VST3/CLAP microtonal plugin & standalone DAW
Use DonutStudio as a plugin, or as the whole DAW
Run DonutStudio as a standalone DAW or load it as a VST3 or CLAP plugin. VST3 note expression carries exact ratios into the host. Standalone mode has a clip arranger, harmonic piano roll, MIDI and audio recording, automation, third-party plugin hosting, Airwindows, Donut Devices, and the video editor. Pro adds per-note sampling, vocals, and the score-reactive Media Machine.
- Ships as a standalone app and as a VST3 / CLAP plugin. Compose in DonutStudio, or run it inside Ableton, Bitwig, Reaper, or any VST3/CLAP host
- Per-note microtuning survives the trip. VST3 note expression carries DonutStudio's exact ratios into the host, and MIDI export uses MPE-style per-note pitch bend so JI tuning lands in any DAW
- MTS-ESP works both ways. DonutStudio can retune other plugins as the master or receive tuning as a client
- Host your own plugins. Load third-party VST3 and CLAP instruments and effects inside DonutStudio, optionally out-of-process so a plugin crash never takes DonutStudio down (sandbox is beta)
- Clip-based arranger. Audio clips and MIDI clips on unified tracks, with cut, move, loop, and dissolve; freeform piano roll and the arranger are two lenses on the same song, sharing one ruler
- Record MIDI and audio takes. Arm a track, set count-in bars, hit play, and DonutStudio captures the input as a clip on the timeline
Arrange with clips, or stay freeform
Write on the piano roll first, then cut clip boundaries where you need them. Audio and MIDI clips share the same tracks, ruler, and playhead. You never have to create an empty clip before writing.
Audio + MIDI clips, one timeline
Cut, move, loop, and rearrange audio clips and MIDI clips on unified tracks. Convert an audio clip into a MIDI clip with per-note samples in place, tunable by harmonic links.
Clips are emergent
Write freely, cut boundaries when you need them, and dissolve clips back into freeform MIDI when you want to keep composing.
Two lenses, one song
Tab between the arranger and the piano roll. They share the ruler, playhead, and horizontal zoom, so you stay at the same spot in the song at a different altitude. Pop either out onto a second monitor.
Record MIDI and audio takes
Arm a track, set your count-in bars, and hit play. DonutStudio captures the input as a clip on the beat-locked timeline, ready to cut, move, and tune like any other clip. Both MIDI recording and audio clip recording are included.
Loop squares too
You can also arrange right on the piano roll. Loop squares are still there. Draw a loop around material and extend it across bars, with links continuing across the repeats.
Automation follows the clips
CC and plugin automation is clip-owned data: cut carries it into the clip, loop repeats the curve, and dissolve burns it back into the timeline.
Every note can carry its own audio
Per-note sampling is part of DonutStudio Pro. Attach a vocal, guitar take, field recording, or any other audio file to a note. It pitch-shifts through the same exact ratios as a synth note.
Per-note sample attachment
Drag a WAV onto a note. The sample plays at the note's pitch and follows its envelope, with varispeed pitch modulation locked to pure ratios in real time so it holds its place in the harmonic graph.
WORLD vocal resynthesis (beta)
Drop in a recorded vocal and DonutStudio analyzes it with the WORLD vocoder, then resynthesizes it under a dedicated vocal pitch editor. Pull each note's contour onto its target JI ratio and the recording follows the harmonic graph.
Linked audio pitch-shift
Create a 3:2 link on a sample-backed note and the audio pitch-shifts to match in real time, using the same system as synth notes.
Sample consolidation & shared pool
Render all the transformations down to a clean WAV. A shared sample pool caches by reference, so the same file used by ten notes costs no extra memory.
Export anywhere
Render the mix or hand off the MIDI
Standard MIDI stores per-note pitch bend so any DAW that reads it can reproduce the tuning. DAWproject carries microtuned arrangements between compatible DAWs. Audio exports to WAV, MP3 (lame), or Opus (libopusenc). Only the native .arbit format keeps the full harmonic graph, including links, roots, pitch curves, pan, fades, and per-note audio.
Your tuning, everywhere in the session
DonutStudio keeps exact just-intonation tuning through plugin playback and export.
VST3 / CLAP plugin
Run DonutStudio as an instrument inside your DAW. Per-note microtuning rides out on VST3 note expression, so the harmonic relationships you drew survive into the host's mixer and render.
MTS-ESP master & client
Point your other soft-synths at DonutStudio and they retune to its scale in real time, or let DonutStudio receive tuning from an MTS-ESP master, so each session has one source of tuning truth.
MIDI that stays in tune
Standard MIDI export writes MPE-style per-note pitch bend, so the JI tuning lands intact in any DAW that reads it.
Host your own plugins, safely
Load third-party VST3 and CLAP instruments and effects inside DonutStudio. Hosting can run out-of-process, so a crashing plugin goes down on its own while your session keeps running. DonutStudio Pro adds the Modular Grid, where hosted plug-ins become patch nodes with their GUIs embedded in the graph. (Out-of-process sandbox is in beta.) If you work in Bitwig, DonutStudio's Bitwig bridge sends your note data straight across (send-only, beta).
What works where
Standalone and plugin modes use the same piano roll, tuning, and synths. In plugin mode, the host owns the mixer and transport. A host session also enables true multi-instance use.
| Standalone | Plugin (VST3/CLAP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Piano roll | ✓ | ✓ |
| Harmonic links & JI chord panel | ✓ | ✓ |
| SoundFont / DX7 / VA synths | ✓ | ✓ |
| DiffSinger vocal synthesis | ✓ | ✓ |
| Effects (Airwindows + Donut Devices) | ✓ | ✓ |
| MTS-ESP master & client | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scala tuning import | ✓ | ✓ |
| MIDI import / export | ✓ | ✓ |
| Expression & pitch-bend editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| Arranger (clips & timeline) | ✓ | MIDI clips |
| Video editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| Social publishing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio-to-MIDI import | ✓ | ✓ |
| Master mixer strip (fader, mute/solo) | ✓ | — |
| Audio recording (mic/line-in) | ✓ | — |
| Group bus routing | ✓ | — |
| Custom title bar & window chrome | ✓ | — |
| Host transport & tempo sync | — | ✓ |
| Host preset management | — | ✓ |
| Multi-instance tuning-output control | — | ✓ |
Works in every major DAW
DonutStudio routes tuned MIDI to your existing instruments. It auto-detects the best channel available: VST3 note expressions in Bitwig and Reaper, CLAP per-note pitch where supported, MPE channel rotation in MPE-aware hosts, and per-channel pitch bend as a fallback for Ableton, FL, and Studio One.
Bitwig Studio
VST3 + CLAP. Native VST3 note expressions for sample-accurate per-note pitch. Transport follows the host automatically.
Reaper
VST3 + CLAP. Native VST3 note expressions deliver per-note pitch independent of the bend wheel. Behaves like a first-class CLAP citizen.
Ableton Live
VST3. Per-channel MIDI pitch bend carries microtuning to any compatible synth. MPE-aware instruments get rotation automatically.
FL Studio
VST3. Per-channel pitch bend carries microtuning to your DAW instruments. Drop DonutStudio on a pattern, route to your favorite synth, and tuning follows the notes.
Studio One
VST3. Pitch bend channels deliver microtonal note streams to any plugin.
No DAW required
It also runs standalone with expandable tracks, the sound engine, and audio export. It hosts your own VST3 and CLAP plugins (instruments and effects) and ships with the Airwindows suite built in. Hosted plugins can run sandboxed out-of-process (beta), so if one crashes it doesn't take DonutStudio down with it. Pro adds per-note sampling and vocals.
Produce without leaving the app
DonutStudio ships the full DAW + video editor + export. Pro adds the production layer (sampling, vocals, Media Machine). Want it first? Join the beta.