performance device · drums, synths, samples · v0.7.9
128 BPM TR-909
1 KICK
tempo
128 BPM
tap
listentab
synccal
nudge
midi in
midi out
preset
1 · Basic
volume
80 %
Voice
init
voice
SND/SLC
OWN
tone
DTN
decay
F.DEC/BAR
level
pan
DROP
ATK/BIT
REV/RATE
STRT/SUS
SRR/END/DEP
REL/RPT
HPF/TGT
CUT
ENV
RES
DRV
function
mode
Track
mute mode solo mode
low
mid
high
filter
Character
sidechain init
feel
HUM
punch
COMP
duck
release
init voice
FX voice
reverb
delay
FX master
dj filter
reverb
delay
feedback
flanger
sweep
roll
time
Pattern
groove
ADV
bank

How to play it

  1. Press START (or Space): the groove plays.
  2. Press a track key (1–8) to pick a part and hear it. Click the 16 steps to switch notes on and off.
  3. Turn PRESET to change the sounds (drum kit, synth kit or sample preset). Nothing plays until you press a key.
  4. MODE (centre) switches the 8 keys between DRUM, SYNTH and SAMPLER (voice samples loaded from GitHub; more presets arrive step by step in v0.6.x). All keep playing together.
  5. In SYNTH mode turn GROOVE to pick a chord progression. Hold NEW for new patterns.
  6. FN (centre) gives anything with a blue name its second job.

More, tap a line to open it:

The basics: tempo, kit, volume, display
  • Tempo 80–180 BPM: drag or scroll the knob (↑ ↓). TAP sets it by tapping (key T).
  • Preset (drum mode) swaps all 8 drums, also while playing ([ ]). Volume is the main output (starts at 80 %).
  • The display shows the value of whatever you touch; otherwise the tempo, the kit or key, and the selected track.
  • LISTEN takes the tempo from the audio input (FN: another browser tab), SYNC lines the beat up with it (FN: calibrate), NUDGE − / + trims it (keys , .).
Tracks and steps
  • The 8 track keys pick the part you edit: a drum, or a synth part in SYNTH mode. Pressing a key also plays that part once, so you can turn LEVEL, EQ, FILTER and the effects and hear the result.
  • The 16 steps switch the part on and off. FN + step = accent (+4 dB, amber light).
  • In SYNTH mode: hold a step about half a second, then turn TONE to set that step's note (always a scale note).
FN, MUTE and SOLO
  • FN: tap it once and it lights up; every key or knob with a blue name does its second job. It switches itself off about 6 seconds after the last use (keys F / Esc).
  • MUTE (M) and SOLO (S) act on the selected part the moment you press. A soloed part plays alone and overrides mute; any number of parts can be soloed.
  • FN + MUTE mutes every part of this mode (all 8 drums, or all 8 synth parts); again to bring them back. FN + SOLO lets this mode play alone and silences the other one; again to undo.
  • Other FN pairs: DELAY → feedback, ROLL → delay time, FLANGER → sweep, NEW → clear, slots A–D → E–H, MEM → delete, LISTEN → tab, SYNC → calibrate, FX INIT → FX voice reset.
SYNTH mode: sounds, kits, key, GROOVE
  • VOICE = waveform, TONE = octave (−2 to +2), DECAY, LEVEL, PAN; the second row (ATK, SUS, REL, CUT, RES). With FN: LFO RATE / DEPTH / TARGET (RATE, DEP, TGT), ENV AMT (ENV), DRIVE (DRV); also SOUND (SND, pick the preset of this part), DETUNE (DTN), F.DECAY (F.DEC), P.DROP (DROP) under VOICE, TONE, DECAY, PAN (the display names them when you turn the knob).
  • Kits: PRESET loads a whole set for the 16 parts: K1 DEFAULT, K2 MODULAR, K3 DEEP, K4 RAVE, K5 HARD, K6 HOUSE, K7 NOISE, K8 EXPERIMENT. Each kit has 16 sounds: 8 on the keys, 8 more behind FN + track key (again = back). FN + VOICE picks any one of the 28 sounds for the selected part. The BANK key next to the part keys switches the 8 keys between parts 1-8 and parts 9-16 (light on = 9-16); parts 9-16 start with the kit's second eight sounds.
  • KEY: hold FN, press ◀ / ▶ to browse the 24 keys of the DJ (Camelot) wheel (1A, 1B ... 12B; A = minor), then tap MEM to confirm. All synth parts follow the key. The start key is 5A (C minor).
  • GROOVE = mood: a four-bar chord progression under all 8 parts (OFF, DRONE, ROLLING, DARK, DUB, HYPNOTIC, EUPHORIA, TENSION, ODD). The display shows the chords, for example i VI III VII. FN + GROOVE = ADV (adventure): how often a chord is swapped for a neighbour. The light above the knob blinks on every new bar.
  • Hold NEW writes new patterns for every part on the progression; the display shows the pattern number (same number = same patterns). In DRUM mode GROOVE adds quiet extra hits on top of your steps.
SAMPLER mode: presets and sounds
  • PRESET picks one of 8 sample presets: VOICES, CONGAS, BREAKS, MACHINES, TECHNO, WORLD, BASS & STABS, HOUSE & RAVE. Each has 16 sounds: 8 on the track keys, 8 more behind FN + track key (again = back). Every mode has 16 parts: the BANK key switches the 8 keys between parts 1-8 and parts 9-16 (light on = 9-16); all 16 parts always play, and parts 9-16 start with the preset's sounds 9-16. Nothing plays until you press a key.
  • Loops (presets BREAKS 1 and BREAKS 2: Breaks 125-165 and 28 classic breaks such as Amen, Funky Drummer, Apache) are ordinary sample parts with a long sample: only the steps play them. A loop part with no step on is silent; a key press plays it once. A step starts the loop from the start of its window (or from a slice: hold the step and turn TONE; FN + VOICE = SLICES 8, 16, 32) and it plays to the end of the window, then it is silent. The loops follow the TEMPO knob like a record. Retrigger rule (loop parts only): an unaccented step starts the loop only when it is idle (a loop that is still playing is not restarted, so one step on step 1 gives a continuous 1, 2 or 4 bar loop); an accented step always restarts it (a 20 ms fade, then from the start or the slice). On a loop part the accent means restart, not louder. FN + DECAY = BARS (1, 2, 4, 8, measured at load). START and END (second row) choose the part of the file that plays. GROOVE fills trigger steps with a slice each (same knob and NEW number = same pattern); on a one-shot sample part it adds hits. MUTE, SOLO, mixer, EQ, filter, sends and sidechain work as on every part.
  • VOICE = which variant of the sound (for example conga 3 of 34). TONE = pitch, DECAY = how much of the sample plays. The second row has one printed legend for all three modes; the mode lights the words that apply (in SAMPLER: ATK = fade in, STRT = where the sample starts, REL = a gate of one step plus a fade out, CUT and RES = low-pass filter; with FN: REV = reverse, END = where it ends, HPF = high-pass, ENV = the filter opens and closes on each hit, DRV = drive). Steps, accents, swing, mixer, FX and sidechain work like on every part. [ ] step the presets.
  • The samples are loaded from GitHub the first time (internet needed; offline the drums and synth still work). They are never stored in this page. Sources: Dirt-Samples (TidalCycles), the Versilian Community Sample Library (CC0), tidal-drum-machines, mridangam strokes (yaxu/mrid) and clean-breaks (yaxu). None of the sampler sounds is a sound that the DRUM kits already use.
Patterns and memories
  • NEW: tap = a pattern for this part; hold 1 second = every part (FN + NEW = clear; keys P / R). In SAMPLER mode NEW writes steps once, from a seed shown on the display (same seed = same pattern): a loop part gets an accented step 1 plus a few slice jumps (at most 4 steps on a tap, 3 on a hold); a one-shot part gets sparse hits (2 to 5 on a tap; on a hold every part gets its own density, 2 to 8). GROOVE writes nothing: it is a live overlay on parts that already have steps (a part with no step stays silent, BREAKS too). Loop part: each trigger may start from another slice and a few unaccented slice jumps are added (never a restart). One-shot part: quiet ghost hits, never louder than your steps. DRUM and SYNTH GROOVE are unchanged.
    NEW tapNEW holdGROOVE
    DRUMa pattern for the parta set for all partsquiet ghost hits (live)
    SYNTHa pattern in the keyall parts on one chord progressionmood: chord progression (live)
    SAMPLERsteps for the part (seeded)steps for all 8 partsslice shuffle and jumps / ghost hits, only where steps exist (live)
  • Master clear: hold START/STOP for 1 second: every pattern of every part in all three modes is emptied and the code box goes empty. The clock keeps running, so you can build a new groove from nothing. Your sounds, mixer settings and saved memories stay.
  • Slots A–D (FN: E–H): hold 1 second to save the pattern; tap to play it at the next bar.
  • Memories: ◀ ▶ choose one of 32; hold MEM 1 second to save into an empty one or load a filled one; FN + MEM deletes. Everything stays in this browser; Export / Import memories (under the code card) is the backup.
Mixing: VOICE, TRACK, CHARACTER, FX
  • VOICE (selected part): TUNE ±12 semitones, DECAY, LEVEL, PAN. INIT: tap = reset this part, hold 1 second = every part (I).
  • MUTE / SOLO: tap = the selected part; hold 1 second = clear every mute / every solo of all 48 parts (the BANK light blinks slowly while the other page has a mute or solo).
  • TRACK (selected part), like a DJ channel: LOW / MID / HIGH EQ (centre = flat, left kills, right boosts up to +6 dB) and FILTER (left low-pass, right high-pass).
  • CHARACTER: Feel = swing, FN + Feel = humanize (per part, both can be on). Punch = drive, FN + Punch = compressor (both on the whole mix, not per part: that is on purpose). Sidechain key: tap = on (the kick pushes every other part down) or off; hold 1 second, then tap a track to make it the trigger. Duck = how far they dip, Release = how fast they come back.
  • FX voice: reverb and delay send per part. FX master (whole mix): DJ filter, reverb, delay, flanger, and Roll (repeats the selected drum at 1/8, 1/16 or 1/32).
MIDI and Ableton Live
  • Chrome or Edge (not Safari). MIDI IN follows an external clock (tempo, start, stop). MIDI OUT sends clock, start/stop, the drums (channel 10: BD 36, CP 39, SD 38, CH 42, OH 46, MT 47, HT 50, RD 51) and the synth notes (channel 1). One of the two is on at a time.
  • Ableton Link: browsers cannot join Link; let Live send MIDI clock (Settings, Link/Tempo/MIDI, Sync on an output port such as the IAC driver), then press MIDI IN.
Keyboard keys
  • Space start/stop · 1–8 track keys · M mute · S solo · F / Esc FN · P new · R clear · I init · [ ] kit · T tap · , . nudge. Arrow keys turn a focused knob.

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Memories stay in this browser, like a device's own memory. Export is the backup: keep the file, import it on another browser or device.