Setting the Groove
Global (affects all tracks): Open the Project inspector tab (⌘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.Shift (per track)
The Shift slider nudges a track’s entire grid earlier or later by a constant amount, independent of any groove pattern. Find it in the track Inspector under Grid, next to Amount.- Range: ±50 ms, bipolar around 0. Negative values push the track ahead of the beat (earlier); positive values lay it back (later). Option-click resets to 0 ms.
- Per track only. There is no global shift — a single value applied to every track would just be latency. Each track carries its own shift.
- Works with or without a groove. Shift is independent of the groove template and amount, and of the Use Global Grid toggle. A track can follow the global groove (or have no groove at all) and still be shifted.
- Tempo-independent. The shift is stored in milliseconds (wall-clock time), so the push/pull feel stays constant when you change the project tempo.
Samples as Groove Sources
Instead of using a preset, you can extract groove timing from an audio sample. This lets you match the feel of a drum loop or any rhythmic audio.
Gridshift extracts the timing pattern from the sample’s transient positions. When the sample is selected as a groove template, its rhythmic feel is applied to the grid. You can register multiple samples as groove sources — they all appear in the template list.
Use the Command Palette → “Set as Groove Source” as an alternative to the Inspector toggle.
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 |