Playback
Transport lives in the Player panel (View -> Player). On this page, Ctrl means Cmd on Mac.
Transport shortcuts
Section titled “Transport shortcuts”| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Play / Pause | Space |
| Stop | Shift+Space |
| Pause in place | Ctrl+Space |
| Previous / next cue | Up / Down (also Alt+Left / Alt+Right) |
| Seek 1 frame | Left / Right |
| Seek 1 second | Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right |
| Seek 5 seconds | Shift+Left / Shift+Right |
| Go to start | Home |
| Go to end | End |
| Next / previous transient | Tab / Shift+Tab |
Full list: Default shortcuts.
Player buttons
Section titled “Player buttons”
Starts or resumes playback.
When to use: Primary go from the bar or with Space.
Pauses transport. With the Timeline preference Return playhead to playback start position on pause… on, a normal pause can snap back to where this play run started; Ctrl+Space always pauses in place.
When to use: Stop listening without a full Stop / go-to-start.
Stops and applies Stop / Go to start rules (see below). Shortcut: Shift+Space.
When to use: Hard stop before the next cue or track change.
Loops the active track when enabled. With loop off, playback stops at track end; outgoing timecode stops with transport.
When to use: Rehearse one song on repeat without re-pressing Play.
Previous track
Section titled “Previous track”
Steps to the previous track in the tracklist.
When to use: Walk the setlist backwards during soundcheck.
Next track
Section titled “Next track”
Steps to the next track.
When to use: Advance to the next song without opening the tracklist.
Previous cue
Section titled “Previous cue”
Jumps to the previous cue (when stopped or under the track’s timecode-follow rules).
When to use: Back up one mark to re-hit a pyro / lights cue.
Next cue
Section titled “Next cue”
Jumps to the next cue.
When to use: Skip forward to the next programmed mark.
Go to start / Go to end
Section titled “Go to start / Go to end”Seek to the start or end position (respecting Stop / Go to start preference for start).
When to use: Reset before a take, or jump to the end of a long track.
4 seconds back / 4 seconds forward
Section titled “4 seconds back / 4 seconds forward”Nudge the playhead by about four seconds.
When to use: Quick scrub around a hit without frame-by-frame arrows.
Add Comment
Section titled “Add Comment”Places a timeline comment at the playhead. See Comments and notes.
When to use: Director note at this time without creating a cue.
Volume and mute
Section titled “Volume and mute”Master / track monitoring level and mute on the Player. LTC is not affected by the volume slider.
When to use: Room level while layer mutes stay show-safe on the tracklist.
Outgoing timecode
Section titled “Outgoing timecode”Enable toggle for outgoing LTC / MTC / Art-Net (details under Preferences -> Timecode).
When to use: Drive slave devices from Samba’s clock during the song.
More options
Section titled “More options”Extra transport-related actions on the Player overflow / more menu.
When to use: Less-common transport commands without cluttering the main bar.
Space / Ctrl+Space / Shift+Space
Section titled “Space / Ctrl+Space / Shift+Space”| Shortcut | Control | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Space | Play / Pause | Toggle play; pause may return to playback-start if that preference is on |
| Ctrl+Space | Pause in place | Pause without returning to playback start |
| Shift+Space | Stop | Stop and apply Stop / Go to start |
Edit -> Preferences… -> Timeline:
- Return playhead to playback start position on pause (Ctrl+Space pauses in place)
When to use: Prefer Ctrl+Space when scrubbing and pausing mid-phrase; use Shift+Space for a clean reset.
Stop / Go to start
Section titled “Stop / Go to start”Edit -> Preferences… -> Timeline -> Stop / Go to start
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Beginning of pre-roll (timeline 0) | Seek to physical timeline zero (start of pre-roll). Default. |
| Program start (0:00) | Seek to programme time zero (skip pre-roll band) |
Pre-roll length is per track in Track Settings -> Timecode.
When to use: Programme start when operators think in show time 0:00 and pre-roll is only warm-up media.
Follow playhead
Section titled “Follow playhead”Timeline follow
Section titled “Timeline follow”While audio is playing, the timeline scrolls so the playhead stays in view. When stopped, scrubbing does not force follow - zoom and inspect freely.
When to use: Trust follow during playback; stop transport when you need a stable zoomed edit view.
Cuelist follow
Section titled “Cuelist follow”Follow current cue at the bottom of the cuelist scrolls to the matching cue.
When to use: On for show; off for editing far from the playhead. See Cues.
Cloud Follow user
Section titled “Cloud Follow user”Follow user mirrors another online user’s track and playhead. Awareness only - not sample-accurate audio sync. For a shared local clock, use incoming Art-Net / LTC. See Collaboration.
When to use: Watch a remote programmer’s position; use timecode for locked playback machines.
Incoming and outgoing timecode
Section titled “Incoming and outgoing timecode”Outgoing
Section titled “Outgoing”Enable from the Player; configure under Edit -> Preferences… -> Timecode and audio routing.
When to use: Samba as master clock for lighting / media.
Incoming
Section titled “Incoming”Preferences can follow incoming Art-Net and/or LTC so the timeline slaves to an external clock.
When to use: Samba as slave to a house clock.
Audio device
Section titled “Audio device”Edit -> Preferences… -> Audio device - output device, sample rate, buffer. On Windows, use ASIO for low latency.
When to use: Fix dropouts or high latency before show call.