25 velocity keys
Two octaves of synth-action keys, playable from your computer keyboard, mouse or touch — hit lower on a key for a softer note, like leaning into real keys. Octave shift covers the full range.
A 25-key USB mini controller, reborn as software
Every key, pad, knob and arp setting of the classic mini controller — synthesized live, no samples, no install. Start in Beginner, grow into Studio.
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
Notes A–/ · pads 1–8 · octave Z X · sustain Space
Pick 1, 2, 4 or 8 in the LOOP row and the take closes itself after that many bars, then loops. On AUTO, press ● REC or ▶ PLAY to close it — it snaps to whole bars. With the click on, your first note snaps to the nearest beat and becomes beat 1. A count-in (set above) clicks you in and starts on the downbeat.
Connect a hardware MPK-style controller over USB and it drives everything here: keys, pads (notes 36–51 / ch 10), knobs on CC 70–77, pitch & mod on the joystick.
Everything the hardware does
Two octaves of synth-action keys, playable from your computer keyboard, mouse or touch — hit lower on a key for a softer note, like leaning into real keys. Octave shift covers the full range.
Sixteen drum and percussion voices synthesized from raw oscillators and noise — no samples. Full Level for maxed hits, Note Repeat for instant rolls locked to tempo and swing.
Cutoff, resonance, envelopes, sends and level under your pointer. In Studio mode every knob is live and mapped to the hardware's CC 70–77 layout.
Pitch bend on the X axis, modulation on the Y — with a configurable bend range up to an octave, exactly like the thumbstick on the device.
Up, Down, Inclusive, Exclusive, Order and Random. Quarter notes to 32nd triplets, one to four octaves, 50–75% swing, latch, and tap tempo. The whole spec sheet, running on a lookahead clock.
Own the real controller? Plug it in and this page becomes its synth engine — keys, pads, knobs, pitch and mod all respond instantly.
The hardware needs a DAW to capture ideas — this doesn't. Pick a length (or let PLAY round your take to whole bars), record with a count-in, overdub layers, undo the last layer, quantize to the grid, and download the result as a WAV.
Two ways in
Muscle memory included
Made for real setups
Got a USB MIDI keyboard or pad controller but no music software? Plug it in, open groovesmith.app in Chrome or Edge, and it becomes a full synth and drum machine. Keys, pads, knobs, pitch bend and mod all respond straight away. Nothing to install, no account, no DAW to learn. Web MIDI is part of Studio ($10 founding price); everything else is free to try with your computer keyboard, mouse or touch. (Safari doesn't support Web MIDI yet.)
GrooveSmith runs entirely in the browser, so it works on Chromebooks and managed school devices where you can't install apps. No sign-up and no ads. Make a beat on the keyboard and trackpad in seconds, record and layer loops, and install it from the browser so it keeps working offline. Free to play; Studio adds WAV export so you can keep what you make.
Spec sheet
| Spec | The hardware | GrooveSmith Pocket Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Keys | 25 mini, velocity-sensitive | 25 on-screen + QWERTY, position-as-velocity |
| Pads | 8 backlit MPC pads, 2 banks | 8 lit pads × banks A/B, 16 synthesized voices |
| Knobs | 8 × 360° assignable | 8 drag knobs, CC 70–77 map |
| Joystick | 4-way pitch / mod | 4-way pitch / mod, 1–12 st bend range |
| Arpeggiator | 6 modes · 8 divisions · 4 oct · swing · latch · tap | Identical spec, lookahead-scheduled |
| Pad extras | Note Repeat · Full Level | Note Repeat · Full Level |
| Display | OLED | Dot-matrix OLED readout |
| Sound source | Your DAW | Built-in polysynth + drum synthesis, reverb, ping-pong delay, limiter |
| Recording | Your DAW / MPC Beats | Built-in tempo-synced loop recorder with overdub and metronome |
| Connectivity | USB | Web MIDI (USB controllers play it) |
| Install | Drivers + DAW | None. It's a URL. |
Pricing
Freeforever
$10one-time — founding price for the first 100 members. After 100 purchases, Studio is $19.
GROOVESMITH STUDIO
$10 one-time — founding price for the first 100 members. After 100 purchases, Studio is $19.
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