Screen and panel

The screen

Windows at a glance

Window	For	Opens with	Closes with
Main screen	room, channels, selected clip	always there	—
FPV	the room and four strips, for playing; see FPV	FULL/FPV, status bar	FULL/FPV again
CLIP, MOTION, ACTION, CHMIX, REC	the selected channel’s clip, movement, actions, strip, takes	its tab in the bar (REC also with ●)	another tab
FILES	sets, clips, shapes, actions on disk	FILES, global strip	FILES again; MIXER or PADS (swaps); any tab; MENU; PAGE on the panel
MIXER	four strips and the master	MIXER, global strip	as FILES
PADS	the panel on the screen	PADS, global strip	as FILES
Menu	skins, LEDs, folders	MENU, status bar or panel	‹ or MENU: one level; ✕: all
value list, edit box	one menu value	double tap or ENTER on a row	ENTER or a tap keeps; back, MENU or Escape drops
colour picker	one skin colour	double tap a colour row	done keeps the colour; back, MENU or Escape put the old one back
Keyboard	typing	KEYS, or by itself	KEYS or HIDE
workspace list	the Core’s other screens	▾, status bar	tap a workspace, or beside the list

FILES, MIXER and PADS open over the sphere, one at a time; the channel row, bar and global strip stay visible. Closing FILES drops a rename and an armed Delete; editor text stays, unsaved.

The main screen

Top to bottom: status bar, sphere, channel row, then the bar (left three quarters) beside the global strip (right quarter).

Status bar

Part	What it does
clock key	tap: INT → EXT → PIO; see Clock modes
FULL/FPV	the view: FULL (this page) or FPV; lit in FPV. Kept over a restart
BREATH	ORBIT ships stand still on beat 4 of every bar; on at every start. See the breath
PILOTS	FPV only, left of CLEAN: OFF → HINT → FLY, how much the pilots play on their own. Kept over a restart. See Pilots and games
BPM	the tempo. Read only
readout	what was last done, e.g. -- REC ARMED
beat display	four cells, one per beat. Tap it to tap the tempo (INT); in EXT and PIO taps go to the beat analyser
CLEAN	clean skin on/off: thin lines, plain blobs, no effects. Grey when none is installed
KEYS	on-screen keyboard on/off
MENU	the menu
STEMDECK, ▾	the Core’s workspace switch; see A³ Core’s screen

The sphere

The room from above: the middle is overhead, the rim is ear height. Front is 0° at ear height, the direction Core’s speaker layout calls 0°: the rim’s top point, as long as camera mode has not turned the view. Each channel is a blob where its sound is; it swells and sparks with the channel’s level. A playing clip draws its path as a braid. Below ear height is drawn darker. The corners are the speakers: lightning shows each one’s level, ball lightning the subs. No lightning while music plays: nothing comes back from Core (Troubleshooting).

Gesture	What it does
drag a blob	moves its sound, live. Start on the blob; a drag on empty sphere does nothing. A playing clip takes it back on release. Blobs in the way are pushed aside, sound and all
several fingers	one blob each
during a take	the first finger writes the take; see REC

Camera mode (tap the elevation picture in the global strip; it lights) turns the view instead. No finger moves a blob; the view survives a restart.

Gesture in camera mode	What it does
drag up / down	lean towards the horizon / back (from straight above, down does nothing)
drag sideways	walk round
pinch, mouse wheel	zoom
double tap	straight above, unzoomed

The channel row

One field per channel, channel 1 left: meter, 3D, FREQ, Q (drag to turn), and a progress bar with the clip’s name. Tap a field to select the channel; touching one of its knobs selects it too. Double tap: 3D and FREQ to twelve o’clock, Q closed — unless the panel is attached, then the pot decides.

The bar

Tabs CLIP MOTION ACTION CHMIX REC, all for the selected channel; a tab also closes FILES, MIXER or PADS. Double tap a knob to rest it: most to the middle, sweeps and spin to off, elv so the shape is centred on ear height (as near as the clips allow; how high that puts the line depends on reach). On a knob playing a lane, the double tap clears the lane.

The global strip

Part	What it does
FILES, MIXER, PADS	open their window; tap again to close
elevation picture	the channels seen from the side. Tap: camera mode
▶ / ❚❚	Play|Pause on the next downbeat; blinks while waiting. ❚❚ keeps the place, ▶ goes on from there and blinks slowly while paused
■	stop now and back to the top; ends a take
A	fires the chosen action button while held
●	arms a take and opens REC

After a take, ● becomes SAVE and A becomes DISCARD.

CLIP

Field	What it does
CLIP	the loaded clip. Drag to step through clips. A drift dot: values changed since loading. --: a shape without a clip
SVG	the shape. Drag to step through shapes; the values stay
DIRECTION	tap: Fwd → Rev → Bnce → Rnd (random start each pass)
END-ACTION	tap: Loop → Stop → Paus. Stop returns to the start; Paus stays where the pass ended
LENGTH × 4	beats per pass. Tap to play at it; drag to change the key’s length

The LENGTH keys scale the clip’s own length: the same key reads 4 on a four-beat shape, 8 on an eight-beat one, 3/8 on a short one. No key lit: the clip plays at a length none holds. The keys are saved in the set.

MOTION

Each field has two knobs: left moves, right sets.

Field	Left (movement)	Right (value)
ROTATION	spin: keeps turning, either way	rot: turns the shape
REACH	swell: sweeps the reach	reach: how far down the sphere the edge lands
SQUEEZE X	strX: sweeps it	sqzX: front to back
SQUEEZE Y	strY: sweeps it	sqzY: left to right
ELEVATION	sway: height up and down	elv: centre height
ELEVATION CLIP	clip-top: ceiling	clip-bot: floor
TILT	tswp: sweeps tilt	tilt: lean forward/back
ROLL	rswp: sweeps roll	roll: lean sideways

Movement counts in bars, never seconds. A moving knob shows a blue arc. See How a shape sits on the sphere.

ACTION

Six action buttons per channel, A1–A6. An action changes the clip while its accent lasts, then the clip is itself again.

Part	What it does
A1–A6	number, action name, badge 1 (one-shot) or H (Hold). A tap chooses, it does not fire; pads and A fire
list	tap a script to put it on the chosen button; no action clears it
EDIT	the script in FILES › ACTIONS
Hold / 1shot	lasts while held, or fires and lets go
then	the button fired after this one (then A3) or none (then --). Tap steps, two taps clear
AUDIO tab	the accent for 3d, freq, q: atk rise and dec fall in bars, max how far. max 0: row off. An accent only ever raises: the channel’s own value is the floor, and a max below it does nothing
MOTION tab	what the action sets: every MOTION knob, plus speed, direction, end. Grey: left to the clip; coloured: set. Two taps hand it back

Coloured: carries an action; grey: empty (does nothing); thick outline: chosen; white: running. An action pad brings this page up with its button chosen (not with SHIFT, not during a take).

Note

What you set here is saved into the script, for every channel and set. A shipped script is copied first (“Bloom 2”, onto every button that had it), unless Developer Mode is on. See Fire and assign actions.

More: How actions play, Scripting actions.

Encoder	Turn	Press
1	chooses A1–A6	–
2	highlight in the list	assigns it
3	ring over EDIT, mode, then	presses it
4	AUDIO ↔ MOTION	same
5–8	the marked row’s values	marks the next row

CHMIX

The selected channel’s strip, as in MIXER.

Control	What it does
GAIN	input gain. Double tap: full
HIGH, MID, LOW	EQ. Double tap: flat
SEND	to the FX bus (the beat-synced delay). Double tap: none
CUE	pre-fader cue. Tap
FX	through the shared filter. Tap
meter	level and VOL fader: drag the handle, one to one; elsewhere does nothing. Double tap: full

REC

Steps: Record a take.

Field	What it does
CLIP, SVG	as on CLIP
RECMODE	Touch → Latch → Write; see Touch, Latch, Write
LENGTH × 4	the lit key is the take’s length
GAP-CONNECTOR	fade: length of the closing move that smooths the loop join. bias: where an unwritten gap leads. If in doubt, leave both

On the panel, REC is SHIFT and PLAY all held together; alone it only ends a running take.

FILES

The library on disk. For preparing: mid-set you need only Load.

Tabs SETS (clips, actions, 3d/freq/Q and length keys per channel), CLIPS, SVG (shapes), ACTIONS; the list; the keys; the editor on the right. A tap on a row only shows it. The list opens at the selected channel’s file.

Key	What it does
Load	set → all channels; clip or shape → selected channel; action → chosen button
All / User / System	filter the list
Rename	type; Keep or ENTER keeps, Escape drops. Taken names refused. A renamed clip is renamed in every set
Delete	asks Sure?; press again
from set / from clip	the device’s current state as text, unsaved
Cancel	back to the file’s text
Save	overwrites the file; channels using it pick it up at once. A set is only written, not loaded
Save as	a copy in your files (“Lift Up 2”; with no file shown, “Action”). Lit only with unsaved text. Not loaded; a copy after EDIT goes on that button

• Unsaved text locks the list: -- SAVE OR CANCEL.

• A set or shape that would not load can’t be saved; a script with an error can, and shows the error.

• Shipped files can’t be overwritten: use Save as (or Developer Mode, in the menu).

• Delete removes only the file; what is loaded keeps playing.

MIXER

The A³ Mixer’s controls for four channels. The desk and this window follow each other, and a restart shows what is really set. The desk has no motor faders; see Mix from the screen.

Each strip: meter/VOL handle, GAIN, HIGH MID LOW, SEND (starts shut; double tap shuts it), CUE, FX — as on CHMIX.

Master column	What it does
fader	master: drag the handle. No double tap, so the room can’t go full by accident
meters	main sub and tops 1–9
BTH	booth level
MIX	phones blend, cue ↔ master. Double tap: middle
PHN	phones level
RET	FX return. Double tap: none
FX FREQ, FX RES	the shared filter. Double tap: FREQ middle, RES none
FX MODE	HPF / LPF

3D, FREQ and Q are in the channel row.

PADS

Per channel, as on the panel:

	left	right
row 1	Play|Pause	PAGE
row 2–4	A1, A3, A5	A2, A4, A6

The window is the panel key for key: 44 keys, ten columns by six rows. Channels in the middle (top two rows empty, where the pots are); the two outer columns are the panel’s end columns, left and right. A screen key is held while touched; SHIFT held on the screen works as on the panel, and the end keys show the shifted layer while it is.

• PAGE on another channel selects it; on the selected one it steps the tabs (SHIFT: backwards) and closes FILES, MIXER or PADS. In FPV it switches its channel between CLIP and ORBIT instead.

• A pad press selects its channel.

• PLAY all is a toggle, see the end columns. There is no separate Stop all.

• Lights: Play|Pause lit while playing, blinking while waiting, blinking slowly (two beats on, two off) while paused; action pads dim when assigned, dark when empty, white while running; PAGE lit on the selected channel.

You press	It happens
Play|Pause	next downbeat (a running clip pauses, keeping its place)
SHIFT + Play|Pause	now: a running or pausing clip stops, back to the top (the panel has no stop pad); a still one starts from the top
■ on the screen	stop now, back to the top
action pad	now
SHIFT + action pad	now, screen-only preview while held
a Cue	loads now, starts on the next downbeat
SHIFT + a Cue	now
Load a set	all stop now; what the set says was playing starts on the next downbeat (shipped sets: nothing)
drag on the sphere	now

The panel

Per channel: two encoders, a 3d pot and eight pads. Beside them stand the two end columns: TAP, SHIFT, PLAY all and the action keys A1–A6 across all channels. The other functions (clock, REC, REC MODE, MENU) are the SHIFT layer of those keys. Everything else is on the touchscreen.

Control	What it does
encoder	turns the field above it (table below)
SHIFT + encoder	upper: freq, lower: Q, on any page
encoder in FPV	as with SHIFT: freq / Q of its column; a press does nothing
pot	3d: down is plain stereo, up follows the blob
pads	see PADS
end keys	see the end columns

Page	Upper encoders	Lower encoders	Press
CLIP	clip, direction, 2 lengths	shape, end, 2 lengths	length: play at it
MOTION	spin, swell, strX, strY	sway, clip-top, tswp, rswp	swap to rot, reach, sqzX, sqzY / elv, clip-bot, tilt, roll
REC	clip, rec mode, 2 lengths	shape, fade, 2 lengths	fade ↔ bias
CHMIX	GAIN, HIGH, MID, LOW	SEND, CUE, FX, VOL	CUE, FX: switch
ACTION	see ACTION

The bar marks which of two knobs an encoder drives; the choice is kept. While the keyboard is up, the panel types and no pad fires.

The end columns

The outer column on each side of the panel, six keys tall, is the same on both sides. Both sides of TAP, SHIFT and PLAY all do the same thing; each action key has one place, A1, A3 and A5 on the left and A2, A4 and A6 on the right.

Row	Left	Right	With SHIFT held first
1	TAP	TAP	CLOCK: steps INT → EXT → PIO
2	SHIFT	SHIFT	–
3	PLAY all	PLAY all	REC, for as long as SHIFT and PLAY all are both held
4	A1 on every channel	A2 on every channel	REC MODE: steps Touch → Latch → Write
5	A3 on every channel	A4 on every channel	nothing
6	A5 on every channel	A6 on every channel	MENU: opens or closes it

• SHIFT first, then the key. That is the shifted function and nothing else. A key already down when you press SHIFT keeps its plain meaning.

• SHIFT + TAP never taps the tempo.

• REC lasts while you hold SHIFT and PLAY all together; let go of either and it ends. With REC held, a channel’s Play|Pause records onto that channel. Pressed alone, REC only ends a running take.

• PLAY all is one key for both jobs. If any clip is playing, it pauses what plays, on the next downbeat. If nothing plays, it starts every clip that stands still. A double tap sends the channels the first tap reached back to the top.

• A1–A6 across the columns press that action on all four channels at once. SHIFT with them does nothing.

• SHIFT with a channel’s own pads keeps its meanings (see PADS).

• Lights. TAP, SHIFT and PLAY all light on both sides, each action key on its own. While SHIFT is held the end columns show the shifted layer instead of the plain one.

• On the screen CLOCK and MENU are in the status bar, REC MODE is on the REC page and REC is the transport’s ● key. The PADS page shows both columns too.

• While the keyboard is up, these keys type instead.