1. Get in
DropWave 2.1.1 is in closed beta. There is no download on this site and there will not be one until it is finished.
Access runs through the Discord — that is where builds are posted, where the install notes for the current build live, and where you tell us when something reads wrong. It is a small room of producers, not a support queue.
You need macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later. The app is universal, so it runs natively on Apple silicon and on Intel, and there is nothing else to install alongside it.
2. Analyse a file
Three ways in, all the same:
- Drag a file onto the window.
- File → Open Audio File… (
⌘O). - Right-click a file in Finder → Open With → DropWave. Works for audio and for video files whose audio you want.
It takes about 40 ms. In practice the result is there before you have let go of the mouse.
DropWave never changes the file. What leaves the window is byte-for-byte what went in.
3. Read the result
The window is laid out in the order you need things.
Key, Tempo and Length across the top. The key carries its Camelot code underneath; the tempo carries the precise figure under the rounded one.
True peak and Loudness below that — the two numbers worth checking before a file leaves your machine. If the true peak is above 0 dBTP the row turns and says clips, which is the one unambiguous fact in the whole result.
Confidence at the bottom, for key and for tempo. When a call was close, the alternative is named: "could also be C major", "could also be 206 BPM". That is information, not hedging — on a tempo it usually means both grids genuinely fit, and you pick the one that matches how you count the track.
The Camelot wheel, drawn in full, with your key filled and the three keys that mix with it lit in place.
4. Get the numbers out
- Click any value to copy it.
- Drag the file out of the window straight into Logic, FL Studio, Ableton, Finder — anything that takes a dragged audio file.
- ⌘R reveals it in Finder.
5. Keyboard
⌘O | Open a file |
|---|---|
⌘. | Analyse another |
⌘R | Reveal in Finder |
Space | Play / pause |
6. Then put it in your session
The plugin ships inside the app — launch DropWave once and it is installed. Insert it on any channel and it reads what is playing, so you never have to bounce a stem just to find out what key it is in.