"Can I use this loop?"
You ask it a hundred times a week. The key says whether a sample sits under your chords or fights them. The tempo says whether it needs stretching, and by how much. The tuning says whether it's off before your ears have to. DropWave answers all three from one drag, well under a second for a full song.
Sample packs, sorted
Drop a pack, up to 500 files, and every loop lands in one table: sort by key or Camelot code, search for "9A" or "140", export as CSV. Then Tag Filenames writes the key and tempo into the names, like vox_chop [11A 88].wav, so you never analyse that loop again. Shown first, never overwritten, undone with ⌘Z.
Detuned samples still read right
Packs are recorded, resampled and bounced off concert pitch all the time, and a loop you pitched is off by definition. DropWave measures the offset in cents before it decides anything, so a loop 30 cents flat reads as its real key, and you know to retune it. How pitch-shifting changes a key →
Stretch with the right number
Stretch a 127.5 loop as if it were 128 and you're a beat out every four bars. DropWave gives you two decimal places, the beat grid on the waveform, and Half / As detected / Double for the loops that could be counted either way. When a sample changes tempo, each stretch gets its own number.
Vocals, one-shots and drum loops
Key detection reads pitch, not rhythm, so an a cappella or a hummed idea gives you a key without any beat. A drum loop has no key, and the low confidence tells you not to trust the one it prints. One-shots have no tempo. DropWave says so instead of inventing one.
Check before you commit
Hear key plays the key's chord at the loop's own tuning. Click on beats runs a metronome on the grid DropWave found. Two seconds each, before you've built anything on top.
Then take it apart
DropWave Editor hears a song or a beat once, splits it into vocals, drums, bass and other on your Mac, then lets you mix the stems, move the key on the Camelot wheel, fix the tuning and master it, live in your DAW. DropWave Tune keeps a vocal in tune in real time. Both come with DropWave for Mac. The plugins →
Before a beat goes out
Integrated LUFS and true peak to ITU‑R BS.1770‑4 on every bounce, and on a Mac what each streaming service will do to its level. Know it's ready before you send it.
Unreleased stays unreleased
Your beats, your stems and the samples you paid for are analysed on your computer and never uploaded.
Questions
How do I find the key of a sample?
Drop it on DropWave and read the key, the Camelot code and the tuning offset. Then press Hear key to play the key’s chord over the sample at its own tuning: if it sits, the key is right.
Why does my sample read in the wrong key?
Usually because it is detuned. Sample packs often sit off A = 440, and anything pitch-shifted is off by definition. A tool that assumes standard tuning lands a key over. DropWave measures the tuning in cents first, so a detuned loop reads as its real key.
Can I find the key of a drum loop?
A drum loop has no key, and DropWave says so: the reading comes with low confidence. Its tempo is what you want, to two decimal places.
Does DropWave work with my DAW?
DropWave reads any audio file your DAW bounces or your sample folders hold. Its two plugins, DropWave Editor and DropWave Tune, run inside your DAW as AU, VST3 and CLAP, and come with DropWave for Mac.