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Features

Every control, explained.

PREDROP fits a whole build-up on one screen, and version 1.2 adds an ADVANCED panel behind it. Here is what each part does, how it sounds, and when to reach for it. Every player on this page is the real plugin.

The PREDROP interface at rest, with numbered markers on each section. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
  1. 1Presets
  2. 2TENSION
  3. 3GRAB
  4. 4MODE
  5. 5SIZE · GROOVE · EDGE
  6. 6DEPTH
  7. 7Scope
  8. 8AUTO RAMP
  9. 9AUTO BLACKOUT
  10. 10RISE FX
  11. 11MACRO · STYLE
  12. 12BLACK OUT
  13. 13Save preset
  14. 14ADVANCED
01 · CAPTURE

GRAB & SIZE

GRAB records what is playing the moment it switches on. PREDROP keeps a short history of the incoming audio, so even when your automation lands a little late, the loop starts exactly on the beat. Release GRAB and the original track comes straight back. GRAB can also be held by a MIDI note (see MIDI GRAB below).

SIZE sets how much is captured. Long sizes keep the phrase recognisable; short sizes go straight for the stutter.

GRAB
On: capture and roll. Off: live audio.
SIZE
2 BARS · 1 BAR · 1/2 · 1/4 · 1/8
SYNC
Follows your DAW's tempo and beat grid.
The scope with one grabbed bar rolling, AUTO RAMP at 69 percent and the EXPO curve.
02 · THE DIAL

TENSION

TENSION is the build itself. At 0 % the loop plays at its full SIZE; as you turn it up, the loop shrinks towards the shortest roll that DEPTH allows and the rise effects open up.

The centre of the dial shows the roll you are hearing. When AUTO RAMP is driving, a second arc shows how far it has pushed past the knob.

RANGE
0–100 %
DISPLAY
Current roll (1 BAR, 1/8, 1/32T…), AUTO % while ramping, FX % in FX mode
The TENSION dial on 1/2 with AUTO RAMP at 69 percent and GRAB lit.
03 · ROLL MODES

MODE

Four ways for the loop to shrink as TENSION rises.

MODE set to GRID, SIZE 1 BAR, GROOVE NO KICK, EDGE HARD and DEPTH 67 percent.
FLOW

Liquid

The loop shrinks continuously, through every length in between. Smooth, hypnotic builds.

GRID

Classic

Steps through straight divisions: 1 BAR, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64. The snare-roll build everyone knows.

TRIPLET

Swing

Steps through triplet divisions for a rolling, off-grid feel. The echo switches to a 1/4 triplet too.

FX

Effects only

No shrinking. TENSION drives the rise effects only, on the live track or on the grabbed loop at its full SIZE.

Hear the four modesClub Build 4 Bars, only MODE changes
0:00 / 0:13

Switch while it plays: the options stay in sync.

04 · HOW FAR

DEPTH

DEPTH sets the shortest roll TENSION can reach, and how choppy the repeats get near the top of the build. Keep it low for musical fills, push it for machine-gun endings.

DEFAULT
67 % · 1/32
05 · KICK & BASS

GROOVE

What happens to the kick and bass (everything under 140 Hz) while the rest rolls.

KICK MODE

Everything rolls

Kick and bass loop with the rest. The most intense stutter.

NO KICK

Lows out

The loop loses everything under 140 Hz: the classic thin, high-passed build. The low end comes back on the drop.

KICK KEEP

Lows stay live

Under 140 Hz keeps playing normally while only the top rolls. Your kick and bassline never stutter.

MELODY MODE

Smooth cuts

Everything rolls with long, soft fades on each repeat, for vocals, pads and chords.

Hear the four GROOVE settingsListen to the kick and the bass during the build
0:00 / 0:13

Switch while it plays: the options stay in sync.

06 · SLICE EDGES

EDGE

EDGE shapes the start and end of every repeat. HARD gives punchy, clicky repeats for drums; SOFT rounds them off for full mixes. For vocals, pads and chords, pick MELODY MODE in GROOVE: it uses the longest, smoothest fades.

HARD
1.5 ms fades · drums, rave rolls
SOFT
20 ms fades · full mixes
MELODY
45 ms fades (GROOVE › MELODY MODE) · vocals, pads, chords
The Vocal Stutter preset: SIZE 1/8, GROOVE MELODY MODE, EDGE HARD, DEPTH 33 percent.
07 · HANDS-FREE 1.2

AUTO RAMP & ramp curves

Pick an AUTO RAMP length and TENSION rises by itself from the moment you GRAB, over 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 bars. You automate one switch instead of drawing a lane for every effect.

The curve button next to AUTO RAMP (and the RAMP CURVE card in ADVANCED) sets how the tension climbs. With AUTO BLACKOUT on, the ramp peaks one beat early and that last beat is silent. The TENSION knob still works: whichever is higher wins.

LENGTH
OFF · 1 · 2 · 4 · 8 · 16 · 32 bars
CURVES
CLASSIC · LINEAR · EXPO · S-CURVE · LOG
The RAMP CURVE card of the ADVANCED panel with EXPO selected.
Try the curves

0%TENSION

At half ramp: 35%

Gentle at first, then more and more decisive. The original PREDROP feel and the default. The same rise every bar. Predictable, easy to stack with other automation. Almost nothing for most of the ramp, then everything happens at the end. Made for 16 and 32-bar risers. Eases in, accelerates through the middle, eases out before the blackout. The tension arrives early and stays high: urgent from the first bar.

Hear the five curvesSame 4-bar build, only the curve changes
0:00 / 0:13

Switch while it plays: the options stay in sync.

08 · THE GAP

AUTO BLACKOUT & BLACK OUT

AUTO BLACKOUT works with AUTO RAMP: it mutes the last beat of the ramp, the instant of silence that makes the drop hit. Release GRAB before the end and the blackout is cancelled.

The BLACK OUT pad gives you a gap anywhere: it mutes the next full beat, or the rest of the current one if you hit it right on the beat. Short fades keep it click-free.

LENGTH
1 beat, on the grid
The last beat of a build with BLACKOUT shown in red and the BLACK OUT pad lit.
09 · RISE EFFECTS

RISE FX

Seven effects that grow with the build and fall away on the drop. Each knob sets how far its effect goes at the top of the build.

The RISE FX knobs, MACRO at 80 percent and STYLE set to RAVE.
SWEEP · HP / LP / BAND

A resonant filter that closes as the build rises, with make-up gain so the build stays loud. HP thins the lows (20 Hz to 4 kHz), LP closes like under water (20 kHz down to 350 Hz), BAND squeezes into the mids. Pick the type in ADVANCED.

NOISE

A filtered noise riser whose band climbs from 500 Hz to 8 kHz.

SPACE · CUT / RING

A dense, modulated 8-line reverb that grows with the build, far smoother than classic comb-filter reverbs. CUT stops the tail on the drop; RING lets it bloom into the drop.

WIDTH

Mid/side widening that only works above 150 Hz (steep 24 dB/oct split): the highs open up, the kick and sub stay centred and mono-safe.

HEAT

Warm drive that pushes the loop harder as it tightens. It runs 4× oversampled with a DC blocker, so it stays clean and never adds harsh aliasing.

BOUNCE

Tempo-synced ping-pong echo: dotted 1/8, or 1/4 triplet in TRIPLET mode.

PITCH · TAPE / SHIFT

Pitch rise up to one octave, or two with the +24 switch. TAPE speeds the repeats up like a tape machine, on the grid. SHIFT raises the pitch without speeding up, with a waveform-matched shifter.

CLUB-SAFE OUTPUT

Whatever you push, the safety LIMIT keeps the output under −0.3 dBFS and MONO BASS can keep the low end mono. Both live in ADVANCED.

SWEEP filter typeSWEEP at 85 %
0:00 / 0:13

Switch while it plays: the options stay in sync.

SPACE tailSPACE at 80 %: listen to the drop
0:00 / 0:13

Switch while it plays: the options stay in sync.

PITCH modePITCH at 100 %, +12
0:00 / 0:13

Switch while it plays: the options stay in sync.

HEAT vs a plain saturatorA sine sweep at full drive: listen for the out-of-tune tones
0:00 / 0:07

Low volume first: pure tones. Details on the Sound quality page.

10 · ONE KNOB

MACRO & STYLE

MACRO adds all seven effects at once; STYLE decides the mix. The individual knobs add on top. Here is how much of each effect MACRO brings in each style:

VELVET

Wide and airy

SWEEP
NOISE
SPACE
WIDTH
HEAT
BOUNCE
PITCH

CLEAN

Tidy and controlled

SWEEP
NOISE
SPACE
WIDTH
HEAT
BOUNCE
PITCH

CLUB

The all-rounder

SWEEP
NOISE
SPACE
WIDTH
HEAT
BOUNCE
PITCH

RAVE

Driven and pitched up

SWEEP
NOISE
SPACE
WIDTH
HEAT
BOUNCE
PITCH

CHAOS

Everything wide open

SWEEP
NOISE
SPACE
WIDTH
HEAT
BOUNCE
PITCH
11 · START FAST

Presets: 9 factory, unlimited of your own 1.2

Pick one from the preset bar, step through them with the arrows, or use your DAW's program list. Presets never touch your performance and studio settings (GRAB, TENSION, BLACK OUT, MIDI GRAB, LIMIT, MONO BASS), so you can switch mid-build without surprises.

Init

Neutral starting point.

FLOW1 BARKICK MODEHARD

Club Build 4 Bars

The classic peak-time build, fully automatic.

GRID1 BARNO KICKRAMP 4AUTO BLACKOUTCLUB 60%

Quick Fill 1 Bar

A one-bar fill that keeps the kick going.

GRID1/4KICK KEEPRAMP 1

Vocal Stutter

Smooth vocal chops with a touch of echo and space.

GRID1/8MELODY MODEDEPTH 33%BOUNCESPACE

Smooth Riser 8 Bars

A long, liquid build for breakdowns.

FLOWNO KICKSOFTRAMP 8AUTO BLACKOUTVELVET 70%

Rave Machine Gun

Hard rolls down to 1/64 with a two-octave rise.

GRIDHARDDEPTH 100%RAMP 2RAVE 80%+24

Triplet Twist

Swinging triplet rolls with a wide bouncing echo.

TRIPLET1/2KICK KEEPSOFTBOUNCEWIDTHRAMP 2

FX Sweep Only

No stutter, just the rise effects on your track.

FXCLEAN 75%

Chaos Drop

Everything at once, for the biggest drop of the night.

FLOWNO KICKDEPTH 100%RAMP 4AUTO BLACKOUTCHAOS 100%
12 · YOUR SOUND 1.2

Save your own presets

Click the save icon next to the preset name, type a name, press Enter. Your preset appears in the menu under "Your presets", tagged USER. A lime dot next to the name tells you the sound has changed since you loaded it.

  • Saved as small, readable .pdpreset files in Documents\HOPS LAB\PREDROP\Presets
  • Same name? The button turns into REPLACE: nothing is overwritten by accident
  • Delete from the menu: the file goes to the recycle bin, so you can get it back
  • Copy the folder to another computer, or share presets with friends
SAVE PRESET
The preset bar showing the user preset Festival Build 8 Bars with its USER tag.
13 · ADVANCED 1.2

The ADVANCED panel

Click the sliders icon at the top right. The panel slides over the main screen, in the same style, and closes with the same icon. Everything in it is saved with your project and automatable.

The ADVANCED panel: OUTPUT, MONO BASS, RAMP CURVE, SWEEP FILTER, SPACE TAIL, PITCH MODE and MIDI GRAB cards.
Real time
OUTPUT

MIX · OUTPUT · LIMIT

MIX blends PREDROP with your untouched signal, perfectly time-aligned (100 % = PREDROP only). OUTPUT trims the level from −18 to +6 dB. The safety LIMIT keeps every peak under −0.3 dBFS and is transparent below; the REDUCTION readout shows when it works.

MONO BASS

Club-safe low end

Everything under 80, 120 or 160 Hz leaves PREDROP in mono, with a steep 24 dB/oct split. Kick and sub hit the same on a festival rig, in a club and on a phone. Measured: a pure-stereo 60 Hz tone loses 24.6 dB of side at 120 Hz, the mids are untouched.

RAMP CURVE

Five ways to climb

CLASSIC, LINEAR, EXPO, S-CURVE and LOG, each drawn on its tile. Same setting as the curve button on the main screen.

SWEEP FILTER

HP · LP · BAND

The filter type of SWEEP: thin the lows, close like under water, or squeeze into the mids.

SPACE TAIL

CUT · RING

What the reverb does when you drop: stop dead for a tight, punchy drop, or ring out for an epic one.

PITCH MODE

TAPE · SHIFT

TAPE speeds the repeats up like tape, tight and on the grid. SHIFT raises the pitch without speeding up. Projects made with 1.1 open in SHIFT, so they sound the same.

14 · MIDI GRAB 1.2

Drive the build with MIDI notes

Turn on MIDI GRAB in ADVANCED and send MIDI notes to PREDROP: while any note is held, GRAB is held; when the last note ends, you drop. The dot on the card lights up when notes arrive and the GRAB button lights up too. Draw your builds in the piano roll, or play them live from a pad.

FL Studio

  1. In PREDROP: ADVANCED, then MIDI GRAB on.
  2. Click the gear at the top left of the plugin window and set MIDI › Input port to a free number, for example 10.
  3. In the Channel Rack, add a MIDI Out and set its Port to the same number.
  4. Draw notes in that MIDI Out's piano roll: each held note is a build.

Ableton Live

  1. In PREDROP: ADVANCED, then MIDI GRAB on.
  2. Create a MIDI track. Set MIDI To to the track that holds PREDROP, then to PREDROP.
  3. Play or draw notes on that MIDI track.
The MIDI GRAB card switched on, with its activity dot lit.
A build driven by one MIDI noteC4 held for 4 bars, no automation at all
0:00 / 0:20
15 · WORKFLOW

Right-click any control

Every knob, switch and selector has a right-click menu with quick values: reset to default, 0 %, 50 %, 100 %, or the list of choices.

In DAWs that offer their own plugin context menu, their commands, such as automation or MIDI learn, appear at the top of the same menu. Ableton Live does not offer this menu: move the control, then pick it in the track's automation chooser.

Illustration of the right-click menu.

16 · SPECS

Technical specifications

VersionPREDROP 1.2.1 · HOPS LAB
FormatVST3, 64-bit (Windows)
SystemsWindows 10 or 11, 64-bit · macOS version in preparation
HostsAny 64-bit DAW that loads VST3 plugins
ChannelsStereo and mono
Sample ratesAny rate your DAW runs at (validated at 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz)
Latency6 samples (0.13 ms at 48 kHz), reported to the DAW and compensated automatically
CPUAbout 3.7 % of one core with all seven effects at 100 % (48 kHz, measured offline on a 2.1 GHz server core)
OversamplingHEAT: 4×, polyphase IIR, clean path time-aligned
Output safetyLimiter at −0.3 dBFS (switchable) · MONO BASS 80 / 120 / 160 Hz
Automation29 automatable parameters, smoothed (no zipper noise)
MIDINote input for MIDI GRAB
Presets9 factory presets (also host programs) · user presets as .pdpreset files
Interface900 × 540, resizable 75 / 100 / 125 / 150 %
Validationpluginval at its strictest level (10) · 83 automated audio and interface tests
LicenceLifetime licence for one computer · no subscription, no account, works offline

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Buy PREDROP €18.99 Installation guide