Trackbout has updated Ripchord, their free MIDI plugin for creating and remixing chord progressions. The update adds a "pass through" switch, which allows the input notes that do not have any chords assigned to them to pass straight through to the MIDI output so you can improvise bass notes or melodies on top of the chords. The update also adds "chord markers", so you can easily see which input notes actually have chords assigned to them.
In addition to the plugin update, Trackbout have built a simplified version of the plugin that runs in the browser, you can check it out by clicking one of the piano icons here: trackbout.com/presets Now you can hear the chords that a preset contains and play them directly in the browser, without downloading the preset or loading it up in a DAW.
Finally, in order to encourage more people to upload community presets, Trackbout have announced a weekly giveaway. Full details of the giveaway can be found here: trackbout.com/giveaway. Every Friday, one preset will be chosen at random out of all of the presets uploaded that week, and the person who uploaded the winning preset will get a $25 Amazon gift card.