Introduction

Main Panel

1. Main Menu
2. Toolbar
3. Stop Group Buttons
4. Media Grid
5. Page Buttons

Main Menu

File

• New Project — reset to default state.
• Reload Project — revert to the last saved state.
• Open Project — load a project file.
• Save / Save As — save the current project.
• Render Audio — generate a stereo audio file from the Timeline arrangement. (Pro)
• Exit — close the application.

Edit

• Audio Settings — configure audio device type (ASIO, Windows Audio, etc.), sound card, output channels, sample rate, and MIDI input/output devices.
• Project Settings — project-specific settings dialog.
• Turn off All Sounds — immediately silences all playing clips.
• Refresh MIDI Grid Device — refreshes the state and colors on the connected MIDI controller.

View

• Media Explorer — browse and import audio and MIDI drum files from your file system.
• Box Editor — open the editor panel.
• Page Editor — rearrange boxes and batch operations.
• Arranger — open the Arranger to compose songs.
• Zoom In / Zoom Out / Zoom 100% — scale the interface up or down, or instantly return to default zoom.
• Light Mode / Dark Mode — switch the color theme.

Help

• Project Notes — add and edit comments for the current project.
• Online Help — open the online manual on the product website.
• User Panel — open the user panel on the website.
• Report a Bug — open the bug reporting form in the user panel.
• Register Product — registration and license management.
• About — display the installed version and current license information.

Toolbar

Open Project — Open a project file

Save Project — Save the current project file

Box Editor — Edit individual clip parameters

Page Editor — Rearrange clips and batch operations

Show Arranger — Switch to arrangement mode

Media Explorer — Browse and import audio and MIDI drum files from your file system

Transport Control

Starts or stops playback in Session or Arranger mode. During playback, an arc-shaped progress bar around the Stop button shows the current position within the bar. A label next to the button displays the current mode: “Session” or “Arrangement”.

Tempo Widget

Sets the current project tempo (BPM). Tap the metronome icon repeatedly to set tempo, or click the tempo value to type it manually. Use the +/− buttons to adjust by 1 BPM.

If any loop has a different tempo than the project, an Apply button appears — click it to convert all mismatched loops to the project tempo.

Master Volume Widget

Controls the overall playback volume of the project. Per-channel level meters and clipping indicators are shown to the right of the knob. Clipping indicators light up red if the audio clips at any point; click them to reset.

Media Grid

The Media Grid is the central area of the application — a virtual controller consisting of 64 square buttons (8×8) spread across 8 pages, providing a total of 512 slots for Loops, Samples, MIDI Notes, and Beats.

Samples & Notes

Samples and MIDI Notes are both trigger-at-any-time clip types. They are ideal for live finger drumming, fills, accents, and one-shot hits.

• Samples trigger audio files stored in the Grid.
• MIDI Notes trigger sounds in external MIDI instruments and DAW plugins.
• Both can be used as source material for Beat patterns.

Samples support variable velocity and can be routed to up to 32 outputs for VST effects processing. A gray progress bar at the top of the box shows sample playback progress.

Loops & Beats

Loops and Beats are synchronized loop-based clip types. When triggered, both wait for the next bar boundary before starting playback.

A Loop is a fixed rendered audio loop (typically a single WAV file). A Beat is a programmable drum loop pattern that can trigger Samples and MIDI Notes. The musical result is similar — a repeating rhythmic loop — but Beats provide much deeper edit control.

• A flashing box indicates the clip is waiting for the next bar.
• A pulsing box with a progress arc means a loop-based clip is playing.
• Each Loop or Beat belongs to one of 12 instrument groups. Only one loop-based clip per group can play at a time.
• The play mode icon (top-left) shows whether the clip repeats or plays once.

Tip: In Session Mode, keep your loops and beats within groups 1–8 — only groups 1–8 have a dedicated Stop Group button. Groups 9–12 are best suited for the Arranger, where the timeline offers a track for every group.

Stopping Individual Clips

During playback of any clip, hovering over the box reveals a Stop button in the top-left corner. Clicking it immediately stops playback of that individual clip — no need to use the Stop Group buttons or the All Sounds Off (panic) button.

Loading Clips

Drag and drop audio files (WAV, AIF, AIFF, MP3, OGG), MIDI drum files (MID, MIDI), or entire folders from your file explorer onto the grid. The application automatically detects clip type, converts MIDI drum files to Beats, and assigns tempo, color, icon, instrument group, and name. You can also load clips via the Box Editor.

Stop Group Buttons

The top row above the grid contains 8 Stop Group buttons — one for each of the first 8 instrument groups. MX GRID organizes sounds into instrument groups (e.g., percussion, bass-line).

• Only one loop-based clip from a given group can play at a time.
• When a group is playing, its Stop button lights up red.
• Clicking a Stop button makes it flash (waiting for the bar end), then stops the group.
• MX GRID supports up to 12 instrument groups in total. Groups 9–12 have no dedicated Stop button in Session Mode, so use them mainly on the Arranger timeline.

Page Buttons

The column of 8 page buttons on the right side of the grid lets you switch between pages. Each page provides 64 slots, giving a total of 512 slots across all 8 pages. The active page button is light blue; inactive pages are gray.

Box Editor

The Box Editor opens a right-side panel for editing individual clip parameters. Activate it from the toolbar or the menu (View → Box Editor), then click any box on the grid to edit it. Clicking an empty slot lets you create a new Note, Sample, Loop, or Beat.

Tip: In Box Edit, Page Edit, or Arranger mode, hold Alt and click any box to trigger that clip — no need to switch modes first.

Edit Samples

1. Toolbar:
   • Load file(s) — load one or more audio files. Additional files fill consecutive empty slots.
   • Convert to Loop — converts the sample into a loop.
   • Open in external app — edit the file in your system’s default audio editor (e.g., Audacity). (Pro)
   • Save Meta — saves the metadata (name, icon, color...)
   • Clear Box — remove the clip and reset the slot.
2. Playback: Play/Stop button and the file path of the loaded audio file.
3. Waveform: Visual waveform thumbnail. Click anywhere to start playback from that position. Shows current time and total duration.
4. Name: Text field for the clip name (max 12 characters). The name appears on the grid box.
5. Icon: Choose from 200+ music-related icons. Select the empty icon to display the name in the center instead.
6. Color: Choose one of 16 colors. Colors are mirrored on your MIDI controller.
7. Volume & Pan: Vol: 0%–200%. Pan: −100% (left) to +100% (right).
8. Outputs: Route audio to specific stereo pairs (up to 32 channels). Available in DAW plugin mode for adding external effects.
9. Instrument Type: Choose the instrument category (e.g., Snare, Guitar, Bass). Helps identify and filter clips in the Media Explorer.
10. Choke Samples: Comma-separated Box IDs that will be silenced when this sample triggers (e.g., closed hi-hat stopping an open hi-hat).
11. Enable Velocity: When enabled, volume varies based on MIDI strike force. Requires a velocity-sensitive controller.
12. Stop on Note Off: When enabled, the sample stops immediately on mouse/pad release. When disabled (default), the sample plays to completion.
13. Key: Choose the musical key or scale of the clip (e.g., C#, Dm). Useful for organizing clips by pitch.

Edit Loops

The Loop Editor shares most features with the Sample Editor. Only the differences are covered below.

1. Group Number: Assign the loop to one of 12 instrument groups. When another loop from the same group starts, the previous one stops automatically.
2. Original Tempo: The original BPM of the audio clip. Click the Auto button (metronome icon) to detect it automatically. Multiple clicks may yield different results as various detection algorithms are used.
3. Duration: The loop length in musical bars.
4. Loop Checkbox: Enabled: the loop repeats after finishing. Disabled: playback stops after one cycle.

Note: “Convert to Loop” is replaced by Convert to Sample in the toolbar. A Save metadata to audio file saves the clip’s name, icon, color, BPM, group number, key, and instrument directly into the audio file so these settings are applied automatically on any future import.

DSP Effects (Pro)

Both sample and loop editors include a DSP Effects section at the bottom with five knobs:

1. Lo Pass — low-pass filter
2. Hi Pass — high-pass filter
3. Tempo — playback speed (50%–200%), without changing pitch
4. Pitch — pitch shift (−12 to +12 semitones), without changing tempo
5. Fine Tune — fine pitch adjustment (works with the Pitch knob)

Each of the first four knobs has an enable/disable toggle. Fine Tune activates automatically with Pitch. A small frequency spectrum display shows the filtered result. Combining Lo Pass and Hi Pass creates band-pass or band-reject filtering.

Click Apply to cache the processed audio for better performance, or Cancel to discard changes.

Edit Notes

A MIDI Note box maps to a specific MIDI note number, letting you trigger external MIDI instruments or DAW percussion plugins — not just audio samples. Notes are the building blocks of Beat patterns.

1. Toolbar: Save, Open, Delete — save or load note definitions from disk.
2. MIDI Note Number — select the MIDI note to trigger. Use the Prev / Next arrows to step through notes, or click Play to audition the selected note.
3. Name — text label for the clip (max 12 characters).
4. Color & Icon — visual appearance on the grid.
5. Type — instrument category (e.g., Kick, Snare).
6. Key — musical pitch of the note (e.g., C#, Dm).
7. Preset — MIDI preset (e.g., General MIDI 2). Choose the preset that matches your connected instrument or plugin.
8. Auto-fill Notes — fills the grid automatically with all notes from the selected preset. Perfect for quickly setting up a full drum kit.

Edit Beats

A Beat is a looping percussion pattern built from audio Samples or MIDI Notes. Use imported samples for a classic drum machine feel, or connect MIDI Notes to a hardware drum module or DAW plugin. Over 400 factory presets from various genres are included to get you started.

Important: Beats need matching source boxes (for example Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat) to play correctly. If your project has no suitable Sample or MIDI Note boxes assigned to those instrument types, the beat may play partially or remain silent.

1. Toolbar: Save, Open, Delete.
2. Play — preview the beat.
3. Thumbnail — visual overview of the step pattern.
4. Name — beat name (max 12 characters).
5. Color & Icon — visual appearance on the grid.
6. Original Tempo — the tempo at which this beat sounds best. Does not affect playback speed; used for filtering saved beats in the Media Explorer.
7. Group No — instrument group (1–12).
8. Loop — when enabled, the beat repeats indefinitely; when disabled, it plays once and stops.
9. Vel — velocity scaling for all notes [%]. Affects MIDI velocity, not sample volume — use with care.
10. Open Step Sequencer — open the pattern editor. See below.
11. Load Factory Preset — open the preset browser to preview and load built-in patterns.

Load Factory Preset

Click Load Factory Preset (11) in the Beat editor to open the preset browser.

1. Search — filter presets by name or genre.
2. Genre panel — pick a style category on the left side.
3. Preset panel — choose an available preset for the selected genre.
4. Info panel — review preset details and remap default track instruments.
5. Track source panel — choose which Sample or MIDI Note each track should use. You can preview assigned sounds, switch to another source in the same instrument type, or change the instrument type for a track.
6. Preview — audition the selected preset with your current track sources.
7. Use Project Tempo — switch preview between the preset tempo and your current project tempo.
8. Solo / Mute, Cancel / Load — use Solo and Mute to decide which drum tracks are heard during preview, then either Cancel to close without changes or Load to apply the preset.

Step Sequencer

The Step Sequencer is where you compose the beat. Each Beat can have up to 16 tracks and a pattern length of up to 8 bars.

1. Toolbar
   • New Beat — clear the current pattern and start fresh.
   • Open / Save — load or save a beat pattern from/to disk.
   • Undo / Redo
   • Copy / Cut / Paste / Delete — operate on selected notes.
   • Quantize Timing — quantize the timing of selected notes.
   • Quantize Velocity — set selected note velocities to 100.
   • + / − — add or remove a track.
   • Panic — silence all sounds immediately.
   • Play — preview the pattern.
   • Volume — master volume knob for the beat preview.
2. Global Beat Options
   • Tempo — defaults to project tempo. Adjust here to hear the beat at a different BPM.
   • Swing — global swing for the entire pattern.
   • Bars — pattern length: 1, 2, 4, or 8 bars.
3. Track Options

   Select a track to reveal its options panel. Use the Options, Velocity, and Time-Shift tabs:

   • Steps/bar — number of steps per bar for this track: 4, 8, or 16.
   • Gain — velocity offset for all notes in the track.
   • Swing — per-track swing (stacks with global swing).
   • Time Shift — offset all notes in the track: −50% to +50%.
   • Velocity Humanization — add subtle velocity variation for a more natural feel.
   • Time Humanization — add subtle timing variation.
   • Probability — chance that each note plays. Great for adding organic variation.
4. Tracks

   Each track consists of:

   • Drag handle — reorder tracks by dragging up or down.
   • Select checkbox — select the track to view its options.
   • Box icon & name — shows the Sample or Note assigned to this track. Click the icon to audition it.
   • Left / Right arrows — cycle through boxes within the same instrument category.
   • Instrument type selector — choose the category (Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, etc.).
   • Solo / Mute — isolate or silence the track during preview.
   • Step grid — click an empty step to place a note; click a filled step to remove it. Drag up/down to adjust velocity; drag left/right to shift timing. Default velocity is 100.

When done, click Save to apply changes, or Cancel to discard them.

Page Editor

The Page Editor lets you organize your grid and perform batch operations on multiple boxes.

Use left-click to select and drag individual boxes. Use right-click to select multiple boxes, then drag them together. Use Shift+Click to select all boxes between the first and second clicked box.

Edit

Edit — modify parameters of selected boxes: icon, color, output, volume, pan, group number, duration, original tempo, loop mode, choke samples, enable velocity, stop on note off. Available options depend on the clip type.

Copy / Paste / Cut / Delete — standard clipboard operations.

Convert

Sample — convert selected loops to samples.

Loop — convert selected samples to loops.

Tempo — convert selected loops to the project tempo. (Pro)

Actions

Deselect — deselect all boxes.

Undo / Redo

File

Save Meta — saves the metadata (name, icon, color, BPM, group number, key, instrument) of all selected clips directly into their audio files.

Quick Tip: You can also perform basic edits directly in Session View without opening the Page Editor. Right-click boxes to select and move them, and use keyboard shortcuts (like Delete or Backspace) to remove them.

Arranger (Timeline Editor)

The Arranger lets you compose a song by dragging and dropping clips onto a timeline grid.

Quick Edit: Right-click any clip on the timeline to instantly edit its basic properties — no need to open the full Box Editor.

1. Transport Controls
2. Edit Buttons
3. Song Length
4. Solo / Mute
5. TIME Column
6. Tracks
7. Timeline Grid

1) Transport Controls

Play / Pause / Stop — Play starts the arrangement; during playback the button changes to Pause. A separate Stop button stops playback and resets the playhead.

Next to the transport buttons, a position display shows the current playback position in musical bars.

The Toggle Looping button enables continuous playback — when active, the song automatically restarts from the beginning after reaching the end.

2) Edit Buttons

Drag and Drop — enabled by default. Drag clips from the Media Grid onto the timeline. Dragging a clip back to the grid removes it from the timeline. The target track is highlighted while dragging.

Additional buttons: Copy, Paste, Cut, Delete, Undo, and Redo.

Render Timeline turns on the export controls for the arranger. It lets you render the whole song or just selected tracks, then use Drag WAV and Drag MIDI to drop the exported files straight into your DAW.

Use Shift+Click to select all cells between two clicked positions, or Ctrl+Click to add individual cells to the current selection.

3) Song Length

Sets the total song length in musical bars (minimum 16). Use the text field or +/− buttons. If reducing the length would cut existing content, an Apply button appears with a confirmation dialog.

4) Solo / Mute

Each track has S (solo) and M (mute) buttons below the track number for selective listening.

5) TIME Column

• Click center — place the playhead at that bar.
• Click left edge (top) — set a temporary song start point.
• Click left edge (bottom) — set a temporary song end point.
• Inactive parts of the song are grayed out.

6) Tracks

The Arranger gives you 12 universal tracks. Any track can hold Loops, Beats, Samples, or MIDI Notes, so you're never short of space for a clip type.

• Adjust a loop's start and length by dragging the top or bottom edge of its cell.
• Right-click a loop for Vol and Pan controls.
• Right-click a beat for Vel (master velocity).
• Samples and notes can be freely moved within their track.
• Right-click a sample for Master Volume and Pan.
• Right-click a note for Velocity and Time Shift.

7) Timeline Grid

• Consists of 13 columns: 1 TIME column + 12 universal tracks.
• Each cell represents one bar.
• Drag clips from the grid onto the timeline to build your arrangement.

Media Explorer

The Media Explorer is a built-in tool designed for cataloguing, quickly finding, and previewing media files on your computer. It supports audio files and MIDI drum files. Open it from the toolbar or via View → Media Explorer.

Toolbar

• Add Media Folder — add a folder to your media library.
• Remove Selected Folder — remove the selected folder from the library.
• Stop Parsing — stop the background scan at any time.
• Auto Preview on Hover — hover over a one-shot to hear a quick preview. (Not available for loops to keep CPU usage low.)

Folders

Shows your media folders as a collapsible tree. When you add a folder, MX GRID scans it automatically — detecting whether each file is a loop, one-shot sample, or MIDI drum file. Audio files receive metadata such as BPM, key, instrument, and waveform thumbnail. MIDI drum files are prepared for Beat conversion with instrument mapping.

Select All Folders at the top to browse your entire library at once. The file count for each folder is shown in parentheses.

Drag an entire folder onto the grid to import all its files. Reopening the Explorer triggers a quick rescan to pick up any new or changed files.

Files

Lists media files in the selected folder. Use the Search field to filter by name or instrument. Click the filter button to narrow results by BPM range, key, or clip type.

Click Play to preview a file. When your project is playing, previewing a loop syncs it to the current tempo and the next bar — the button flashes while it waits to start.

Drag files onto the grid. MIDI drum files are automatically converted to Beats during import. Use Ctrl+Click / Shift+Click to select multiple files first. Press Shift+A to select all files in the current folder.

Click the info button on any file to see its full path, size, type, BPM, key, and duration.

Quick edit tip: While Media Explorer is open, you can still right-click boxes on the grid to select and move them. Dragging selected boxes back into the Explorer removes them from the grid.

Transport Bar

While a file is previewing, a transport bar appears at the bottom of the panel. It shows the waveform, filename, and a Volume knob. Click the waveform to jump to any position. The bar stays visible while you scroll.

Project Settings

• Controller — select a MIDI controller (None, Launchpad X).
• MIDI In / MIDI Out — select the MIDI ports for your Launchpad controller. Visible when a controller other than None is selected.
• Default MIDI Map — choose the MIDI preset used when importing MIDI drum files so instruments map correctly to Beat tracks.
• Sample Latency — set extra delay for sample playback (in samples) when you need tighter sync.
• MIDI Latency — set extra delay for MIDI events (in samples) to align external instruments with audio.
• Latency Compensation — used in VST mode to compensate for sound card latency and ensure accurate timing.
• Use Relative Paths — stores file paths relative to the project location. Makes it easy to move or share projects between computers.
• Auto-Convert Tempo — when enabled, all imported loops are automatically converted to the current project tempo.
• Beats MIDI Channel — MIDI channel used by the Beat sequencer when sending notes to external instruments and plugins.
• Clear Temp Data — clears all temporary data created by the application, including DSP cache files, Media Explorer database entries, and other generated temporary files.

Sync tip: If possible, use low-latency audio drivers (for example ASIO). When that is not possible, use Sample Latency and MIDI Latency to keep playback in time.

Note: Theme selection is now in the View menu (Light Mode / Dark Mode).

Product Registration

• Register the Product

  • Go to Help → Register Product and enter the email and password used when registering on the product website.
  • The software connects to the server and retrieves your license.
  • You can register on up to 2 computers simultaneously.

• Refresh License

  • After upgrading your license tier (e.g., from Essentials to Loops Pro), click Refresh License to update.
  • The software periodically checks the license status automatically.

• Deactivate License

  • Click Deactivate License to unregister this machine and free up an activation slot.
  • Use this when transferring the license to another computer.