Melody Sauce 3 Generates Melodies, Chords and Bass as MIDI
EVAbeat Melody Sauce 3 is a MIDI idea generator for melodies, chords and bass, with 1,000+ progressions, a piano roll, plugin hosting and audio export. From $79.
EVAbeat's Melody Sauce 3 turns a blank project into a starting point in one click. It's a MIDI idea generator that writes melodies, chord progressions and bass lines inside your DAW, then hands you editable MIDI rather than a finished bounce. Version 3 is a major rebuild, and the later 3.1 update added plugin hosting, chord voicings and audio export on top. This is a first look based on EVAbeat's official product page and documentation, not a hands-on review.
At a glance: Melody Sauce 3 runs on macOS 10.14 or later (Apple Silicon native) and Windows 10 or later, as VST3, AU and an AU MIDI FX version for Logic. It generates eight-bar ideas across melody, chords and bass, ships with more than 1,000 chord progressions and over 300 internal sounds, and outputs MIDI you can drag anywhere. The full version is $79, down from a $99 list price, with a $29 upgrade for owners of Melody Sauce 1 or 2. EVAbeat sells it as a one-time purchase with a 7-day money-back guarantee rather than a time-limited demo.
What is Melody Sauce 3?
Melody Sauce started life as a melody generator, and version 3 widens it into a full idea engine for the three parts most tracks are built on. You pick a genre and style, or dial in your own parameters, then trigger a pad and the plugin generates a melody with matching chords and a bass line. Every part arrives as MIDI in a built-in piano roll, so nothing is locked. You keep what works, redraw what doesn't, and drag the rest into your arrangement.
It sits in the same corner of the market as Scaler 3 and InstaComposer 4, but it leans toward speed over theory. Where Scaler leads with progressions, scales and deep harmonic tools, Melody Sauce hands you a usable eight-bar sketch before you've finished thinking about the key. That makes it a writing-block tool first and a theory tool second.
What is new in Melody Sauce 3?
Version 3 is a far bigger release than the version number suggests, because it adds two whole layers the plugin never had before.
Chord progressions are the headline. Melody Sauce 3 ships with more than 1,000 built-in progressions, all fully editable, and it understands expanded chord types such as Maj9, sus2 and Dim7. You can also import your own chords as a MIDI file, let the plugin detect the key and the harmony, and have it write melodies that fit your progression instead of its own.
Bass and chord layers are new too. Earlier versions only wrote the top line. Version 3 generates a bass part and a chord part alongside the melody, with more than 140 chord and bass rhythms to shape how those parts move, so a single click returns something closer to an arrangement than a loop.
Longer, more natural melodies come from upgraded generation algorithms. The plugin now writes eight-bar lines rather than the four-bar phrases of Melody Sauce 2, and EVAbeat says those lines sound more musical and less random. Movement and Chord Fit controls let you push a part toward more motion or tighter adherence to the underlying chords.
350 style presets and a randomizer cover pop, R&B, garage, house, drum and bass, trap and ambient, with more than 300 internal sounds across the three layers so you can audition ideas without loading anything else first.
The 3.1 update then pushed the plugin further. Plugin hosting lets you load your own VST3, VST2 or AU instruments inside Melody Sauce, with a different plugin on each layer and no MIDI routing to set up. Chord voicings add more than 100 options, from simple two-note shapes to wide spreads. Audio export renders WAV stems and a full mix of melody, chords and bass, with an optional reverb or delay tail. A fourth effect, Wobble, joined the existing Reverb, Delay and Chorus.
Melody Sauce 3 specifications
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | MIDI idea generator for melody, chords and bass |
| Idea length | Eight bars |
| Chord progressions | 1,000+, fully editable, with Maj9, sus2, Dim7 and more |
| Rhythms | 140+ chord and bass rhythms |
| Style presets | 350, plus a style randomizer |
| Internal sounds | 300+ across melody, chords and bass |
| Effects | Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Wobble |
| Editing | Built-in piano roll, per-section editing, Movement and Chord Fit |
| MIDI | Import with key and chord detection; drag-out MIDI or audio |
| Plugin hosting | Host your own VST3, VST2, AU per layer (3.1) |
| Chord voicings | 100+ (3.1) |
| Audio export | WAV stems and full mix with optional tail (3.1) |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AU MIDI FX (Logic only); no AAX |
| System | macOS 10.14+ (Apple Silicon native), Windows 10+, 4 GB RAM, 64-bit |
| Activation | Internet required; four activations per license |
How Melody Sauce 3 compares
Three plugins keep coming up when producers talk about generating parts, and they solve slightly different problems. Melody Sauce is the fastest route to a finished-sounding sketch. Scaler is the one you grow into for harmony, while InstaComposer writes whole sections across many channels.
| Melody Sauce 3 | Scaler 3 | InstaComposer 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $79 (list $99) | $99 | $29.90 intro (list $129) |
| Focus | Fast melody, chords, bass | Chords, scales, harmony | Full multi-track sections |
| Output | Eight-bar MIDI idea | Progressions and performances | Up to six MIDI tracks |
| Bass line | Yes | Via patterns | Yes |
| Plugin hosting | Yes (3.1) | Yes | Built-in sounds |
| Formats | VST3, AU | VST3, AU, AAX | VST3, AU, AAX |
If you mostly want quick, singable eight-bar ideas with a bass under them, Melody Sauce is the direct hit. If you want to learn harmony and build progressions by hand, Scaler 3 rewards the time. If you want drums, bass and leads generated across separate channels, read the InstaComposer 4 first look.
Who Melody Sauce 3 is for
It's built for producers who freeze at the empty arrangement and want a musical starting point in seconds, and for anyone who is strong on sound design but slower at writing top lines. Because every output is editable MIDI, it fits writers who treat generated parts as raw clay rather than final takes. Producers who already read and write harmony fluently, or who want granular control over voice leading, will find a dedicated theory tool like Scaler a better long-term home. Plenty of writers keep both open.
How much does Melody Sauce 3 cost?
The full version is $79, reduced from a $99 list price, as a one-time purchase with free updates and no subscription. Owners of Melody Sauce 1 or 2 upgrade for $29, and the upgrade keeps your older version working. Output is royalty-free, and EVAbeat offers a 7-day money-back guarantee rather than a time-limited demo. You can check the current price on Plugin Boutique, which also carries the separate upgrade listing for existing owners.
FAQ
Is Melody Sauce 3 worth upgrading from version 2?
For most owners, yes. Version 2 only wrote four-bar melodies. Version 3 adds chord progressions, a bass layer, eight-bar lines, MIDI import with chord detection, a piano roll and 3.1's plugin hosting and audio export, for a $29 upgrade that keeps version 2 installed.
Melody Sauce 3 vs Scaler 3?
They overlap but aim differently. Melody Sauce is quicker for throwaway and keeper eight-bar ideas with melody, chords and bass together. Scaler 3 is the deeper harmony workstation for building and understanding progressions. Writers who want both speed and theory often run them side by side.
Does Melody Sauce 3 need an internet connection?
It needs internet to download and activate, and a license covers four activations. Once activated it runs inside your DAW as an ordinary plugin, and the generation happens locally.
What formats and systems does it support?
VST3 and AU, plus an AU MIDI FX version for Logic, on macOS 10.14 or later with native Apple Silicon support and Windows 10 or later. There is no AAX version, so Pro Tools users would route it through a wrapper.
The verdict
Melody Sauce 3 is a strong answer to the blank-page problem, and this is the release that finally makes it a three-part idea engine rather than a melody toy. Eight-bar generation, editable MIDI, a bass layer, plugin hosting and audio export together cover the whole sketch-to-stems loop without leaving the window. It won't replace learning harmony, and it won't write your hook for you. As a fast, royalty-free way to get moving, though, it earns its place next to Scaler 3 and InstaComposer 4. For more generative tools, see our roundup of the best AI music generators.
