Samplab's service shut down 17 September 2026

Updated

Samplab is gone. The audio to MIDI part is free here.

Samplab turned audio into MIDI and let you change single notes inside a chord. It did that on its servers, so when the service shut down on 17 September 2026, the plug-in stopped working too.

TONIQ does the audio to MIDI part for free, chords included, on your own computer. Editing notes inside the audio is the Pro tier, $129 once, with a 14-day trial. Mac and Windows, inside your DAW through ARA 2.

Download TONIQ free What Pro adds

No upload, no card, no length limit. Facts about Samplab as Samplab published them before its service shut down; checked 9 November 2026.

What you did in Samplab, and where it lives now.

Two of Samplab's tools have no equivalent in TONIQ. The table says so, rather than pretending.

You did In Samplab In TONIQ Tier
Audio to MIDI, whole files Premium (subscription); free tier capped at 10 seconds, mono Free. Any length, no watermark, commercial use: chords with every voice, vocals with their vibrato, drums by kit piece, whole songs to one MIDI file plus audio stems. Free
Chords, every voice Yes Free. Every note of every chord, with velocity. Free
Chord detection Chord Finder Free. The chords and the key, from the audio. Free
Change any note in the audio Premium Pro: pitch, timing, length, level, vibrato and glides, one note of a chord at a time, played back in your DAW. $129 once. Pro
Stem splitter Yes A full mix is split by instrument, written as MIDI and dragged out as audio stems, free. Exporting each part as its own MIDI track is Pro. Free + Pro
Inside the DAW VST3 / AU plug-in, processing in the cloud AU, VST3, AAX and a standalone app. With ARA 2 it reads the clip on the timeline, no bouncing. Free
Text-to-Sample Yes No equivalent. —
Resynthesizer Complete tier No equivalent. Pro re-renders the notes you edit; it is not a resynthesizer instrument. —

The four differences that matter.

It runs on your computer

Samplab needed the internet and its servers. TONIQ transcribes locally, so your audio stays with you, it works offline, and it does not depend on anyone's servers staying up.

The free tier is a full converter

Samplab's free tier stopped at 10 seconds of mono. TONIQ's free tier is audio to MIDI at the standard detection: any length, every chord, vocals, drums and whole songs.

Pro is bought once

Samplab was a subscription. TONIQ Pro is $129, paid once after a 14-day trial, and then it is yours. The free tier never expires.

It reads the clip on your timeline

With ARA 2 in Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Studio One and REAPER, TONIQ reads the region itself, and edits made in Pro play back in the DAW. In Logic Pro, capture the track or drag the file in. Setup for your DAW.

How accurate it is, measured on public test recordings with the method published: 95.2 % note F1 on piano, 93.9 % on guitar. Our own measurement.

Other options, checked 10 November 2026

You're probably comparing these too. What each one does, from its maker's own pages; prices as listed on that date.

  • NeuralNote

    Free, open source. Mac and Windows; VST3, AU and standalone. Since version 2 (October 2026) it turns a full mix into separate instruments and exports multi-track MIDI. It does not edit notes inside the audio.

  • Bubblegum

    Free. VST3 and AU, Mac and Windows. Edits pitch, timing and length of notes inside polyphonic audio. It is an editor, not an audio to MIDI converter.

  • Melodyne 5

    Paid: essential $99 (single lines); editing notes inside chords starts with editor at $399 (Celemony web shop). The long-established note editor; exports MIDI.

  • Prism

    $79, with a free trial. Audio to MIDI for single-instrument recordings, including chords; works through ARA or as a regular plug-in. AU, VST3, AAX. Drums are a separate plug-in, Prism: Drums ($79).

  • Logic Pro's Flex Pitch

    Included with Logic. Turns a single melodic line into MIDI; it does not convert chords.

TONIQ's free tier converts chords, vocals, drums and whole songs to one MIDI file, plus audio stems, on your computer. MIDI per instrument and editing inside the audio are Pro.

Moving over.

  1. 1

    Keep your exported MIDI

    Anything you dragged out of Samplab is plain MIDI and still works. Only the Samplab projects themselves are lost.

  2. 2

    Install TONIQ

    One installer for Mac or Windows, Free and Pro inside. Drop the original audio in and drag the MIDI out. Download.

  3. 3

    Edit notes when you need to

    Reach for a Pro tool and TONIQ offers the 14-day Pro trial; it starts when you ask for it, and nothing is charged until you decide. What Pro does.

Questions Samplab users ask.

What is a free Samplab alternative? +
For the audio to MIDI part, TONIQ's free tier: any length, every note of a chord, vocals, drums and whole songs, on your own computer, with no watermark. Other free tools are listed under "Other options" on this page, each with what it does well. Editing notes inside the audio is TONIQ Pro, a one-time purchase.
What happened to Samplab? +
In late June 2026 Samplab announced that it would stop supporting users on 17 September 2026. On that date its service shut down and samplab.com stopped serving the product; it now redirects away from it. Samplab's notice said older versions of the app would stop working entirely after that date. Facts as published, checked 9 November 2026. In October 2026 it was reported that Apple had acquired certain Samplab assets and hired some of its staff (MacRumors, 19 October 2026).
Why did my installed copy of Samplab stop working? +
Samplab did its transcription on its own servers; the plug-in sent the audio there and needed an internet connection. When the service shut down, the installed plug-in had nothing to talk to; Samplab's notice said older versions would stop working entirely. TONIQ runs on your computer: nothing is uploaded, and it keeps working without us.
Is TONIQ really free, or is it a trial? +
Audio to MIDI is free for good: any length, chords, vocals, drums and full mixes, no watermark, commercial use allowed. Shaping the MIDI (detection, vibrato and quantize settings, MIDI per instrument) and editing the notes inside the audio is the Pro tier: $129 once, after a 14-day trial that starts when you ask for it inside TONIQ, not before. No subscription.
Can I open my old Samplab projects in TONIQ? +
No. There is no import for Samplab projects. The MIDI files you exported from Samplab are ordinary MIDI and work anywhere. For the audio, drop the original file into TONIQ and it reads the notes again.
Does TONIQ work in Logic Pro? +
Yes, as an AU on an audio track: press Capture and play the region, or drag the file in from Logic's Browser. It also runs as a standalone app.
Is there a Windows version? +
Yes: VST3 and AAX on Windows, plus the standalone app. On Mac: AU, VST3, AAX and the standalone app.
Does TONIQ detect velocity, key and tempo? +
Velocity and the key, yes, and pitch bends (free in Vocal mode, on every take with Pro). The tempo comes from your DAW when TONIQ runs inside one, or you set it in the standalone app; TONIQ does not guess tempo from the audio.
Can I use the MIDI commercially? +
Yes. The notes TONIQ writes are yours, for anything you make, commercial work included. The models are ours.
Is INSEKTIQ connected to Samplab? +
No. INSEKTIQ is an independent company. Samplab is a trademark of its owner; it is named here only to say what TONIQ does and does not replace.

Samplab is a trademark of its owner. INSEKTIQ is not affiliated with Samplab and this page is not endorsed by it. Statements about Samplab are taken from samplab.com as published before 17 September 2026; last checked 9 November 2026.