is now one of the waveform types.
Added a modern Phase Distortion algorithm with an additional Harmonics parameter. This is the same oscillator found in the NPD synth.
Harmonics adjusts the richness of the generated waveform and modulating it sounds similar to filter sweeps.
The Shape and Harmonics parameters of the PD waveform can be modulated via Mod Matrix.
New Virtual Analog Filter:
Added a new virtual analog style self-oscillating resonant filter to Mela and Mela FX.
The filter is similar to the one found in the NPD synth.
It can be selected by setting the Type parameter to “B 12dB”.
The new filter can also morph between low-pass, band-pass and high-pass types.
LFO 3:
Added a new LFO modulator to both Mela and Mela FX.
As with the other LFOs, its Rate and Depth can be modulated.
Routing:
Since the Mela Oscillators were generalised, the component names in the routing diagram were adjusted accordingly.
Existing user presets will migrate correctly and will sound the same.
“Split” option was renamed to “Shared Split”.
“F2: Noise Only” option was renamed to “3-1 Split”.
There’s a new “2-2 Split” option which routes Oscillators 1 & 2 to Filter 1 and Oscillators 3 & 4 to Filter 2.
Turning Off Components:
Most Mela Synth and Mela FX components can either be disabled or bypassed. This means that components can be turned on or off as needed to optimise your CPU usage. Additionally, the disabled component’s parameters will have a dimmed look. This allows you to quickly see which parts of the Synth or FX are affecting the sound.
Oscillators can be disabled by setting the Waveform parameter to the “Off” value.
Envelopes 2 & 3 can be disabled by setting the Mode parameter to the “Off” value. Amp Envelope can’t be disabled.
LFOs can be disabled by setting the Waveform parameter to the “Off” value.
Envelope Follower can be disabled by setting the Input parameter to the “Off” value.
Effect controls dim and become disabled when the effect is bypassed.
Presets:
Updated Mela and Mela FX’s factory presets by turning off sections not used to save CPU.
Added new presets, most of which utilise the new PD oscillators and filter.
Fixed an intermittent bug where an exported preset didn’t contain the correct preset name inside the file.
General:
Mod Matrix’s target list items are now grouped making it easier and faster to find the desired target parameters.
Improved where the Number Pad appears with respect to the parameter value label it is modifying.
Fixed Mela Synth unreliably changing volume when it received MIDI CC#7 (Volume) message. It will no longer do anything for that specific MIDI message.
Added a stereo Flanger effect to both Mela Synth and Mela FX audio units.
Flanger parameters can be modulated via Mod Matrix.
The new Routing section replaces Filter Routing and adds options for the FX section placement with respect to the filters.
The FX section can now be inserted before Filter 1, after Filter 1 or after both filters.
The new routing diagram shows the synth signal flow.
Added a Tip Jar feature in the app setting menu: support the development of Mela by leaving a tip of any amount.
Added the table of contents section to the user guide.
The user guide can now be opened from the app settings menu, in addition to being accessible by tapping on the question mark button in the audio units.
Mela Synth can now display a virtual musical keyboard inside hosts. For example, in GarageBand, it can be expanded to full screen.
Musical keyboard will dynamically resize to the available screen real estate.
Mela Synth audio unit also has MIDI output, meaning its virtual musical keyboard can be used to trigger other synths on other channels in supported hosts (e.g. AUM).
Added support for sticky keys to the musical keyboard. If the sustain mode (button with a hand symbol) is engaged then keys can be toggled on or off.
Updated velocity value slider control.
User guide is now accessible from both Mela and Mela FX audio units. Simply tap on the question mark button.
Added link to the release notes webpage in the settings menu.
Exposed Filter 1 Frequency parameter in AUM’s interface, for both Mela and Mela FX audio units.
Distortion effect now has 2 modes: Saturation and Foldback.
Added Asymmetry parameter to the Distortion effect.
In Mela Synth, Modulation Matrix and FX sections were swapped. It looks more natural and is consistent with the Mela FX layout.
More consistent value formatting across parameters. This includes using kHz unit instead of Hz when appropriate.
If there are no user saved presets, the “User” section in the preset popover is no longer displayed.
Preset name editing text field is now fully functional: the ability to move the cursor freely etc.
Restore the old behaviour of the Number Box control, responding to a double tap (instead of a single tap) to present Number Pad. Small adjustments to the control used to cause Number Pad to be displayed unintentionally.
Removed preset selector’s next/previous arrow buttons as swiping left/right achieves the same result.
