Mixer

Per-instrument levels, meters, mute and arm — balancing the parts of a track.

Each instrument column has a mixer strip beneath it holding a level meter, a gain knob, an activator and mute/solo buttons. This is where you balance the track once the parts exist.

Gain

The gain knob sets an instrument's output level from 0 to 100. Levels update live as you turn the knob, so you can balance by ear against everything else playing, and the value is committed to the track when you let go.

Gain is part of the saved document, so your balance persists across reloads and syncs to collaborators.

Meters

Each channel has a level meter, with a taller master meter for the overall output. Meters are the quickest way to find the instrument that is quietly eating all your headroom.

Mute

The M button silences an instrument without changing its level, so you can bring it back exactly as it was. Muting is the fastest way to answer "what is this part actually contributing?" — and often the answer is that the track is better without it.

Solo

The S button solos an instrument: while anything is soloed, only soloed instruments are heard. A plain click is exclusive — it replaces whatever was soloed before. Cmd/Ctrl-click adds to the solo group instead, so you can listen to two or three parts together.

Solo follows Ableton's rules, which have one consequence worth knowing:

  • Solo acts as an implicit mute on everything else. It does not un-mute the instrument you soloed.
  • So a soloed instrument whose activator is off stays silent. The activator wins.

Note: Solo is per-person. Soloing a part to audition it does not silence playback for anyone collaborating with you — unlike mute, which is shared.

Arming

Arming selects which instrument receives your keyboard and MIDI input and whose editor is displayed. Click an instrument's column header, or the ⚡ glyph in the editor toolbar, to arm it.

Arming is a UI state rather than a musical one: it is per-person, and does not travel with the track or affect what a collaborator sees.

Linking to one instrument

The armed instrument is reflected in the track URL as ?i=<instrument>, so the link in your address bar always points at whatever you are currently working on. Send that link and the recipient lands on the same instrument rather than the default one — useful for "have a look at what the bass is doing".

If the link names an instrument that no longer exists — it was deleted, or the link is old — the track simply opens on its default instrument instead of failing.

Note: If notes are not appearing where you expect, or the keyboard seems to be playing the wrong instrument, check which instrument is armed. This is the most common source of confusion in the app.

Master

The master column shows the combined output level. Per-channel gain is where the actual balancing happens.

Note: The master volume knob is currently decorative — it displays but does not yet change the output level. Use the per-channel gains to control overall loudness.

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