Settings reference
Open Settings with Marbble › Settings… (Ctrl+,), which opens on the Audio tab;
Marbble › Appearance… and Marbble › Key Commands… (Alt+K) open those tabs. Most changes apply
at once and are kept in settings.json (~/.config/marbble on Linux and macOS,
%APPDATA%\marbble on Windows). The exceptions are the Audio devices (Apply Changes) and the
Metronome tab (saved with the project).
General
Section titled “General”| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| At Launch | Show the Project Chooser; Open the most recent project; Start with an empty project | Project Chooser |
| Project Folder | Any folder (Choose…, Default) | ~/Music/Marbble |
| Autosave | Off; every 1, 2, 5, 10 or 15 minutes | Every 2 minutes |
| After Recording | Autosave as soon as a recording, Bounce in Place, Freeze or import finishes | On |
| Backups | Versions of each project alternative that saves keep, 0 to 100 (0 keeps one, as project.json.bak) |
10 |
| Undo Steps | 10 to 1000 | 100 |
| Unsaved Changes | Ask before quitting or closing a project with unsaved changes | On |
| Open Effect Panels | Floating; Docked in the bottom section; Separate windows (VST3 editors always open in their own window) | Floating |
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | PipeWire, PulseAudio, JACK, ALSA on Linux; the system driver elsewhere | The first available, in that order (JACK only with a running server) |
| Output Device | System Default or a device | System Default |
| Input Device | None (playback only), System Default or a device | System Default |
| Sample Rate | Rates both devices support (44.1 to 192 kHz) | 48 kHz |
| I/O Buffer Size | 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048 samples | 256 |
| Processing Threads | Automatic, 1 up to the number of hardware threads (at most 16) | Automatic |
| Monitoring | Hear record-enabled tracks without pressing I | Off |
| Recording Delay | -500 to 500 ms, added to the measured latency | 0 |
| Plug-in Delay Compensation | All, Off (applies at once) | All |
| Low Latency Mode | On, with a limit of 0 to 100 ms (applies at once) | Off, 5 ms |
Below them: the measured input and output latency and how far recordings are shifted, the input level check (Linux), and Reset Audio Engine. Everything except the two delay compensation rows needs Apply Changes.
Recording
Section titled “Recording”| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Bit Depth | 24-bit integer, 32-bit float | 32-bit float |
| Recording Folder | A folder (recordings go into a subfolder named after the project), or the project’s Audio Files | Project › Audio Files |
| Take Names | Vocals#03 (track and take number); Vocals (track name); Song - Vocals#03 (project, track and number) | Track and take number |
| Count-in | On (this project’s switch, the same as Shift+K) and 1 to 4 bars | Off, 1 bar |
| Pre-roll | 0 to 30 seconds, used when Count-in is off | 0 |
| Overlapping Recordings › Audio | Put the new take on top; Create a new track; Replace what’s underneath | On top |
| Overlapping Recordings › MIDI | Create a new region; Merge into the existing region; Replace in the recorded range; Create take folders (see Recording MIDI) | New region |
With a Recording Folder outside the project, Save As does not copy those recordings into the new project folder; the project refers to them where they are.
Metronome
Section titled “Metronome”These settings are saved with the project, as in Logic, and changes can be undone.
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Click | Metronome on (K) | Off |
| Sound | Classic, Click, Woodblock, Beep | Classic |
| Volume | -40 to +6 dB | 0 dB |
| Accent | Higher and louder on the first beat of each bar | On |
| Pitch | Bar and Beat, -12 to +12 semitones | 0, 0 |
| Subdivision | Off (beats only), Eighth notes, Triplets, Sixteenth notes | Off |
| Playing | Click while playing | On |
| Recording | Click while recording; Only during the count-in | On; off |
The count-in always clicks, even with the metronome off. Use for New Projects makes the current settings the default for new projects; Revert to Default brings back those defaults.
| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| MIDI Inputs | A checkbox per input, with its connection status | All on |
| MIDI Thru | Play the selected instrument track live | On |
| Velocity | As played; Soft (light touch plays louder); Hard (needs a firmer touch); Fixed velocity (1 to 127) | As played (fixed: 100) |
| Chase | Notes; Controllers: when playback starts, jumps or cycles back inside a region, start the notes held there and send the controller values in effect | Both on |
| Monitor | The last incoming messages (C3 = middle C) |
The velocity curve applies to MIDI inputs, not to Musical Typing.
Editing
Section titled “Editing”| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Snap | Smart (follows the zoom), Bar, Beat, Off | Smart |
| Nudge Value | Bar, Beat, 1/8 note, 1/16 note, 1/32 note, 10 ms, 1 ms | 1/16 note |
| Click Moves Playhead | Anywhere in the tracks; Empty space only; Never (a click without a drag moves the playhead there, snapped to the grid) | Anywhere |
| Anti-click Fades | 0 to 100 ms, for new recordings and imports | 0 |
| Move Automation with Regions | Never; Always; Ask (whether moving a region along its track takes its automation along) | Never |
| Crossfade Time | 0 to 1000 ms: take folder comp boundaries, X-Fade crossfades between regions that touch, and the Crossfade menu’s first entry | 20 ms |
| Crossfade Curve | -100 to 100, the shape of those crossfades (0 is a straight line, 50 a quarter sine) | 50 |
| Mouse Wheel Scrolls | Vertically (tracks); Horizontally (time), for a mouse with one wheel: the wheel scrolls through time in the Tracks area and Piano Roll, and Shift+wheel scrolls vertically | Vertically |
Plug-ins
Section titled “Plug-ins”The Plug-in Manager: every scanned plug-in with its manufacturer, type and version; untick Use to hide one from the Library and slot menus (Use All / Use None act on the filtered list); VST3 Folders (the standard locations are always searched; Add Folder… adds more); Last Scan (bundles, plug-ins and failures, with the reason for each failure: crashed, timed out, no plug-ins); Rescan Plug-ins.
Key Commands
Section titled “Key Commands”Every window shortcut, searchable by name or key, in the groups Transport, Navigation, View, Tracks, Editing, Windows, Control Surfaces and Step Input.
- Click + and press a key to add a shortcut; Esc cancels. × removes one.
- Taking a key from another command moves it (a message says so). Keys that belong to the menu bar can’t be used.
- Default restores a command’s own keys; Reset All restores everything.
- The menu bar’s shortcuts are listed at the end, read-only (“Menu Bar (fixed)”).
- Shortcuts work in the main window, not while typing in a text field or while a sheet is open (see The menu bar).
Appearance
Section titled “Appearance”| Setting | Choices | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Interface Size | 90%, 100%, 110%, 125%, 150%, 175%, 200% (also View › Larger / Smaller Interface, Ctrl+= / Ctrl+-, Ctrl+0 for actual size) | 100% |
| Waveforms | Smooth (the true shape; individual cycles when zoomed in), Mirrored (loudness mirrored around the centre), Rectified (loudness rising from the bottom), Blocks (bar per bucket) | Smooth |
| Theme | Studio, Flat, Midnight, Light, High Contrast (also View › Theme) | Studio |
The whole window scales, and the canvas views render at the matching resolution so they stay sharp.