MIDI, clock & USB audio

11.1BasicsGUIDE.md §21, §25

Where MIDI comes in

There are two ways into SLOOP for MIDI, and you can use both at the same time — a keyboard on the jack while a computer sends clock over USB, for example.

The MIDI IN jack: The 3.5 mm TRS socket on the FM-1. Any keyboard or pad controller with a MIDI output plugs in through a TRS-to-DIN MIDI adapter. These adapters come in two types, A and B: if nothing plays, try the other one.
USB: From a computer or phone running a DAW or a MIDI routing app, or from a USB MIDI host box. The same cable carries audio and the web editor.

Nothing plays?

On the jack, try the other adapter type (A or B).
Check the keyboard’s channel against the tracks’ channels: MIDI channels and the MIDI 2 page.
Check that GLO → MIDI 2 → IN is set to NOTES.

Once notes arrive, you can record them like the FM-1’s own keys — see Recording from a MIDI keyboard.

11.2IntermediateSLOOP 2.6+GUIDE.md §16, §21

MIDI channels and the MIDI 2 page

Every MIDI setting lives on three GLO pages: tap GLO until MIDI shows, then carry on to MIDI 2 and MIDI 3. They are settings of the FM-1, not of your music: they survive power-off, loading a section doesn’t change them, and the web editor’s backups include them.

GLO · MIDITap GLO, then tap it again or turn SELECT until MIDI shows.

CH1Track 1 channel

Track 1’s channel, in and out.

KNOB 1Range OFF, 1–16 (default 1)

How channels work

A track’s channel is how it hears the outside world — notes, CCs, sustain, pitch bend and Program Change — and how its keys and sequence go out.
OFF cuts the track off from MIDI entirely, in and out.
Two tracks can’t share a channel. Turn onto one that’s taken and the knob jumps to the next free channel, telling you who had it (CH 3 = TRACK 3).
Changing a channel ends any note still sounding on it, on the FM-1 and on the gear it talks to.
CH4 is also on GLO → DRUMS; it is the same setting.

GLO · MIDI 2Tap GLO, then tap it again or turn SELECT until MIDI 2 shows.

INMIDI in

NOTES takes notes, CCs and clock; CLOCK takes only clock and transport; CH n listens to one channel and plays the selected track.

KNOB 1Range NOTES, CLOCK, CH 1 … CH 16

IN: what incoming MIDI does

IN	SLOOP listens to	Hint on the MIDI page
`NOTES`	Notes, CCs and clock — the normal setting.	—
`CLOCK`	Only the clock and START, CONTINUE and STOP. Notes and CCs are ignored, apart from REMOTE CCs when REMOTE is on.	`IN = CLOCK: NO NOTES`
`CH 1` … `CH 16`	Only that channel, always played on the selected track. CH1–CH4 and OTHER are set aside; the clock is still followed.	`IN CH 5: SEL TRK ONLY`

OTHER: What happens to a channel no track owns. SEL plays the selected track — set a keyboard to channel 4 and it follows ALGORITHM. OFF ignores it, for a sequencer that also drives other gear on the same cable.
OUT: What goes out: see MIDI out.
BEND: How far pitch bend reaches, 1–12 semitones; 2 by default.

Three set-ups

You have	Set
A keyboard that plays one track, then any other	Keyboard on channel 1 to play track 1. For the others, put it on a channel no track has (say 4) with OTHER = `SEL`, and pick the track with ALGORITHM.
A sequencer sending drums on 10, bass on 2, a pad on 11 and a lead on 8	CH1 2, CH2 11, CH3 8, CH4 10, OTHER `OFF`.
A KeyStep Pro whose other channels drive other gear	IN = the channel you play on. That channel plays the selected track; the rest are ignored.

11.3IntermediateGUIDE.md §16, §21

MIDI out

The FM-1 sends MIDI over USB, so a DAW can record what you play or SLOOP can drive another synth. One setting, OUT, decides how much goes out. It sits on GLO → MIDI 2 and on GLO → SYSTEM; both are the same setting.

KEYS: Only the notes you play on the FM-1’s keys.
SEQ: Since 2.4: the keys plus everything the sequencer, the arpeggiator and the rolls play.

How it behaves

Each track sends on its own channel (CH1–CH4); a track set to OFF sends nothing.
The drum track sends General MIDI drum notes, whatever DR MAP is set to.
Every note gets its note-off, and PLAY to stop ends anything still sounding.
Notes that came in from the jack or a computer are never sent back out, so there is no MIDI loop.

Capture your pattern in a DAW

Set OUT to SEQ.
In the DAW, record-arm a MIDI track that takes the FM-1 as its input.
Record while the FM-1 plays. You get the pattern as notes, each track on its own channel.

11.4IntermediateGUIDE.md §12, §16, §21

Following an external clock

With SYNC set to USB or TRS, SLOOP takes its tempo from another device — a DAW, a drum machine, a sequencer — instead of its own clock. It is on GLO → SYSTEM.

GLO · SYSTEMTap GLO, then tap it again or turn SELECT until SYSTEM shows.

OUTMIDI out

KEYS sends only what you play; SEQ adds the sequencer, arp and rolls. The same setting as on MIDI 2.

KNOB 1Range KEYS, SEQ

What SLOOP does with the clock

START plays from the top, CONTINUE carries on from where it stopped, STOP stops.
The steps follow the master’s 24 pulses a beat one by one, so SLOOP can’t drift away from it.
The tempo shown is the average of the last few beats (2.8), so a steady 140 reads 140 instead of flickering between 139 and 141. A real tempo change is still taken at once.
Once the incoming clock has been silent for half a second, pressing PLAY runs SLOOP at its own tempo again.
A MIDI START that arrives during the REC count-in starts the transport and records at once (see The REC screen).

11.5IntermediateSLOOP 2.7+GUIDE.md §21

Sending clock: CLOCK OUT

The other way round: SLOOP sets the tempo and everything else follows. With CLOCK on OUT, the FM-1 becomes the MIDI clock master on its USB port.

Tap GLO until MIDI 3 shows, and turn KNOB 4 CLOCK to OUT.
Check that GLO → SYSTEM → SYNC is INT.
Set the DAW, drum machine or groovebox to follow MIDI clock from the FM-1.

What goes out

The clock, 24 pulses a beat at SLOOP’s tempo — also while stopped, so the other gear always knows the tempo.
START when the sequencer starts; after a count-in, that is when the playing actually begins.
STOP when it stops.

Like the other MIDI settings, CLOCK is kept through power-off. The whole MIDI 3 page is described in MIDI 3: effects, drum map and remote buttons.

11.6IntermediateGUIDE.md §21

MIDI CCs, sustain and pitch bend

SLOOP answers a standard set of CCs (the map from Felucca 1.1.5). A CC lands on the same track as notes on its channel would: a synth track’s channel, the drum channel, or the selected track for any other channel. It moves the parameter just as turning the knob would — 0–127 across the whole range, with 64 the centre of PAN and FILTER — so the screen and the web editor follow, and saving keeps the new value.

CC	Sets
5	GLIDE.
7	LEVEL. On the drum channel: `GLO → DRUMS → LVL`.
10	PAN.
11	Expression (2.7.1): a volume pedal on top of LEVEL (on the drum channel, on top of DRUMS LVL) — 127 full, 0 silent. LEVEL itself, and so your mix, is not changed. Back to full at power-on, when a section or project loads, and on CC 121.
121	Reset all controllers: expression back to full.
71	The engine’s resonance (RES or Q) on ANALOG, TRIO, VOICE and NOISE; other engines ignore it.
72 · 73 · 75	Release · attack · decay.
74	The engine’s own cutoff or brightness (2.7): CUT on ANALOG, SAMPLE and TRIO, DCW on PHASE, TONE on LOFI and GRAIN, MLVL on FM6, BRIT on PHYS, FREQ on NOISE. On DIGITAL, VOICE, WHEEL and the drum track it moves the track’s FILTER (64 off, lower for low-pass, higher for high-pass).
91 · 93 · 94	Reverb, chorus and delay sends. On the drum channel, 91 and 94 are `GLO → DRUMS → REV` and `DLY`.

Sustain pedal (CC 64): While the pedal is down, notes you let go of keep sounding until it comes up. The arp holds them too, and a recording keeps them as you heard them. A note played again meanwhile ends when you release its key.
Pitch bend: Bends whichever track the channel plays, without steps, as far as the BEND range on GLO → MIDI 2 (1–12 semitones, 2 unless you change it). The drum track doesn’t bend.

11.7IntermediateSLOOP 2.6+GUIDE.md §13, §21

Program Change and Bank Select

A Program Change on a track’s channel swaps that track’s sound, so a DAW or controller can change sounds between songs or mid-set.

How the numbers count

On a synth track, Program Change number n loads sound n of the PRESETS list, counting from 0: 0 is the first sound, 808 BOOM. The list runs through the 153 factory sounds by kind, then your user presets in order.
On the drum channel, number n loads kit n.
A number past the end of the list is ignored.
The screen names the track and number, for example T2 PROG 5.
With IN = CLOCK it is ignored; with IN set to one channel it goes to the selected track.

Bank Select: past 128

CC 0 value	Program Change 0–127 reaches
0	The first 128 sounds of the PRESETS list.
1	The next 128: the rest of the factory sounds, then your user presets by slot.

Send CC 0 on the track’s channel first, then the Program Change. SLOOP holds on to the bank and applies it to the next Program Change.

11.8IntermediateSLOOP 2.6+GUIDE.md §9, §20, §21

MIDI LEARN

The fixed CC map covers the basics. MIDI LEARN lets you put any knob of your controller on any parameter of a track instead.

Hold GLO and press F#3, the first black key. The screen says LEARN: TURN A KNOB and the top line shows LEARN.
Turn the SLOOP knob for the parameter you want — on any page of the track, or LEVEL or PAN on the TRACKS screen. The screen names it and waits, for example T1 CUT: SEND A CC.
Move a knob on your controller. The screen confirms the pairing, for example CC 21 = T1 CUT.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for as many knobs as you like.
Hold GLO and press F#3 again to finish: LEARN DONE.

Key combinations

GLO + F#3: Starts or finishes MIDI LEARN.

How learned CCs behave

A learned CC sets that track’s parameter whichever channel it arrives on.
It stops doing whatever the standard map gave it.
Teaching a CC a new parameter takes it off the old one.
Up to 16 CCs can be learned.

CCs that can’t be learned

CC	Reserved for
0, 32	Bank select
1	Mod wheel
6, 38	Data entry
11	Expression
64	Sustain
96–101	Data increment and decrement, NRPN and RPN numbers
120–127	Channel mode messages

Try one of these and the screen says CC NOT LEARNABLE. What you learn is a setting of the FM-1: it survives power-off and loading sections, and it travels in the web editor’s backups, so restoring brings it back on this FM-1 or another.

11.9AdvancedSLOOP 2.7+GUIDE.md §16, §21

MIDI 3: effects, drum map and remote buttons

The third MIDI page opens up the parts of SLOOP that aren’t sounds: the punch-in effects, how notes pick drum sounds, the buttons, and the clock. Tap GLO until MIDI 3 shows.

GLO · MIDI 3Tap GLO, then tap it again or turn SELECT until MIDI 3 shows.

FX CHEffects channel

The channel whose notes F3–G5 play the 27 punch-in effects. Use one no track has.

KNOB 1Range OFF (default), 1–16

FX CH turns one MIDI channel into the Punch-in effects. On it, the notes F3 to G5 (MIDI 53–79) are the FM-1’s 27 keys with FX held: white keys effects 1–16, black keys 17–27. Hold a note and its effect holds; release it and the effect lets go. That way a pad controller or DAW can play and automate them.

Pick a channel no track uses: this one only plays effects.
It works with IN set to NOTES or to one channel, but not with CLOCK.
Pressing FX + a key on the FM-1 takes over at once.

DR MAP decides how notes reaching the drum track — on CH4, or on the single IN channel with the drum track selected — choose among the 16 drum sounds. GM (the default) uses General MIDI drum notes, for DAWs and MIDI files; any other note plays the nearest. 1-16 lays the 16 sounds on 16 notes in a row from note 36 and repeats every 16 notes, so a row of pads plays the whole kit wherever it starts.

Drum notes

Sound	GM	1-16
KICK	36	36
KICK 2	35	37
SNARE	38	38
CLAP	39	39
HAT	42	40
OPEN HAT	46	41
PEDAL	44	42
RIM	37	43
SNARE 2	40	44
LOW TOM	43	45
HI TOM	48	46
CRASH	49	47
RIDE	51	48
SHAKER	70	49
CONGA	63	50
COWBELL	56	51

DR MAP only changes what comes in: the drum track always sends GM notes on MIDI out.

REMOTE lets a controller or DAW press the FM-1’s 14 buttons with CCs 102–115 on the chosen channel. Values from 64 up press the button and values under 64 release it, so a controller button sending 127 and then 0 acts as a tap, and keeping it down acts as a hold. Taps, holds, layers, button-plus-key combinations and the octave buttons all behave exactly as they do on the FM-1 itself.

REMOTE CCs

CC	Button	CC	Button
102	`FX`	109	`SAVE`
103	`SEL`	110	`ARP`
104	`ENV`	111	`SEQ`
105	`LFO`	112	`PLAY`
106	`EDIT`	113	`REC`
107	`GLO`	114	`OCT-`
108	`HOME`	115	`OCT+`

11.10BasicsGUIDE.md §20, §22, §25

Recording over USB audio

Plug the FM-1 into a computer, phone or tablet and it shows up as an audio input as well as a MIDI device. Choose it as the input in a DAW, in Audacity, or in a sampling app on a phone (through a USB-C cable or adapter), and press record.

The input

Named Felucca: the audio code comes from Felucca, the firmware SLOOP is built on.
44.1 or 48 kHz — the computer or phone chooses — 16-bit stereo.
Class compliant: no driver to install.
The one cable carries the audio alongside MIDI, the web editor and the installer.

You get the finished master mix, the same signal as the headphone output — with DUST, DUCK and the master filter applied, and the click and count-in too if you have them switched on.

HOME menu → AUDIO

USB AUDIO: MASTER: The default. The recording level follows the MASTER knob, as the headphones do, so keep it well up while recording.
USB AUDIO: FULL: A fixed level, as if MASTER were all the way up, with the limiter keeping it from clipping. MASTER then only sets the headphones. Best for an input with no level control of its own.
USB RATE (2.7): On KNOB 3: AUTO (the default) offers both rates and lets the device pick; 44.1 KHZ or 48 KHZ offers only one. It takes effect after you switch the FM-1 off and on; until then the menu shows RESTART.

If the input doesn’t show

Unplug the FM-1 and plug it back in. After an install, and the first time, the computer has to set it up again as a MIDI-plus-audio device.
On a Mac with macOS 15 or older, you need SLOOP 2.7.2 or later: earlier versions show MIDI but no audio input there. Update, then replug.
In Audacity, choose Transport → Rescan Audio Devices.
On Windows, open Sound settings → Recording and show disabled devices.

The web editor’s The LIVE page can also record a set straight from this input as a WAV file. More fixes are in Troubleshooting, and the menu itself in The HOME menu.