Berlin's own Henrik Schwarz has always had an ear for music, but didn't learn a traditional instrument or music theory — the computer has always been his weapon of choice. But as an electronic artist who loves to perform with live musicians, he needs to be able to find the right notes fast. To help, Henrik used Max for Live to build the Schwarzonator, which he has now updated and relaunched as the Schwarzonator II.

The Schwarzonator II automatically fits notes to a selected musical scale by transposing any MIDI notes that you play, making it easier to play and improvise with other musicians. The latest update now allows users to easily create their own scales and chord progressions, and even upload them to the web.

Schwarzonator II Companion Device

The Schwarzonator II also comes with a companion device, called 'Little Brother,' which applies chord changes from the Schwarzonator II onto other tracks.

You can change the chords of all MIDI tracks by having a Schwarzonator II on one track and instances of Little Brother on the other tracks. Change the Chord Set in Schwarzonator II and all Little Brother instances will follow the change.