Sampledex · Windows 0.20.0 Build 72

Sampledex 0.20.0 Build 72. Identify your package by BUILD_INFO and its associated manual Windows workflow, which records native build, test and installer checks. The product remains Sampledex and the musical document remains genuine schema 13. Physical hardware, listening and actual Windows/Mac app exchange are separate acceptance checks.

Build 72: editing tools that respond, and a cleaner studio

Piano roll tools switch and show what they do. Press 1–6 (or V, D, E, T, B) with the Piano roll focused. Each tool has its own pointer: pencil, eraser, brush, move hand, resize or velocity arrows. Draw sets a note's length as you drag; Erase removes every note you drag across in one Undo step and keeps locked notes. The toolbar reads 1 Select · 2 Draw · 3 Erase · 4 Length · 5 Velocity · 6 Paint.

Arrangement cursors and fades. Each timeline tool shows its action over a clip. Clip edges show resize, and an audio clip's upper corners show the fade cursor; the Fade tool sits in the tool bar. Drag the lower edge of any track to resize tracks, and double-click to reset.

A professional look in Sampledex colours, modelled on sampledex.audio: outlined controls, crimson primary actions and selections, segmented tool and editor bars, grouped transport, two-line track headers and clips, notes and waveforms in each track's colour. No project fields changed; the shared document stays schema 13. See the guide.

Included from Build 71: start safely and never trap a plug-in change

• Start safely after an unexpected exit: the next launch asks first and reopens nothing automatically. Start normally, start without outside plug-ins, or recover the last unsaved work without them. Saved plug-in settings are never changed. Hold Shift while starting to see these choices any time.
• The last unsaved work is kept: before the new session writes its own recovery copy, the previous one is renamed in %APPDATA%\Sampledex\Recording, so it is never overwritten. The prompt also names the plug-in that was loading when the last session stopped; this identifies the interrupted load, not a proven cause.
• No more trapped plug-in changes: closing a plug-in window whose change could not be saved hides it and keeps the change. Save, Open, New, Quit, Reconnect audio and editing offer Use confirmed settings, Try again or Cancel. Use confirmed settings keeps every other edit and leaves out only the unsaved plug-in change.
• Recording is protected: plug-in changes made while recording, exporting or saving stay live and save afterwards, so they cannot make a take fail to add.
• Fewer automatic saves: plug-ins that report changes continuously no longer trigger repeated saves; Save and Close still save immediately.
• Scanned plug-ins only: adding a VST3 needs its scan; the pickers list only scanned plug-ins.
• Clear Quit messages: a dialog explains a blocked Quit and can cancel a running export.

Included from Build 70: restore direct plug-in hosting

• VST3s run inside Sampledex again: playback, live instruments, plug-in editors, bounce and export use the direct host. The separate scanner stays.
• Remove the extra isolation layer: no audio IPC queues, added isolation delay, worker-slot limits or process-restart controls. Existing compensation for a plug-in's own latency remains.
• Keep the sound and project format: saved settings, channel moves/copies and schema-13 projects retain their established format. Unavailable plug-ins keep their stored state.
• Keep other upgrades: recording, take lanes, folders, mixer, track duplication, automation, tempo, audio editing, Piano, Steps, shortcuts, appearance and the Build 68 bounce controls remain.
• Readable live-editor feedback: corrected UTF-8 separators and error text; closing and destroying an editor invokes monitoring cleanup once.

A failing loaded plug-in can again crash Sampledex. The scanner helper protects scanning, not playback. Keep backups and test important third-party plug-ins before a recording session. No promise is made that every vendor plug-in is stable.

Included from Build 70: Add effect checks every channel

Piano Add effect and Mixer + Effect share the same picker for tracks, buses, returns and Master. Each channel supports eight inserts. The picker and project validation now stop a ninth effect on a bus or return, preventing a saved chain that the reader cannot reopen. Disabled buttons explain full or protected channels; cancel changes nothing and a changed track selection does not redirect the pending choice.

Frozen source tracks stay protected. Add inserts to their rendered audio track; the effects transfer back on Unfreeze. Browser factory-effect loading uses the same checks. See Add an effect to the right channel for the workflow.

Included from Build 68: bounce and delivery choices

• One complete bounce dialog: choose project audio or external files; chosen tracks, selected clips or other supported sources; a combined stereo mix or separate stems; range, sample rate, effect tail and processing.
• Originals stay under your control: the default keeps source tracks playing and adds muted audio. Playing the new audio alongside originals is an explicit choice. Muting original tracks is optional and available only for complete-track, complete-song bounces that can preserve the routing behavior.
• WAV, AIFF and MP3 delivery: WAV 24-bit or float32 and AIFF 24-bit support 44.1/48/96 kHz; stereo MP3 supports 128/192/256/320 kbps at 44.1/48 kHz. In-project audio remains lossless float32.
• Select directly in the arrangement: Ctrl/Shift-click MIDI and audio clips across tracks, drag an empty-area selection rectangle, use Ctrl+A with timeline focus, then right-click the highlighted group to bounce, combine or export. Ctrl+L loops the whole selection.
• Combine aligned material: one stereo mix preserves the clips’ existing positions, gaps and overlaps. Separate stems share a common start and duration. They may not sum identically to a combined mix when shared nonlinear processing is involved.

Build 68 bugs corrected

• Fixed-time audio could be placed incorrectly during bounce after a tempo change or when its start fell between musical ticks. Rendering and insertion now preserve exact existing audio timing and the complete effect tail.
• Selecting the owner of a shared drum kit could incorrectly report that there was no material to render. Whole-kit selection includes the notes on its child parts; individual parts remain selectable.
• Selected-clip rendering now applies the mute choice consistently to audio and MIDI. Disabling that choice changes only the private render copy, not the original clips.
• Optional replacement of a frozen instrument now targets its actual sounding audio track, preventing the frozen source and new bounce from playing together accidentally.
• Right-clicking a highlighted clip preserves the multi-track selection. Modifier-clicks under Split or Erase select without cutting or deleting clips. Single-track tools reject a cross-track selection rather than partly changing it.
• Shared effects and sidechains are checked before optional source muting. Project bounces leave Master processing live, avoiding a second application of the same Master chain.
• Cancelled, failed or stale renders cannot replace newer project work. A successful project bounce and any requested source mutes remain one Undo/Redo edit; original notes, instruments and media are retained.
• The options body scrolls on small displays while the action buttons remain reachable.

Read Export and share for a complete walkthrough. Audio-to-MIDI analysis remains a separate monophonic workflow; it is not a bounce format.

Build 68 compatibility and verification

The main musical document remains genuine schema 13, with portable media and optional matching supplemental state. Earlier Windows inputs remain supported. Local rendering, delivery, interface and frozen-codec regressions cover these changes. The associated completed Windows workflow records native compilation, regression and installer checks. Actual audio/MIDI devices, listening, screen readers and transfer through both installed platform apps remain separate acceptance work. Check the completed workflow and BUILD_INFO for the package you distribute.

Included from Build 67

Workflow upgrades retained

• Recording cleanup: reviewed 50/60 Hz hum, isolated-click and learned steady-noise reduction, dry comparison and retained original audio.
• Pitch editing and audio to MIDI: monophonic analysis, editable targets/boundaries, correction preview and a separate MIDI melody track.
• Track folders: named nested organization, collapse/expand, reorder and removal without deleting the tracks or changing routing.
• Named Undo history: meaningful next-action-first entries and one-step Undo/Redo, up to 256 edits with a 256 MiB budget for older history. The latest inverse remains available even if that one edit exceeds the budget.
• Original and synchronized loop audition: Files previews share the song output. Sync and Timing analyze the source and open a review with Detected, Ambiguous or Tempo unknown feedback; explicit Preview loop confirmation starts the audition. Source PCM stays unchanged and the song transport is not started.
• Groove templates: MIDI timing/accent, reviewed audio beat markers, triplet grids and reusable .sdxgroove version-1 files.
• Bus/return listening Solo: audition routing paths temporarily; it is neither saved nor exported.
• Recent MIDI recovery: review the last 5–120 seconds of an available section, keep it on its original destinations or save a separate project.

Read the step-by-step workflow guide for menu locations, limits and examples.

Build 67 corrections retained

• Windows VST3 plug-ins could scan successfully but fail to load from deeply nested folders. Scanning, availability checks and the direct loader handle long Windows paths while preserving saved plug-in identities, settings and project XML. Ambiguous ordinary folder/file names ending in a dot or space are rejected rather than silently loading from a different literal path.
• Windows VST3 plug-ins without a metadata file could be rejected during scanning. Validation now recognizes the correctly named module inside its own plug-in folder, while retaining unrelated-path and duplicate-class checks. Descriptors, settings and saved identities stay unchanged. Both scan paths and plug-in latency checks run before desktop compilation.
• MIDI export confirms replacement of an existing companion JSON or a different MIDI file reached by correcting the chosen extension. Cancel, a changed project, and external file edits preserve the existing destinations.
• Groove template import/export rejects invisible Unicode C1 control characters while preserving readable multilingual names and the existing version-1 format.
• New empty folder creates one undoable container without changing tracks or music.
• Piano Tools and right-click expose Groove. Right-click keeps notes intact, and old menu actions cannot target a changed selection.
• Pitch contour blocks include cents adjustments. Open processing panels follow Dark/Light changes without losing typed drafts, and keyboard focus reveals offscreen controls.
• Bus/return Solo provides an accessible audition name and persistent Master/Routing notices; its callback remains valid through Mixer refresh.
• Queued exports retain their original project ownership through dialogs, staging and publication. Preview resources retire before rendering; stale and cancelled jobs cannot publish into a replacement project.
• Sync preview accepts its exact 16× boundary without a clock-conversion rounding overshoot; unsupported ratios remain rejected.
• Sync preparation survives Play/Pause before the worker publishes; main Stop ends both Original and Sync audition. A stale file worker clears its Preparing status without cancelling a newer request.
• Auditions release their shared output ownership before offline rendering. An old editor token or hidden Browser cannot stop a newer owner.
• Processing previews end at the requested excerpt instead of continuing through a long empty arrangement.
• Changing a source, selection or project rejects an outdated editor result. Invalid table values, invalid noise profiles and unfinished timing-grid changes cannot be applied.
• Large MIDI groove collision checks can be cancelled; worker completion cannot write into a closed editor.
• Groove preserves Windows step expression, row mix state and linked source ownership; moved audible timing does not apply a step offset twice.

Project transfer and folder organization

Save and send the complete .sdxp. The new optional WorkspaceState/Folders.json stores folder organization and restores only when its digest matches the musical document. It is separate from RecordingState and Windows supplemental settings. If it is missing or stale, the song opens with a flat list; older metadata cannot replace newer music. Existing row-mix conversion limits remain. For single-file .sdx projects, keep their adjacent hidden companion directories. Older apps may omit optional state on Save As, so preserve a complete original package.

What the checks do and do not establish

Local automated core, synthetic interface, plug-in fixture and frozen-codec checks are evidence for this implementation. The learned-noise control test now covers range editing, explicit confirmation, Learn, Original/Processed, Apply, measured signal preservation and real Undo/Redo; changing the learned range requires reconfirmation and relearning. Groove file checks include independent version-1 bytes, numeric locale and malformed text. They are not a native Windows installer run, a physical Windows audio/MIDI session, a universal VST3 compatibility result or a round trip through both installed platform apps. Human listening, actual devices, screen readers, sustained slow-laptop sessions and two-app exchange remain acceptance work. Consult the final Windows workflow and BUILD_INFO before distribution.

Included from Build 66

Build 66 revises the Steps workflow for readable drum programming and fixes the timeline ruler beyond the current song end. The product remains Sampledex, and projects continue to use genuine format 13.

Select the bar you meant to edit

Steps starts at View 1 bar. Numbered buttons, arrows and the Bar selector reveal the selected source bar. Refreshing the panel no longer replaces a pending Bar selection with the old value. The feedback identifies the active source bar and visible range.

Keep hits large enough to use

Editing ranges from 1 to 64 bars retain readable step targets and use horizontal scrolling when needed. Overview (64 bars) is a separate navigation view: click a bar to open View 1 bar without changing any hits. Source pattern length and arrangement clip length remain separate; a short source may repeat through a longer clip.

Draw drums in Piano roll

The Piano roll button in the Steps footer, or ... → Open Piano roll beside a row, opens the same selected pattern centered on that row’s source MIDI pitch. Use Draw to enter drum notes, edit their lengths and velocity, then return to Steps to see the same grid-aligned hits. Off-grid timing remains intact and editable in Piano.

Build drum parts from each row

Right-click a sound row or open its ... menu for sound settings, renaming, Piano, fills every one/two/four steps, or clearing that sound in the current bar. Fills replace that row’s existing hits in the active bar. Fill and clear each form one Undo edit and respect note locks. Other rows, bars and MIDI controllers remain intact.

Use Steps shortcuts and right-click commands

With Steps focused, Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V copies or pastes the selected source bar, Ctrl+D / Ctrl+B appends a duplicate at the pattern’s end and selects it, and Ctrl+P opens the selected source pitch in Piano. Text editors retain their normal shortcuts. Right-click a step for hit chance, velocity presets of 32/64/96/127, remove hits, bar commands, row tools and Piano.

Build a sample kit without replacing an instrument

Add Sample Kit in the Browser creates a separate sample drum track and four-bar pattern; Add Drums still creates synthesized drums. Drop one audio file onto an existing sampler drum row in Steps to load that pad at its original pitch and speed using the full source. Other pads and mixer settings stay intact. Audition from the row; Undo restores the previous sound.

Multiple or mixed drops, locked tracks and changed destinations are rejected. A drop cannot replace a synth or VST instrument. Sound settings provide deliberate tuning and trimming. There is no automatic musical-key detection: the root note is a MIDI trigger mapping.

Handle imported MIDI clearly

Clicking an occupied step off clears all matching stacked notes together. Any locked note blocks that cell edit. A message identifies notes that do not fit the step grid; open Piano to edit their precise timing. The grid does not silently quantize those notes.

See empty bars after the song

The ruler stays above vertically scrolling tracks and draws bar lines and labels across visible empty workspace. Eight extra bars provide room to plan. Scrolling there leaves the musical endpoint unchanged. Use + 8 bars to extend the arrangement before seeking or looping beyond its current end.

Compatibility and current verification

Windows 0.20.0 writes genuine SAMPLEDEX_PROJECT 13 and retains supported older Windows input, including format 14. Complete portable media and matching optional state remain part of project exchange. The associated Windows workflow records native compilation and installer checks. Review the completed run for the package you distribute; physical-device acceptance remains separate. Local synthetic tests and the preserved schema-13 codec do not prove a round trip through both installed apps.

Read Build a beat for the revised workflow.

Included from Build 65

Drag a loop directly above the arrangement, trim clips from their edges and use familiar keyboard commands. The searchable shortcut reference keeps those commands easy to find on a laptop screen.

Drag a loop, then adjust it

Drag the lower loop band above the tracks to create a highlighted repeating section. Drag its edges to resize, its middle to move, or Shift-drag to replace the range. Hold Alt to bypass snap. Double-click the band or press L with timeline focus to toggle Loop. Ctrl+L loops selected clips. Right-click for Clear custom loop and other loop commands. Clicking the upper section strip or bar ruler still seeks.

The loop band stays in view while tracks scroll. Escape cancels a drag; changing zoom, scroll position, layout or project discards unfinished coordinates. A completed range edit is one Undo step. Boundaries save with the project, and reopening starts with Loop off. The main Loop button also controls recording passes.

For precise positions, use Ctrl+Shift+L with timeline focus or Transport → Edit loop range.... Enter start/end as bar.beat.tick. The end is exclusive: 1.1.0 to 5.1.0 repeats four bars in 4/4. Cancel leaves the range unchanged; changes to the project prevent an outdated dialog from applying its range.

Reach editing commands quickly

Select and Move expose MIDI/audio clip-edge handles. Drag edges to trim and bodies to move or Ctrl-copy; audio extension stays within its source. With timeline focus, Home / End seek, + / - zoom, Ctrl+0 fits the song and F2 renames the track.

Find shortcuts in one place

F1 or Help → Keyboard shortcuts opens a searchable reference with scrolling for small screens. Ctrl+I imports audio/MIDI, Ctrl+E exports the song, Ctrl+Shift+E exports stems and Ctrl+, opens Audio / MIDI settings. Text fields, dialogs, plug-in editors and the performance keyboard retain their input; Steps and Piano keep their own navigation.

Read built-in controls and drive the limiter

Built-in plug-in editors group related controls and show values, units and a numeric dynamics gain-reduction readout. In Sampledex Limiter, Add input gain inserts a visible Limiter input gain effect directly before the limiter, using one of eight insert slots. Its linked Input gain knob adds 0 to +24 dB. The stage uses the existing stock compressor at 1:1 / 100% Mix, preserving playback and saving in older Mac and Windows apps without a new limiter state format.

Limiter presets and A/B leave this separate gain unchanged. Bypassing, removing or reordering the companion changes the signal path; its linked knob is available only when that valid stage remains directly before its own limiter. Third-party VST3 editors retain their own designs.

Compatibility and release checks

Loop boundaries use the existing format-13 fields. No project-schema or Recording State version changes are introduced. Transfer the complete .sdxp package and keep a backup before using older apps. The manual Windows workflow gates the customer download on compilation, regression tests, package verification and installer checks. Consult its completed reports before distributing the package.

Included from Build 64

Build 64 adds take lanes in the arrangement, direct take preview and phrase selection, and clearer compact editor controls. Original recordings remain tied to their recorded tracks. The musical project remains format 13.

See and hear takes on their original tracks

Click Expand takes (+) in a track header. Live MIDI notes and audio previews appear beneath the recording destinations. Select a retained lane and click Audition; Stop Preview or Escape restores the prior playhead and song loop without adding an Undo edit. Use Take applies the whole pass. Drag a range, then click Use Phrase for a smaller choice. Exact… opens the detailed phrase and crossfade editor.

Keep alternatives after editing

Ordinary note, clip and comp edits retain original passes. Available recordings from the older detached representation can be restored to the take editor when their original destination tracks still exist. Reordering tracks or selecting another instrument cannot redirect those takes. Applying a take or comp keeps original media and pairs the song and take state in one Undo edit. If an original track was deleted, restore that track before reusing its takes.

Use one Loop control for recording

The main transport Loop button determines whether Record captures repeated passes. Recording Setup shows that state and the resolved loop range, maximum passes and punch settings. Recording groups identify their destinations and new captures include date/time labels. Limits remain 1–256 passes and a two-hour capture duration.

Find sounds and edit comfortably on one screen

Browser search covers the listed folder, project patterns or factory sounds, with full filenames, extensions, clear-search recovery and native favorite state. Accented filenames match equivalent Unicode spellings. Pattern labels show linked uses. Mixer controls show complete plug-in names, direct instrument/insert bypass, empty-insert guidance, Master insert counts and Sends state. The Audio inspector shows source names, channel counts and sample rates while preserving unfinished typed values during resize. Piano note rows and selection details remain readable in compact views; Automation controls have clearer accessible names.

Additional safeguards

Stop Preview no longer restarts an audition through a button-state change. Closing its editor cancels pending preview. Stale or cancelled take work cannot replace newer music. Opening another project clears old expanded take rows before native scrolling or selection can address them. MIDI take selection also focuses the applied pattern. Escape from a selected lane cancels pending apply or preview work. Clicking between grid lines still selects the whole take. Changing horizontal zoom cancels an unfinished drag or selected phrase, restores Use Take, and asks you to select the phrase again; it cannot silently change the range for a later apply. Eligible older groups return only within the available group capacity; excess originals remain retained for recovery.

Projects, installation and verification

Continue transferring complete .sdxp packages, including media and optional RecordingState. Genuine format 13, supported older Windows input and the existing supplemental-state safeguards remain unchanged. Older apps may omit newer take metadata on Save As; missing plug-ins require a compatible installation or an audio bounce. Keep an untouched backup.

The download includes an unsigned installer and a portable ZIP. Read Start here first before setup; Windows may offer More info → Run anyway for a trusted download. Existing school/work security policies still apply.

Local synthetic interface, recording, engine, persistence and preserved-codec checks passed. The manual Windows workflow compiles and tests the Windows app, validates the complete download, and checks installation, upgrade and uninstall before publishing its artifact. Local checks are not a substitute for that native Windows verification; consult the completed workflow before distribution. Physical audio/MIDI hardware, monitoring latency, reconnects, long sessions, Narrator and exchange through both installed apps remain target-computer checks.

Included from Build 63

Build 63 completes the recording-arm control corrections from the Mac Build 62 comparison. The musical project remains format 13, with portable media and the existing optional recording state.

See which tracks are armed throughout recording

Armed R buttons in both the timeline and Mixer keep their highlight when recording temporarily disables arm changes, in Dark and Light themes. Mixer strips previously lost this highlight while the track remained armed.

Read and activate arm controls through accessibility tools

Timeline and Mixer arm buttons now expose their checked state. Accessibility actions use the same guarded track action as a click; disabled or rejected actions cannot leave a misleading indicator. Actual screen-reader interaction should still be checked on your Windows computer.

Included from Build 62

Interrupted recordings retain the completed count-in marker so a started take reaches recovery. Take Lanes & Comp keeps unfinished typed text, rejects stale changes, and restores retained groups after closing and reopening during cancellation. Sampler fields retain unfinished text until Reload. Steps rejects old menu actions after its visible range changes. The retained-history warning correctly requires a successful Save followed by close and reopen.

Included from Build 61

Producer-test corrections cover MIDI capture timing after device restart, recording recovery and monitoring, fresh versus edited comp drafts, project Undo after import, shared-output factory previews and revealing the correct sampler destination. These fixes remain in Build 64.

Included from Build 60

Build 60 adds per-track recording, input monitoring, retained loop takes, comp editing and punch recording. The audible project remains format 13. Read the recording tutorial before your first take.

Record armed MIDI and audio tracks together

Track headers and Mixer strips provide R (Arm) and a Monitor/Input menu. Choose MIDI devices and incoming channels, or physical mono/stereo audio channels. Main Record captures all armed destinations with a shared count-in and start/finish timing. Hardware MIDI works while the computer-keyboard window is closed.

Monitor through the mix

Auto, On and Off control software input monitoring. Audio travels through the track’s effects and routing while the original input is recorded dry. Monitor Off still permits armed capture. Windows input uses WASAPI shared mode and one interface per live session; ASIO input is not included. Available channels depend on the interface’s Windows driver.

Keep passes and build a comp

Turn on the main Loop button for repeated recording. Transport → Recording Setup sets a maximum of 1–256 passes within a two-hour capture limit. Take Lanes & Comp lets you select passes or exact phrases, choose explicit silence and set audio crossfades. Apply comp preserves originals and creates one paired Undo edit. Cancellation or a stale draft cannot replace newer accepted music.

Punch a replacement phrase

Set punch-in and exclusive punch-out using bar.beat.tick fields, the timeline selection or the loop. A punch must stay within the arrangement and, for loop takes, inside its loop. Supported surrounding notes, audio and expression remain intact. Unsafe controller/sustain or crossing-fade boundaries produce an explanation with retained sources for recovery.

Save the song and editable takes together

Save, Save As, Open, autosave and Undo/Redo pair the audible song with its take choices. A complete .sdxp contains optional RecordingState with original takes and comp data. Keep the whole package when sharing. Older apps can play the format-13 arrangement, subject to available plug-ins, but cannot edit unsupported take lanes; their edits or Save As can detach or omit the companion. Stale state never overrides newer music. Keep an untouched original package.

Recover a take that could not be placed

Wait for capture to finish, then use Transport → Save retained recording recovery if prompted. The app reports the recovery location. Retained originals and cancelled/failed candidates are protected from automatic history cleanup and can consume disk space; review them before removing files.

Verification and remaining checks

Local synthetic recording/interface, engine, persistence and preserved-codec/frozen-fixture compatibility checks passed. Actual Windows input devices, monitoring latency, unplug/reconnect, long recordings and exchange through the current Windows and Mac apps still require testing. Consult the manual GitHub run for native build, test and installer results.

Included from Build 59

Build 59 fixes the garbled Steps heading, corrects shared drum-track labels and resolves two Steps editing issues. Projects continue to use format 13 for exchange with the existing Mac Build 51 and Windows Build 54 readers.

Readable headings and controls

The separator between Steps and the project name now displays correctly. The same text-decoding fix covers the application title, MIDI status, recording-input choices, fade controls and export-format labels.

Accurate drum-track labels

Separated Kick, Snare and Closed Hat tracks now display their shared kit's instrument or sampler name in the timeline and Mixer. MIDI tracks without an assigned instrument have a MIDI label, and a missing shared kit is identified explicitly. Clicking a shared drum part's sound button in Mixer opens its shared instrument or the correct sampler pad. An audio track's source button opens the Audio editor.

Finish velocity-lane edits cleanly

Releasing or cancelling a Steps velocity-lane edit clears its unfinished-edit state. A completed gesture no longer leaves Duplicate Track disabled. Velocity edits retain their single Undo step.

Safe controls on audio tracks

Rename Row is available only for an unlocked MIDI track. Selecting an audio track while Steps is open no longer exposes an invalid row-rename action.

Included from Build 58

Build 58 completes the Build 57 interface and audio update, including quick MP3 delivery, track duplication, clearer editing controls and a refreshed workspace. Projects continue to use format 13 for exchange with the existing Mac Build 51 and Windows Build 54 readers.

Export MP3 mixes, stems and pattern loops

File → Export supports stereo MP3 at 320, 256, 192 or 128 kbps and 44.1 or 48 kHz. Quick MP3 presets open the delivery settings at 320 kbps for Song mix, All-track stems, Selected-track stems or Active pattern loop. Choose tracks in the source checklist for separate files or one combined mix. Pattern loops use the full source pattern and start with no effect tail. MP3 is lossy; keep your project or a WAV master for further editing. Bounce into the project continues to retain float WAV.

Duplicate a complete track

Right-click a track header and choose Duplicate Track, or focus its header and press Ctrl+D. The copy appears below the source with independent patterns and plug-in instances. Clips, sampler settings, mixer controls, sends and automation are copied together in one Undo step. Locked or frozen tracks, separated shared kits, incoming sidechains and timing groups spanning tracks require the preparation explained by the command. Ctrl+D in Piano or timeline clips continues to duplicate notes or clips.

Use the timeline tools and precise fades

With the timeline or a track header focused, use 1–0 to select Select, Move, Trim, Fade, Scissors / Split, Erase, Slip, Gain, Loop / Repeat and Stretch. P toggles pattern painting; A shows or hides automation. The Fades dialog includes independent Remove and 5 ms de-click buttons, duration presets, curve explanations and separate Whole clip / Fade in / Fade out previews. Mixed fields are retained until edited, and Apply is one Undo step.

Shape notes in Piano

Snap to Scale and Random Velocity remain visible in compact windows. Snap to Scale changes only selected unlocked pitches; Random Velocity varies selected unlocked notes by 0–32 velocity units, with Apply and Cancel. Wider velocity handles make same-onset chord notes easier to choose. A click alone leaves their strength unchanged.

Read the workspace more easily

Dark, Light, Follow System and Increase Contrast use clearer text, focus and panel boundaries. The transport has a dedicated readout and six position displays. Small-window Piano layouts reserve room for notes and full action labels. Saved project headings follow the filename while retaining the musical title inside the project. New Trap starters expose Kick, Snare and Closed Hat lanes through one shared kit.

Audition an instrument from its own editor

An open external instrument editor can sound its own keyboard while Sampledex is stopped. The sound follows the track’s inserts, fader, pan, routing and mute/solo controls. Closing the editor allows a bounded release tail. Tests use a purpose-built VST3 fixture; individual vendor instruments still need checking on your system.

Included from Build 56

MIDI setup, beat editing, sound browsing and sample-import improvements remain available.

Connect your MIDI keyboard

The Live keyboard window now includes an input selector, Refresh MIDI, connection status and incoming-note feedback. Sampledex remembers your choice, including Computer keyboard only. On first use, a single recognizable musical input can be selected automatically. For a Launchkey, use its musical MIDI port; the separate DAW or MIDIIN2 port is normally for control-surface functions. You can play the selected instrument while transport is stopped.

Edit notes and clips more quickly

Ctrl+Z handles Windows key events correctly. Use Ctrl+B or Ctrl+D, or the visible Duplicate buttons, to copy selected notes or clips after their end. Hold Ctrl before dragging to copy notes with Select or Draw, or clips with Select or Move. With Piano focused, Up/Down moves notes by one semitone and Shift+Up/Down moves them by one octave.

Duplicating notes extends an ordinary pattern when needed, together with a complete selected clip. Trimmed clips keep their windows. Patterns used by looping clips require an explicit length change to avoid moving later repetitions. Undo restores an automatic extension and its notes together.

Audition and manage sounds directly

Click or drag the side piano keys to hear the selected instrument without adding notes or pressing Play. Right-click a track name or empty track-list area for add/import actions and Delete selected track and its clips. Ctrl+Z restores a deleted track. Deleting the last selected track keeps MIDI monitoring connected to the surviving selection.

Browse factory sounds through the song output

Factory previews share the song’s playback output and have a separate preview level. Preparing preview identifies a waiting request. Stop cancels it or ends the playing preview; another choice replaces a waiting request. Hiding the browser or changing the project stops preview. Right-click a factory sound to preview it, load it, add a new instrument track or change its favorite status.

Import drum samples at their recorded pitch

A new drum sample plays at its recorded speed on the selected pad, with Tune set to zero. Replacing a pad preserves the other pads and its mixing/routing settings. Choose Keep root / tune when you want to retain the previous tuning. Existing melodic samplers keep their keyboard mapping. Replacing an entire synth drum kit explains which other pitches would become silent before you confirm.

See the source filename

The Sound editor shows a selectable, copyable sample filename. New imports retain the extension, and melodic track/mixer labels expose the source name. An original extension that was never stored in an older project cannot be recovered automatically.

Included from Build 55

Save and retain your latest settings

Save now detects an external edit arriving just after the project was written. Use Save As when a conflict is reported to preserve both versions. If a plug-in cannot capture its current settings, saving stops and keeps those settings available for retry instead of saving an older preset.

Recover after a plug-in latency change

Playback updates its timing compensation automatically after a supported plug-in latency change. A brief mute lets the new delay buffers fill. Choose the plug-in preset before recording: a change during a take stops recording, retains the captured MIDI prefix or complete audio file, and explains how to recover it. Failed MIDI placement can be retried or saved as a separate recovery project.

Keep sample memory bounded

Samples held by playback and Undo history now share the same 128 MiB resident sample budget. Repeated use of an identical sample window shares its memory. If the budget is full, Sampledex reports the problem and keeps your existing work. Use smaller samples, close unused players, or save and reopen to release Undo history.

Export note

Choose a fixed-latency preset before export. A plug-in that changes latency while an export is running causes an explicit error so a misaligned file is not reported as successful.

Included from Build 54

Share with your existing Mac app

Windows now writes format 13. Open a Windows Build 53 format-14 project in Windows Build 54 and use Save As to make a compatible copy. Keep a backup, then transfer the complete .sdxp folder/package in a ZIP. Third-party plug-ins still need compatible installations; bounce Mac-only Audio Units to audio for Windows.

See more of your pattern

Steps now shows 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 bars together, with a four-bar default. View zoom leaves the music unchanged. Bar/beat headings, the playhead, row editing and velocity follow the visible range. Use Length to extend the source pattern.

Editing safeguards

Keyboard entry follows the active bar. Bar copy and clear follow the selected hit. A time-signature change inside a bar keeps neighboring hits separate. Muted Windows rows transfer as zero-chance notes because Mac Build 51 does not have the newer row mute/solo controls. Use the note Chance control on Mac, or right-click a hit in Windows Steps and choose Hit chance → 100%, to re-enable a silent hit. See the user guide for round-trip editing details.

Start here first · Windows user guide