Keys

The keyboard has 4 rows × 14 columns in four blocks, each with its own colour and role; every key has a single-colour light that tells you what it can do right now. There is also a HOME key on the side, which the groovebox leaves unused.

1. 1ESC: scenes
2. 2TAB: tracks
3. 3FN: the menu of this screen
4. 4CTRL: pages
5. 5PADS: play
6. 6GRID 4×4
7. 7Plus, minus, confirm
8. 8Play

The left column navigates, the 4×8 in the middle plays, the 4×4 on the right is the screen's cells, the last column sets values and plays

Key map

The board itself: every key, the HOME key on the side and the parts of the screen tell what they do.

Point at a key or at the screen to see what it does; click to go to its section.

Left keys: ESC TAB FN CTRL

All four keys work the same way: a tap does one thing, a hold shows a map:

Key	Tap	Hold
ESC	walks the scenes 1 INSTR → 2 SEQ → 3 TAPE; in 0 SETUP goes back; cancels in a pop-up	scene map: the GRID's four columns = the four scenes, column 1 = 0 SETUP
TAB	next track T1 DRUMS → T2 JUNO → T3 DX7 → T4 SAMPLER	track map: select, mute, solo, sequencer on
FN	opens / closes the menu of this screen	the FN menu and second functions, see The FN menu; in input screens the yellow legends, see FN in input screens: the yellow legends
CTRL	next page	page map: every page of the current scene

The screen and the key lights at that moment

1. 10 SETUP: only from here
2. 21 INSTR
3. 32 SEQ (current)
4. 43 TAPE
5. 5ESC held
6. 6Hold
7. 7Scenes: current fully lit, others half lit

Holding ESC: the screen becomes the scene map, and the GRID's columns are the scenes.

The four strips on the screen's left edge are these four keys (top to bottom: ESC red-orange, TAB cyan, FN yellow, CTRL violet), each with its icon. Where you are is in the status line and the page tabs, not in the strips:

Strip	Icon	Shows
ESC	back arrow	half lit: always works (scenes, back, cancel)
TAB	tab arrow	off in a pop-up; after a track change only the strip of the new track's row lights for a moment (T1 = ESC … T4 = CTRL)
FN	menu	fully lit while the menu is kept open
CTRL	pages	off when the screen has a single page or a pop-up is open

A held key fills its strip from the bottom.

Right keys: ADD SUB OK PLAY

1. 1Plus / minus (hold to repeat)
2. 2Confirm · record key
3. 3Play / stop

The right column: the top two set values, the bottom two act

Key	Cap	Does
↑←	del	increase; up in a list; held it repeats, faster and faster
↓SUB	\	decrease; down in a list
↵OK	↵ Enter	confirm, run, switch; on the SEQ note page it is the record key: a tap switches ROLL / STEP, a hold (0.45 s) opens the RECORD panel
▶PLAY	space	play / stop; FN+▶PLAY arms / disarms live recording

• With TAB held, ↑← / ↓SUB pick the next / previous track; with CTRL held, the next / previous page.
• The icons on the right strips say what ADD and SUB do on this screen: + −, ↑ ↓ in a list, → ← sideways (steps, the engine picker).

note

In text entry the top key (the del cap) erases.

The PADS

The 4×8 keys in the middle always play the current track, whatever scene or page you are on. Except: while you hold ESC, TAB or CTRL (a map, the pads are silent), while you hold FN (letters and quick controls, see Second functions (letters and the keys around)), while you hold a parameter cell (the pads are its values) and in the preset and sample lists (silent; search is FN + F).

01HOLDKick

Drum track T1 DRUMS: each column is one drum: kick, snare, closed hat, open hat, clap, tom, cowbell, maracas. The row says how hard: the top row hardest, the bottom row softest.

02HOLDC3

Melodic tracks (PIANO layout): two whole octaves, rows 2 and 4 white keys, rows 1 and 3 black keys; C3 at the bottom left, the upper two rows an octave up. See Keyboard layouts.

03

In text entry the whole keyboard types the characters on its caps.

The GRID

The 16 keys of the 4×4 on the right = the 4×4 cells in the middle of the screen. What is drawn on the screen is what the key does:

019G1

Sequencer: 16 cells = 16 steps. A pattern can be up to 256 steps; the GRID shows one page of 16 at a time.

029G1

Instrument pages: 16 cells = 16 parameters; tap one to select it.

03PG6

MIX: each column is one track's select, mute, solo and sequencer switches.

While a left key is held the GRID becomes that key's "map", see Hold a left key = a map.

HOME side key

The HOME key on the side does nothing in the groovebox. Stop all is FN+ESC: it stops the sequencer and silences everything that is sounding (stuck notes and every ARP included), and the screen says ALL STOP.

note

Switching apps is the job of the device's own launcher.

One rule for everything

	Rule
HOLDESC HOLDTAB HOLDCTRL	While a left key is held, choose on the GRID. Each cell of a map sits on the key that picks it
HOLDFN	While FN is held, no key does its usual job: the GRID is the menu, keys with an FN function do only that (lit), the others do nothing (off)
	A modifier that was used in a combination does not also fire its tap when released
	A hold is 250 ms (OK on the SEQ note page: 0.45 s); ↑← / ↓SUB start repeating after 0.4 s and move 5 at a time after 12 repeats