GrooveGrid
Groovebox|Sample Editor|Sample Librarian
Easy theory. Clean UI. Happy accident machine.
A sketchpad for ideas and a workbench for samples — all in one application. GrooveGrid gives you a theory-aware sequencer, sample machines with per-step control, and a built-in editor for chopping and organizing your recordings. Streamlined interface that plays nice with a trackpad. Open it up in bed, on the couch, on a long flight, or on a break — standalone or as a VST3 plugin inside your DAW.
- Chord-aware sequencing — change the chord, chord tone tracks follow
- Three pitch modes: chromatic, scale-only, or chord tones only
- Per-step sample slot and slice sequencing
- Retriggers across samples, synths, and external MIDI gear
- Probability steps, euclidean rhythms, and cartesian pattern generation
- Polyphonic steps with relative voice offsets — strum with configurable patterns and timing curves
- Host VST3/AU instruments with the same per-step control
- Hardware sampler depth without the tiny screen
The sequencer
Program it. Shape it. Let it evolve.
Click steps on a grid, draw spans for longer notes, and let the theory engine handle harmony. Each scene carries its own tempo, key, and scale — duplicate a scene, change the chord, and your patterns reshape themselves.
- Chord degrees set per scene or automated per step — harmony at any resolution
- Per-step automation — velocity, pitch, slot, slice, MIDI CCs, and more
- Clock multipliers/dividers for polymetric and polyrhythmic patterns
- Polyphonic steps with relative voice offsets
- Strum steps with timing shaped by an editable envelope
- Note-level retriggers — works with samples, synths, and external MIDI
The sound engines
Six machines. One grid.
Pick the engine that fits — sample playback, synthesis, your own plugins, or skip internal audio and drive external gear over MIDI.
- Oneshot and loop sample machines with time-stretching
- Granular synthesis — up to 64 simultaneous grains
- Plaits macro-oscillator: analog, FM, wavetable, physical modeling, drums, speech
- VST3/AU instrument hosting with native editor
- MIDI-only tracks for external hardware
- Per-track 3-band EQ, saturation, and compression
The sample editor
Slice it. Bookmark it. Use it everywhere.
Chop recordings, mark the good parts, and easily create collections and sample packs — all without leaving the app.
- Waveform editor with onset detection and snap-to-transient
- Named, colored bookmarks with per-machine settings
- Bookmarks stored as companion files — they travel with the sample
- Searchable library with tags, collections, and full-text search
- Export sample packs at original quality — with or without warping or resampling
GrooveGrid uses DSP code from Mutable Instruments by Emilie Gillet, licensed under MIT. Time stretching powered by SoundTouch (LGPL 2.1).