Chapter 11
Audio clips and per-note samples
Import audio #
Drag an audio file into the arranger at the target track and beat. When a drop menu appears, choose Import Audio to keep the file as a clip. The drop menu can also offer vocal extraction or four-stem separation when Stem Separation is enabled.
The audio-to-MIDI file chooser offers WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, AIFF, AIF, and MP4. The chooser filter is broader than the decoder support available in every build and operating system. A listed extension can still fail to open. If decoding fails, convert the source to a normal WAV file and try that copy. MP4 is a container and its presence in the chooser does not guarantee that its audio codec can be read.
Move, trim, and loop a clip #
Drag the body of an arranger clip to move it. Drag its left or right edge to trim the visible region. The clip keeps a source offset, so moving the clip on the timeline and changing the point where source audio begins are separate edits.
Use Loop Count in the clip menu to repeat a clip. In Loop Region, Set from Time Selection uses the overlapping time selection, and Reset to Whole Clip restores the full clip region. Inspect the loop boundary when a repeat sounds cut short.
Clip placement and length use project beats. Source offsets use seconds. Changing project tempo can therefore affect the relationship between the clip region and its source audio. Use the audio warp controls when the material must follow a new tempo.
Convert a clip to notes #
Right-click an audio clip and choose Convert Audio to MIDI for transcription, or Convert to Vocal Notes for sampled vocal segments. The Per-Note Audio add-on must be enabled. Transcription creates note events; sampled vocal segments keep audio attached to notes. Choose the workflow according to what you want to edit.
Automatic audio-to-note analysis, automatic pitch and beat-sync results, playback, project recall, and export are available in Free. Detailed per-note correction and sample shaping require Pro. Enabling the add-on and owning the editing entitlement are separate requirements.
Use the Sample device #
Select a note with an audio sample to show its Sample device. Offset selects a source position in seconds. Rate changes playback rate from 0.1x to 4x. Ref is the reference MIDI pitch. Sync sets a target duration in beats, with zero shown as Off. Auto derives a beat duration when the sample has a detected BPM.
Repitch and Stretch select the sample playback mode. Repitch couples pitch and playback speed. Stretch uses time stretching for the target duration. These controls edit selected sample notes, not the arranger clip warp setting.
Attack, Decay, and Release are measured in beats; Sustain is a level. The envelope therefore follows project timing. Detailed Sample knobs, the envelope, Repitch/Stretch, and Auto require Pro per-note audio authoring.
A single sample note shown by automatic selection can become the envelope source for newly created notes. Check the selected sample and envelope before drawing more sample notes. This inheritance does not mean that every audio clip shares one envelope.
The Sample device effect chain belongs to the sample file path. Notes using the same path share that chain, even when their offsets or playback rates differ. It is separate from the track effect chain. When several sample notes are selected, the first selected note chooses the Sample device path shown.
Draft: focused executable checks have passed for sample transport routing and note deletion. A Linux native walkthrough verified first-import preview and transport playback for a chord sample and a stretched sample with two Sync durations. Native note-deletion workflows and other platforms remain unverified. These checks do not establish analysis results for every chord or vocal recording. On an External MIDI track, scheduled sample notes should play their attached audio through the Sample device and track effects, following track and group mute and solo. A previously selected internal instrument should remain silent. Deleting a sample note should stop its associated sound.
Shape a sample note envelope #
Select a sample note in the Piano Roll to show its envelope handles over the waveform. With Pointer or Pen, drag A, D, and R horizontally to change Attack, Decay, and Release. Drag S vertically to change Sustain. Drag without modifier keys. Editing requires the Melodyne Suite add-on enabled and Pro per-note audio authoring.
Small notes can show the curve without handles. Zoom in or increase the note height when the handles are too small to appear. Attack, Decay, and Release use beats; Sustain is a level. The Sample device retains numeric controls for these values.
Undo and Redo restore completed edits. Escape cancels the current handle drag. Offset changes the source position independently of the envelope. Duplicated sample notes retain their envelope, and newly drawn notes can inherit the selected sample note envelope. Check the selected sample before drawing more notes.
Check audio file problems #
If a clip or sample is silent, check its mute state, track output, source-file availability, source offset, and whether the file decodes. A waveform or a remembered file name alone does not prove audible playback. Test a short WAV source when separating a decoder problem from a routing problem.
Import local sample packs and check their catalog data #
Draft: source-reviewed controls; native walkthrough and audible preview not yet verified.
Drop a recognized sample-pack folder or ZIP onto the editor, then check that the pack appears in Samples. The importer attempts to copy sample content into the app library. A folder recognized as a voicebank or an instrument library follows a different import route. This draft does not guarantee durable installation after a copy failure.
After import, open the Samples browser to inspect the pack. See Browse and preview the local sample library for search, playback and filtering.
BPM, key and duration appear when catalog values are available. Some classifications and values are inferred. No user-facing rescan control for arbitrary files added inside an already indexed pack has been confirmed.
Get audio content from the in-app Store #
Draft: the Store entry points are checked in source, and the category and item labels below were inspected on the live Store website. The embedded app walkthrough, downloads and installation remain unverified.
In standalone, choose Store in the window title bar or Menu > Store.... In the plug-in editor, use Store in the sidebar. The embedded Store requires web-browser support.
Choose Sample Packs or Instrument Libraries and use the Store search to narrow the catalog. Check the item format and size. Hover over its i control to read the displayed description, author and license information. Some items have non-commercial usage restrictions.
After syncing installed status, Download All queues only entries in the current category that have a filename, are not installed, are not already pending, and are not marked unavailable. The displayed count uses this same set. Its estimate sums those entries' catalog size values; missing or zero values add nothing, and no size appears when the total is zero. The button is hidden for Add-ons and Community Plug-ins and disabled while a download in the current category is pending; uninstalled entries marked unavailable are excluded and show their source reason.
In the app, GET requests a managed download. Status may show Queued, Verifying, Extracting or Installing while the content is prepared. When an item card offers Retry, read the error text if shown and select Retry to request another managed download. An uninstalled item marked Unavailable shows its source reason and has no Retry action. OPEN WEB leads to an item's external source instead. After a retry, check for the content in its matching browser; a status or retry request alone does not establish successful installation.
After installation, check for the content in its matching sample or instrument browser. Enabling an add-on, installing content and your Free or Pro plan are separate. Follow the item’s own usage terms.
Understand sample catalog categories #
Draft: sample catalog category labels are described from source. Installed browser and scan verification is pending.
For scanned catalog content, DonutStudio can infer sample types, categories and genre tags from file and folder names. These labels can be incomplete or wrong. Check the actual sample before relying on its category.
A pack name alone does not guarantee that every item appears under Loops or Drums. Type and category inference use separate rules, and a genre label does not establish an instrument category.
Check timeline audio effect routing #
Draft: timeline audio routing is described from source. Playback and export verification is pending.
Timeline audio clips currently mix separately from instrument audio and bypass the owning track and group effect chains. Track and parent-group volume still affect this clip signal. Do not rely on those effect chains to process an arranger audio clip in this draft.
Check playback and the exported file with a short source before committing to a routing workflow. A visible effect device or an active track meter does not establish that the clip passed through that effect.
Browse and preview the local sample library #
Draft: this workflow has source review. Installed availability, file decoding, preview audio and the rendered browser remain unverified.
Open Samples from the toolbar. Samples and Video Browser share a side panel. Choosing the other browser switches the panel; choosing the open browser closes it.
Use Search to narrow the catalog. The sample context menu has favorite, type, category, subcategory and tag actions. The browser draws a waveform when it can read the file. Catalog membership does not establish that a particular format will decode.
Right-click one sample and choose Edit Metadata to change that entry. Apply to Similar Files offers Type, Category or Type + Category for matching filename prefixes in the same folder. Choose which matches to update. Category also copies Subcategory. Sticky Tag for This Folder applies the entered tag to existing entries under that folder and future catalog additions there. Re-run Auto-Classification (non-curated) updates inferred metadata only for entries that are neither curated nor user-sourced.
Preview uses the local file player. Choosing the file that is already playing stops it. Tempo sync changes the preview playback rate for loops with a positive stored tempo and changes pitch; this is separate from editing sample notes or clips.
URL audio download is a separate optional control. Its source checks require the URL-download add-on and a detected system yt-dlp executable. Local library browsing does not depend on that download control. No download or external-tool installation was verified for this draft.