LIGHTNING

Free public beta · Windows

Catch the riff
before it's gone.

Lightning is a loop-based rapid-idea recorder for guitarists. Press a number, hit Space, play, and the idea is saved as a loop. Stack up to twelve layers, try them out as MPC-style patterns, then send the whole thing to Ableton Live when it's worth finishing.

Download free beta Try it in your browser
  • 12 audio tracks
  • 16 patterns
  • 1 key to record
  • .als export
Screenshot: RECORD tab, 12 tracks with waveforms, pattern pills, LCD transportassets/img/hero-record.png

The problem

Your DAW is a studio.
Lightning is a notepad.

You pick up the guitar, something good falls out of your hands, and by the time you've made a project, named a track, set the input and armed it, the idea is gone. Lightning does one thing: it records ideas, fast. It opens ready to record, every take lands as a clean loop, and there's nothing to set up. Capture first. The engineering can wait.

00:05

Open the app to your first loop recording

00:30

To a drum loop, bass and two guitar layers

CTRL+E

To a full Ableton Live session with every pattern as a scene

Why Lightning

Built for one job: getting the idea down.

01

A recorder built around loops, not timelines

No arrangement view to scroll, no clips to trim, no looping modes to learn. Lightning is a grid of loops that all play in perfect sync. Pick a tempo and a length (4, 8 or 16 bars) and every take lands exactly on the loop. It's simple on purpose, so you can keep it open next to your amp and hit record the moment something good happens.

  • Opens ready to record
  • Four-beat count-in and built-in metronome
  • Records stop on the bar line. You never edit a loop point.
Screenshot: a track recording (red, growing waveform, REC label)assets/img/feature-capture.png
02

MPC-style patterns

A pattern is a snapshot of which tracks are playing. Verse: drums, bass, rhythm guitar. Chorus: add the lead and the octave part. Bridge: strip it back to clean guitar. Make a pattern for each, flip between them live, and they always change on the loop boundary.

  • Up to 16 patterns per project
  • Switch at the loop end, on the next bar, or right now
  • Sequence patterns into a song in ARRANGE
VerseChorusBridge+ New
1Drums
2Bass
3Rhythm Gtr
4Lead
5Octaves
6Clean Gtr
03

Twelve tracks, all on one screen

Room for drums, bass, rhythm, lead, harmonies, ambient swells and the happy accident you didn't plan. All twelve tracks fit on one screen in two columns, so you always see the whole idea. Each one has volume, two sends and inserts in the MIXER.

Screenshot: MIXER tab, 12 channel strips with sendsassets/img/feature-mixer.png
04

Loop, layer, repeat

While the loop plays, press another track's number. It arms and starts recording at the top of the next loop. Keep playing and keep stacking. There are no overdub modes or performance tricks: each layer is simply recorded to its own track, ready to mute, redo or export.

  • Arm while playing; recording starts on the next loop
  • Or stop, arm and hit Space for a fresh count-in
  • Undo and redo for everything
05

Drag and drop any WAV

Got a drum loop you love, or a bounce from last week? Drop the WAV onto a track. Lightning stretches it to fit your loop length with the pitch kept intact, so it locks to your tempo straight away.

06

Your hands stay on the guitar

Every action has a keyboard shortcut, and you can remap any of them. The number row is your track grid: one press arms an empty track or mutes and unmutes a full one. Space plays, Alt+number queues a pattern. You can run a whole session without touching the mouse.

1T1 2T2 3T3 4T4 5T5 6T6 7T7 8T8 9T9 0T10 -T11 =T12 SPACEplay / record
07

A perfect Ableton session, one key away

When the idea is worth finishing, press Ctrl+E. Lightning writes a real Ableton Live Set: every pattern becomes a scene, every unmuted track a clip, with your track names and tempo. The audio is copied alongside, so the set opens and plays straight away.

  • One scene per pattern, one clip per active track
  • Muted tracks leave empty slots, like you'd expect
  • Self-contained folder you can zip up and share
DrumsBassRhythmLeadOctaves
▶ Verse
▶ Chorus
▶ Bridge
▶ Outro

Try it now

Play with patterns in your browser

This is a little web version of the RECORD screen with six loops already recorded. Press Space to play, 1–6 to mute and unmute tracks, and click a pattern to switch on the next loop. That's the whole idea behind Lightning.

Keyboard ready
BPM96
BARS2

The demo loops are synthesized in your browser. Lightning records your real guitar, at your interface's full quality.

The workflow

Four steps from riff to song

  1. 1

    Capture

    Set a tempo, press a number, hit Space. Count-in, record, loop.

  2. 2

    Layer

    Press the next number while it plays. Stack bass, leads and harmonies.

  3. 3

    Pattern

    Mute and unmute to find your verse, chorus and bridge. Save each as a pattern.

  4. 4

    Finish

    Arrange the patterns into a song, then export it to Ableton Live.

And also

The little things that keep ideas alive

Moodboard and notes

Give each project an image and some notes: lyrics, chord charts, the tuning you used. Then you'll know what it was when you come back to it.

Project library

All your ideas in one grid, with search, thumbnails and status (In progress, Completed, Archived). Nothing gets lost.

Templates

Save your go-to drum loop, track names and mixer setup as a template and start every idea from there.

Low-latency ASIO

Supports ASIO drivers, so what you play is what you hear, with input monitoring built in.

Undo everything

Recorded over the good take? Ctrl+Z brings it back. Try things without worrying about losing them.

Autosave

Your work is saved every minute, and crash recovery comes back first when you reopen the app.

FAQ

Questions

Is it a looper? A DAW?

Neither, on purpose. Loopers are built for live performance and DAWs for finishing songs, and both take setting up. Lightning is a rapid-idea recorder: it captures what you play as loops, lets you stack and try out parts, and hands the result to Ableton Live when you're ready to produce it.

Is it really free?

Yes. Lightning is free for the whole public beta. Sign up with your email and you'll get the download link straight away, plus news when new builds come out.

What do I need?

A Windows 10 or 11 PC and an audio interface for your guitar. An ASIO driver is recommended for the lowest latency. A macOS version is planned.

Do I need Ableton Live?

No. Lightning works on its own for capturing and arranging ideas. Ableton Live is only needed if you want to take a project further with the export. The export writes a Live 12 set.

Is it only for guitar?

It's designed around how guitarists write, but anything that goes into an audio input works: bass, keys, vocals, a mic'd ukulele. You can also drag in WAV loops.

Can I use my own plugins?

Each mixer channel has insert slots for VST3 effects, so you can put your amp sim in front of the recording.

Where do my files go?

Each project is a plain folder of WAV files and a project file in Documents/Lightning/Projects. They're your files, and you can copy, back up or share them.

The next riff is coming.
Be ready for it.

Free during beta. Takes 30 seconds to sign up.

Get Lightning free