OrDrumbox v2 User Manual

1. Getting Started

OrDrumbox v2 is a browser-based drum machine and pattern sequencer. When you open the application, you see:

• Toolbar at the top — main controls
• Pattern Panel — the step sequencer grid

Basic Workflow

1. Select a Pattern from the Pattern dropdown
2. Click Start to begin playback
3. Click on the grid to add/remove notes
4. Click a track name to open the Track Editor
5. Click a note cell to open the Note Editor
6. Use Auto Gen to generate a random pattern

2. Toolbar

The toolbar is the fixed control bar at the top of the screen.

Controls

3. Pattern Panel

The Pattern Panel displays all tracks as horizontal step grids below the toolbar.

Display

• Pattern name (red), BPM, bar count, and track count are shown in the header.
• Each track row shows: track name + step grid.

Cell Colors

Interactions

4. Track Editor

The Track Editor opens when you click a track name. It contains all track-level parameters organized in groups.

Basic / Transport

Levels / Pitch

All four parameters support LFO modulation (click the row to open LFO settings).

Filters

The Freq and Q parameters support LFO modulation.

Effects

Each effect has an LED toggle (green = active). Tabs 1/2/3 are on the same line as the "Effects" title.

Reverb

Reverb Presets:

• room — Small room (0.8s decay)
• hall — Large hall (2.4s decay)
• plate — Plate reverb (1.6s decay)
• spring — Spring with ripple (1.2s decay)
• gated — Gated reverb (0.7s, cuts off at 65%)

Delay

Delay Types:

• slap — Single echo, short feedback
• tape — Tape delay with filter, warm feedback
• pingpong — Stereo ping-pong between left and right

Saturation (Disto)

Saturation Types:

• soft — Smooth tanh-based clipping
• hard — Hard clipping
• tape — Analog tape warmth

LFO Sub-Panel

Click any LFO-capable row (Velo, Pan, Pitch, Freq, Q) to open the LFO editor.

The LFO waveform is always sine.

Sound Sub-Panel

Loop / Pattern Sub-Panel

5. Note Editor

The Note Editor opens when you click a note in the Pattern Panel. It shows per-note parameters.

Header

• Track name, position (bar X step Y), and close button.

Vel / Pitch / Pan

Triggers

How triggers work:

A note triggers when: (currentLoop + triggerPhase) % triggerFreq === 0

Retrig

Euclidean fill: Adds N evenly-spaced notes between this note and the next note in the track, creating complex rhythmic patterns.

Retrig Proba: This probability controls whether retrig sub-hits, euclidian fill sub-hits, and arp sub-notes are actually played. The base note (first hit) is always played.

Arpeggiator

How arpeggiator works:

• When Range > 0, generates pitch offsets from the selected scale
• Arp sub-notes use the Retrig Proba probability

6. Tools Panel

The Tools Panel opens when clicking the "Tools" button in the toolbar.

Pattern Settings

Export

Export filenames: ordrumbox-{patternName}.{ext}

MIDI Export details:

• Track 0: Tempo + time signature
• Track 1+: One MIDI track per instrument
• Drum tracks → MIDI channel 10
• Muted tracks are excluded

Import

7. Output Panel

The Output Panel opens when clicking the "Output" button in the toolbar. It provides master mixing controls and a real-time spectrum analyzer.

Master

Filters (Master)

Compressor

Spectrum Analyzer

A real-time frequency spectrum display updated via requestAnimationFrame. Bars are colored from dark (low amplitude) to red (high amplitude).

8. Synth Editor

The Synth Editor is a full-screen overlay for editing soft synthesizer parameters. It opens from the Track Editor's "Edit" button when a generated sound is selected.

Header: OK (saves changes) / Cancel (reverts) buttons.

Master Volume

Oscillators (VCO1, VCO2, VCO3)

Each oscillator has:

Filter

LFO

There are two independent LFOs (LFO and LFO2) with the same parameters:

Noise

Envelope (ADSR)

9. Keyboard Shortcuts

10. Audio Signal Flow

Per-Track Signal Chain

Sample/Synth → Filter → Saturation → Dry Gain → Reverb → Delay → Output
                                                                      ↓
                                                              Stereo Panner
                                                                      ↓
                                                            Mixer Compressor
                                                                      ↓
                                                          Master Low-cut Filter
                                                                      ↓
                                                          Master High-cut Filter
                                                                      ↓
                                                            Master Gain → Analyser → Speakers
    

Global Signal Chain

All tracks feed into a shared compressor, then through master filters and gain before reaching the output.

11. Installation & Offline Use

orDrumbox v2 can be used in three different ways:

1. Web Application

Simply visit the website in any modern browser. Note that an internet connection is required for the initial load.

2. Progressive Web App (PWA)

You can install orDrumbox directly from your browser:

• Desktop (Chrome/Edge): Click the "Install" icon in the address bar.
• Mobile (iOS/Android): Use "Add to Home Screen" from the browser menu.

Once installed, the application will have its own icon and window, and can function offline thanks to the integrated Service Worker.