From the Quota desk
News & updates.
What shipped, how it works, and what you can make with it. Release notes, practical guides, and clearly marked previews.
Release notes
Oct 4, 2026
COMPA 1.4 Is Out: Capture, Dialogue, DJ Decks and RD303
COMPA 1.4 is available on the App Store. Capture supported apps and web sources, sample dialogue with Quota DS, perform with DJ decks and Pad Scratch, and play RD303, the included bassline synth. Two follow-up hotfixes are awaiting review.
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COMPA 1.4: the October 1 preview
Capture other apps and the web, turn dialogue into playable phrases, and perform with DJ decks. The original October 1 preview, now linked to the released COMPA 1.4 update.
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New everyday prices for Quota — and Voice is now free
DS and desktop FX are now $19.99 each, Kits is $9.99, and the Collection is $39.99. Voice joins Stems and HQ as a free app. Permanent prices. No subscriptions.
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COMPA 1.3: what’s new
New MIDI Capture, more useful Audio Recall, aligned stems inside CHOMP and a closer connection between playing, sampling and arranging. Here is what arrived in COMPA 1.3.
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COMPA Is Here for iPhone and iPad
COMPA launched September 9 as a groovebox companion for iPhone and iPad. CHOMP, recording, sequencing, routing, Quota Stems, Quota Kits, and a session built around the gear you already use.
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Around Rare Data: Link Audio Beyond the Desktop
Three connected chapters: Python Link Audio bindings, a standalone Akai Force audio bridge, and the journey from Raspberry Pi Compa to today’s iPhone/iPad app.
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Quota FX 1.3 Turns 48 Effects Into a Playable Instrument
Quota FX 1.3 adds four effects, a 48-control CHOMP performance workspace, reusable setups, standalone recording, responsive layouts, and a new Scope Glass view.
Read storyCOMPA launches September 9 for iPhone and iPad
The original COMPA launch announcement, updated with the September 9 launch, released app, and current US offer: $24.99 USD through October 14, 2026, then $39.99 USD beginning October 15, 2026.
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Quota Kits 1.3 Makes Sampler Projects Portable
Build from one sample folder and move the project between Ableton, Koala, Akai MPC/Force, and CHOMP with more of its pads, timing, and project structure intact.
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QuotaFX 1.2: Six New Effects, Six Scopes, and a Control Surface That Holds Still
44 effects now, six of them new. Three knobs and a hold instead of a grid that resized itself. Six scopes, and on desktop they pop out to their own screen. Fader strips on iPad. Free update for everyone who owns it.
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Quota DS 1.5 Grows From Dialogue Chopper to Performance Sampler
Quota DS 1.5 adds video pads, pad shaping, Q-FX, Q-VFX, a mixer, timeline arranging, performance recording, stems, MP4 export, skip-back, MIDI, projects, vocal isolation, and captions.
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Quota Stems 1.2 Adds Six-Way Drum Separation
Split a drum stem into kick, snare, toms, hi-hat, ride, and crash; start from clearer workflow presets; and use the current 1.2.1 build with restored YouTube imports.
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Quota Mini Is Now Quota DS (Dialogue Sampler) — Same App, New Name
Quota Mini isn't discontinued — it's now Quota DS, the Dialogue Sampler. Same app, same features, and your Mini license carries over free. Here's the story behind the rename and what the 1.4 update adds.
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What Is Quota HQ? The Free Hub That Installs, Updates, and Rolls Back Every Quota App
Quota HQ is the free hub that installs, updates, and rolls back every Quota app from one window. No account, no forced updates — and you can delete it and every app keeps running.
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Quota Voice: Private, On-Device Dictation and Voice Commands — Your Voice Never Leaves Your Computer
Quota Voice is private, on-device dictation plus a voice-command layer for your whole studio. Transcription runs on your machine with zero network, and you can drive it from your phone over an end-to-end encrypted link — no account.
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How to Make a Drum Rack from a Whole Song — SongKit in Quota Kits
SongKit turns a whole song into a playable drum rack — every stem, sliced by section, on its own pads. Separate with Stems, lay it out in Kits, play it in Ableton or export to Akai Force and MPC.
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Is There an SP-404 VST Plugin? Yes — Get the SP-404 FX Without the Hardware
Producers ask it constantly: is there a plugin with the SP-404 effects? Yes. QuotaFX puts 44 SP-404 MK2-style performance effects in your DAW as AU, VST3, or Standalone — zero latency, no hardware.
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YouTube to Stems, Free and Offline — and It Opens Straight Into Ableton
Paste a YouTube link and get clean stems for free — locally, no account, no minute limits. And unlike every other free tool, Quota Stems hands you a ready-to-play Ableton project, not a folder of loose WAVs.
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Quota Kits Is Live: One Folder In, a Kit for Every Machine
Drop in a folder of samples and Quota Kits builds Ableton drum racks, Akai MPC / Force programs, and numbered SP-404 banks — plus the Selector Pad nothing else makes. $9.99, Mac & Windows.
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QuotaFX Is Live: SP-Style Performance Effects in Your DAW — at Zero Latency
26 hands-on performance effects with twelve macros, a live scope, and zero latency — as AU, VST3, or Standalone. The instant feel of SP-404 FX, on every track. $19.99, Mac & Windows.
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How to Build an Ableton Drum Rack from Any Podcast
Turn any podcast episode into a ready-to-open Ableton Drum Rack in minutes. Highlight the lines you want, export the kit, drop the .adg into Live.
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How to Chop Movie Dialogue Like Alchemist, Madlib, and El Michels Affair
Movie-dialogue sampling is its own school of production — Madlib, Alchemist, El Michels Affair. Here is the modern workflow, word-accurate and without the scrub-and-chop grind.
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How to Make Captioned Sample Clips for TikTok and Instagram (Quota Mini)
Dialogue clips with burned-in captions hit twice as hard on social. Here is how to cut, caption, and export MP4 pad exports in Quota Mini for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.
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How to Separate Vocals from a Song for Free (Mac & Windows)
A step-by-step guide to extracting vocals, drums, bass, and instrumentals from any song using free desktop software. No cloud uploads, no credit limits, no account required.
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How to Sample Dialogue from Movies for Beats (Producer Guide)
The complete workflow for turning movie scenes, interviews, and spoken-word clips into playable sample kits for Ableton, MPC, and any DAW. No manual slicing required.
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Best Free Stem Separation Software in 2026 (Tested & Compared)
We tested the most popular free stem separation tools on real tracks. Here is what actually works, what does not, and which tool gives you the cleanest vocals, drums, and instrumentals without paying a subscription.
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The Fastest Ableton Stem Separation Workflow (Free)
How to go from a mixed track to separated stems inside an Ableton Live session in under 5 minutes — using free software that exports ready-to-open Live projects.
Read storyMini 1.3 — Captions, Drum Rack Export, and MPC / Force Kits
Mini 1.3 turns a fast dialogue sampler into a much more finished export tool, with caption burn-in for MP4 chops, direct kit export for Ableton and MPC / Force, steadier real-time playback, and a 30-day trial on macOS and Windows.
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Quota Stems 1.0 Is Live (Free) — Ableton Live Export, Playlists, Themes
Quota Stems 1.0 is live for macOS + Windows. It’s 100% free and includes fast stem separation, URL + playlist batches, Ableton Live 12 project export (4-stem or 6-stem), plus a full theme system with Theme Designer.
Read storyQuota Mini 1.2 Update — New Look + Activation Fixes
Quota Mini 1.2 is a focused update: a visual overhaul across the app plus fixes to activation/licensing edge cases for a smoother launch-to-first-chop experience.
Read storyIntroducing Quota Stems: A Free, Non-Destructive Stem Separator for macOS & Windows
We are thrilled to announce the official launch of Quota Stems, the newest addition to the Rare Data Network software family. A completely free standalone application designed to make stem separation accessible, high-quality, and incredibly versatile.
Read storyQuota Mini 1.1 Arrives on Windows
The wait is finally over! We are incredibly excited to announce that Quota Mini is now officially available for Windows. Since launching version 1.1, the number one request has been to bring this workflow to PC users.
Read storyQuota Mini 1.1 Is Live: Isolate Vocals, New Chop Modes & Critical Fixes
Happy New Year, everyone! We are kicking off 2026 with some massive updates to Quota Mini. Version 1.1 is officially here, and it is packed with new features designed to streamline your sampling workflow—plus a critical fix to keep things running smoother than ever.
Read storyStop Scrubbing, Start Sampling: RARE DATA Launches Quota Mini
Introducing the dialogue sampling utility that turns transcribed text into exportable audio and video clips — highlight text, assign to pads, and drag WAV/MP4 chops into your workflow.
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