FretBud - Chord & Scales AUv3

FretBud is a fretboard reference and MIDI tool for guitarists, bassists, and stringed instrument players of all levels.

See any scale or chord visualized across the full neck, in any key and any tuning — instantly. Whether you're learning your first pentatonic box or exploring modes across the entire fretboard, FretBud makes it visual, interactive, and musical.

REFERENCE Browse dozens of scales — Major, Minor, Pentatonic, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Harmonic Minor, and more — across any root note. Switch to Chord mode to see triad, 7th, 9th, and extended shapes laid out across the neck. Change the key or mode in one tap and the neck updates instantly.

Customize what you see on every note dot: note name, pitch with octave, scale degree, interval, or finger number. Color notes by degree, emphasize the root, or keep it monochrome. Every combination teaches you something different.

TUNINGS Choose from 80+ built-in tunings — Standard, Drop D, Eb, Open G, Open D, Bass, Ukulele, and many more — or build your own. The custom tuning builder lets you set any string count and any open-string pitch, so you can map out a baritone, a 7-string, a lap steel, or anything else. The neck redraws the moment you switch, so you see exactly how your scale or chord lays out before you pick up the instrument.

PLAYABLE SURFACE Tap any note on the neck to hear it. FretBud includes a built-in sampler so you can play and listen to scales and chord tones directly — perfect for ear training alongside the visual reference.

MIDI FretBud outputs MIDI over a virtual port, so tapped notes can drive any Core MIDI-compatible app on your device. Route it into a synth, a looper, or a DAW session to play your fretboard like a touch instrument.

AUv3 PLUGIN Load FretBud as an AUv3 MIDI plugin directly inside Logic Pro, AUM, Loopy Pro, Cubasis, and other compatible hosts. The full fretboard reference lives inside your DAW session — incoming MIDI from the host highlights notes on the neck in real time, so you always know where you are tonally while you record.

APPLE WATCH The FretBud Apple Watch companion gives you quick access to key, scale, chord, and tuning controls right on your wrist. Change what's displayed on your iPhone without putting down the guitar.

CUSTOMIZE Choose from multiple color themes to match your style. Adjust the visible fret range, toggle fret numbers and string names, and flip the neck for left-handed playing.