How to: Move, select, copy & sample
Every track on the timeline has two zones, working at the same time — no tool switching (Ableton-style):
- Top part (olive bar + upper strip) → grab hand ✋ — drag to move the track.
- Lower waveform area → I-beam — drag to select a section (snaps to the grid).
A plain click anywhere still seeks.
The cursor flips between the hand and the I-beam as you move up/down a clip, so you always know which you're about to get. Clip edges still trim (↔ near an edge), and right-click opens the track menu.
The ✋ / ⌖ buttons in the toolbar still force one mode everywhere: ⌖ makes the entire clip select (old behavior), ✋ is the default. Alt-drag selects in any mode.
Selecting
Drag across the lower waveform. Both edges snap to your Beat / Bar / 4-Bar setting, live. The toast confirms the length. Esc clears.
What you can do with a selection
Right-click the track (or the Edit menu) — the full set, with shortcuts:
| Action | Keys | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | ⌘C | Selection → clipboard |
| Cut | ⌘X | Copy + splice out (the gap closes, downstream reflows on-grid) |
| Paste at playhead | ⌘V | Splices into the deck under the playhead; press again to loop the phrase |
| Paste to Sample lane | ⌘⇧V | Clipboard → the Sample lane at the playhead (⌘V can't reach the lane when the playhead is over a track — this always does) |
| Copy to sample lane | ⌘L | Selection lands in the Sample lane at the same spot, right below — DJ.Studio style |
| Copy drums | ⌘1 | Just the drums of the selection → clipboard |
| Copy bass | ⌘2 | Just the bass |
| Copy melody | ⌘3 | Melody/instruments (no drums, no bass, no vocals) |
| Copy vocals | ⌘4 | The acapella of the selection |
| Copy instrumental | ⌘5 | Everything except the vocals |
| Copy drums + bass | ⌘6 | The riddim section |
| Save sample… | — | Keeps the selection in the sample palette, already armed — click the SAMPLES lane to drop it anywhere, any time |
| Loop | ⌘D | Repeat the selection in place; press again to keep extending |
| Delete / Mute | ⌫ / M | Remove (gap closes) / silence in place |
| Undo | ⌘Z | Any of the above |
Stem copies (⌘1–⌘6) — how they work
The first time you stem-copy from a track it separates once (htdemucs, ~1–3 min) — you'll see a toast; after that it's instant for that track. The stem slice is tempo-matched to the mix before it hits the clipboard, so pasting it into a deck (⌘V) or dropping it on the Sample lane (⌘⇧V) lands on the beat.
Ideas: ⌘4 an acapella hook → ⌘⇧V it over the next track's intro. ⌘6 the riddim → ⌘V to splice a drum break into a blend. ⌘1 a drum bar → Save sample… and fire it as a stab all night.
The Sample lane
Anything you paste or copy there becomes a normal sample clip: drag it into place (beat-snapped), set its gain, remove with ✕ in the lane panel. The lane auto-opens the first time something lands in it. Press ? in the timeline for the full shortcut list.