From your first sound
to an exported track

Build 72: tools that respond and a cleaner studio

Piano roll tools. With the Piano roll focused, press 1 Select, 2 Draw, 3 Erase, 4 Length, 5 Velocity or 6 Paint. Letters also work: V Select, D Draw, E Erase, T Length and B Paint. The pointer shows what a click will do: a pencil for Draw, an eraser for Erase, a brush for Paint, a move hand over notes and a resize cursor at a note's right edge. In Draw, click to add a note at the chosen Length or drag right to set its length while drawing. In Erase, drag across notes to remove them all in one Undo step; locked notes stay.

Arrangement cursors. Each timeline tool shows its action over a clip before you click. Clip edges show the resize cursor; an audio clip's upper corner handles show the fade cursor. The Fade tool is in the tool bar beside Select, Move, Trim, Split and Erase (4 or F with the timeline focused). Fades apply to audio clips.

Resize tracks. Point at the lower edge of any track, in its header or the arrangement, until the up/down cursor appears, then drag. All tracks share one height from 48 to 240 pixels. Double-click the edge to restore the default. Track height is a view setting and never changes the song.

A cleaner look. Controls follow sampledex.audio: outlined rounded buttons, Sampledex crimson for Play, Export and the selected tool, segmented tool and editor bars, grouped transport controls and two-line track headers with R, M, S and A.

Included from Build 71: start safely and keep your work

After an unexpected exit, Sampledex asks before starting and reopens nothing automatically. Choose Start normally, Start without outside plug-ins, or, when the last session left unsaved work, Recover without outside plug-ins. Without outside plug-ins, only Sampledex sounds play for that session; projects keep every plug-in's saved settings, and a warning names each silent slot. Restart normally to use them again. Hold Shift while starting to see these choices any time.

The previous session's unsaved work is renamed to Recovery before restart … in %APPDATA%\Sampledex\Recording before anything can overwrite it. Recovering opens it as an unsaved project; choose File > Save As to keep it. If the last session stopped while loading a plug-in, the prompt names it. That shows which load was interrupted, not a proven cause.

When a plug-in change cannot be saved because audio stopped or the plug-in did not respond, closing its window hides it and keeps the change; open the plug-in again to see it. Save, Open, New, Quit, Reconnect audio and editing offer Use confirmed settings, Try again or Cancel. Use confirmed settings keeps notes, clips, recordings and every other edit and uses each plug-in's last saved settings; only the unsaved plug-in change is left out. While recording, exporting or saving, plug-in changes stay live and save afterwards.

Included from Build 70: direct VST3 hosting

Windows VST3 instruments and effects run inside Sampledex again. Playback, live instruments, native plug-in editors, bounce and export use the same direct hosting approach. The extra interprocess audio queues, isolation delay and plug-in-process restart controls have been removed. A plug-in's own latency still receives the existing timing compensation.

The separate plug-in scanner remains included. Scanning examines candidate plug-ins in its helper process; playing or editing a loaded plug-in runs that plug-in in Sampledex. A crashing loaded plug-in can therefore close the DAW. Save regularly, keep project backups and use current Windows x64 VST3 versions.

Your recorded takes, folders, mixer and editing tools remain. Project files still use genuine schema 13; saved plug-in settings and portable media keep their existing format. This hosting repair does not make a missing Windows plug-in or a Mac-only Audio Unit available. See Use VST3 plug-ins for loading, editing and troubleshooting.

New in Build 68: choose what to bounce

Build 68 puts source selection, file formats, combined or separate output, range, effect tails and playback behavior in one bounce dialog. Original tracks stay as they are unless you explicitly request a supported replacement. The default adds muted audio so the new render does not double the song.

1. Use the timeline Select tool. Hold Ctrl or Shift and click the MIDI and audio clips you want, even on different tracks. Or drag a rectangle from empty timeline space.
2. Right-click a highlighted clip and choose Bounce / combine selected clips.... Right-clicking within the group keeps your selection.
3. Choose project audio or exported files, then One stereo mix or Separate source stems. Review sources, range, tail and processing before rendering.
4. For project audio, review After bounce. Keep originals and add muted audio is the default. To replace complete tracks during playback, explicitly choose the supported source-muting option.
5. Listen to the result. Keep the originals and use Undo if you want to revise the choice. Export WAV or AIFF for further production, or MP3 for convenient listening.

See Export and share for the complete walkthrough, formats and shared-effects limits. Bouncing MIDI renders its instrument to audio. Converting recorded audio to editable notes is the separate Pitch editing / audio to MIDI workflow for a single melody.

Workflow tools carried forward

Sampledex 0.20.0 Build 72: check the package’s BUILD_INFO for its version and build. The associated manual Windows workflow identifies the source commit and records native build, test and installer checks. Local checks do not replace testing with your audio/MIDI hardware or exchanging projects through both installed Windows and Mac apps.

Use the menu map below to find the new controls. Finish recording and Apply or Revert any pending Sound/Steps edits before opening a processing editor. Processing editors hold a private draft: typing, analysis and preview leave the project unchanged. Apply publishes one completed Undo edit. Cancel, closing the editor, changing the selected source or editing the project elsewhere prevents an outdated result from replacing newer work.

1. Clean up a recording

1. Select the audio clip and open Clip → Recording cleanup….
2. Enable only the repairs you need: Reduce mains hum at 50 or 60 Hz, Repair isolated clicks, or Reduce steady noise. Start with modest reduction and compare the result.
3. For steady noise, enter a source range that contains noise without music or speech. Confirm This selection contains noise only…, then click Learn noise profile. The profile needs at least 2,048 source frames and at most 120 seconds. Choose audible steady noise; a completely silent profile provides no noise reduction. If you edit the profile start or length later, confirm the new noise-only range and click Learn again. Changing the checkbox alone does not relearn it.
4. Set a comparison start and length, then use Original and Processed. They audition the same dry source range, up to 30 seconds. Click Apply cleanup when the result is useful.

Cleanup preserves the complete original source, clip duration and stereo alignment. Undo restores the previous edit; the Audio inspector’s Revert processing operation followed by Apply precision edit restores the retained source. Strong reduction can remove wanted sound, so judge the recording by listening. This tool does not remove arbitrary background voices or replace a clean recording.

2. Correct one melody or turn it into MIDI

1. Select a vocal, bass or other recording with one note sounding at a time. Open Clip → Pitch editing / audio to MIDI….
2. Set a useful minimum/maximum analysis frequency and minimum note length, then click Analyze melody. Review the contour and detected notes; detection is a proposal.
3. Edit each note’s enabled state, start, length, target MIDI pitch, cents and strength in the table. You can drag a note vertically in the contour to change its target pitch. Invalid or overlapping boundaries must be corrected before continuing.
4. Select a note and compare Original with Corrected. Try Preserve formants when correcting a voice. Click Apply pitch correction to change the audio, or Create MIDI track to add a separate editable MIDI melody while retaining the original audio.

Corrections are limited to ±12 semitones per operation and keep the source duration. MIDI uses nearest-semitone pitches; it does not reproduce every vocal slide or timbre. Choose a sound for the new MIDI track and inspect the notes. Chords, full mixes and polyphonic transcription are unsupported. Use Undo or the Audio inspector’s Revert operation to return to retained original audio.

3. Keep a large session organized

1. Select a track and open Track → Track folders… → Group selected track…. Name the folder. New empty folder… creates an empty container.
2. Use Move to, Move up or Move down to organize tracks and folders. Drag a folder onto another folder to nest it; Shift-drag places it before or after the target.
3. Click the folder’s plus/minus disclosure to hide or show its tracks and takes. With the folder focused, Left/Right collapses/expands and Enter or Space toggles it. F2 or Shift+F10 opens its commands.
4. Remove folder, keep all tracks removes only the container. Undo restores the organization.

Folders organize the timeline; they do not create buses, change audio routing, mute tracks or disarm hidden tracks. The supported limit is 128 folders nested up to eight levels. Save the complete package to retain their ordering and collapse state; see folder compatibility below.

4. See what Undo will do

Open Edit → Undo History…. Choose Undo or Redo in the list selector; the next available operation appears first with a meaningful label. Use the panel’s Undo or Redo button for one operation at a time. Selecting a row does not jump over several edits. History retains up to 256 edits, with a 256 MiB budget for older history. Older entries are released when needed; the most recent edit remains undoable even if that single edit exceeds the budget. It clears when the project closes and is not saved as part of the musical document.

5. Use external VST3 instruments and effects

Load Windows x64 VST3 instruments and effects through the Browser or the selected track's instrument/effect controls. The plug-in's native editor opens inside its Sampledex host window. Changes in a live editor affect the sounding track; Save and closing the live editor capture its settings. If capture fails, keep the editor open and retry instead of discarding the last confirmed state.

Choose Tools → Scan VST3 plug-ins to rescan a missing or updated plug-in. Use Tools → Add VST3 folder… if it is installed in a custom folder. Unavailable plug-ins retain their saved identity and settings in the project. Keep the supplied scanner, required DLLs, docs and licenses beside Sampledex.exe. There is no separate audio worker or process restart command in this build. See Use VST3 plug-ins.

6. Try an audio loop before importing it

1. Open Browser → Files, navigate to a supported audio file and select it.
2. Click Original to hear its recorded pitch and speed through the current output. This does not add a clip.
3. Click Sync or Timing. After analysis, Loop preview timing shows the source name, duration and a Detected, Ambiguous or Tempo unknown assessment. Treat detected timing as a suggestion, especially for irregular or nonrhythmic recordings.
4. Review or enter the correct Source BPM, Quarter-note beats or 4/4 bars. The Files timing fields can supply your suggested value. A bar here always means four quarter notes; use beats for another meter. The first source sample is treated as the downbeat.
5. Choose Preview loop to confirm and audition at the project’s tempo, or Cancel to dismiss the proposal. Analysis alone does not begin playback. The loop follows project tempo, seeks and loop wraps, and can audition while the song is stopped without starting or moving the arrangement.
6. Use Preview level to balance the audition. Browser Stop or the main transport Stop ends it; choosing another preview replaces it. Changing the reviewed timing cancels the old Sync request.

Audition accepts mono/stereo files up to 64 MiB decoded and tempo ratios from 1/16 to 16×. Reviewed source BPM must be 4–1,000; musical length must be positive and at most 120,000 quarter-note beats. Timing review never rewrites the audio file, adds a clip or creates an Undo edit. Import separately when ready. Browser and processing editors share one audition owner; hiding the Browser does not stop a later editor preview. Export releases audition resources before rendering.

7. Transfer a rhythmic feel

MIDI: select a source pattern and, if needed, a subset of notes in Piano. Open Piano → Tools → Groove templates…, right-click a note and choose Groove templates…, or use the main Tools menu. Right-clicking an unselected note selects it without deleting it. With no note selection, the editor uses the pattern’s unlocked notes. Choose a cycle length in quarter-note beats (up to 64) and a grid, including triplets; click Extract source, Straight or Light swing to rebuild the private table for those settings. Review timing offsets and accents, set independent Timing and Accent strengths, then Preview and Apply groove. Existing locks and overlap rules still apply. Notes retain pitch, duration and supported expression; linked placements of the same source pattern update together.

Audio preparation: first select the clip and open Clip → Audio timing / beat markers…. Use Analyze beats, or enter its known Source BPM (20–400) and click Build from BPM. Review the table’s source seconds, target beats and pinned markers. Add or remove interior markers as needed; endpoints cannot be removed, and markers must remain ordered. Changing the BPM field requires another Build from BPM. Compare Original and Preview draft, then Confirm timing. This enables the reviewed Follow-project timing and prepares its audio before publication.

Now open Clip → Audio groove templates…. Audio needs confirmed interior beat markers. Extract or import a template, adjust Timing strength, Preview and Apply. Audio contributes timing, not MIDI velocity. Linked timing-group clips are prepared together; crossing markers or invalid ranges leave the current project unchanged.

Import… and Export… exchange independent .sdxgroove version-1 template files. Exporting a template does not apply it to the song. A template is a repeating timing/accent pattern, not an audio file or a new project format. Give it a readable name: ordinary multilingual text is supported, while invisible control characters and malformed template data are rejected.

8. Hear a bus or return without changing the saved mix

In Mixer, click Solo on a bus or return. Multiple listening Solos combine their routes. A bus includes the tracks and paths feeding it; a return keeps its send/sidechain processing while suppressing unrelated dry paths. Explicit mutes still matter. The Master strip and Routing panel display a notice while a bus or return audition is active. Click the lit Solo buttons again to clear them. This is temporary listening state: it is not saved and not included in export. Change the actual routing/mutes or export source selection when you want a permanent delivery change.

9. Keep an idea played before pressing Record

1. Connect and select your MIDI input, select an instrument track and confirm that its monitored notes sound. Recent capture uses the loaded arrangement’s MIDI input; it is not a background recording of the microphone.
2. After playing an idea, open Transport → Recover recent MIDI performance….
3. Choose an available Playback, Stopped or Count-in section and the last 5, 15, 30, 60 or 120 seconds. Review the notes, controllers, pitch changes and original destination track names. Selecting a recovery pins that version for retry.
4. Choose Keep in Project to place it on its original tracks in one Undo edit, or Save Separate to write a portable recovery project. The status message reports its path under Sampledex Recording / Project History / Unplaced Takes.

Play, seek, loop and stopped sections retain their own timing. Events already captured by Record are excluded. A retained performance from another project must use Save Separate; it must not be redirected to a different instrument. Applying the exact same window again is blocked while its inserted clips remain. Failed or stale placement retains the selected recovery for retry. Save a recovery you need before quitting; this feature is recent MIDI recovery, not unlimited history or retrospective audio capture.

Keep the whole project when moving computers

The musical document remains genuine SAMPLEDEX_PROJECT 13, with supported older Windows inputs still readable. Pitch, cleanup and groove publish ordinary supported notes/audio/markers rather than a new required schema. Keep the whole .sdxp, including media, RecordingState, Windows supplemental state and the new optional WorkspaceState folder.

WorkspaceState/Folders.json stores folder organization, stable track IDs and collapse state separately from music. Its digest must match the exact musical document before it is restored. Missing, invalid or stale folder data opens with a flat track list and cannot overwrite newer music. For a single .sdx, retain the adjacent hidden .<filename>.workspace-state directory as well. Older apps may omit companions when resaving; preserve an untouched package. Do not rename IDs, change headers or copy an old companion onto a newer project to force a match.

Local independent codec/fixture checks provide compatibility evidence. Transfer through both actual installed Windows and Mac applications for this combined upgrade remains untested. Missing third-party plug-ins still need compatible installations; their retained state alone cannot make them play. Windows row mute/solo has the existing schema-13 conversion limits described under project compatibility.

1. Audio setup

Choose Audio / MIDI settings on Home, or open Audio / MIDI near the transport in the studio. Select your Windows playback device, playback buffer and sample rate. Device default, 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz are available; unsupported settings are rejected before changing the active output. A smaller buffer responds faster; a larger buffer gives the computer more time to process instruments and effects.

Use a moderate buffer such as 256 or 512 samples, where your device offers it. If you need to change the device’s default sample rate, use Windows sound settings or the interface’s control panel, then reconnect audio in Sampledex. Increase the buffer if you hear clicks or dropouts. The main track recorder uses WASAPI shared input on Windows; ASIO input is not included. Available physical channels depend on the Windows endpoint exposed by your interface driver.

To test output, load a factory demo from New project, select Song and press Play. Headphones are useful when recording a microphone.

Working on a slower laptop

Start with the built-in instruments and a small project. If playback clicks, try a buffer of 512 or 1024 samples where available. A larger buffer adds delay when playing live, so reduce it when recording if playback stays clean. Close other demanding applications and reduce the number of heavy instruments and effects in the project. Keep the laptop connected to power for longer sessions. When an instrument is using too much processing time, select its MIDI track and choose Track → Freeze instrument. Sampledex renders the instrument to audio while keeping mixer, effects and routing controls live. Use Track → Unfreeze instrument to return to MIDI editing; the original notes are retained. Freeze supports single-output instruments; shared drum-kit parts and samplers with separate pad/zone outputs require a supported bounce/export route or routing changes.

2. Find your way around

Use the Home page

Home opens at launch and puts project creation and setup in one place. Reopen it with the Home button or File → Home. Choose Blank studio, Open project, or Continue studio to return to the current song. Audio / MIDI settings opens device configuration, Scan VST3 plug-ins scans the configured folders, and Windows user guide opens this guide. Add other plug-in folders through Tools.

Each genre template has two choices: Create project loads instruments and empty patterns; Open demo loads editable notes as well. The descriptions and BPM help you choose. Scroll Home to see the remaining templates on a short display.

Give the timeline more room

1. Click Focus timeline or press F6 to hide the browser and editors, including floating panels. This gives the arrangement the available workspace.
2. Click an editor tab when you need to edit notes, sounds or audio. Press F7 to show or hide the current editor and F8 to show or hide the browser.
3. In split view, drag the horizontal divider down to enlarge the timeline or up to enlarge the editor. Double-click it to give each area equal space.
4. Drag the divider beside the browser to change its width. Double-click to restore its default width.

Use the Windows title-bar maximize button or View → Maximize / restore main window to fill the available desktop area.

Focus editor gives the selected editor the workspace. Click Split view to bring the timeline back. View → Balanced workspace shows the browser and docked editor alongside the arrangement. Time and Height controls change zoom within an editor; the dividers change how much screen space it gets. The arrangement has a visible zoom slider. Hold Ctrl while using the mouse wheel over the timeline to zoom around the pointer, or use View → Zoom timeline in / out. Fit arrangement horizontally shows the song width; Make timeline tracks taller / shorter changes the lane height. You can also drag the lower edge of any track, and double-click that edge to restore the default height.

Float, dock, hide and restore panels

Each Browser, Piano roll, Sound, Mixer, Audio, Steps, Automation and Routing panel has Float and Hide controls in its header. Float opens a resizable window that you can move independently. Its Dock button returns it to the main workspace. Several different panels can float at the same time.

Closing a floating window hides that panel. It keeps the project and edits intact. Reopen it with View → [panel name] → Show or its editor tab. Each panel’s View submenu also offers Hide, Float in its own window and Dock in workspace. The top-bar Layout button opens the same workspace choices.

For a single laptop screen, keep the editors docked and use F6 to return to the arrangement. Scroll inside compact panels to reach their remaining controls. If you lose track of a panel, choose View → Reset layout and dock all panels.

Sampledex saves panel positions and sizes when it closes and restores them at the next launch. Floating panels are moved onto an available display if a previously used screen is disconnected. Workspace settings are separate from your song.

3. Create and save a project

1. From Home, choose Blank studio, Create project on a genre template, or Open demo. The File menu also provides New project, New from template and Factory demos.
2. Use the browser’s Add Drums, Add Sample Kit, Add Bass / 808, Add Keys or Add Synth buttons for more instruments. Add Drums creates synthesized drums; Add Sample Kit creates a separate sample drum track and a four-bar pattern. Open the Track menu to add, rename or remove tracks, choose instruments and manage effects.
3. Select a track to edit its clips, instrument and mixer controls.
4. Choose Save project or press Ctrl+S.

Move projects between Windows and Mac

Windows Build 72 saves format 13 for the existing Mac Build 51. Open a Windows Build 53 format-14 project in Windows Build 72, then use Save As to create a compatible copy. Windows Build 72 also continues to read supported older projects.

Save the project as .sdxp. Close it, then ZIP the entire .sdxp folder/package for transfer, including Project.sdx and its media. Extract the ZIP on the other computer and open the .sdxp. Do not send only Project.sdx. Keep an untouched backup before updating or transferring work.

Windows row mute/solo is carried into the Mac-readable notes as zero hit probability for inaudible sounds. The notes remain editable. In Windows Steps, right-click a hit and choose Hit chance → 100% to make it play on every pass. On Mac, use the note/step Chance control to change those hits; Mac Build 51 does not have the newer Windows row mute/solo controls. Existing drum-sampler pads carry custom names. Windows keeps supplementary edit-state files with the project so an unchanged return restores its original row settings and note probabilities. If the Mac edits or resaves the project, Windows honors that newer musical document instead of restoring stale settings. Keep a Windows backup when moving work between these versions. For a single-file .sdx project, its adjacent .<filename>.windows-state folder holds the supplementary settings; keep it alongside the file. Using a complete .sdxp package is simpler for transfer.

Sampledex stock sounds travel with their project settings. Third-party instruments and effects need compatible plug-ins installed on both computers. Audio Units are Mac-only; bounce those tracks to audio when sharing with Windows. The project retains unavailable plug-in state, but that plug-in cannot sound until a compatible installation is available.

Use a .sdxp project package for projects with audio. It is a folder containing Project.sdx and the project’s media. Move or back up the whole package. Open project asks whether you want a Project folder (.sdxp) or a Project file (.sdx), then opens the matching Windows picker. Choose the complete package folder, or choose its internal Project.sdx through the file picker. Both open the package and its media.

Save As creates a separate destination. Save checks for changes made to the destination outside Sampledex so it does not silently overwrite a newer project. Keep working copies outside the application’s installation folder.

Keep original takes when sharing

Build 72 saves original recordings and comp choices in the optional RecordingState folder inside a complete .sdxp. Keep that folder and all its contents with Project.sdx, media and any Windows supplemental state. The audible arrangement remains genuine format 13 and can open without the new take editor. Older Mac and Windows builds can play that arrangement, subject to available plug-ins, but cannot edit take lanes they do not support.

A companion is restored only when it matches the musical document. If another app changes the song, Sampledex honors that newer music and preserves stale take material separately for recovery; it does not overwrite the song with old choices. Save As in an older app may omit take metadata it does not understand. Keep the original complete package before using an older app. For embedded .sdx files, keep the adjacent hidden .<filename>.recording-state folder and any .<filename>.windows-state folder with the file; using .sdxp is easier.

Import audio and MIDI

1. Select one or more audio and MIDI files in Windows File Explorer. You can mix file types in the same drop, up to 64 files within the project’s track limits.
2. Drop them on the arrangement at the desired time. The snap grid sets the position, and the files become separate tracks at that position. Dropping elsewhere in Sampledex uses the playhead position, except a single audio file dropped on a sampler drum row in Steps, which loads that pad. The File menu and browser also provide import commands.
3. Review Import audio and MIDI. The summary shows each file’s audio tempo information or MIDI tracks, tempo and meter events.
4. Leave Project timing → Keep project tempo and meter selected to preserve the current clock. To adopt MIDI timing, explicitly choose Use tempo and meter from [file]. Only that chosen MIDI file supplies the project’s timing over its imported span.
5. Click Import. Wait for completion before editing the new tracks. One Undo removes the entire batch. Use Edit → Undo or Ctrl+Z; read-only filename and status fields do not intercept project Undo. While typing in an editable text field, Undo still edits that text.

Cancel the review or press Escape during preparation to leave the project unchanged. A file that cannot be decoded stops the batch with an error; Sampledex does not publish a partial import. A Sampledex project must be opened on its own rather than mixed into an audio/MIDI drop.

MIDI uses the project clock unless you choose a timing source. Standard MIDI File formats 0 and 1 with ticks-per-quarter-note timing are supported. Format 2 and SMPTE-timed files report an unsupported-format error; export a supported MIDI format from the source application first. Tempo-only files have no importable performance tracks and are rejected. MIDI brings in musical events, not the source application’s instruments or sound.

4. Playback, tempo and time signature

Song plays the arrangement. Pattern auditions the selected MIDI pattern in a repeating loop. Return to Song to hear every track. The transport can show Bars/beats, Clock, Seconds, Samples, 30 fps non-drop Timecode or Time remaining. The arrangement ruler seeks within the song.

Change the tempo

1. Use the BPM field in the transport or the visible tempo picker above the tracks.
2. Choose Fixed for one tempo across the song, or Tempo Map for changes over time.
3. In Tempo Map mode, a BPM edit creates or updates the point at the playhead. Step holds its BPM; Linear and Smooth change it toward the following point.

Tap estimates BPM from repeated taps. The Tempo button opens the graph, where you can add, drag or remove tempo points. Tools includes half/double tempo, constant tempo over a loop and map reset. Tempo-follow audio is prepared after timing changes; watch the status area while it is processing.

Drag to loop a section

1. Find the loop band directly above the tracks, below the section names. Choose the arrangement snap grid.
2. Drag from the start to the end of the section you want to repeat. Release to set the highlighted range and turn on Song looping.
3. Drag either end of the range to resize it. Drag its middle to move the whole range. Shift-drag draws a replacement even when you start inside the existing range. Hold Alt during the drag to ignore snap.
4. Click Play to repeat that section. For recording passes, first configure and arm the tracks, then use main Record with Loop on.
5. Double-click the band, click the transport Loop button, or press L with the timeline focused to stop looping while keeping the range. Right-click the band and choose Clear custom loop to remove the range and turn Loop off.

Ctrl+L with timeline focus creates a loop covering the selected clips. The same command and Loop whole arrangement are in Markers. The band's boundaries and status text show the chosen range; its end is where playback returns to the start. A plain click in the upper section strip or the bar ruler moves the playhead. The loop band stays visible when you scroll through tracks or expanded take lanes.

Escape cancels an unfinished drag. Changing horizontal zoom, scroll position, window layout or project also discards that unfinished range. A finished range edit is one Undo step. Range editing is unavailable during recording or a protected operation. Saved boundaries travel with the project; reopening starts with Loop off, so turn it on when you want repeated playback. Pattern mode separately auditions a source pattern; creating an arrangement loop returns to Song.

Enter an exact loop range

With the timeline focused, press Ctrl+Shift+L, or use Transport → Edit loop range.... Enter Loop start and Loop end as bar.beat.tick, then click Set loop. The end is exclusive: 1.1.0 to 5.1.0 repeats four bars in 4/4. Cancel or Escape leaves the existing range unchanged. If the project changes while the dialog is open, reopen it before setting the range.

Meter and markers

Use Tempo / meter, or Tempo Tools at narrow window sizes, to set a time signature. Markers adds, jumps to and removes markers. Click enables the metronome. Transport → Position display chooses among the six displays; Transport → Recording count-in selects Off, 1 bar or 2 bars.

5. Arrange clips

Double-click an empty area of a MIDI track to create a pattern clip. Select a clip to edit its source pattern below. Pattern clips can share their notes: editing one source updates all linked placements. Use Clip → Make pattern unique before changing only one placement.

Ctrl-click or Shift-click adds or removes clips from the selection, including MIDI and audio on different tracks. Drag from empty timeline space to select a rectangle; right-click within the highlighted group for bounce, combine and export. The Clip menu also provides Copy, Cut, Paste, Duplicate and Delete. Commands limited to one track reject a cross-track selection rather than applying only part of it. Paste onto a track of the same type; the snap grid sets the paste position. Choose Clip → Join selected clips or press Ctrl+J with the timeline focused to join MIDI patterns or consolidate audio clips within one track. Use Bounce / combine for mixed media or several tracks. Undo restores the original placements.

Resize clips directly

With Select or Move, point at either clip edge until the resize cursor appears, then drag. Both MIDI and audio have visible edge handles. The snap grid controls the position; audio can extend only into available source material. Drag the clip body when you want to move or Ctrl-drag a copy. The upper audio fade handles retain their fade action. Press Escape before releasing to cancel an unfinished edit.

Duplicate a track

Right-click the track header and choose Duplicate Track, or focus the header and press Ctrl+D. The copy appears directly below it and becomes selected. Clips, independent editable patterns, instrument and effect settings, sampler controls, mix, sends and automation are copied together. One Undo removes the duplicate. Bus destinations remain shared. If copying is unavailable, follow the explanation: unlock or unfreeze the track, restore a separated shared kit, disconnect incoming sidechains or unlink timing groups that span tracks. The project limit is 64 tracks.

Edit fades precisely

Select audio clips and choose Clip → Fades…. Set each end’s duration and curve, choose a duration preset, or use Remove for one end. The 5 ms button applies a Linear de-click fade. Presets fit the shortest selected clip and keep the chosen curve. Switch the preview between Whole clip, Fade in and Fade out to see short fades on long recordings. Where fades overlap, their gains multiply.

Fields marked Mixed stay unchanged unless edited; untouched text retains its stored precision. Apply commits one edit; Cancel retains the project. Hold Alt while dragging a timeline fade handle for fine adjustment.

MIDI notes and pattern controller events move, copy and join with their clips. Track automation stays at its arrangement positions, including imported pitch-bend automation. Review and edit those automation lanes independently after rearranging clips.

The Tools → Timeline tool menu exposes the same editing tools as the arrangement toolbar. The Clip menu includes duplicate, split at playhead, delete and the available audio-processing commands for the selected clip.

Choose the snap grid before editing. Use the visible bar count, zoom, overview and scrollbars to navigate. The ruler stays above the tracks while you scroll vertically and continues to label visible empty bars after the song ends. Eight extra bars provide workspace for your next idea. Looking or scrolling there does not change the song length or playback end. + 8 bars extends the arrangement; use it before seeking or creating a loop beyond the current endpoint. Right-click a clip for commands; Undo restores the previous project state. The arrangement’s Duplicate button or Ctrl+B / Ctrl+D copies selected clips after their end. Right-click a track name or empty track-list space to add a track, import audio/MIDI, load a sample, or delete a track and its clips. Ctrl+Z restores a deleted track.

6. Edit MIDI notes

Select a MIDI clip and open Piano. Click or drag over the vertical piano keys to audition the selected instrument while stopped. Releasing the mouse ends the audition; no notes are added. Drum racks sound only on their mapped pitches. The note grid spans all 128 MIDI pitches; scroll or change Height to reach another register.

Selected groups move together and stay within the pattern and MIDI pitch range. Locked notes are protected. Click the piano roll first, then use Ctrl+A to select all, Ctrl+C/X/V to copy/cut/paste notes, and Delete to remove selected notes.

Duplicate in the Piano toolbar, Ctrl+B or Ctrl+D copies selected notes immediately after their end. With Select or Draw, hold Ctrl before dragging selected notes to copy them. Up/Down moves notes by one semitone; Shift+Up/Down moves by one octave. Duplication extends the pattern when needed and extends a complete selected clip with it; trimmed clips keep their chosen windows. Linked clips share the new source notes. If the pattern has looping clips, change its length explicitly in Pattern settings before duplicating beyond its end, because that changes the timing of later repetitions. Undo restores the notes and any automatic length change together.

Snap to Scale moves selected unlocked notes to the current key/scale, choosing the lower pitch when both are equally close. It retains timing, velocity and other expression. Scale guide changes the display only. Random Velocity… opens a private draft: choose an integer amount from 0–32 (default 8), then Apply. Results stay within MIDI velocity 1–127. Cancel or amount 0 creates no edit. Changes to the project, pattern, selection or owning Piano window reject an outdated dialog.

Drag the velocity caps below the notes to adjust strength. Selected or hovered caps show their values; the nearest cap is preferred when several notes start together. Relative dragging prevents a click or small pointer jitter from jumping the velocity. Narrow and floating Piano windows keep the full action labels in an extra row.

Right-click a note to open its Piano tools without deleting it. Right-clicking an unselected note selects it; right-clicking a selected note retains the group selection. Use Erase or Delete when you want to remove notes.

Quantize pattern aligns notes to the current grid. Tools also quantizes starts, ends or lengths, snaps pitches to the selected scale, transposes by an octave, reverses timing or humanizes velocity. The key and scale controls set the highlighted pitches; highlighting does not itself change notes.

7. Sounds and sampling

The browser contains 74 factory presets. Search by name or choose a category. Load applies a preset to the selected track; when an instrument needs a MIDI destination, Sampledex can create one. Use a preset’s Preview button to hear it without replacing the project instrument. Preview level controls audition volume; Stop preview ends it. Right-click a factory sound to preview, load it, add a new instrument track, or change its favorite state. Factory previews share the song’s playback output and keep their own preview level. Preparing preview identifies a waiting request; Stop cancels it or ends a playing preview. Choosing another preset replaces the waiting request. Hiding the browser or changing the project stops the preview. Opening the playback device for the first sound can still take time, depending on its driver. Click the star to save a favorite and choose Favorites only to narrow the list. Project Patterns places an existing pattern, and Files navigates local folders for audio, MIDI and projects.

The Sound tab opens the selected instrument editor or a sampler inspector. For a melodic sample or drum pad, set the root note, tuning, gain, pan, envelope and playback options. Loop and One-shot control playback. Source and loop range fields specify the retained sample region.

Load sample / Drum pad and Track → Load sample into selected sound use the same import controls. Select the destination pad before loading a drum sample. New drum samples use their trigger pitch as Root and Tune 0 to retain their recorded speed. Existing melodic samplers keep their root mapping; play that note to hear the source at original pitch. Enable Keep root / tune on replacement to retain deliberate tuning. The source filename, including its extension for new imports, appears in the copyable source field; melodic track and Mixer labels also show it. Old projects retain their existing names. Loading a sample into a synth drum instrument replaces the entire instrument with a single sampled sound; choose a sampler rack to replace individual pads while keeping the rest of the kit.

After a sample loads, Sampledex opens Sound, displays its source filename and confirms the MIDI pitch to play. Click Audition sample to hear it without starting the song; click Stop audition to release it. Audition follows the track’s mute, solo, effects and routing. It also releases the note after ten seconds, when you change sounds or when Sound is hidden. Apply or Revert pending sampler settings before auditioning.

On a narrow panel, controls wrap into a vertical list; scroll to reach the source, loop and envelope controls. Sampler edits remain pending until Apply; Revert reloads the saved settings. Apply affects the selected instrument or pad. If that sound changes elsewhere while you are typing, Sampledex keeps your exact unfinished text and disables Apply. Use Reload current sound to discard that draft and display the current sound; Reload adds no Undo edit. Select an unlocked MIDI track before loading a sample. A drum rack’s pad selector chooses the pad being edited.

8. Build a beat

1. Select a MIDI track and its pattern, then open Steps.
2. Choose a sound row. Drum instruments show their pad names; other instruments show note names. Rename row... gives a pitch your own name. Leave the name blank to restore its instrument name.
3. Click a step to add a hit; click it again to remove it. Shift-click selects a hit without toggling it.
4. Steps starts at View 1 bar. Use the Bar selector, arrows or numbered tabs to select another source bar. For example, choose 8 to see and edit source bar 8 of an eight-bar pattern. The selector shows the current and total bars; hover over a numbered tab for its meter and partial-bar status. Beat divisions and the number of sixteenth-note cells follow the pattern’s time signature.
5. Start playback to see the active step. Enable Follow playhead to follow the playing source bar; choosing a bar manually turns this off.

Build a kit from your own audio files

1. Finish any active Steps edit, or Apply/Revert pending Sound settings, then click Add Sample Kit in the Browser. It creates a separate sample drum track and four-bar pattern; existing instrument tracks remain unchanged. Add Drums remains available for synthesized drums.
2. Open that kit in Steps. Drag one audio file from File Explorer onto the destination sound row. The highlighted row identifies the pad that will receive it.
3. Wait for the load to finish, then click the row’s > audition button. The pad uses the full source at its original pitch and playback speed. Other pads and the track’s mixer settings stay intact. Undo restores the previous pad sound.
4. Use Sound... or the row’s ... → Sound settings... for deliberate tuning, source trimming or other pad adjustments.

Drop one audio file on an existing, untransposed sampler drum row. Multiple or mixed-file drops, locked tracks and a destination changed during loading are rejected. A drop cannot replace a synth or VST instrument with a sampler; use Add Sample Kit to create the appropriate destination. To add audio tracks instead, drop files on the arrangement.

If the selected clip is transposed, Steps still shows its source pitches and refuses a row drop. Select an untransposed placement or use Sound to choose the exact drum pad. For a shared drum part, click Sound → Load sample / Drum pad to load its pad on the kit owner.

Creating any Browser instrument or preset on a new track also requires pending Sound or Steps edits to be finished or discarded. A rejected creation keeps your draft and current track/clip selection. In Sound, use Apply/Revert; in Steps, finish the gesture or press Escape to cancel it, then retry.

Sampledex does not automatically detect the sample’s musical key. A pad’s root note defines its MIDI trigger mapping; it is not a detected key. Listen and use Sound settings if you want to tune the sample.

Hear and balance each sound

Each row has > to audition its pitch, M to mute it, S to solo it within the instrument, and ... for its sound and editing menu. Choose Sound settings... there to open the sound, or use Rename sound... and Open Piano roll. The lower Sound... button opens the selected row’s sound. Row names, mute and solo are saved with the track and apply across its patterns. Separated drum parts share these controls with their kit’s instrument. Muting keeps the notes available for editing.

Row mute and solo work with sounding MIDI pitches. Transposed shared drum parts retain their correct pad controls. For an ordinary instrument track with transposed clips, row mute and solo are disabled; use the Mixer for track mute and solo.

Draw drums in Piano roll

1. Select a drum row in Steps, then click Piano roll in the Steps footer. You can also choose ... → Open Piano roll beside that row or press Ctrl+P while Steps has focus.
2. Piano opens the same selected pattern, centered on that row’s source MIDI pitch. Choose Draw, set Snap and Length, then click to add drum notes. Use the mapped drum pitches to choose sounds; Piano can edit drum patterns as well as melodic parts.
3. Adjust note lengths or velocity, or use a finer snap for rolls and fills. Return to Steps to see the same pattern’s grid-aligned hits. Both editors change the same notes; there is no copy or import step.

Off-grid timing is retained when switching editors. Steps reports notes that do not fit its grid; use Piano to view and edit those notes precisely. Source edits still affect linked placements, and Undo restores the musical edit.

Fill a drum row quickly

1. Select the source bar you want to change, then right-click the sound row or open its ... menu.
2. Choose Fill every step (1/16), Fill every 2 steps (1/8) or Fill every 4 steps (1/4). This replaces that sound’s notes in the active source bar with evenly spaced hits at the current new-note velocity.
3. Use Clear this sound in this bar to remove that row’s notes from the active bar. Other rows, other bars and MIDI controllers stay unchanged.
4. Press Ctrl+Z to undo the entire fill or clear. A locked note in the affected row and bar blocks the operation. Windows preserves these protected notes; use an editable source copy when replacement is required.

Imported MIDI can place several notes of one pitch in the same step. Clicking that occupied cell off clears its matching notes together in one edit. If any of them is locked, the cell stays unchanged and explains why. Use Piano to inspect the individual notes. Steps also reports notes that cannot be shown on its sixteenth-note grid; their timing is retained, and Piano remains the precise editor for them.

Choose an editing range or an overview

View 1 bar is the default. Choose 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 bars in the View menu to work across a larger range. Hit targets keep a readable minimum width, so a wide range may need horizontal scrolling. Use Shift+mouse wheel, a horizontal trackpad gesture or the bottom scrollbar. Choosing a numbered tab or Bar selector brings that bar into view. The status message identifies the active source bar and the bars currently on screen.

Choose Overview (64 bars) to fit up to 64 source bars into the panel. Each row shows a small preview of the rhythm and hit strength in each bar. Narrow summaries combine nearby hits; open a bar for individual-step detail. When notes are stacked in one step, the preview retains the strongest visible hit and whether any hit has a chance to sound. A later zero-chance note does not hide the others. Click a bar in that overview to open it in View 1 bar. This click navigates without changing notes. Use an editing view for individual hits and velocity. View and Overview leave pattern length unchanged; use Length... to change the source length.

Steps edits the source pattern used by the selected MIDI clip. A one-bar source can repeat through an eight-bar arrangement clip; it still has one source bar. To write eight different bars, extend the source with Length or Duplicate +bar. Source edits affect its linked placements. Choose Make Unique first if you want an independent variation. Pattern playback auditions the source; Song playback follows its arrangement placements.

Velocity and swing

Drag an active step up or down to change its velocity. Release to keep the change as one Undo step. The velocity lane below the grid edits existing hits on the selected row. You can also select a hit and set Velocity numerically from 1 to 127; with no hit selected, this sets the level for new hits. Locked hits retain their values.

Set Swing from 0 to 75%, then click Apply swing. This edits eligible notes throughout the shared pattern, not just the visible bar. Zero is straight timing; the percentage is the delay applied to alternate sixteenth-note steps. Applying the same amount again does not keep moving those steps later. Locked notes and notes that do not lie on the nominal step grid are preserved. Existing note ends are retained, so a delay that cannot fit a note is rejected; reduce swing or lengthen that note in Piano.

Copy bars and change pattern length

The Steps message identifies the copied source and the selected destination bar. Paste bar replaces the destination’s notes and controllers; Undo restores it. If the displayed pattern changed before a command could finish, check the refreshed bar and try again.

These edits affect every placement linked to the source pattern. Use Make unique first for an independent variation. Each completed operation is one Undo step. When changing the length, a selected placement showing the complete source follows the new length; trimmed or looping placements keep their own arrangement windows. Other linked placements keep their existing windows.

Work on one screen

Opening Steps gives its grid more initial height; the workspace divider remains adjustable. Compact reduces row height; short panels use compact rows automatically. Used sounds shows pitches used anywhere in the current pattern; turn it off to add another sound. Scroll vertically for more rows. Use Shift+mouse wheel, a horizontal trackpad gesture or the horizontal scrollbar when a bar has more cells than fit. Focus Steps docks a floating Steps panel if needed, hides the browser and gives the editor more room; Split view restores the divided workspace. If the grid is too short to work comfortably, use Focus Steps or enlarge the editor with the workspace divider. Use Piano for detailed pitches, note lengths, off-grid timing and note locks.

Right-click a step

Right-click a step for Hit chance, Hit velocity presets of 32, 64, 96 or 127, and Remove hits in this step. The same menu provides bar copy, paste, duplicate and clear, Sound row tools... and Open Piano roll. Hit edits require an existing editable hit; bar commands act on the selected source bar. Right-clicking alone does not add or remove notes.

Hit chance

Right-click an existing hit and use Hit chance to choose 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%. Zero is silent and keeps the note; 100% plays on every pass. A zero-chance hit is dimmed and shows 0% when space allows. Locked hits cannot be changed. Each change is one Undo step.

Use the keyboard in Steps

Click the grid or a row name to focus Steps. Arrow keys move the selected row or cell and scroll it into view without changing notes. Enter toggles the selected hit; Delete or Backspace removes it. Page Up / Page Down changes bars, Home / End selects the first or last step in the visible range, and F2 renames the selected row. 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. Ctrl+P opens the selected drum pitch in Piano. These shortcuts apply while Steps has focus; text editors retain their usual typing, copy and paste controls.

When Used sounds leaves no visible rows, Delete has no hit to remove. Delete and unsupported modified Delete combinations stay within Steps and leave arrangement clips intact. Changing bars during an unfinished velocity gesture cancels that gesture and refreshes the accepted pattern.

9. Edit audio clips

Import audio and MIDI from File Explorer, the browser, File commands or the Audio tab. Select the audio track and use the Audio tab’s clip selector to choose the clip.

• Start bar / Move clip: move the clip to a musical position.
• Source offset / Length / Apply trim: set the portion of the source to retain.
• Duplicate after: place a copy immediately after the selected clip.
• Lock clip: protect it from edits; unlock before changing it.
• Fade in / Fade out: set fades in seconds.
• Reverse, Normalize and Split: process or divide the clip.
• Processing tools: slip the source, change gain, repeat, stretch or revert processing.

Scroll the Audio panel to reach all controls at smaller window sizes. Choosing a processing operation sets its amount to a useful starting value; check that amount before applying it. Revert does not use an amount.

Source tempo and original playback speed

Imported audio keeps its original speed. Sampledex reads embedded tempo tags when available, otherwise estimates the pulse from a bounded part of the audio. The import review and Audio editor distinguish metadata, an estimate, an uncertain estimate and unknown tempo. Unknown tempo leaves the Source BPM field blank. An estimate can be half or double the intended BPM, especially for sparse or changing rhythms; listen and verify it.

Use Analyze tempo to analyze the selected clip again, or enter the known source BPM manually. Only clicking Follow BPM adapts that clip to the project’s timing. Entering a number or importing a file does not itself stretch the audio or change project tempo. The source timing of a clip already following tempo is retained in the project. For editable beat markers, use Clip → Audio timing / beat markers…. Review source seconds, target beats and pinned markers, then Confirm timing. See Audio timing and groove.

Imported tempo tags and estimates are cached for the current app session. After restarting Sampledex, a fixed-speed clip may show unknown source tempo; use Analyze tempo again or enter its BPM. Saved Follow BPM timing remains part of the project.

Full-file imports are limited to two hours, mono or stereo, and 8–192 kHz. Oversized recordings are rejected rather than silently truncated. WAV and AIFF are the most predictable interchange formats; compressed support depends on the decoder and Windows codecs.

10. Mix and route

Open Mixer for track, bus and return strips. Master stays in its own column while channels scroll horizontally. Volume, pan, mute, solo and meters are at the top; short strips use horizontal level controls to keep the mix visible. Scroll below these controls for instruments, inserts and channel routing. Click an instrument to open its editor. Click an insert for a menu with Open editor, Toggle bypass and Remove insert.

Add an effect to the right channel

1. In Mixer, find the track, bus, return or Master strip and click its + Effect button. For the selected track, the Add effect button in Piano opens the same picker.
2. Choose a stock effect or a scanned, available Windows VST3 effect. The choice stays attached to the channel whose button you opened, even if you select another track before choosing. Cancel makes no project edit.
3. Click the new insert to open its editor, bypass it or remove it. Save the project to retain the chain and its settings. Undo removes the addition as one edit.

Each track, bus, return and Master supports eight insert effects. Bypassed effects still occupy a slot, and Limiter input gain uses one slot. Remove an insert before adding another to a full chain. The button is disabled when the channel is full, the track or a song section is locked, or recording/current work prevents editing. Hover over it for the channel restriction. The picker checks the target again before committing, so a removed channel, new project or newly filled chain cannot receive an outdated choice.

For a frozen instrument, the original MIDI source stays protected. Add effects to its rendered audio track; those inserts transfer back when you use Unfreeze instrument. Unfreeze first if you need to add directly to the original source. Browser factory-effect loading follows the same channel checks. If a VST3 is missing from the picker, use Tools → Scan VST3 plug-ins and, for a custom location, Tools → Add VST3 folder….

Click Sends in the Mixer header to show or hide the selected track’s sends below the strips. The count in the button shows how many sends the track has. Drag a send to hear its level change during playback; release to keep one Undo step, or enter a level in decibels. Send headings show Pre/Post, Off and Read state. Read automation controls its fader while active; turn the lane Off or edit its points before adjusting the level manually. The send area scrolls when more sends are present.

Open Routing to add buses and returns, change a channel’s output, and create or edit sends. Post-fader sends follow the source fader; pre-fader sends do not. Sidechain sends feed a compatible effect’s detector input. Invalid feedback routes are rejected. Shared reverb and delay returns start fully wet.

Built-in effect controls

Built-in plug-in editors group controls by purpose and show their values and units. Dynamics editors include a numeric gain-reduction readout. Third-party VST3 plug-ins retain their own editors where provided.

Boost into Sampledex Limiter

1. Open Sampledex Limiter from its Mixer insert.
2. Click Add input gain. A visible Limiter input gain effect is inserted immediately before the limiter. It uses one of the channel's eight insert slots.
3. Adjust Input gain from 0 to +24 dB. Zero adds no boost; double-click resets to zero. Watch gain reduction while setting the limiter's Ceiling and Release.

The added effect is the existing stock compressor at Ratio 1:1 and Mix 100%. This keeps its sound readable and savable by older Mac and Windows apps without changing the limiter's saved format. It is a separate insert: limiter presets and A/B do not change this input gain.

Bypassing, removing or reordering Limiter input gain changes the signal path. Keep that stage directly before its own limiter, with Ratio 1:1 and Mix 100%, to keep the linked knob available. If you change those compressor settings, the editor asks you to restore them rather than resetting them silently.

11. Automation

1. Select the destination track and open Automation. Press A with the timeline or track header focused to show a compact lane; click its heading to open the full lane controls.
2. Create a Volume, Pan, Modulation or Pitch bend lane.
3. Click the graph to add a point. Drag a point to adjust time and value; right-click to remove it.
4. Choose Linear, Hold or Smooth for a point’s transition to the next point.
5. Enable the lane’s Read mode to hear it during playback.

The toolbar wraps when the panel is narrow so Read and Delete remain available. Switching tracks changes the available lanes. Creating plug-in parameter and send automation from this interface remains a difference from the macOS application; existing saved lanes still use the shared playback engine.

12. Record MIDI and audio

The main Record button records all armed tracks together. Use it for MIDI, mono or stereo audio, simultaneous inputs, count-in, loop takes and punch. Track headers and track strips in Mixer have an R arm button and a Monitor/Input button that shows Auto, On, Off or No input. An armed R stays visibly highlighted while recording, even though arming controls are temporarily unavailable. Timeline and Mixer arm buttons expose their armed or disarmed checked state to accessibility tools. A disabled or rejected arm action leaves the indicator matched to the actual track.

First MIDI recording

1. Select an unlocked MIDI track with an instrument. Click its Auto / Monitor button.
2. Choose your MIDI device, Default MIDI input, or Computer / on-screen keyboard only. Use Hardware channel to accept all channels or one channel from 1–16. This filters incoming hardware; it does not change the instrument’s output channel. On a Launchkey, choose the musical MIDI port; DAW, InControl or MIDIIN2 ports are usually for control surfaces.
3. Click the track’s R button to arm it. Keep Monitor: Auto to hear the armed track.
4. Set the playhead and choose Transport → Recording count-in → Off, 1 bar or 2 bars. The main recorder applies this count-in to both MIDI and audio.
5. Press Record, play, then press Stop or Finish take. Wait for the take to finish preparing. Play it back and save your project.

Hardware MIDI routing works with the Live keyboard window closed. Open Live keyboard to use the computer/on-screen keys or choose the default input. Computer keys audition the selected eligible track independently of the hardware destinations. With nothing armed, Record arms the selected eligible track; an audio track still needs an explicit input first.

First audio recording

1. Allow desktop microphone access in Windows Settings and create or select an unlocked audio track. Use headphones when recording through a microphone.
2. Click the track’s No input / Monitor button. Open your interface’s submenu and select a named Mono channel or Stereo pair. No microphone is selected by default.
3. Click R to arm the track. Choose Monitor: Auto to hear it through Sampledex while armed. Check the interface’s input level before recording.
4. To record several inputs, repeat on other audio tracks using channels from the same interface. You can also arm MIDI tracks.
5. Set the playhead and optional Recording count-in, then press main Record. Press Stop or Finish take and wait until the retained take appears.

Audio is captured dry. Software monitoring passes it through the track’s effects, sends, buses and Master, so you can hear processing while preserving the original input. Windows input uses WASAPI shared mode; ASIO input is not included. The driver must expose the channels you need. One input interface is supported per live session, with at most 64 audio and 64 MIDI destinations and a two-hour capture limit.

Choose how to monitor

If your interface provides direct monitoring, use it with Sampledex monitoring Off, or disable direct monitoring and use Sampledex monitoring. Hearing both can double the signal. Smaller playback buffers reduce software monitoring delay, while large buffers and effects can increase it. The audio input menu shows an estimated monitoring latency when active; check the result with your own hardware.

Opening an input list does not activate the microphone. Explicit Arm/Monitor/input actions can activate a configured input for monitoring; Record activates the inputs needed for capture, including armed Monitor Off tracks. Arm, monitor, per-track routes and recording setup are workspace-session choices. They reset when opening another project, so that project cannot automatically activate a microphone from the previous session. Review them after reopening.

Inline takes and preview

Click Expand takes (+) in the original track’s header to expand its recorded passes. During recording, held MIDI notes grow and audio waveform previews appear beneath their destinations. Select a retained lane and click Audition to hear that pass through its original track, instrument, effects and routing. This does not save a new comp or add Undo history. Stop Preview restores the prior playhead and song loop. Escape also stops take preview. Use the normal transport Stop to stop playback.

Use Take applies the full pass. Drag across a take lane, then click Use Phrase to choose a smaller range. Linked recording destinations change together. Exact… opens that group’s detailed phrase and crossfade editor, which also offers Audition take. Applying creates one Undo edit. Escape from the selected lane cancels pending apply or preview work. A click between grid lines still selects the whole take; drag to choose a phrase. Changing horizontal zoom cancels an unfinished drag or selected phrase and restores Use Take. Follow the status message and select the phrase again before applying it. Ordinary note/clip edits and later comp choices retain the original takes. Restore a deleted original track before reusing its takes; Sampledex will not send them to a different instrument.

Record loop passes

1. Choose the timeline loop you want to perform over. For example, select a clip and use the Markers loop command. Recording Setup displays the resolved loop; without a custom loop it uses the arrangement range.
2. Open Transport → Recording Setup…. Set Maximum passes (1–256). The panel reports the current main Loop state. Reduce the pass limit if the combined duration would exceed two hours.
3. Click Apply setup, enable the main Loop button, arm the destinations and press Record. Capture starts at the loop’s beginning after the selected count-in.
4. Perform successive versions. Stop when finished, or let the pass limit finish capture. Available complete and partial passes are retained. The latest common usable pass is placed for linked destinations.
5. Open Transport → Take Lanes & Comp… to choose an earlier pass or combine phrases.

Choose phrases from takes

1. In Take Lanes & Comp, choose a Recording group. The list shows destination track names and pass counts; new recordings also include their date and time. Linked destinations in a group change together.
2. Click a take name for its available range, or drag a phrase in its lane. For precise choices, enter From and to, choose the pass, and click Choose phrase. Positions are relative to the recording; the end is exclusive. Audio offers Seconds or Source frames; MIDI offers Quarter notes or Musical ticks.
3. Choose Silence explicitly when a phrase should contain no performance. A missing input is not automatically treated as silence. A partial pass can supply only its available range.
4. For audio, set Crossfade (ms), choose Linear, Equal power, Slow or Fast, and click Set crossfades. Zero removes crossfades; other fades must fit the neighboring source phrases.
5. Click Apply comp (or Ctrl+Enter). Sampledex prepares the result and retains originals before applying one Undo edit. Play the result. Undo/Redo restores the music and take choices together.

Phrase and fade selections are a private draft until Apply comp. An untouched editor refreshes after Solo/Mute, Undo/Redo or a new recording. If you have typed a range or changed a pass, fade or phrase, a later project change preserves your exact text and disables Apply and Recording group changes. Read the message, then use Reload project choices to discard that draft and work from the current project. Reload also resets the private fade fields to 5 ms and Linear; it does not change the accepted comp. When the draft is current, changing the Recording group discards its unapplied choices. Closing an idle editor keeps its draft while that project/editor remains available; it does not save it. During processing, Cancel processing keeps the private draft for retry. Closing the window with X during processing cancels and discards that draft. If you reopen immediately, wait for processing to finish; the retained groups and controls then return. Both cancellation paths keep the accepted project and original takes. If Undo removed all recorded takes, Reload clears the editor without restoring the undone recording or changing Undo/Redo.

A recovered group may already contain a proposed comp that has not been made audible. When the summary says retained take, Apply to hear, you can click Apply comp without first changing its phrases. Inspect and listen to the result before using it.

Punch in a replacement phrase

1. Open Transport → Recording Setup… and enable Punch in / out.
2. Enter Punch in: bar.beat.tick and Punch out: exclusive, or click Use timeline selection / Use timeline loop. Bars and beats begin at 1; ticks begin at 0. For one bar in 4/4, 1.1.0 to 2.1.0 covers bar 1.
3. Keep the range inside the arrangement. With the main Loop button enabled, the punch must also fit inside the recording loop. Review the Capture summary, then click Apply setup.
4. Place the playhead before punch-in if you want playback lead-in. Arm the tracks and press Record. Only the punch range is retained for replacement; the punch-out position itself is outside the range.
5. Wait for publication, then listen before, through and after the replaced phrase. Supported surrounding notes, audio offsets and expression remain intact. Undo returns to the previous project and take choices.

Some sustain/controller boundaries or crossing audio fades cannot be replaced safely. Sampledex reports the reason and retains the captured originals instead of silently changing surrounding music. Adjust the range and retry, or save a recovery copy.

If a recording cannot be placed

Wait for capture and storage cleanup to finish. If capture was interrupted and usable originals remain, Sampledex attempts to save them in a recovery project automatically. A successful save reports the reason and full package path, leaves the current arrangement unchanged and makes editing available again. Sampledex also tries to restore MIDI monitoring; resolve any remaining input warning before recording again.

If that recovery save fails, the originals stay retained and Finish take remains available. Resolve the reported storage problem, then click Finish take to retry. If ordinary placement was cancelled or rejected, follow the status message to retry placement or choose Transport → Save retained recording recovery…. Keep Sampledex open until the retained material has been saved successfully.

Save your current work before opening the complete recovery package at the reported path. Use Take Lanes & Comp to inspect its available passes and apply a usable comp. Disk-write failure, disconnected inputs, stale project edits or a plug-in latency change can prevent a mixed take from being published; an incomplete recording is not reported as a completed take. Captured MIDI may remain recoverable when an audio capture fails, but unfinished audio from that failed capture is unavailable. Read the recovery message before continuing.

Save after a successful take or comp. Paired saving, autosave and project history retain the accepted song with its take state. Protected original and failed/cancelled recovery copies can accumulate outside automatic history limits; check the reported folders before deleting any material. Save As to a new package when an external-change or uncertain-save message prevents an ordinary save.

If Sampledex reports a limit of 64 retained recording groups from earlier edits, save the project successfully, then close and reopen the saved project before continuing. Save archives the originals but does not clear the open session’s backlog. If Save fails, keep the project open so those takes remain available. Do not delete original media to work around this limit.

Quick audio take

Transport → Quick audio take retains the earlier single-input recorder. Configure it through Audio / MIDI → Recording input and Recording channels. It starts without count-in and imports a completed WAV into an audio track. If the input disconnects, reports an error or changes during capture, the interrupted take is not added as complete. When a usable recorded portion remains, the message gives its WAV path; import that file and check its timing before using it. If import fails after a normal stop, the message reports the retained raw WAV path. Use main Record for armed tracks, shared MIDI/audio timing, monitoring, loop takes and punch.

Recorded MIDI limits

Notes, supported controllers and pitch bend can be retained. Polyphonic aftertouch, channel pressure and program changes may be heard live but are not retained as recorded pattern expression; the app reports unsupported events. A pass containing no notes, controllers or pitch bend is not retained as a new MIDI performance. Use the comp editor’s explicit Silence choice for a silent phrase.

13. Use VST3 plug-ins

Install a Windows x64 VST3 edition of the plug-in. Open Audio / MIDI to manage scan folders, then run the scan. The scanner runs separately so a failing vendor scan can be stopped without running it inside the main app.

Build 67 corrects a Windows loading failure affecting VST3 plug-ins in deeply nested folders. Retry loading an affected Windows x64 VST3 after updating; its saved identity and settings are retained.

Load an instrument onto a MIDI track or add an effect to a track, bus, return or master. Apply changes in the editor as required before saving or changing the project. Missing plug-in identities remain in the project and are reported during playback.

An external instrument’s own editor keyboard can sound while transport is stopped. It follows the same track, effects and mixer routing as playback and respects mute/solo. Closing the editor leaves a release tail of up to ten seconds. If preset capture fails, the editor stays open so you can retry without losing the sounding state.

Audio Units, VST2 and macOS plug-in binaries do not run in this Windows build. The supplied macOS Indie collection binaries are excluded; use available Windows editions separately.

14. Export and share

Open File → Export or use the Export button. Choose Song, Loop / selection, Stems or Advanced routing export. Each audio dialog offers WAV, AIFF and stereo MP3. MIDI/MIDI stems export notes and controller data.

1. Choose Sources: the complete song, chosen tracks, buses/returns, selected clips or an active pattern loop. The track checklist supports one or several sources.
2. Choose Output: one combined stereo mix or separate source stems. Song mix honors the current Mute/Solo state. Explicit selected sources start with independent Mute/Solo handling; review the checkbox before export.
3. Choose the format and rate. WAV offers 24-bit PCM or 32-bit float; AIFF is 24-bit PCM. Both support 44.1, 48 or 96 kHz. MP3 supports 320, 256, 192 or 128 kbps at 44.1 or 48 kHz.
4. Review the range, effect tail and wet/dry, returns, sidechain and Master options. Bus/return capture is taken before downstream Master processing. A tail of 0, 1, 2, 5 or 10 seconds retains reverb or delay after the range.
5. Choose the destination and wait for the saved-file confirmation. The file extension follows the chosen format. Separate stems create a new delivery folder with numbered filenames, Bounce.txt and source-arrangement.json.

Quick MP3 presets

File → Export → Quick MP3 (320 kbps) opens the same settings with Song mix, All-track stems, Selected-track stems or Active pattern loop selected. Selected-track stems starts with the focused track checked; select more sources in the checklist as needed. Active pattern loop exports its full source length using the selected placement’s musical context. Its default tail is zero, so one pattern cycle is retained. You may change bitrate, rate and processing before choosing the destination.

MP3 is lossy and clips peaks outside full scale; it does not normalize loudness. Keep your project and a WAV master for future production. External delivery renders the captured project and publishes completed files together. Cancelling, a render failure or a changed destination prevents publication of that incomplete delivery.

Bounce, combine and export selected clips

Choose the timeline Select tool. Hold Ctrl or Shift while clicking clips to highlight several MIDI and audio clips, including clips on different tracks. Drag a rectangle from empty timeline space to select a group. Ctrl+A selects all arrangement clips when the timeline has focus. Right-click a highlighted clip and choose Bounce / combine selected clips... or Export selected clips.... Right-clicking inside the group keeps the selection. Single-track Join remains available for clips within one track; use Bounce / combine for mixed media or multiple tracks.

1. Choose Destination: add audio to the project or export audio files. Project audio retains 32-bit float samples; external files offer WAV, AIFF and MP3.
2. Choose Sources and review the highlighted tracks. Selected clips includes only those clips. Choose tracks lets you check several complete tracks, including a complete drum kit or its individual parts.
3. Choose One stereo mix to combine the sources at their existing timeline positions, retaining overlaps and gaps. Choose Separate source stems for one aligned result per source track. Review the range, sample rate, effect tail and processing options.
4. For project audio, choose After bounce. The default keeps originals playing and adds muted audio; unmute the new track to audition it. You can instead play the new audio alongside the originals. This can increase the level. Optional muting of originals is available only for complete-track, complete-song bounces.
5. Choose Bounce to project, or choose an export destination. New project audio is committed only after successful rendering. One Undo removes the bounce and restores any requested source mutes.

Original tracks are not automatically muted. Shared reverb, delay or bus processing can be rendered while keeping originals. If you explicitly request source muting and it would change shared effects or sidechain processing, the dialog explains the conflict before rendering; choose to keep originals instead. Separate stems through shared nonlinear effects may not sum to the same sound as one combined render. Master processing stays live for project bounces so it is not applied twice.

For a complete track, choose Track → Bounce selected track to audio... to open the same options. Fixed-time recordings retain their actual start time when combined, including starts between musical ticks after tempo changes. The source notes, clips and media stay editable.

Audio export renders the instruments and effects. MIDI files contain musical events; they do not carry VST3 software or its sound. A MIDI file export also creates a companion .json file with arrangement and routing reference information. Keep the exported pair together. Sampledex asks before replacing an existing companion file or an existing MIDI file reached by correcting the typed extension to .mid. Review both names; Cancel preserves the existing files. If either file or the project changes while that confirmation is open, start a new export. Share the complete .sdxp folder when another Sampledex user needs the editable project and its audio.

15. Keyboard shortcuts

Press F1 or choose Help → Keyboard shortcuts for a searchable, scrollable reference. Search by a key or command name. Click the timeline or a track header before using timeline shortcuts.

Editable text fields handle typing and text-editing shortcuts. Read-only filenames and status fields leave Undo/Redo with the project. File dialogs, plug-in editors and the performance keyboard retain their own input. Timeline commands do not replace the different Home/End/F2 behavior in Steps or pitch navigation in Piano.

16. Troubleshooting and current limits

The Windows interface follows the original Sampledex workspace, but some workflows remain incomplete: direct arrangement-marker dragging, full section editing, plug-in/send automation creation and parts of native accessibility. Audio beat markers can now be edited in the dedicated timing table. Main recording supports audio/MIDI count-in; Quick audio take remains a separate recorder without count-in. This guide describes the available Windows controls rather than assuming every macOS command is present.

Prior Build 66 development checks covered source-bar navigation, queued selections, all editing views, overview previews, row fills, locked and stacked notes, sample loading, small panels, draft preservation and Undo/Redo. An eight-bar beat was entered through the interface, saved, reopened and rendered to WAV. Local compatibility checks use the preserved schema-13 codec. The manual Windows workflow is the separate gate for compiling and testing the Windows app, checking the download, and validating installation, reinstall/upgrade registration and uninstall. Review the Build 72 workflow result for the package you received; this guide describes controls and does not itself establish a test result. BUILD_INFO identifies the packaged version and build; the successful workflow identifies the source commit. Physical audio/MIDI devices, monitoring latency, unplug/reconnect, screen readers, long sessions and exchange through both installed applications still require tests on the target computers.