Handbook — welcome & first beat.
A quick heads-up. These pages were written around firmware 1.5, while TŒRN today is closer to v2.2 — so you might spot small differences between what you read here and what your unit does. No worries: the handbook will catch up over the next few weeks. In the meantime, poke around on the hardware and treat the book as a friendly map rather than a contract. Thank you for your patience!
TŒRN is open source, so if something feels off or you’d like to nudge a detail, you’re very welcome to leave a comment or open an issue — it genuinely helps things get better in a future release.
TŒRN is a sampler and step sequencer. The 16×16 RGB matrix is both the display and the keyboard: time runs left-to-right across each row, sixteen voices stack upward, and four rotary encoders on the edge let you draw, sculpt and arrange. Samples live on a Micro SD card; a built-in three-voice synth and two mono synths cover melodic work; eight sample lanes carry drums and one-shots; everything can be recorded right from the device.
This handbook is laid out as a single journey. If you have just received your unit, read it in order — each chapter builds on the one before. Power users can jump directly to Screen index for the "I see X on screen, what is it?" lookup, or to Menu map for the full settings tree.
A quick taste before the deep dive. If you are reading at the unit, follow along — these seven steps work on a fresh-from-the-box TŒRN.
Flip the side switch. After the boot animation you land in draw mode — a mostly dark grid where each voice row shows a low-lit band in that lane's colour (rows 2–15; see The matrix → voice lanes).
Turn encoder 1 (leftmost) until the cursor sits on a row whose colour you like — red is voice 1, blue is voice 6, etc.
Turn encoder 4 (rightmost) to move along time, then short-press it to drop a note at the cursor. Place four notes on every fourth step — that's a kick on the floor.
Short-press encoder 3. The grid lights up a moving column — that's the playhead. You should hear your kicks.
Turn encoder 1 to a new row, drop notes off-beat (steps 5, 9, 13). Watch how each row prints in its own colour.
Choose a voice with encoder 1, then tap touch 1 (left pad) to enter single mode — the whole grid tints in that voice's colour. Turn encoder 1 to select the pitch and place a few notes; they should sound different from row to row. Tap touch 1 again to return to draw mode.
Stop with encoder 3 again — pausing autosaves the current pattern to the last-used FILE slot (see Files → Autosave). Then read Hardware → Matrix → Controls in order. Forty minutes from here you'll know every screen.
Three groups in the sidebar follow the same arc a new owner walks through:
Every chapter shows the matrix display where it applies. Encoder behaviour is given in four-column tables (one card per knob); destructive or sneaky gestures get a callout. Cross-links point to the menu map and screen index whenever a feature has a menu page of its own.