Simplex Plus · Workflow tutorial

The five-step Simplex workflow

Set up, Make, Decide, Train, Finish — the loop Plus members run on every song, with exact steps for each stage and the Plus feature that powers it.

Full Plus feature tutorial Simplex + Lab pairing guide About Simplex

How to read this

This is the same Make → Decide → Train → Finish loop from the pairing guide, retold from the producer's chair with a setup step in front. Run it start to finish the first few times; later, enter at whatever step today's session needs. Each step lists what Plus unlocks so you can see exactly where the $19 goes.

Step 1 · 2 minutes

then Make

Set up

Start from a template, not a blank project.

1
Open Simplex signed in, pick your DAW (Cubase, FL Studio or Ableton Live) and choose a Plus template: Songwriter Sketch for writing days, Mix-Ready when you already have the parts.
2
The template wires your routing, buses and send effects before you record a note — rename the channels to your song and keep the signal flow as shipped.
3
State one goal for the session out loud in the goal field. “Finish the chorus lift” beats “work on song” every time.

PlusPlus unlocks: the full template gallery and unlimited guided sessions, so setup never eats your three weekly free sessions.

Step 2 · 30–60 minutes

then Decide

Make

Get the idea down while it's loud in your head.

1
Follow the guided checklist: record the core part first (the one you'd hum), then the rhythm, then one counter-part. Stop at three layers.
2
Don't mix yet. Levels roughly balanced, nothing soloed for more than ten seconds. The make phase is capture, not polish.
3
When the idea is down, log the session with a note for future you: what you tried, what's next. It syncs to your Studio dashboard.

PlusPlus unlocks: session history and notes that persist — the free app forgets the session when you close it.

Step 3 · 10–15 minutes

then Train

Decide

Answer the theory question the session just raised.

1
Every production session produces one: “what key is this really in?”, “what chord gives the lift I hear?”. Use the Plus ChordCraft handoff to send the idea straight into ChordCraft Lab.
2
In the Lab, check the key, test the borrowed chord, and compare two or three options against your rough mix.
3
Decide in one sitting. A deferred chord decision is how songs stall — pick the one that makes the chorus feel inevitable and move on.

PlusPlus unlocks: the one-click handoff. Free Simplex means copying the idea across by hand.

Step 4 · 10 minutes

then Finish

Train

Make the move yours, not just this song's.

1
Still in the Lab, run the chord move through the ear trainer until you can pick it out cold — three correct in a row is the bar.
2
If it's a scale or voicing question, take it to the practice keyboard and let the live note highlighting show your fingers the shape.
3
Tick the lesson off — it counts toward your Studio progress and your Pro course, so training time is never separate from practice time.

PlusPlus unlocks: nothing extra here on purpose — the Lab's free tier trains you. Pro members get the graded routes and leaderboard.

Step 5 · 45–90 minutes

Finish

Return to Simplex and take it to export.

1
Back in Simplex, commit the chord decision to the arrangement while it's fresh — then open the mix playbook for whatever's bothering you most.
2
Run the playbook in order: subtractive EQ before compression, level before width, and the final A/B check against your reference lane from the Mix-Ready template.
3
Export a platform-ready master, log the session, and write the closing note. The song is done when the note says “done”, not when you can't stand it anymore.

PlusPlus unlocks: the full troubleshooting playbooks — muddy low end, buried vocals, lifeless drums and the rest.

Run the loop

Plus powers steps 1, 2, 3 and 5 — for $19, once

Templates, unlimited sessions, the handoff and the playbooks. One payment, handled by Paddle as merchant of record, covered by the 30-day refund policy — or included with ChordCraft Lab Pro.

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