Overview
Groove shifts the timing grid away from a straight, mechanical feel. Off-beat grid lines move according to a groove pattern, and clips snap and play back at the shifted positions. The underlying clip data stays in straight time — groove is applied non-destructively.
Setting the Groove
Global (affects all tracks): Open the Project sidebar (⌘5) and choose a groove template and amount under Grid.
Per track: Select a track and open the Inspector. Under Grid, disable Use Global Grid to assign the track its own groove template and amount.
Tracks without a custom setting follow the global groove automatically.
Amount
The amount slider (0–100%) controls how strongly the groove pattern is applied. At 0% the grid is straight. At 100% the full pattern is applied.
Presets
38 groove templates organized into six categories:
| Category | Presets |
|---|
| Swing | Swing, Alt Shuffle, Machine Swing, Surf Rock, Nice Eighths |
| Triplet | Triplets, Triplets Alt, Drummer Triplets |
| Hip-Hop | Hip-Hop 16th, Hip-Hop 8th, Westside, MPC 60 #1, MPC 60 #2 |
| Funk | Boogaloo, Funky B, Groovy 60s, Groovy 70s |
| Breakbeat | Amen, Amen B, Break 1, Chemical 1, Chemical 2 |
| Complex | Push Pull, Push Pull Heavy, Late Snare, Laid Back, Ragga, Loose Feel, Pushing 1, Pushing 2, Drummer Swing 1, Drummer Swing 2, Ragged, Tight |
What Groove Affects
- Grid lines shift visually in the timeline — bar lines stay fixed, off-beats move
- Snapping follows the shifted grid when dragging clips
- Playback schedules clips and MIDI notes at grooved positions
- Looping respects groove timing throughout
All four stay in sync — what you see in the grid is exactly what you hear.Last modified on March 19, 2026
