ZOMUSIC
SYSTEMSBack to ideaZ
SETUP GUIDE / MAC

DAW How-To.

Choose your DAW. Connect ideaZ to an instrument, audition a pattern, then drag the MIDI into your project.

Download PDF guide

Mac edition · Updated 21 October 2026. Apple Silicon and Intel installation confirmed. Logic and FL Studio have been tested. Ableton and REAPER instructions await hands-on verification. Pro Tools requires the MIDI-file workflow below.

Before you start.

ideaZ makes MIDI notes, so you need an instrument to hear them. Install the Mac download using its included instructions, with your DAW closed, then reopen and scan for plugins. Choose AU for Logic and VST3 for the other plugin workflows below.

Start with a simple synth preset. Choose Sequence or Chords, Key, Scale and Style, then press Generate. Enable MIDI LIVE and start your DAW's transport to listen. If Generate is unavailable, briefly start and stop the transport so ideaZ receives the time signature.

Knob changes prepare the next generation. Original and A–D recall stored alternatives; octave changes apply immediately. DRAG MIDI exports the selected idea, including its octave.

AU MIDI FX

Logic Pro

Tested in ideaZ development

ideaZ MIDI FX → Instrument → Audio
  1. Install the AU version, then reopen Logic. Create a Software Instrument track and load a synth in its Instrument slot.
  2. In the same channel strip, click the MIDI FX slot above the Instrument slot. Choose ideaZ from the Audio Units / ZO Music Systems menu. Do not put it in an Audio FX slot.
  3. In ideaZ, choose Sequence or Chords, your Key, Scale and Style, then Generate. Enable MIDI LIVE and press Play in Logic. The instrument on that channel strip plays the notes.
  4. To keep the idea as an editable region, drag DRAG MIDI to an empty position on a separate software instrument track with the same synth. Set ideaZ to MIDI MUTED and play the new region.

Apple: MIDI plug-ins ↗

VST3

FL Studio

Tested in ideaZ development

ideaZ Output 10 → Synth Input 10
  1. Install the VST3, reopen FL Studio and use Options → Manage plugins → Find installed plugins. Add a synth such as Serum to the Channel Rack.
  2. Load ideaZ into a free Mixer effect slot. Open its wrapper settings, find the MIDI section and set Output port to an unused number, such as 10.
  3. Open the receiving synth's wrapper settings and set MIDI Input port to the same number. Generate in ideaZ, enable MIDI LIVE and press Play. Use Song mode for timeline playback.
  4. To edit the result, drag DRAG MIDI onto the receiving instrument's Channel Rack button or piano roll in an empty pattern. Switch ideaZ to MIDI MUTED before playing the imported pattern.
View the FL Studio MIDI port screenshots

ideaZ — Output port 10

ideaZ — Output port 10

Serum — Input port 10

Serum — Input port 10

Image-Line: Plugin Wrapper ↗

VST3

Ableton Live

Host routing documented; ideaZ verification pending

ideaZ track → MIDI From → Instrument track
  1. Enable VST3 system folders in Live's Settings / Preferences → Plug-Ins and rescan if needed. Load ideaZ VST3 on a MIDI track.
  2. Create a second MIDI track and load your instrument there. Show the In/Out controls. In MIDI From, choose the ideaZ track, then choose ideaZ in the lower chooser to receive its plugin output.
  3. Set the receiving track's Monitor to In. Generate in ideaZ, enable MIDI LIVE and start Live's transport. The second track should play the generated notes.
  4. Drag DRAG MIDI into an empty clip slot or Arrangement position on the instrument track. Mute ideaZ's MIDI output, then set the receiving track's Monitor to Auto and disarm it so its MIDI clip can play.

Ableton: VST MIDI output ↗

VST3

REAPER

Host routing documented; ideaZ verification pending

Track FX: ideaZ → Instrument
  1. Install the VST3 and reopen REAPER. If it is missing, rescan in Preferences → Plug-ins → VST. Create a track and open its FX chain.
  2. Add ideaZ VST3, then add your virtual instrument below it in the same normal track FX chain. MIDI flows from ideaZ into the instrument; the order matters.
  3. Choose your settings and Generate in ideaZ. Enable MIDI LIVE and press Play in REAPER. Ensure the instrument track is unmuted and routed to the master.
  4. For editable MIDI, create a separate track with the instrument only. Drag DRAG MIDI to an empty timeline position on that track, then switch ideaZ to MIDI MUTED.

REAPER: User Guide ↗

MIDI file workflow only

Pro Tools

Current AU/VST3 build cannot load directly

Another supported host → MIDI file → Pro Tools
  1. The current ideaZ download contains AU and VST3, not AAX. Pro Tools cannot load these formats directly, so there is no native ideaZ insert to choose.
  2. Generate and audition your pattern in a host that can run ideaZ, such as Logic or FL Studio. Drag DRAG MIDI to a Finder folder to save a .mid file.
  3. In Pro Tools, create an Instrument track, load your preferred AAX instrument, then use File → Import → MIDI to bring in the saved file. Place or move the imported MIDI onto the instrument track.
  4. Keep your session tempo unless you deliberately want to import tempo information. Play the session and edit the MIDI as normal. Regenerate in the other host and re-export when you want a new idea.

Avid: AAX plug-in format ↗

Troubleshooting.

Notes on screen, but no sound?
Check MIDI LIVE, start the DAW transport and check the instrument's preset, volume and routing. ideaZ itself produces no audio.
Plugin missing?
Check the required format, follow the download's installation instructions, restart the DAW and rescan. Pro Tools requires AAX, which this download does not include.
Exported MIDI sounds doubled?
Switch ideaZ to MIDI MUTED and play only the imported clip. In Logic and REAPER, place the clip on an instrument track without ideaZ.
Exported MIDI is silent?
Make sure it reaches an instrument without passing through ideaZ. In Live, restore Monitor to Auto and disarm the clip track after live auditioning.