Skip to main content

FAQ

No sound​

Check in this order:

01HOLDFN+7

Master volume: hold FN and turn it up with 7 (VOLUME pops up at the bottom).

02

3 TAPE MIX: is this track muted (MUTE lit), another one soloed (SOLO lit), or the fader too low?

03

1 INSTR FX: is FILTER turned to one end, or CRUSH / DRIVE too high?

  • A SAMPLER track needs a sample loaded first (see Loading a sample).
  • While a sample is being recorded the speaker is silent (the microphone shares its clock); it comes back when the recording screen closes.
  • The web simulator needs a click on the page before it plays sound (see Sound).
  • Still nothing: stop all with FN+ESC and try again.

A note keeps sounding​

Hold FN and press ESC: stop all stops the sequencer, every ARP (HOLD included) and every sounding note. The HOME side key does nothing in the groovebox.

Why are the lights like this?​

The lights have only four meanings: off half lit fully lit blinking (see Off, half lit, fully lit, blinking). While FN is held, only the keys that do something with FN are lit; the others do nothing. If every lit key looks equally bright, select KEY LED on 0 SETUP SYSTEM and look at the brightness ramp on the pads (see Brightness and the light test): every column should be a different brightness.

Where did the FN panel go?​

FN is now the menu of the current screen (see The FN menu); the quick controls FN + 6 / 7 / 8 and the letters work as before. The settings moved:

  • Keyboard (layout, scale, root, octave, velocity, lock, SELECT ONE / MULTI) and the device (volume, key lights, screen): scene 0 SETUP, pages KEYS and SYSTEM. Hold ESC and press a key of GRID column 1, or use SETUP, the bottom-right item of every FN menu (see 0 SETUP).
  • BPM, swing and PLAY LOOP / SONG: 0 SETUP PROJECT.
  • Chord and arpeggiator: each track has its own, on the CHORD and ARP pages of 1 INSTR (not on a drum track; see Chords).
  • The length of the pattern: 2 SEQ TRACK (see TRACK page).

Where is my work kept? Can I just pull the power?​

Yes, with an SD card in. The working state (patterns, sounds, mix, song, keyboard, chords and ARPs, tempo) is saved by itself on the card and comes back when you switch on. It is written once the keys rest for a moment (1.5 s), playing or not; while keys keep coming, at least once a minute. Not kept: capture takes and whether it was playing.

To keep a version as a file, save it: FN+S (a new project is named SONG 01, SONG 02 …), or SAVE AS in the FN menu of 0 SETUP PROJECT for a name of your own (see Save, save as, new, open). Projects go to CardenzaSynth/Projects on the SD card. Settings save themselves.

warning

Without an SD card nothing is kept: the Cardenza says NO SD CARD, NOTHING WILL BE SAVED after it starts, and everything is gone when the power goes. A card put in later is only used after a restart (see No card, or a bad card).

Is there undo?​

There is no undo. That is why clearing a whole pattern, overwriting a file or starting a new project always asks first (↵OK = yes, ESC = no).

tip

The safest way: save a good version as another project (SAVE AS in the FN menu of SETUP PROJECT) or duplicate the pattern (FN+D) before changing it. A phrase you played well can also be recovered from capture (see Capture: get back what you just played).

Can I use MIDI or a computer (USB)?​

Yes, with one USB cable the device is a MIDI device and a sound card for the computer:

  • On the computer the device is called 203 Systems Cardenza; no driver is needed.
  • MIDI in: a keyboard or DAW on the computer plays the tracks: channels 1–4 are tracks 1–4, any other channel plays the current track. Controllers (CC) go to that track's engine; CC 120 / 123 (all sound off / all notes off) end the notes the computer started, and so does unplugging.
  • MIDI out: what the device plays (keys and sequencer) goes to the computer, track n on channel n, so you can record it.
  • Audio: the computer records the device's sound (before the device's volume, the same on both channels). For now it is the computer's microphone only: what the computer plays is not heard on the device.

There is no MIDI clock sync yet and no MIDI socket. The same cable lets the guide follow you on the device (see Connect your Cardenza (USB)).

How do long patterns work?​

A pattern has 1 to 256 steps; the GRID shows 16 at a time, the page number is at the bottom right (like 2/4).

  • Length: STEPS on 2 SEQ TRACK, or LEN − / LEN + in the FN menu of the SEQ pages (a whole page at a time).
  • Pages: ↑← / ↓SUB on the note page with no step selected, or PAGE − / PAGE + in the FN menu. While playing, the GRID follows the playhead.
  • Patterns: FN+↑← / FN+↓SUB on the note page go to the next / previous pattern.

Every pattern keeps its own length (see TRACK page).

Open the preset list (↵OK on 1 INSTR VOICE, or PRESETS in the FN menu) and press FN+F: type a part of the name and confirm with ↵OK. The pads do not type in the list, so a stray key never starts a search. The sample list works the same way (see Browsing and saving sounds).

How do I switch to another app?​

The groovebox is one app on the device. Switch apps with the device's own launcher; with an SD card in, the working state is written to it when you leave and restored when you come back.

Crackles while playing​

The audio budget is tight: very dense chords with many effects can exceed it. Play fewer notes at once, turn off an effect or two (especially several choruses and reverb sends), or slow the ARP down. See Memory and CPU.