The Looper view is SmartGroove’s live-capture surface, modeled on hardware loop stations. You record loops in real time onto independent track lanes, and everything stays bar-synced so layers line up automatically.
Recording a loop
Arm a track (Shift + the track number) and press R. The first loop you record becomes the master loop and sets the length every other loop follows. Stop with R or Space and the loop repeats instantly. Keep the transport running so recording quantizes to the bar.
The pedal board
Along the bottom of the Looper view is a row of pedals, one per track, lined up under its lane. This is where looping actually happens: the track lane itself only arms a track — every record, overdub, stop and clear gesture lives on the pedal. Each pedal has two LEDs (red for record, green for play), an amber Auto lamp, a large REC/PLAY footswitch and a smaller STOP/CLR footswitch below it.
The pedal is the same gesture a hardware loop station gives you, so you can drive a whole take without touching the mouse.
The two presses
The single most useful thing to know: starting a take is always two presses of REC/PLAY, never one.
On an empty track, the first press arms it and the red lamp blinks; the second press starts recording and the lamp goes solid. On a track that already has a loop, the first press arms it for overdub and the switch reads WAIT... while it waits for the loop boundary; the next one starts the overdub and the switch reads DUB.
So if you press the pedal once and nothing seems to happen, that is the arm press — press it again. The transport’s play state never changes which of these happens; it only decides whether the transport has to start too.
Stacking and clearing layers
Each overdub pass adds a layer to the same track, and they play back together as one part. To end a take, press STOP/CLR once.
Double-click STOP/CLR to delete the layer you just recorded. That is the fastest way out of a bad overdub, and it means experimenting costs you nothing. Z (or Ctrl/Cmd + Z) does the same for the selected track from the keyboard.
The amber Auto lamp on the pedal toggles auto-record for that track: with it on, layers keep cycling hands-free instead of needing a press each time.
Overdub and replace modes
Each track has an overdub mode, shown on its lane as OVR or REP. OVR adds each new pass on top of what is already there. REP replaces the existing audio as you play over it. In REP mode, pressing REC part-way through a take does nothing on purpose — only STOP finalizes it.
Overdubbing
Record again on a track that already has a loop to overdub another pass on top, stacking layers into one part. Press Z (or Ctrl/Cmd + Z) to undo the most recent layer on the selected track. Tip: if stacked overdubs on one track drift out of time, record each voice on its own track instead — separate tracks stay tightly aligned.
Track controls
Each track lane has arm, mute and solo buttons, a volume fader and pan, an input selector, and an insert chain for stock or third-party plugins. Select a track with its number key (1-9); mute the selected layers with 0.
Metronome and tempo
Toggle the metronome with M. Set the project tempo and time signature in the transport bar before recording your first loop — they define the bar grid that every loop is quantized to.