Working with Clips

5 min read Beginner

Clips are the building blocks of your project. Every piece of audio—whether recorded, sampled, or generated—lives in a clip on the timeline. This guide covers everything you need to know about working with clips.

What is a Clip?

A clip is a container for audio on the timeline. Clips display:

Adding Clips

There are several ways to add clips to your timeline:

From the Sample Browser

  1. Open the Samples tab
    Click "Samples" in the bottom panel or press 3.
  2. Find a sample
    Search by name or description, or browse categories.
  3. Drag to timeline
    Click and drag the sample onto a track.

By Recording

  1. Arm a track
    Click the red R button on the track you want to record to.
  2. Press Record
    Click the record button or press R.
  3. Play and record
    Press Play (Space) to start recording.
  4. Stop
    Press Stop to finish. A new clip appears on the timeline.

From AI Generation

  1. Use voice command or AI panel
    Say "Generate a synth pad" or use the AI generation panel.
  2. Wait for generation
    AI creates the sound (usually 10-30 seconds).
  3. Clip appears on timeline
    The generated audio is automatically placed.

Selecting Clips

Moving Clips

To move a clip:

  1. Click and hold the clip
  2. Drag to the new position
  3. Release to drop
Tip: Clips snap to the grid by default. Hold Alt/Option while dragging to disable snapping for fine adjustments.

Moving to Different Tracks

Drag a clip vertically to move it to a different track. The clip will follow your cursor.

Copying and Duplicating

Deleting Clips

Splitting Clips

To split a clip at the playhead:

  1. Position the playhead where you want to split
  2. Select the clip
  3. Press Cmd/Ctrl+E or right-click → "Split"

This creates two separate clips that can be moved independently.

Clip Properties

Each clip has properties you can adjust:

Gain

Adjust the clip's volume without affecting the track fader. Useful for balancing multiple clips on the same track.

Pitch

Shift the clip's pitch up or down in semitones. Great for fitting samples to your song's key.

Time Stretch

Change the clip's tempo without affecting pitch. Useful for matching samples to your project BPM.

Clip Colors

Clips inherit their track's color by default. To change a clip's color:

  1. Right-click the clip
  2. Choose "Change Color"
  3. Select a color from the palette

Renaming Clips

To rename a clip:

  1. Double-click the clip name
  2. Type the new name
  3. Press Enter

Looping Clips

To make a clip loop:

  1. Select the clip
  2. Hover over the right edge
  3. When you see the loop cursor, drag right
  4. The clip content repeats as you extend

Keyboard Shortcuts

DeleteDelete selected clips
Cmd/Ctrl+CCopy
Cmd/Ctrl+VPaste at playhead
Cmd/Ctrl+DDuplicate
Cmd/Ctrl+ESplit at playhead
Cmd/Ctrl+ASelect all

Next Steps