Ampico has two modes. Edit mode is the default — keyboard keys are shortcuts for editing notes. Play mode turns the keyboard into a piano. Press Tab to switch. Playback controls (Space, R, Escape) work in both modes. Everything below is Edit mode unless noted otherwise.
The transport bar shows BPM (drag vertically or double-click to type, range 40–240), time signature (click to pick from 11 common signatures), temperament and root note, scale, and the current playhead position.
Each of these operates on the current selection and opens a dialog for parameters.
Press W with a selection to capture it as a stamp. Switch to Play mode and press a piano key to paste the pattern transposed to that pitch. Press W or Escape to exit stamp mode.
12-EDO: Chromatic, Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Blues, Whole Tone
Maqam (24-EDO): Rast, Bayati, Saba, Sikah, Hijaz, Nahawand, Kurd, Ajam
The transport bar lets you switch between semitone, quarter-tone, and free-pitch grids. Selecting a maqam scale automatically enables the quarter-tone grid.
Equal (12-TET), Just Major, Just Minor, Pythagorean, and Meantone (1/4-comma). Temperaments are applied at render time and in MIDI export — the piano roll always displays equal-spaced rows.
Click Edit on a synth track to open its editor. Each track has volume, pan, mute, and solo controls. Click FX to open the effect chain — 9 built-in effects (Reverb, Delay, EQ, Compressor, Chorus, Distortion, Limiter, Filter, Utility) that can be reordered, bypassed, and blended.
In Play mode your keyboard becomes a piano.
Press R to arm recording. Playback starts automatically if stopped. Notes you play are recorded into the current track. Press Escape to stop. Recorded notes are added as a single undoable event.
The track list on the left shows all tracks. Click to select, double-click to rename, drag to reorder. Right-click for a context menu. In multiplayer, colored dots show which peers are editing which tracks.
Add an audio track via the + Track button (select "Audio"). Import audio files (WAV, AIFF, FLAC, OGG, MP3) via File > Open or by dragging into the piano roll.
Right-click a MIDI track and select Freeze to render it to audio (with effects baked in). The source MIDI track is muted. Unfreeze reverses the process.
Press M to toggle the mixer panel below the piano roll. Each track has a volume fader, pan knob, mute/solo buttons, and a peak meter. The master bus at the right controls the final output with its own effect chain.
Press Shift+A to toggle the automation lane below the piano roll. Draw breakpoint curves to automate any parameter over time.
Right-click any knob and choose Show Automation to create a lane for that parameter.
Click Menu to open the session browser. Create a local session, or log in and join an online session to collaborate in real time. Every edit syncs instantly to all connected users.
Press Return to open the chat overlay. Messages appear as floating bubbles that fade after a few seconds.
Online sessions are saved on the server automatically. Use File > Save to keep a local .ampico copy, or File > Save to Cloud to persist an online session you own.
All file operations are in the File menu in the top bar.
.ampico session or import a standard MIDI file