Sampledex · Windows 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 with fewer output restarts
Switching factory previews reuses the open preview output device. Stop retains it briefly; hiding the browser or leaving it idle releases it. 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.