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Web simulator

Without a device, use it right in the browser: cardenza-synth.203.io (or cardenza-synth.vercel.app). It is not a look-alike but the same firmware code (the groovebox interface, the AMY engines, the sequencer, the storage protocol) compiled to WebAssembly: screen, key lights and sound are the same as on the device.

Follow along in the manual​

Every screenshot in this manual has ▶ Try it live here under it:

1Press it and the screenshot becomes a running device (the same firmware code), which goes to the screen of the picture by itself (scene, track and page through holding ESC / TAB / CTRL + GRID, just as you would on the device)
2Click the device (yellow dashed frame) and your computer keyboard plays it (keys below); click elsewhere on the page and it no longer does
3"Go to this screen" goes to this section's screen again; "Close" puts the device away
  • Only one device runs on the page: the section you opened last is the one you operate; the others go back to their screenshots. Moving to another section takes the device there without losing its state.
  • Switching between 中文 and English keeps the device at the same picture.

Connect your Cardenza (USB)​

Plug the Cardenza into the computer with a USB cable (Chrome or Edge). There is no button to press: when the guide opens, the browser asks whether the page may use MIDI devices; allow it, and from then on the device connects as soon as it is plugged in.

  • In the guide the device follows the lessons: it goes to the lesson's screen, the keys to press blink (the others dim); when you get it right the page says so; try a few more keys, then press Next.
  • In this manual every key you press on the real device is pressed on the device running in the manual too: keys go to the device of the section you opened last; if none is open, the section at your reading position opens. The Cardenza itself keeps running as usual.
  • Unplug the cable to disconnect; plug it back in and it reconnects.
  • It talks to the Cardenza over USB MIDI (Web MIDI, SysEx included): no driver is needed, and USB MIDI and USB audio keep working. If you blocked it before, allow MIDI devices in the site settings (left of the address bar) and reload.

Which computer key is which​

The computer keyboard maps to the device's 4×14 keys by physical position; every key cap shows its computer key, and the key on the page lights up when pressed:

123456
  1. 1Number row 1 … =
  2. 2The Q row
  3. 3The A row
  4. 4The Z row
  5. 5Esc · Tab · Caps Lock / left Shift · Ctrl
  6. 6Backspace · \ · Enter · Space
The computer keyboard's four rows are the device's four rows
DeviceComputer
ESC TAB FN CTRLEsc / Tab / Caps Lock or left Shift / Ctrl
↑← ↓SUB ↵OK ▶PLAYBackspace / \ / Enter / Space
HOME side keyHome
the pads without a letterright Shift (row 3) · left / right Alt (row 4)
  • ESC is also the backquote key (left of 1). On macOS Caps Lock latches FN (press it again to release it); hold left Shift for a FN that lets go with the key.
  • You can also click or touch the keys on the page, several at once on a touch screen. A right-click latches a key down (to hold ESC, FN… while you click the GRID); right-click it again to release it.

Sound​

Browsers only play sound after a click on the page: the first time, click anywhere (or "Start audio"). The sound is synthesized live by the same audio engine; latency depends on the browser and computer.

Storage and samples​

  • Settings, projects and sounds are stored in the browser (IndexedDB) in the same folders as on the SD card, and survive a reload. Clearing the site's data deletes them. The simulator and the device in this manual share them.
  • The working state that the device keeps by itself (Your work is kept) is kept by the browser too: it is saved as you go and is still there after a reload or after closing the page, like pulling the power on the device. To keep it as a project, save with FN+S as usual.
  • On the simulator page, "Load project…" copies .ccproj files from a Cardenza's card into the browser (never over an existing project, a name already taken gets a number) and opens the first one; the others are in SETUP FILES.
  • "Load WAV…" puts audio files from your computer into the shared sample folder Shared/Samples, where the SAMPLER's file list finds them. Anything that is not a mono 16-bit WAV (stereo, 24-bit, MP3…) is converted to mono 16-bit 44.1 kHz and cut to 5 seconds.