The Grab captures audio from any source on your device.
GRAB
1
SYSTEM
MIC
USB
2
3
TAP TO RECORD
GRAB
SMPLR
DRUM
EDIT
1Source selector — tap to switch between System Audio (captures from any app), Phone Mic, or USB Mic.
2Amplitude meter — shows real-time input level. Adjust your source volume before recording.
3Record button — tap to start, tap again to stop. Audio saves directly to the sampler.
TIP: System audio capture works with any app except DRM-protected sources (Spotify, Netflix). Try YouTube, SoundCloud in browser, or voice memos.
03 — Sampler Hub
The heart of ESSNCE. Load sounds onto pads, set loop points, chop samples, and design your sound.
SMPLR
1
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
GRAB
SMPLR
DRUM
EDIT
1Reel & Waveform — the spinning reel previews the selected pad's audio. Scrub by dragging the reel. Set loop IN/OUT points on the waveform to isolate sections.
216 Velocity Pads — tap to play. Where you tap on the pad matters: bottom = loud, top = soft. Orange dot = loaded. Hold a loop and drag down to a pad to drop the looped section onto it.
36-Channel Mixer — drag the faders to set volume per channel group. Each group of pads maps to a mixer channel.
Chopping a sample
Select a pad with a loaded sample
Set loop IN and OUT points on the waveform
Hold the reel — particles appear
Drag your finger down to an empty pad
Release to drop the loop as a new sound
Auto-Chop
Tap the CHOP button in the toolbar. It detects beats in the selected sample and splits them across empty pads. Adjust sensitivity to get more or fewer slices.
Pad Sound Designer
Long-press any loaded pad to open the full sound designer. It has 4 tabs — tap each below to see what's inside.
PAD 03 — EDIT
MAIN
AMP
FILTER
MIX
PLAY MODE
ONE SHOT
GATE
CHOKE GROUP
OFF
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
MAX VOICES
∞
1
2
4
8
NOTE REPEAT
OFF
1/4
1/8
1/16
1/32
FINE PITCH
0 ct
TIME STRETCH
×0.5
×0.75
×1.5
×2
ENVELOPE
Attack
30 ms
Decay
100 ms
Sustain
70%
Release
80 ms
TYPE
OFF
LP
HP
BP
Cutoff
2.1 kHz
Resonance
40%
BIT CRUSH
OFF
12
8
4
SAMPLE RATE REDUCE
OFF
2×
4×
8×
PAN
L
C
VOLUME
80%
CONTROLS
MUTE
SOLO
EXPORT
FLAC
WAV 24
WAV 16
MP3
DELETE SAMPLE
MAIN tab — core playback behaviour for this pad.
Play Mode — ONE SHOT plays the full sample on tap. GATE plays only while your finger is held down.
Choke Group — pads in the same group silence each other. Classic use: open/closed hi-hat on the same group.
Max Voices — limits how many overlapping plays. ∞ = unlimited polyphony. 1 = monophonic (each tap cuts the previous).
Note Repeat — auto-retriggers the sample at a musical division (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32) synced to BPM. Hold the pad for machine-gun rolls.
Fine Pitch — detune by ±100 cents (one semitone). Use for subtle detuning or layering slightly shifted copies.
Time Stretch — stretch or compress the sample to half or double speed without changing pitch.
AMP tab — volume envelope that shapes the sound over time.
Attack — how fast the sound fades in (0 = instant punch, 2000ms = slow swell). Short attack for drums, long for pads.
Decay — how quickly the volume drops after the initial hit, falling from peak to the sustain level.
Sustain — the held volume level (0-100%). Only matters in GATE mode where you hold the pad.
Release — how the sound fades out after you let go. Short = tight cut, long = natural tail.
FILTER tab — shape the frequency content of the sound.
Type — LP (low-pass, removes highs), HP (high-pass, removes lows), BP (band-pass, keeps a narrow band). OFF bypasses.
Cutoff — the frequency point where the filter acts. Sweep for classic filter effects. Range: 20 Hz to 20 kHz (logarithmic).
Resonance — emphasis at the cutoff point. High values create a sharp, whistling peak.
Bit Crush — reduces audio quality from 16-bit down to 12, 8, or 4 bits. Lower = crunchier, lo-fi sound.
Sample Rate Reduce — drops the effective sample rate by 2×, 4×, or 8×. Adds digital aliasing artifacts.
MIX tab — volume, panning, and management.
Pan — stereo placement from full left (L) through centre (C) to full right (R).
Volume — pad output level (0-100%).
Mute — silences this pad without removing it. Toggle on/off.
Solo — mutes all other pads so you only hear this one. Toggle on/off.
Export — export this pad's sample as FLAC, WAV 24-bit, WAV 16-bit, or MP3 320k. Premium formats are gated.
Delete Sample — removes the sample from this pad permanently.
TIP: Quick edit is also available — tap a loaded pad once to open a lightweight trim dialog with start/end handles, normalize, and reverse.
04 — Drum Machine
16 tracks, variable-length step grid, 16 patterns, song arrangement, and 16 real-time effects.
DRUM
1
TAP
120SW25
2
4
Kick
Snare
HH-C
HH-O
Clap
808
3
REV
DLY
CHR
DIS
LPF
CMP
5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
PLAY
REC
4/4
PTRN
GRAB
SMPLR
DRUM
EDIT
1BPM + Swing — drag the slider or tap TAP to set tempo by tapping. SW controls swing amount (0-100%) for groove.
2Track rail — tap to select and audition. Long-press to open the assign sheet (load samples, set pan, assign choke group).
3Step grid — tap to toggle steps. Drag vertically on an active step to change velocity. Long-press for micro-timing control.
4FX rail — 16 real-time effects. Tap to toggle. REV (reverb), DLY (delay), DIS (distortion), LPF (low-pass), CMP (compressor), and 11 more.
5Pattern bank — 16 patterns. Tap to switch. Long-press to copy/paste a pattern. Expand for colour coding and song arrangement.
Track Assign Sheet
Long-press any track in the rail to open the assign sheet. Here you can:
Assign a sample from your repository to this track
Set Pan — stereo position (L/C/R) so kicks sit centre and hats spread wide
Set Choke Group (1-8) — tracks in the same group silence each other. Essential for open/closed hi-hat: when the closed hat fires, the open hat cuts off naturally
Step Editing
Tap a step to toggle it on/off
Drag vertically on an active step to change its velocity — higher velocity = brighter orange, louder hit
Long-press an active step to open the parameter lock dialog: set exact velocity (0-100%) and micro-timing offset (-50 to +50ms) for swing and groove
Swing
The SW control in the BPM strip adds groove to your beat. It delays every other step by up to 33% (triplet feel). 0 = straight machine timing. 50-70 = classic hip-hop bounce. 100 = full triplet shuffle. Every drum machine has swing — it's what makes a beat feel human.
Tap Tempo
Tap the TAP button rhythmically. ESSNCE averages your last 8 taps to calculate BPM. Useful for matching tempo to a song you're sampling from.
Count-in Recording
Toggle the 4/4 button in the transport bar. When enabled, pressing REC plays 4 metronome clicks at current BPM before recording starts — so you can get in the groove before your performance is captured.
Pattern Management
16 patterns — tap pattern boxes to switch. Each pattern has its own 16-track step grid
Long-press a pattern to COPY/PASTE — duplicate a pattern to a new slot, then edit the copy
Song mode — toggle SONG in the transport. Chain patterns into an arrangement with section labels (INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS, etc.)
ADV Mode
Expand the timeline (tap the chevron) and tap ADV to unlock power features. Tap each tab below to see what's available.
DRUM — ADVADV ON
GRID
GEN
PRO
PATTERN LENGTH (STEPS)
4
8
16
32
64
QUANTIZE
TRACK
ALL
PATTERN COLOURS
ARRANGEMENT PRESETS
4 BAR
8 BAR
I-V-C
FILL
GENRE
BOOM-BAP
TRAP
HOUSE
DRILL
LO-FI
REGGAETON
AFROBEATS
GENERATE
DICE (RE-ROLL)
RESAMPLE
RESAMPLE
STOP
SIDECHAIN
Source
OFF
T1
T2
PUNCH-IN FX (HOLD TO ACTIVATE)
CRUSH
STUTTER
FILTER
TAPE
FADER AUTOMATION
AUTO REC
CLEAR
GRID tools — control the structure of your pattern.
Pattern Length — set 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 steps. Longer patterns scroll horizontally. Use 32 for double-time fills or 64 for extended builds.
Quantize TRACK — snaps the selected track's micro-timing to the grid. Tightens up loose live recordings.
Quantize ALL — snaps every track at once. Use after a live jam to lock everything to the grid.
Pattern Colours — colour-code your patterns for visual arrangement. Tap a pattern, pick a colour.
Section Labels — tap arrangement blocks to cycle through INTRO, VERSE, CHORUS, BRIDGE, DROP, OUTRO labels.
Arrangement Presets — 4 BAR / 8 BAR / I-V-C (intro-verse-chorus) / FILL quickly sets up a song structure.
Pick a genre and tap GENERATE. The algorithm fills empty tracks with factory sounds (kick, snare, hats, clap, 808, cowbell, tom) using genre-specific rules for step placement, velocity, swing, and ghost notes.
Afrobeats — sparse kick, son clave bell, shaker, 100-115 BPM
DICE re-rolls with the same genre but a new random seed. Each generation is unique.
Premium tools — advanced audio features for production.
Resample — captures the mixer output (everything you hear) into a new sample. Tap RESAMPLE to start, play your beat, tap STOP. The captured audio appears in your sample repository ready to load onto a pad. Use it to bounce loops, create transitions, or layer processed audio.
Sidechain — ducks the volume of the entire mix when a selected track plays. Classic use: set source to your kick track. Every time the kick hits, everything else dips — creates that pumping EDM/house feel. Adjustable amount and release time.
Punch-in FX — hold a button to temporarily apply an effect to the master output. Release to remove it. CRUSH = bit-crush (lo-fi crunch), STUTTER = rapid amplitude gate (DJ stutter), FILTER = low-pass sweep (muffled), TAPE = gradual slowdown (vinyl stop). Great for live performance drops and transitions.
Fader Automation — tap AUTO REC, then adjust track volumes or pan while the sequencer plays. Your movements are recorded per-step and played back on every loop. CLEAR removes all automation. Use it for filter sweeps, volume builds, or panning effects.
16 Real-Time Effects
The FX rail on the right side of the step grid has 16 effects. Tap to toggle. Multiple effects can be active simultaneously — they chain in order.
REV — Reverb. Adds space and depth. Makes drums sound like they're in a room or hall.
DLY — Delay. Repeating echoes synced to BPM. Creates rhythmic trails behind each hit.
CHR — Chorus. Thickens the sound by layering slightly detuned copies. Makes thin sounds fatter.
FLG — Flanger. A sweeping, jet-engine-like effect. Dramatic on hi-hats and percussion.
DIS — Distortion. Crunchy overdrive. Adds aggression and warmth to drums.
LPF — Low-pass filter. Removes high frequencies. Makes things sound muffled or dark.
HPF — High-pass filter. Removes lows. Makes drums tinny — useful for filtered breakdowns.
PIT — Pitch shift. Raises pitch by 3 semitones. Great for risers and transitions.
CMP — Compressor. Squashes dynamics — makes quiet parts louder and loud parts quieter. Glues the mix.
SAT — Saturation. Warm analog-style soft clipping. Adds presence without harshness.
BIT — Bit crush. Reduces to 8-bit audio. Retro, crunchy, lo-fi character.
STP — Stutter. Chops the audio into rapid repeats. Classic glitch/EDM effect.
PAN — Auto-pan. Moves the sound left-to-right rhythmically. Creates movement in headphones.
TRM — Tremolo. Volume pulses up and down. Rhythmic, hypnotic effect.
STR — Time-stretch. (Reserved for offline use.)
ENV — Envelope follower. Auto-wah — the filter opens and closes based on how hard the drums hit.
TIP: Stack REV + CMP for polished drum bus processing. Stack DIS + LPF for lo-fi warmth. Stack STP + HPF for a filtered glitch breakdown.
05 — Editing Suite
Multi-track arrangement with pinch-to-zoom, snap grid, and loop regions.
EDIT
1
Trk 1
Kick loop
Snare
2
Trk 2
Melody
Trk 3
Bass
Trk 4
3
PLAY
SNAP
LOOP
EXPORT
GRAB
SMPLR
DRUM
EDIT
1Timeline tracks — drag clips to arrange. Pinch to zoom in/out. Each track has independent volume and mute.
2Clips — coloured blocks representing audio. Tap to select, drag to move. Long-press for trim, copy, delete.
3Transport + Export — SNAP toggles grid snapping. LOOP enables loop regions. EXPORT renders to FLAC, WAV, or MP3.
06 — Tips & Hidden Features
Long-press actions
Long-press a sampler pad to open sound designer (ADSR, filter, FX)
Long-press a drum track to assign samples, set pan, set choke group
Long-press a pattern box to copy/paste patterns
Long-press an active step for micro-timing and velocity control
Velocity
On sampler pads, tap position controls velocity — bottom of the pad = full volume, top = soft. On the drum grid, drag vertically on an active step to adjust its velocity.
Count-in recording
Tap the 4/4 button in the drum transport bar to enable count-in. When you press REC, four metronome clicks play before recording starts.
Tap tempo
Tap the TAP button in the drum BPM strip repeatedly. It averages your last 8 taps to set the BPM.
Auto-save & crash recovery
Projects auto-save every 5 minutes. If the app closes unexpectedly, a recovery dialog appears on next launch with your latest work.
TIP: Your projects save as .essketch files — ZIP archives containing all samples and settings. They're portable and can be backed up by copying the sketches folder.
