Lodo is a tracker for composing with independent track playheads. Write a phrase, give each part its own length and pace, then use components to change how it plays. Instrument states let the same instrument take on different sounds from one step to the next, while the master track coordinates changes across the pattern.
A workspace built around the pattern
The pattern grid is the centre of the workspace. Its compact columns let you read several parts together. In note mode, notes are coloured by velocity, and small icons show the components assigned to each step. Open the track grid to inspect their values.
The centre pane has four editing pages, ordered Arrange → Pattern → Track → Instruments. Use Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Left or Right to cycle through them. Compact arrangement and instrument panes remain beside the central editor, and the instrument rack sits below it.
The track grid expands one playback track into four lanes. The first contains the note, velocity, delay, and instrument number. The other three contain components and their settings. Use the pattern grid to work on the phrase as a whole and the track grid to shape the details of one part.
The Instruments page gives the instrument list room in the centre pane while retaining its compact view on the right. An accent-coloured connector shows when those two views are linked. The list brings instrument selection and management together; the rack exposes the selected instrument's sound controls. Reorder or copy instruments, adjust volume and transpose, and mute or solo parts from the list.
Tracks with their own length and pace
Tracks share the project's musical clock, but each has its own length and lines per beat, or LPB. Length sets the number of steps in the track; LPB sets how many steps fit into one beat. At the same tempo, a higher positive LPB makes a track move through its steps faster.
For example, a 16-step track at 4 LPB takes four beats to loop. An 8-step track at 4 LPB loops twice in that time, while an 8-step track at 8 LPB loops four times. Different lengths and rates let percussion, bass, and melody meet at changing points in their phrases. Sequencing components can reverse, hold, repeat, or redirect individual playheads as the pattern runs.
The master track supplies a separate timing reference. A pattern can override the project BPM through its master data lane; individual tracks still use their own length and LPB within that shared tempo.
Components make the phrase change
A component is an operation placed on a step. Track components run when that track's playhead reaches them. Some change the route through the sequence; others shape notes or automate an instrument parameter. Three component lanes let you combine operations on the same step.
The track selector organises its inventory into nine families. Availability depends on the instrument and editing context.
| Family | Musical role |
|---|---|
| Sequencing | Change track movement, repetition, timing, and behaviour on later passes. |
| MIDI / Note | Send MIDI control data or shape notes with chords, offsets, strums, and echoes. |
| Arpeggiator | Sequence the arp's on/off state, rate, pattern, gate, range, pitch, and rhythm. |
| Instrument | Select a state or change supported instrument controls. |
| Sends / Mix | Adjust gain, pan, dry/wet levels, and sends where supported. |
| Effects | Automate supported filter, EQ, drive, and reduction parameters. |
| Sampler | Change sample looping, direction, and playback boundaries. |
| Macro Oscillator | Select synthesis models and shape their sound. |
| Plugin Automation | Sequence parameters bound to a hosted plugin. |
Start with a few sequencing components. REVERSE turns a track's playhead around; RATE changes its LPB; RETRIG repeats a note. CYCLE plays or skips a step on every Nth track pass. RAMP can raise a note's pitch each time that step plays, or progressively change another supported value. IMMUNITY protects a track from track-targeting master commands. It does not bypass effects on the master audio output.
Many components have a probability control, so an operation can happen on some visits and be skipped on others. The fields are specific to each component: a third value is not always probability. Read the selector's field labels, particularly for components such as OFFSET that use it for another parameter.
Several sounds from one instrument
Each instrument has a default state, 0, and twelve additional states, 1–12. A state stores a set of instrument parameters. Depending on the instrument, these can include synthesis model, pitch, envelope, effects, sends, modulation, and arpeggiator settings.
For example, give one macro oscillator a short, dry sound in state 0 and a longer, brighter sound with more send level in state 1. Place a STATE component set to 1 beside a note to use that second sound. A new note without an explicit state uses state 0 unless the pattern's state map selects another state. An explicit STATE component takes precedence over that map.
This is also a way to change more parameters than three component lanes can hold individually. Prepare the combination in a state, then select it with one component. Dedicated parameter components remain useful for individual changes and can override the selected state's values on the same note. A later STATE component can change a sounding voice on its track; simply browsing states in the rack does not switch that voice.
Macro Oscillator and Macro Oscillator II use the Braids and Plaits synthesis engines by Mutable Instruments. Their different models make states useful for large changes in character as well as small variations. States still belong to one instrument: sampler states share its waveform, and plugin states share its hosted instance. Tracks using the same plugin instance also share that plugin's controls.
A master track with two jobs
The master track contains control data rather than notes. Its first lane is the data lane, and the other three are live component lanes.
The data lane defines rules for the entire pattern. Enabled entries are read across the lane, so a rule placed on a later row applies from the beginning of pattern playback; it does not wait for the master playhead to reach that row. Use it to map states, instruments, or notes; scale or clamp velocity; add groove or humanisation; vary note density; transpose; or set the pattern's BPM, root, and scale. These rules change how the stored phrase is interpreted without requiring you to rewrite each note.
The three live lanes run at the master playhead. Put a SELECTOR before REVERSE on the same master step to reverse only a chosen group of tracks. The selector affects subsequent track-targeting commands on that step and resets for the next step. This lets the master provide timed interventions while the individual tracks follow their own paths.
Master audio effects process the combined stereo output. Sample-rate and bit reduction, low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass filters, and TAPE LOOP can reshape the mix at a master step. SELECTOR does not restrict these effects to individual tracks.
The rack and keyboard workflow
The rack keeps the selected instrument's devices below the pattern area. Its central instrument device changes with the instrument type, alongside devices for arpeggiation, effects, sends, and modulation where available. Controls are arranged in rows and columns so keyboard navigation follows the layout.
A parameter box pairs the parameter name with its current value. For continuous controls, a bar indicates the value's position within its range. This keeps the controls readable while giving you a quick visual sense of their settings.
The keyboard is the primary way to enter notes, navigate, select, and edit. In the in-app menus, arrows navigate, F / Select activates, Select + arrows adjusts values, and Escape closes or goes back. Pointer selection, dragging, scrolling, and parameter adjustment complement that workflow.
The moving viewport helps you follow your position. In grid follow mode, the cursor stays vertically fixed while the pattern eases underneath it. Pattern and track views share their vertical position, so switching detail levels retains your place. The arrangement also uses smooth viewport movement to maintain visual continuity.
Turn the phrase into a song
Use Arrange to work with patterns across the song. Select track cells to copy or move individual parts between patterns, or select the pattern marker to work with whole pattern occurrences. Copying tracks into empty arrangement slots creates patterns as needed.
Linked occurrences refer to the same underlying pattern: editing one changes the others. Make an occurrence unique when you want it to develop separately. This gives you a natural composing loop: sketch notes, shape each track's movement and sound, then arrange the resulting patterns into a song.
Keep exploring
- Pattern Grid and Track Grid explain the editing surfaces.
- Components covers lane order, note shaping, and parameter changes.
- Instrument List and Rack introduces sound editing and state selection.
- Master Track explains pattern data, targeting, and timed commands.
- Arrange View explains working with patterns in a song.