0 SETUP
SETUP is scene 0, the first one and the only one outside the ESC ring: the project (save, load, tempo) and the global settings (the keyboard of every track, the device). Four pages (CTRL steps, hold CTRL for the page map):
PROJECT FILES KEYS SYSTEM| Pages | Kind | Stored |
|---|---|---|
| PROJECT · FILES | project | projects on the SD card; BPM and swing belong to the project |
| KEYS | keyboard of all four tracks | in the project (SELECT is an app preference, kept for every project) |
| SYSTEM | device settings | shared by every app, never in a project |
Chord and arpeggiator are per track, on the CHORD and ARP pages of 1 INSTR (see Chord and arpeggiator).
Getting in and out
Hold ESC: column 1 of the scene map is 0 SETUP, set apart by a dotted rule and a dim number.
Press any key of column 1: SETUP opens on the page you were last on.
Tap ESC: back to the scene you came from (INSTR here).
- A tap on ESC only walks the three music scenes 1 INSTR → 2 SEQ → 3 TAPE; it never enters SETUP (see Scenes: ESC).
- The FN menu has SETUP (GLOBAL) on every screen, on the bottom-right GRID key (FN + that key runs it, see The menu on each screen). Inside SETUP the same item reads BACK and the scene you came from.
- The pads keep playing the current track in SETUP, so you hear every change at once.
PROJECT
- 1SAVE · LOAD · NEW
- 2BPM (focused)
- 3SWING
- 4TAP: tap tempo
- 5PLAY: LOOP / SONG
- 6Project name (UNTITLED until saved) · UNSAVED / SAVED
- 7The four tracks: engine and sound
- 8Actions: half lit
- 9Focus: fully lit
- 10SWING, PLAY: half lit (PLAY fully lit in SONG)
| GRID | Does |
|---|---|
| row 1 | SAVE: save now · LOAD: go to FILES · NEW: a new project with the default four tracks (asks first when there are unsaved changes) |
| row 2 | BPM (30–300) and SWING (50–75 %): tap to focus, ↑← / ↓SUB change it · TAP: tap it in time, the interval sets the BPM · PLAY: switches LOOP ↔ SONG (fully lit in SONG, see SONG: arranging the song) |
- ↵OK saves the project; with TAP focused it taps the tempo instead.
- FN+↑← / FN+↓SUB take big steps: BPM ±10, swing ±5. Hold BPM or SWING: the 32 pads become its values, lowest top left, highest bottom right; press one to jump there.
- An untitled project is saved as the first free name SONG 01, SONG 02…; to give it your own name use SAVE AS in the FN menu (up to 24 letters, digits, spaces and -, see Typing text). A name that is already on the card asks before it overwrites (↵OK = yes, ESC = no).
- NEW starts with the default four tracks, C major, no chords, every arpeggiator off; SELECT stays as it was.
- The PLAY switch is a performance control: it is not saved in the project.
The FN menu of PROJECT and FILES:
| GRID | Item |
|---|---|
| row 1 | NEW PROJECT · LOAD PROJECT (goes to FILES) · SAVE AS PROJECT (type a name) |
| row 4 | SAVE (FN+S, reads UNSAVED while there are changes) · TAP (FN+T) · REC (FN+▶PLAY) · BACK to the scene you came from |
FILES
All projects on the SD card, by name; the open one is marked >.
- 1Project list
- 2FILES: page 2 of 4
- ↑← / ↓SUB choose (FN+↑← / FN+↓SUB 8 at a time), ↵OK loads.
- With unsaved changes it asks first: ↵OK loads anyway, ESC keeps your work.
- A loaded project opens on T1 and brings its own keyboard, chords and arpeggiators (a project saved by older firmware has none and keeps the current ones).
- LOAD on the PROJECT page and LOAD in the FN menu lead here too. The list also shows the projects of release 0.1.0 (see Folders on the SD card).
KEYS
How the pads play, for all four tracks. The keyboard is saved with the project; SELECT is a preference of the app and stays the same for every project.
- 1LAYOUT (focused)
- 2SCALE
- 3ROOT
- 4OCTAVE
- 5VELO
- 6LOCK
- 7SELECT
- 8Preview: scale notes dotted, root underlined
- 9Focus: fully lit
- 10Settings: half lit
| Setting | Options | More |
|---|---|---|
| LAYOUT | PIANO / SCALE / CHROMA | Keyboard layouts |
| SCALE · ROOT | 14 scales · C–B | Scale and root |
| OCTAVE | −3 … +3 | Octave |
| VELO | 1–127 (default 110), the velocity of every pad | Velocity |
| LOCK | OFF / MUTE / SNAP | Scale lock |
| SELECT | ONE: a GRID tap in ROLL goes to one step · MULTI: it selects several | Selecting and editing |
Both settings pages (KEYS and SYSTEM) work the same way:
| To | Do |
|---|---|
| pick a setting | tap its GRID key (the focused cell is inverse) |
| change it | ↑← / ↓SUB, held they repeat; FN+↑← / FN+↓SUB 5 at a time |
| jump to a value | hold its GRID key: the pads are its values, lowest top left, highest bottom right |
| step a choice or a switch | tap the focused key again, or ↵OK |
| restore the default | FN+↵OK, or RESET in the FN menu |
Each page remembers which setting was focused.
Chord and arpeggiator
Chord and arpeggiator are no longer SETUP pages: every track has its own, on the CHORD and ARP pages of 1 INSTR right after VOICE (not on the drum track), and they are saved with the project. See Chords and Arpeggiator.
SYSTEM
- 1VOLUME (focused)
- 2KEY LED
- 3SCREEN
- 4Device · audio backend · SD card · memory · build
- 5Focus: fully lit
- 6Settings: half lit
| Setting | Range | |
|---|---|---|
| VOLUME | 0–100 (default 50), steps of 2 | output volume; the same as MASTER on MIX: the mixer and FN + 7 / U anywhere (Quick controls: BPM, volume, octave) |
| KEY LED | 0–15 (default 15) | overall brightness of the key lights; while it is focused the pads show the brightness ramp (Brightness and the light test) |
| SCREEN | 4–100 % (default 70 %) | screen brightness |
These are device settings: every app on the Cardenza shares them, they are kept in System/settings.cfg and no project carries them.
The report below is typed out line by line each time you come in: the device, the audio backend, the SD card (READY or NOT FOUND, see No card, or a bad card), free memory and the firmware's build date.
Every setting
Every setting of the two settings pages with its range and default (generated from the firmware code):
SETUP KEYS SCALE
| GRID key | Parameter | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 row 1 · col 1 | LAYOUT keys.layout | 3 Options | PIANO |
| 0 row 1 · col 2 | SCALE keys.scale | 14 Options | MAJOR |
| - row 1 · col 3 | ROOT keys.root | 12 Options | C |
| = row 1 · col 4 | OCTAVE keys.octave | -3 … 3 | 0 |
| O row 2 · col 1 | VELO keys.velocity | 1 … 127 | 110 |
| P row 2 · col 2 | LOCK keys.lock | 3 Options | OFF |
| [ row 2 · col 3 | SELECT keys.select | 2 Options | ONE |
SETUP SYSTEM DEVICE
| GRID key | Parameter | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 row 1 · col 1 | VOLUME sys.volume | 0 … 100 | 70 |
| 0 row 1 · col 2 | KEY LED sys.led | 0 … 15 | 15 |
| - row 1 · col 3 | SCREEN sys.screen | 10 … 255 | 70% |
| = row 1 · col 4 | LOG sys.log | on / off | ON |
The FN panel of older firmware is gone: BPM, SWING and PLAY are on SETUP PROJECT, the track's STEPS on SEQ TRACK (TRACK page), chord and arpeggiator on INSTR (Chord and arpeggiator), REC in the FN menu, FN+▶PLAY and the RECORD panel.