The modular Grid

The Grid lets you build an instrument from smaller modules. You connect an oscillator to a filter, shape its loudness with an envelope, and send the result to an output. The complete arrangement is a patch. This way of building sounds is called modular synthesis.

A Grid patch belongs to an instrument on a track. You can play it through the track’s notes, mix it with other tracks, and use it in audio exports.

Open a patch#

Select a track and open its device area. Right-click an instrument or effect card and choose Edit in Grid. On a Mac, Control-click also opens the menu. The command opens that track’s Grid instrument, including the modules behind a built-in instrument.

If the track has no instrument, choose Add a device, then Grid instrument. This starts an empty patch. Choose Arrange, or Back to arrangement, to return to the song.

The editor has a Module browser on the left, the Patch canvas in the middle, and a Module inspector on the right. The inspector is hidden in a narrow workspace; widen the Studio window to see the full parameter list.

Build a first sound#

For a simple note-controlled instrument, add Note Input, Oscillator, ADSR, Gain / VCA and Output. Use Search modules to find each one, then click it or drag it onto the canvas.

Connect these ports:

1. Note Input Pitch → Oscillator Pitch.
2. Note Input Gate → ADSR Gate.
3. Oscillator out → Gain / VCA in.
4. ADSR out → Gain / VCA gain.
5. Gain / VCA out → Output in.

The oscillator supplies the tone. ADSR starts and stops it with each note. The VCA multiplies the audio by that envelope, and Output sends it out of the patch. Write notes on the track and press Play to hear it.

Select the ADSR card to change attack, decay, sustain and release. Select Oscillator to change waveform, frequency and pulseWidth. Sound sources and filters and modulation explain the full controls.

Find modules and change settings#

The browser searches names, descriptions, categories and port information. Use Module category to narrow the list, or All categories to restore it. Clicking a module places it at a free snapped location; dragging lets you choose the position.

A card shows its first few controls at normal zoom. Select one card for its description, every parameter and its ports in the inspector. Numeric settings use knobs; choice settings use lists. When you zoom far out, the cards hide their knobs and port names to make the patch easier to scan.

The inspector’s Declared cost is a relative estimate, not a measurement of your computer’s processor use.

The catalogue is described in these references:

• Sound sources: oscillators, noise and retro tones.
• Filters and modulation: envelopes, amplifiers, LFOs and control tools.
• Grid effect modules: dynamics, distortion, delays, stereo and EQ.
• Routing, sequences and logic: channel converters, generators, math and displays.
• Sampling and warping: bounced sounds, samplers, grains and stretch modes.

Make and remove connections#

Drag between an output and an input. You can also focus a port with the keyboard, activate it, then activate the target port. Escape cancels the pending connection.

Ports show what their signal carries:

Compatible target ports show a tick. A refused connection gives a reason in the status line. For example, Two outputs: choose an input means the cable needs an input at its other end. Channel layouts differ means a mono and stereo port need a suitable channel converter.

Signal types are checked even when two ports look similar. Audio and control can connect to one another; a gate can feed a control input. Pitch needs a pitch input or a control input that explicitly accepts it. A cable cannot silently convert every type.

Double-click a cable to remove it. You can also right-click it and choose Disconnect cable, or focus it and press Delete, Backspace or Enter. Hide connections removes cables from view and prevents drawing new ones. Choose Show connections to work with them again.

Move, select and organise#

Drag a card’s header to move it. Shift-click a header to add or remove it from the selection. Drag empty canvas to select several cards with a box. The modules move on a snapped grid.

Scroll or use a two-finger trackpad gesture to pan; Shift-scroll pans sideways. Middle-drag or Space-drag also pans. Pinch, or hold Control while scrolling, to zoom around the pointer. Fit patch brings the whole patch into view, and Reset zoom returns to normal zoom.

Right-click a module for Replace module…, Copy, Duplicate, Disconnect and Delete. Replacement keeps compatible cables and reports how many were kept or dropped. Duplicate preserves cables within the selected group. Delete removes the modules and the cables attached to them.

Collapse to device wraps the selected modules into one inline device. Connections crossing the selection become its boundary connections. Step into device lets you inspect the contents; the inner view is read-only. Choose Root or ← Back to leave it. To edit those modules again, select the inline device at the root and choose Expand device.

Keep and reuse a patch#

Save as preset asks for a Preset name and saves the Grid graph to your account. Wait for Preset saved. before treating it as saved. If that message does not appear, keep the patch open and try again; this action does not always show an error for a failed save.

Load preset lists saved Grid presets you can access. Choosing one replaces the graph of the current Grid instrument. Undo can restore the previous graph.

For a device with named front-panel controls, macros, versions and a portable device file, use custom devices. Presets and device drafts are separate ways of keeping your work.

Editing during playback#

A valid sound edit loads into the running instrument; moving a card changes its layout without rebuilding its sound. A patch that fails to compile keeps the last playable sound while showing Patch needs attention. Read the message, repair the indicated module or cable, then try again.

Compiled · playback node not connected means the patch was checked but is not attached to a running playback instance. It does not mean the song is playing. Preparing engine is a pending load; Loaded in engine confirms that load completed.

A missing module appears as Module unavailable; saved values retained. Its saved settings remain in the patch. Replace it with an available module and review the connections.

Patch keyboard reference#

Use Command on Mac and Control elsewhere for the modifier below.

These shortcuts apply when focus is in the patch workspace. Text fields, lists and knobs retain their own keyboard controls.