> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridshift.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sample Editor

> Opens a sample on a large waveform to place its slice markers, set its tempo and beat grid, and balance its stems. Select a sample track and press ⌥X.

## Open the editor

<video src="/videos/sample-editor-open.mp4" poster="/videos/sample-editor-open.jpg" aria-label="Option X on the Amen break clip slides the sample editor down over the Timeline, in Slices mode with the break's slice markers" title="Option X on the Amen break clip slides the sample editor down over the Timeline, in Slices mode with the break's slice markers" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Click a clip on a sample track, or select the track, and press `⌥X` (Command Palette → **Edit Sample or Instrument**). Press **Done** or `Esc` to close it.

## Listen to the slices

<video src="/videos/sample-editor-listen.mp4" poster="/videos/sample-editor-listen.jpg" aria-label="In the Sample Editor, the letter keys play single slices, Space loops the selected one, and the right arrow moves the loop to the next slice" title="In the Sample Editor, the letter keys play single slices, Space loops the selected one, and the right arrow moves the loop to the next slice" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Press a letter key to play one slice, or `Space` to loop the selected slice. Press `→` while it loops to hear the next slice straight away.

## Switch modes

Press `⌘1` for **Slices**, `⌘2` for **Tempo**, `⌘3` for **Stems**, or click the segment picker in the header. The bar at the bottom changes to that mode's controls.

## Zoom in on an attack

<video src="/videos/sample-editor-zoom.mp4" poster="/videos/sample-editor-zoom.jpg" aria-label="Option right arrow zooms in on the selected slice four times, its start marker staying in view; Option up arrow resets the zoom" title="Option right arrow zooms in on the selected slice four times, its start marker staying in view; Option up arrow resets the zoom" muted loop playsInline preload="none" />

Drag down on an empty area to zoom in around the click, or press `⌥→` to zoom in on the selected slice. `⌥↑` resets the zoom.

## Which page do you need

* [Slices](/samples/slices.md): place and move the transient markers, play the slices, shape every slice at once.
* [Tempo and Beat Grid](/samples/tempo-and-beat-grid.md): name the sample's real tempo and line the grid up with the audio (Tempo mode).
* [Stems](/samples/stems.md): split a clip into stem tracks, or balance the stems inside the sample (Stems mode).
* [Sampler](/samples/sampler.md): play one sample across the keys on an instrument track.
* [Audio to MIDI](/samples/audio-to-midi.md): turn a recording into notes.
* [Reverse Reverb](/samples/reverse-reverb.md): a swell that rises into a clip.
* To fit a sample to the song's tempo and key, use the Warp section: [Time Stretching](/timing/time-stretching.md).

## Good to know

* **The editor works on the sample, not on one clip.** Every clip that plays the sample follows what you change here. Nothing touches the audio file on disk.
* **It is the only place where transient markers and the start of the beat grid are edited.**
* **`Space` loops what is selected**: one slice, a range selected with `⇧←` / `⇧→` as one region, or the whole sample when nothing is selected (`↑` / `↓` clears it). `Space` again stops it. In Tempo mode it plays the whole sample with a click.
* **Clicking outside the sheet closes it too. `Return` does not**: it drops a marker at the playhead.
* **Normalize and Trim Silence change the sample without changing its file.** The two chips sit in the top-right corner of the waveform, in Slices mode. Press the same chip again to remove the effect.

> **Details**
>
> * **More ways to open it**: click the waveform preview in the inspector's **Sample** section, the track's icon in the track list, or **Open Sample Editor** in an [audio clip's focus bar](/edit/audio-clips.md). In the [Sample Library](/library/sample-library.md), `⌥X` opens the editor for the sample selected there. On a track that plays the built-in sampler, `⌥X` opens the [Sampler](/samples/sampler.md) instead.
> * **The editor opens in Slices mode**, sliding down over the Timeline, with the sample's name in the header and its slice markers on the waveform. The Timeline behind it takes no input while it is open.
> * **The waveform fills the sheet, with one bar at the bottom** for the controls of the current mode. Waveform and controls take the color of the track that owns the sample.
> * **The sheet resizes from its minimum, 1280 × 540, upward.**
> * **Zoom reaches as deep as the Timeline's**, down to individual samples. Slices and Tempo mode share the navigation gestures; Stems mode has none of them.
> * **The selected slice's start marker is drawn brighter and thicker**, and the camera always frames it the same way. While the slice fits on screen it is centered. Once it is wider than the viewport, its start marker is pinned one third in from the left edge.
> * **Zooming in with `⌥→` walks a slice from centered to pinned**, so the transient stays in view all the way down to sample level.
> * **A letter key also selects its slice**, and a playhead line sweeps across it. The keys follow the [slice key map](/samples/slices.md).
> * **Every seam the loop cuts is de-clicked**: the turn-around, a jump to another slice, and stopping. The outgoing pass rings out over roughly 8 ms of the audio after the slice, the incoming pass ramps in over 2 ms, so attacks stay sharp enough to judge. The timeline and the keyboard audition use the same shape.
> * **Trim Silence works only while the sample plays raw**, **Stretch** off and **Pitch** at 0, since stretched and varispeed buffers don't share trim semantics. Clearing an existing trim stays available.
> * **Both chips have palette commands**: **Normalize Sample** and **Trim Silence on Sample**, in the Audio Tools group.
> * **Warping lives in the track Inspector, not here.** **Character**, **Stretch**, **Target BPM**, **Pitch** and **Formant** fit a clip to the project, which is a different job from naming the sample's tempo.

> **Modes**
>
> | Mode | Shortcut | Purpose |
> | - | - | - |
> | **Slices** | `⌘1` | Transient markers, and the per-slice envelope: Fade In, Fade Out, Length |
> | **Tempo** | `⌘2` | Original BPM, the start of the beat grid, and moving clips onto it |
> | **Stems** | `⌘3` | Generate per-stem layers from the sample and balance their volumes in place |

> **Navigation (Slices and Tempo)**
>
> | Gesture | Action |
> | - | - |
> | Drag empty area | Pan horizontally and zoom (drag down = zoom in) around the click point |
> | Scroll wheel / trackpad pinch | Zoom, anchored at the pointer |
> | Trackpad horizontal swipe | Pan horizontally |
> | `←` / `→` | Select the previous / next slice; the view re-frames on every step |
> | `⇧←` / `⇧→` | Extend the selection by one slice; several slices loop as one region |
> | `↑` / `↓` | Clear the slice selection (playback falls back to the whole sample) |
> | `⌥←` / `⌥→` | Zoom out / in, keeping the selected slice framed (Slices mode) or anchored at the downbeat (Tempo mode) |
> | `⌥↑` | Reset zoom to 1× |

> **Sample chips (Slices mode)**
>
> | Operation | Description |
> | - | - |
> | **Normalize** | Lifts the sample's peak to 0 dBFS. Off by default. |
> | **Trim Silence** | Excludes leading and trailing silence from playback. Only while the sample plays raw. |

> **Keys**
>
> | Action | Shortcut |
> | - | - |
> | Open the editor | `⌥X` |
> | Switch to Slices / Tempo / Stems mode | `⌘1` / `⌘2` / `⌘3` |
> | Play one slice | Letter keys |
> | Loop the selection (or the whole sample) / stop | `Space` |
> | Step through slices | `←` / `→` |
> | Zoom out / in | `⌥←` / `⌥→` |
> | Reset zoom to 1× | `⌥↑` |
> | Close the editor | `Esc` |
>
> Marker and grid keys: [Slices](/samples/slices.md), [Tempo and Beat Grid](/samples/tempo-and-beat-grid.md).


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