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onomo Help Center

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I export my project?

Go to Project Menu (top-left of the transport bar) and choose Export Audio for a full mixdown or Export Tracks for individual stems. You can export as WAV or MP3. A progress overlay shows the rendering phase (preparing, rendering, encoding, complete). The export re-renders every track offline through the full effects chain with automation baked in.

Why is there no sound?

Web browsers require a user gesture (click/tap) before audio can play. Click anywhere in the DAW first. If still silent: 1. Check the track isn't muted or soloed elsewhere 2. Check master bus volume in the mixer (Shift+5) 3. Go to User > Audio to verify AudioContext state shows "running" 4. Make sure your system audio output is correct

Can I use my own samples?

Yes! Drag and drop audio files (WAV, MP3, OGG) directly onto a track in the arrangement. You can also record audio directly using the audio track record button. Samples are decoded using the Web Audio API.

What synthesizers are available?

Onomo includes 22 melodic synthesizers and 7 drum synths: Melodic synths: - Aethyr — Additive synth (harmonics, organs, bells) - Ampyr — Electric guitar with amp simulation - Bazyr — Bass reactor (808, acid, reese, wobble) - Cynema — Cinematic FX (risers, drops, sweeps) - Dyrt — Grit machine (lo-fi, bitcrush, wavefolder) - Embyr — Heat engine (leads, bass, saturation) - Formynt — Formant synth (choir, vowel, talk-box) - Hyper — Motion engine (evolving pads, cinematic) - Knylon — Acoustic guitar (nylon, steel, fingerstyle) - Kryo — Ethereal pads (ambient, icy, crystalline) - Myst — Hybrid flagship (wavetable + FM + granular) - Plexyr — Cross-modulation matrix (complex, experimental) - Pryzm — Phase distortion (CZ-style, glassy, digital) - Pyani — Physical modeling piano (acoustic, electric, clavinet) - Seqyr — Pattern engine (arpeggiator, rhythmic plucks) - Sylo — Grain silo (granular textures, soundscapes) - Symple — Universal sample player (piano, strings, brass) - Synfyny — Spectral strings (violin, cello, orchestral) - Tymbre — Wavetable brass (trumpet, horn, trombone) - Vektyr — Vector synthesis (XY morphing pads) - Wynd — Wavetable synth (leads, bass, digital) - Zynq — Digital resonance FM (bells, metallic, e-piano) Drum synths: SuperKick, Super808, SuperSnare, SuperClap, SuperHat, SuperOpenHat, SuperPerc — all real-time synthesis with 4 layers each. Every synth has its own preset library with 3,360+ factory presets total.

What are the system requirements?

Onomo runs in any modern browser with Web Audio API support. Best experience on Chrome or Edge (required for Web MIDI and SharedArrayBuffer). Recommended: - 8GB+ RAM - Modern multi-core CPU - Chrome/Edge for MIDI controller support - Stable internet for cloud save and sync

How do I use the AI assistant (Airess)?

Press Shift+6 to open AI Tools, or click the AI button in the sidebar. Airess can: - Generate drum patterns, melodies, chord progressions, and bass lines - Create patterns in specific genres (trap, lo-fi, house, etc.) - Suggest chord voicings and progressions - Help with sound design decisions Type naturally — e.g. "make a chill lo-fi beat" or "add a jazzy chord progression in Cm".

How do I connect a MIDI controller?

Go to User > Audio > MIDI. Your connected MIDI devices will appear automatically (Chrome/Edge only). Select your device, choose a channel filter if needed, and adjust velocity sensitivity. The activity indicator shows incoming MIDI data in real-time.

What is the difference between Song mode and Solo mode?

Song mode plays the full arrangement timeline — all tracks, all clips, from the current position. Solo mode plays only the selected track, looping its pattern — great for focused editing and previewing. Toggle between them with the / key or the SONG/SOLO button in the transport bar.

How do stacks/layers work?

Press Shift+Y to add a layer to the selected track, creating a stack. Stacks let you layer multiple instruments on the same MIDI pattern — e.g. a pad + lead playing the same notes. Press Shift+U to unstack back to separate tracks.

Is my data saved automatically?

Projects auto-save locally to your browser (IndexedDB) as you work — this protects against crashes. To save to the cloud for cross-device access, press Ctrl+S or click the save button in the transport bar. The save icon shows status: spinner (saving), checkmark (saved), X (error). Unnamed projects are stored as draft slots (limited by your plan tier). Give a project a name to persist it fully.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Play / Pause (Transport)
Space
Stop (Transport)
. — Double-press for panic (kills all audio)
Arm Recording (Transport)
Shift + R
Loop Toggle (Transport)
`
Skip Back (Transport)
Home
Skip Forward (Transport)
End
Toggle Song / Solo Mode (Transport)
/
Undo (Navigation)
Ctrl + Z
Redo (Navigation)
Ctrl + Shift + Z
Toggle Bottom Panel (Navigation)
Shift + A
Toggle Instrument Panel (Navigation)
Shift + 1 — Smart — opens appropriate editor for selected track
Toggle Track FX (Navigation)
Shift + 2
Toggle Help (Navigation)
Shift + 3
Toggle Sound Browser (Navigation)
Shift + 4
Toggle Mixer / Arrange (Navigation)
Shift + 5
Toggle AI Tools (Navigation)
Shift + 6
Toggle Lyrics Panel (Navigation)
Shift + 7
Toggle Workspace (Navigation)
Shift + 8
Toggle Market (Navigation)
Shift + 9
Copy (Editing)
Ctrl + C
Cut (Editing)
Ctrl + X
Paste (Editing)
Ctrl + V
Select All (Editing)
Ctrl + A
Delete (Editing)
Delete
Deselect (Editing)
Escape
Legato (extend notes) (Piano Roll)
Shift + L
Toggle Select All (Piano Roll)
Shift + S — Selects/deselects all notes + slides
Finer Snap (Piano Roll)
Shift + 1 — Decrease grid size for more precision
Coarser Snap (Piano Roll)
Shift + 2 — Increase grid size for less precision
Add Layer (Stack) (Piano Roll)
Shift + Y
Unstack (Piano Roll)
Shift + U
Select Tool (Arrange)
V
Draw / Pencil Tool (Arrange)
C
Mute Tool (Arrange)
M
Split Tool (Arrange)
B
Erase Tool (Arrange)
N
Stretch Tool (Arrange)
Shift + T
Delete Selected Steps (Sequencer)
Delete
Duplicate Selection (Sequencer)
Shift + D — Duplicates selected notes or time region
Move Left (Sequencer)
Shift + ←
Move Right (Sequencer)
Shift + →
Move Up (prev channel) (Sequencer)
Shift + ↑
Move Down (next channel) (Sequencer)
Shift + ↓

Tutorials

Getting Started with Onomo

Learn the basics of Onomo in under 10 minutes. Perfect for beginners. (Level: beginner, Duration: 9 min)

Creating Your First Beat

Step-by-step guide to making a beat using the drum sequencer. (Level: beginner, Duration: 12 min)

Piano Roll Masterclass

Deep dive into the piano roll - notes, velocity, automation, and more. (Level: intermediate, Duration: 20 min)

Using AI Tools Effectively

How to use AI-powered features to speed up your workflow. (Level: intermediate, Duration: 15 min)

Mixing Basics

Learn the fundamentals of mixing - levels, panning, EQ, and compression. (Level: intermediate, Duration: 25 min)

Advanced Automation Techniques

Master automation lanes, curves, and creative automation tricks. (Level: advanced, Duration: 18 min)

Chord Palette Deep Dive

Everything about the chord palette - voicings, progressions, and theory. (Level: intermediate, Duration: 14 min)

Synth Sound Design

Create your own sounds with our built-in synthesizers. (Level: advanced, Duration: 30 min)

Documentation

Overview & Getting Started

## What is Onomo? Onomo is a full music production studio that runs entirely in your browser — no downloads, no plugins. You get 22 synthesizers, 7 drum engines, a multi-track arranger, a mixer, and an AI co-producer, all in one tab. ## Your first session When you open Onomo you land in the DAW. A default project is ready to go. Click **New Project** from the Project Menu (top-left of the transport) or just start adding tracks. ## Projects and tracks A project holds all your tracks, clips, tem

Interface Layout

## Main regions The interface has three zones: the **transport bar** across the top, the **sidebar** on the left, and the **main workspace** in the center. Below the workspace sits the **bottom panel** (piano roll, sequencer, or sampler, depending on the selected track). ## Sidebar navigation The sidebar holds icon buttons for each panel: Instruments (Shift+1), FX (Shift+2), Help (Shift+3), Sound Browser (Shift+4), Mixer (Shift+5), AI (Shift+6), Lyrics (Shift+7), Workspace (Shift+8), Market (Sh

Transport Controls

## Playback - **Space** — Play/Pause - **.** (period) — Stop (double-press for audio panic, kills all sound) - **Home** / **End** — Jump to start / end of project ## BPM and time signature Click the BPM display to type a new tempo, or scroll over it to nudge. Click the time signature (e.g. 4/4) to change numerator and denominator. BPM can be set from 40–300. ## Metronome and key The metronome button (click the icon to toggle) plays a click track during recording and playback. The key/scale dis

Arrange View

## The timeline The arrangement view shows all tracks as horizontal lanes with clips placed in time. The playhead (white line) shows the current position. Click anywhere in the ruler to jump there. ## Track types - **MIDI tracks** — play a synthesizer from piano roll notes - **Drum tracks** — play drum patterns from the step sequencer - **Audio tracks** — play recorded or imported audio - **Sampler tracks** — play a sampler instrument from MIDI or pads ## Clips Clips are the colored blocks on

Piano Roll

## Opening the piano roll Select a MIDI synth track and press **Shift+1** or click the instrument name in the bottom panel. The piano roll opens at the bottom of the screen. ## Drawing and editing notes - **Click** on the grid to place a note at that pitch and position - **Drag** a note to move it; drag the right edge to resize - **Right-click** to delete - **Ctrl+A** to select all notes - Hold **Shift** and drag to select a range ## Snap and precision Use **Shift+1** / **Shift+2** in the pian

Sequencer

## Overview The step sequencer is the editor for drum tracks. Each channel in the sequencer corresponds to one drum synthesis engine. Up to 8 channels can be active at once. ## Channels and drum synths Each channel has a dedicated synthesis engine: **Kick**, **808**, **Snare**, **Clap**, **Hat**, **Open Hat**, and **Perc**. Each has 4 synthesis layers and its own preset library. Click the channel name to open its synth editor. ## Drawing patterns Click steps to toggle them on or off. Each step

Sampler

## Loading samples Drag an audio file from your computer or from the Sound Browser onto a sampler track. You can also drag files directly onto individual pads in the pad grid. ## Pad grid The pad grid shows up to 16 pads (A1–D4). Each pad plays an assigned sample. Pads light up on trigger. Click a pad to select it and see its waveform below. ## Waveform editor The waveform editor lets you set **start** and **end** points by dragging the handles, set **loop** points, and choose the **playback m

Audio Tracks

## Setting up audio input Go to **User > Audio** to select your input device. Choose the correct microphone or audio interface input. Set input gain and monitor mode (off, on, or auto). ## Recording 1. Add an audio track (click + in the track list, choose Audio) 2. Press **Shift+R** to arm recording (or click the record button on the track header) 3. Press **Space** to play/record A red clip is created during recording. When you stop, the clip becomes a waveform. ## Count-in Enable count-in i

Mixer & Routing

## Opening the mixer Press **Shift+5** or click the Mixer icon in the sidebar. The mixer shows one channel strip per track plus a master bus. ## Channel strip Each strip has: **fader** (volume), **pan knob**, **mute/solo** buttons, **FX chain** button, and the **5-band parametric EQ** inline. Click the EQ curve area to open the full EQ editor with draggable nodes. ## 5-band parametric EQ Five bands: Low Shelf, Low-Mid Peak, Mid Peak, High-Mid Peak, High Shelf. Each band has frequency, gain, an

Effects Reference

## Adding effects Click **FX** on any track header or channel strip to open the FX chain. Click + to add an effect. Drag to reorder. Toggle the power button to bypass. Effects process in chain order, top to bottom. ## The 14 effects **Track EQ** — 5-band parametric equalizer with real-time spectrum. Drag nodes on the curve or type values. **SuperEQ** — High-precision mastering EQ with linear-phase option and up to 8 bands. **Reverb** — Room/Hall/Plate/Spring modes. Controls: room size, decay

Instruments Reference

## 22 Melodic Synthesizers **Aethyr** — Additive synthesis. Build tones from individual harmonics. Great for organs, bells, and evolving spectral textures. **Ampyr** — Electric guitar with amp modeling and cabinet simulation. Strum chords or play lead lines with real-sounding guitar tone. **Bazyr** — Bass reactor for 808s, acid bass, reese bass, and wobble. Sub-heavy and highly flexible. **Cynema** — Cinematic sound design: risers, impacts, drones, sweeps, and epic textures. Ideal for film s

Automation

## What is automation? Automation lets any parameter (volume, pan, filter cutoff, reverb mix, etc.) change over time. Changes are drawn as curves on automation lanes that run alongside the track timeline. ## Opening automation lanes In the arrange view, click the small arrow on a track header to expand it and reveal its automation lanes. Each automatable parameter appears as a separate sub-lane. ## Drawing automation Select the **Draw tool** (C) and click/drag in an automation lane to create p

Keyboard Shortcuts

## Transport - **Space** — Play / Pause - **.** — Stop (double for audio panic) - **Shift+R** — Arm recording - **`** — Toggle loop - **Home** — Skip to start - **End** — Skip to end - **/** — Toggle Song / Solo mode ## Navigation (global) - **Ctrl+Z** — Undo - **Ctrl+Shift+Z** — Redo - **Shift+A** — Toggle bottom panel - **Shift+1** — Instrument panel - **Shift+2** — Track FX - **Shift+3** — Help - **Shift+4** — Sound Browser - **Shift+5** — Mixer - **Shift+6** — AI Tools - **Shift+7** — Lyric

AI Features (Airess)

## Opening Airess Press **Shift+6** or click the AI icon in the sidebar. Airess opens in a slide panel on the right. You can expand it to full screen for more space. ## What Airess can do - Generate drum patterns, melodies, chord progressions, and bass lines - Suggest sounds and preset directions - Explain music theory in the context of your project - Help you write lyrics for a section - Analyze your arrangement and give production feedback ## Context awareness Airess reads your current proje

Export & Sharing

## Exporting your song Open the **Project Menu** (top-left) and choose: - **Export Audio** — full stereo mixdown of the entire song - **Export Tracks** — individual stems per track (for collaboration or mixing) - **Export MIDI** — MIDI data from selected tracks ## Format options - **WAV** — Uncompressed, lossless. Best for mastering and collaboration. - **MP3** — Compressed, smaller file size. Good for sharing or streaming. - Choose **bit depth** (16-bit or 24-bit) and **sample rate** (44.1 kHz

Project Management

## Auto-save vs cloud save Every project **auto-saves locally** to your browser's IndexedDB storage continuously. This is crash protection — if your tab closes unexpectedly, your work is preserved locally. **Cloud save** (Ctrl+S) uploads your project to Onomo's servers so you can access it from any device. The save button shows a spinner while saving and a checkmark when complete. ## Named projects vs drafts Unnamed projects are stored as **drafts** — temporary slots that get overwritten when

Sound Browser & Marketplace

## Opening the browser Press **Shift+4** or click the Sound Browser icon. The browser has two tabs: **Library** (free sounds) and **Market** (paid packs). ## Library The library contains all factory presets for every instrument, plus any packs you've purchased or claimed. Browse by: - **Category** — Synths, Drums, Samples, FX - **Instrument** — Filter by specific synth or drum engine - **Tags** — Search by mood, genre, or sound type - **Favorites** — Your starred presets ## Loading a preset -

Settings & Preferences

## Opening settings Click your avatar or go to **User > Settings**. Settings has six sections: Profile, Appearance, Audio, Display, Privacy, and Billing. ## Appearance Choose from **8 themes**: Midnight (default), Slate, Mocha, Forest, Ocean, Crimson, Amethyst, and Bone. Each theme has its own dark color palette. Select one of **8 accent colors** to tint interactive elements: Indigo, Violet, Sky, Emerald, Amber, Rose, Coral, and Teal. ## Audio - **Output device** — choose your speakers or hea

Lyrics, Chords & Music Theory

## Lyrics panel Press **Shift+7** to open the Lyrics panel. Write your lyrics here, organized by sections (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, etc.). Sections can be color-coded to match arrangement sections. ## AI lyric generation In the Lyrics panel, click the AI button and describe what you want — "a melancholy verse about a late night drive" — and Airess will draft a verse or full song section for you to edit. ## Chord Palette The Chord Palette appears in the bottom panel when a MIDI synth

MIDI

## Connecting a MIDI controller Go to **User > Audio > MIDI** (Chrome or Edge required). Your connected USB or Bluetooth MIDI devices appear in the list. Select a device to activate it. The activity indicator flashes when MIDI data is received. ## MIDI input settings - **Channel filter** — set to "All" or a specific MIDI channel (1–16) - **Velocity sensitivity** — scale incoming velocity values - **Transpose** — shift incoming notes by semitones - **Octave** — shift by octaves ## Recording MID

Changelog

v0.10.0Instrument Expansion & Documentation Overhaul

13 new synth engines: Bazyr, Cynema, Formynt, Hyper, Plexyr, Pryzm, Pyani, Seqyr, Synfyny, Tymbre, Vektyr, and more. SuperTune pitch correction and SuperFilter multi-mode filter effects. 5-band parametric EQ per channel (upgraded from 3-band). Sampler with MPC-style pads, zones, regions, and waveform editing. Audio track denoise with spectral subtraction. Take groups for loop recording with comp workflow. All keyboard shortcuts corrected and documented — 40+ shortcuts across 6 categories. Comprehensive 20-part reference documentation covering every feature. Help section shortcuts now match actual keybindings (Stop = period, Record = Shift+R, Loop = backtick)

v0.9.0Pre-Launch: Settings & Help Overhaul

Keyboard shortcuts reference with search and filtering. Display settings wired to real store (zoom, snap, piano roll, metronome). Privacy settings with analytics toggles and account management. Cloud & Sync settings with storage meter and auto-save prefs. Audio settings now show real AudioContext data (sample rate, latency). Profile card uses typed UserProfile shape for Supabase readiness. FAQ updated with real Onomo questions and answers

v0.8.0AI Assistant & Genre Drum Subagents

Airess AI chat with melody, chord, drum, and bass generation. Ultra mode toggle for premium AI quality (Gemini 3 Flash). 12 genre-specific drum subagents (trap, boom-bap, house, etc.). Cross-track musical analysis for context-aware AI generation. Chord articulation styles (sustain, staccato, arp, pulse, etc.). Solo technique knowledge base for expressive melodies

v0.7.0Synthesizers & Audio Engine

Wynd wavetable synthesizer with 7 built-in wavetables. Aethyr additive/spectral synthesizer. SuperSnare drum synthesis engine with 46 presets. SharedArrayBuffer ring buffer for lock-free audio worklet communication. Fixed audio continuing past loop end while visuals looped. Loop-aware scheduling across all track types

v0.6.0Core DAW Foundation

Full arrangement timeline with clip management. Piano roll with velocity, slides, and automation lanes. Drum sequencer with multi-bar patterns and swing. Mixer with bus routing and FX chains. Sound browser with drag-and-drop sample loading. Lyrics panel with AI section generation

Help Center

Learn & Master

8 tutorials · 43 shortcuts · 10 answers

Open in Studio

Getting Started

Learn the basics and get up to speed quickly

WELCOMEFREE COURSE

Welcome to Onomo

Our beginner course will have you making music in under 30 minutes. No experience required.

30
min to learn
4.9 rating

Quick Start Checklist

1
Create your first project
2
Add a track
3
Draw some notes
4
Play your creation
5
Export your track

Beginner Course

Complete Beginner Course

FREE

Everything you need to know to start making music with Onomo.

2 lessons21 minBeginner friendly

More Courses

Intermediate

Beat Making Masterclass

From basic beats to complex arrangements - become a beat making pro.

3 lessons · 57 min33%
Advanced

Advanced Production Techniques

Take your productions to the next level with advanced techniques.

2 lessons · 48 min

Essential Tutorials