WMT-8 User Manual

Getting started

Open https://wmt-8.live in Google Chrome on a desktop or laptop. Note that because it uses Web MIDI, WMT-8 is not supported on other platforms.

1. Press MIDI CONNECT on the panel.
2. Allow access to your MIDI input and output devices when prompted.
3. Select a part or song, arm a track if recording, and use transport as needed.

A typical song creation workflow

WMT-8 separates parts (where MIDI is recorded and edited) from songs (ordered lists of part references with tempo and mutes). The diagram below shows how a project fits together; the steps that follow walk through naming a song, recording two tracks on a part, quantising a take, building a simple arrangement, editing a note, playing it back, and saving your work.

1. Name your song. Press S or SONG, then enter a two-digit song number (00–99) on the keypad. Hold NAME (or A). The LCD shows the name editor with a cursor. Use the keypad digits, +/− to cycle characters, and PAGE UP/DOWN to move the cursor. Press RECORD to confirm, or release NAME without confirming to cancel.
2. Set the tempo. While still in song mode, hold TEMPO (or B). Adjust the BPM with +/− or enter a three-digit value (40–240). Press RECORD to store the tempo in the current song.
3. Record on track 1. Press P or PART and select a part number (for example, 00). Press R or RECORD to arm recording—the first empty track is selected automatically. Press Space or PLAY to start; play your MIDI keyboard while the transport runs. Press Enter or STOP CONT when finished. The part length is set from this first pass if it was not already defined.
4. Quantise the recording. If your first take needs tighter timing, stay in part mode and hold QUANT (or Q). The LCD shows the grid and mode—for example, QUANT 1/16 START. Use +/− to choose a grid (1/16 is a good starting point). Use PAGE UP/DOWN to cycle the mode: START snaps note-on times only; other modes adjust note ends or preserve note length. Press track buttons to include or exclude tracks (all are selected by default). Press RECORD to apply, or release QUANT without confirming to cancel.
5. Switch to track 2 and record. Press RECORD again to re-arm. Track 2 is selected automatically as the next empty track, or press the second track button while armed to choose it explicitly. Press PLAY again; track 1 plays back while you record on track 2. Recording on later tracks stops at the part length boundary.
6. Use parts in your song. Parts are reusable building blocks—record a verse on part 00, a chorus on part 01, and so on. Switch parts in part mode with two-digit keypad entry. To arrange them, return to song mode and press E for edit mode. Use PAGE UP to insert a step, then enter a part number to assign it. Use +/− to move between steps and the track buttons to set per-step mutes. A song with at least one step plays through its part list in order.
7. Edit a MIDI event. In part mode, press E for edit mode. Press a track button to choose which track to edit. Use ←/→ or REW/FF to step through events on that track. PAGE UP/DOWN moves between fields (beat, note number, velocity, and so on). Change the active field with the keypad or +/−. Press P to leave edit mode when done.
8. Start playback. In song mode, press Space or PLAY to hear the full arrangement from the first step. In part mode, PLAY auditions the current part on its own. Use Enter or STOP CONT to pause and continue from the current beat.
9. Save the project. WMT-8 auto-saves your parts, songs, and settings in the browser as you work. Press PROJ OUT to download a JSON backup you can restore later with PROJ IN or move to another machine.

Panel overview

WMT-8 follows the Alesis MMT-8 control layout: a two-line LCD, transport row, mode buttons, utility hold buttons, numeric keypad, and eight track selectors. Most editing functions use a hold workflow — press and hold a utility button, adjust values on the LCD, then press RECORD to confirm (or release the button to cancel). The sections that follow describe each function in that order, with LCD examples at every step.

The panel is organised into these areas:

• LCD: two 32-character lines showing mode, selection, and status messages.
• Transport: REW, STOP/CONT, PLAY, RECORD.
• Mode: PART, SONG, EDIT, LOOP, MIDI ECHO.
• Utilities: COPY, ERASE, LENGTH, MERGE, NAME, QUANT, TRANS, TEMPO, MIDI CHAN, MIDI FILT, CLOCK, CLICK.
• Page and project I/O: PAGE UP/DOWN, MIDI CONNECT, PROJ IN/OUT, MIDI OUT.
• Keypad: digits 0–9, +/−, ENTER.
• Tracks: eight track buttons with activity LEDs.

WMT-8 stores 100 parts, each with 8 tracks, and 100 songs of up to 255 steps. Timing resolution is 96 PPQN (pulses per quarter note).

Display and LEDs

The WMT-8 panel has a two-line LCD, each line 32 characters wide, and eight track buttons with activity LEDs. The top line usually shows the current mode, selection, or a status message; the bottom line shows context (part or song name, edit field, or a second status line). When a temporary message is shown (for example after quantising or punching out), it appears on line 1 and line 2 shows PART nn … or SONG nn … until the message clears.

Track LEDs

Mode and transport LEDs

PART, SONG, and EDIT show the current sequencer mode. PLAY, RECORD, LOOP, and MIDI ECHO light when those functions are active. During count-in, transport runs but recording has not yet started.

Part mode

Parts are where MIDI is recorded, edited, and stored. WMT-8 holds 100 parts (numbered 00–99), each with 8 tracks and timing at 96 PPQN (pulses per quarter note). Part mode is the default working area for building reusable musical sections.

Selecting a part

1. Press P or PART to enter part mode (if not already there).
2. Enter a two-digit part number (00–99) on the keypad, or use +/− to step through parts.
3. The LCD shows SELECT PART nn and the part name on line 2.

Cancel: wait two seconds without entering a second digit; the pending number clears and the display returns to the current selection.

Queuing the next part during playback

While a part is playing (and you are not recording), enter another part number or use +/−. Playback continues on the current part; when it reaches the end, WMT-8 switches to the queued part and restarts from beat 1.

Recording

Recording captures MIDI from your connected input onto the armed track of the current part. WMT-8 supports first-pass recording, overdubs on later tracks, punch-in/out while playing, count-in via the click, and an oops undo for the last take.

Arm and record from stopped

1. Select a part in part mode.
2. Press R or RECORD to arm recording. The next empty track is selected; its LED flashes.
3. Optionally press a track button to arm a specific track instead.
4. Press Space or PLAY to start transport and record from beat 1.
5. Play your MIDI keyboard. Incoming notes respect the MIDI filter settings.
6. Press Enter or STOP CONT to stop. Sustaining notes are not cut off abruptly on stop.

Shortcut: R+Space starts recording immediately without a separate arm step. R+Play (both buttons together) does the same.

Punch in and punch out

While transport is running you can replace data on a track from the current beat onward:

1. Start playback on a part that already has data.
2. Arm recording if needed, then press RECORD at the desired beat to punch in. Events on the armed track from that beat forward are cleared; earlier data is kept.
3. Press RECORD, STOP CONT, REW, or FF to punch out. Record arm stays active so you can pause and punch in again.

To choose a punch-in target without starting recording: while playing, hold RECORD and press a track button.

Count-in before recording

Configure the metronome and count-in with CLICK (see Click). When record click is enabled and countdown length is greater than zero, pressing PLAY while armed shows a count before recording begins.

Oops — undo the last recording pass

1. After a recording pass you want to discard, press RECORD and STOP CONT together.
2. The armed track is restored to its state before that pass; transport stops if it was running.

Shortcut: R+Enter.

Memory limits during recording

If the project runs out of note memory (~10,000 events total), recording punches out automatically and the LCD shows INSUFFICIENT MEMORY.

Transport

Transport controls playback position, recording start, and beat-level navigation. WMT-8 uses beat 1 as the first beat; sub-beat timing uses 96 ticks per quarter note.

Autolocate

1. While stopped or playing, hold REW or FF.
2. Enter a three-digit beat number on the keypad (001 to the current part length, up to 682).
3. Transport jumps to that beat when the third digit is entered.

In part edit mode, REW and FF step between MIDI events instead of beats.

Length

The LENGTH utility sets how many beats a part spans and can shift all events earlier or later within the part. Like other hold utilities, changes are previewed on the LCD and confirmed with RECORD.

Set part length

1. Stop transport and select the part to edit.
2. Hold LENGTH (or N). The LCD shows the current length.
3. Use +/− to adjust by one beat, or enter a three-digit value (001–682).
4. Press RECORD to confirm. Events beyond the new length are truncated.
5. Release LENGTH without pressing RECORD to cancel.

Shift events (PAGE UP / PAGE DOWN)

While holding LENGTH:

• ] / PAGE UP — shift all events forward one beat (add silence at the start).
• [ / PAGE DOWN — shift all events back one beat.

Shift amount is shown on the LCD; press RECORD to confirm the combined length and shift operation.

Check free memory

Press RECORD and LENGTH together (R+N) to display remaining project memory. Works in any mode; if LENGTH is already held during playback, tap RECORD.

Erase

ERASE clears MIDI data from the current part or erases an entire song. Hold-button erase lets you choose tracks and a selective data type before confirming with RECORD.

Hold erase (part mode)

1. Stop transport. Hold ERASE (or Delete).
2. Press track buttons to include or exclude tracks (all tracks selected by default).
3. Press [/] (PAGE DOWN/UP) to cycle selective erase type: all data, notes, pitch bend, controllers, program change, aftertouch, SysEx, or a single MIDI channel.
4. Press RECORD to erase matching events on selected tracks.
5. Release ERASE without RECORD to cancel.

Hold erase (song mode)

In song mode, holding ERASE and pressing RECORD erases the entire current song (all steps and name reset).

Copy

COPY duplicates part data, individual tracks, or song steps. In hold mode, use +/− to cycle copy mode and [/] to cycle selective data types for part and track copies.

Part copy (hold)

1. Stop transport. Hold COPY (or C).
2. Enter a two-digit destination part with the keypad, or use +/− to cycle modes (see below).
3. Press [/] to choose selective copy type (same options as erase).
4. Press RECORD to execute the copy.
5. Release COPY without RECORD to cancel.

Track copy (hold)

1. Hold COPY and press + or − until the LCD shows track copy mode.
2. Press the source track button, then the destination track button.
3. Optionally enter a different destination part number with two digits.
4. Press RECORD to copy.

Song copy (hold)

1. Switch to song mode. Hold COPY (defaults to song copy).
2. Enter the destination song number (00–99).
3. Press RECORD to append all steps from the current song onto the destination song.

Edit mode

Edit mode lets you inspect and change individual MIDI events on a part track, or edit the step list in a song. Press E or EDIT to toggle edit mode; press P or S to leave edit mode when finished.

Part edit mode

1. Enter part mode and press E for edit mode. The EDIT LED lights.
2. Press a track button to select which track to edit.
3. Use ←/→ or REW/FF to move between events on that track.
4. Use [/] (PAGE DOWN/UP) to move between fields on the current event.
5. Change the active field with the keypad or +/−.
6. ERASE + RECORD deletes the current event.

Other MIDI event types

Pitch bend, aftertouch, controller, program change, and SysEx events expose type-specific fields:

For SysEx, when the sysex byte field is selected, PAGE UP/DOWN scrolls through individual data bytes.

Inserting events

1. In part edit mode, move to the beat where you want a new event.
2. Hold COPY. PAGE UP/DOWN cycles insert type: note on, pitch bend, aftertouch, controller, program change, or SysEx.
3. Press RECORD to insert a default event at the current beat.
4. Release COPY without RECORD to cancel.

Shortcut: COPY + RECORD (without holding) inserts a default C3 note (velocity 64, one beat long) at the current beat.

Song mode

Songs arrange parts in order for playback. WMT-8 holds 100 songs (00–99), each with its own tempo and up to 255 steps. Each step references a part number and stores a per-step track mute mask.

Selecting a song

1. Press S or SONG to enter song mode.
2. Enter a two-digit song number or use +/−.
3. The LCD shows SELECT SONG nn and the song name.

Song edit mode

1. In song mode, press E for edit mode.
2. Use +/− to move between steps.
3. Enter a two-digit part number to assign a part to the current step.
4. Press ] / PAGE UP to insert a new step before the current position.
5. Press track buttons to set per-step track mutes.
6. COPY + RECORD copies the current step after itself.
7. ERASE + RECORD deletes the current step.

Loop

LOOP repeats playback when the end of a part or song is reached. Press L or LOOP to toggle; the LOOP LED shows when loop is enabled.

MIDI echo

MIDI ECHO passes incoming MIDI from your input port to the selected output port in real time, so you can hear your keyboard through external gear while recording. Output respects the armed track’s MIDI CHAN assignment when one is set.

1. Connect MIDI input and output with MIDI CONNECT.
2. Press M or MIDI ECHO to toggle. The MIDI ECHO LED lights when enabled.
3. Play your controller; messages appear at the output (subject to echo rules for SysEx and realtime).

MIDI echo is independent of the MIDI filter used for recording — it mirrors input before filter processing for monitoring purposes, but channel remapping still applies.

Name

Parts and songs can be labelled with up to 14 characters from the set A–Z, 0–9, space, and hyphen. Names help you identify material on the LCD and in exported projects.

Edit a part or song name

1. Select the part or song to name.
2. Hold NAME (or A). The name editor opens with a cursor.
3. Enter digits directly, or use +/− to cycle the character under the cursor.
4. Use PAGE UP/DOWN to move the cursor left and right.
5. Press RECORD to confirm the name.
6. Release NAME without RECORD to cancel.

Empty names become NO PART NAME or NO SONG NAME. Unrecorded slots show EMPTY PART or EMPTY SONG.

Merge

MERGE combines two tracks on the current part by appending all events from a source track onto a destination track. The source track is not cleared — copy the source elsewhere first if you need to preserve it separately.

1. Stop transport and select the part.
2. Hold MERGE (or G).
3. Press the source track button.
4. Press the destination track button.
5. Press RECORD to merge.
6. Release MERGE without RECORD to cancel.

MIDI channel

Each track can remap all outgoing MIDI to a fixed channel, or pass events on their recorded channels (00 = unchanged). Channel assignment affects playback, recording display, and MIDI echo output.

1. Stop transport and select the part.
2. Hold MIDI CHAN (or H).
3. Press a track button to select the track (defaults to the armed track).
4. Enter 00 for unchanged, or 01–16 for a fixed output channel.
5. Press RECORD to confirm.
6. Release MIDI CHAN without RECORD to cancel.

Quantise

QUANT adjusts note timing to a rhythmic grid, or in song mode sets per-track clock offset for alignment. All hold changes confirm with RECORD; release without confirming to cancel.

Part mode quantise

1. Stop transport. Select the part to quantise.
2. Hold QUANT (or Q).
3. Use +/− to choose the grid.
4. Use PAGE UP/DOWN to cycle quantise mode.
5. Press track buttons to include or exclude tracks (all selected by default).
6. Press RECORD to apply.

Available grids include straight and triplet divisions:

Grid	Grid	Grid
1/2	1/4	1/8
1/16	1/32	1/64
1/2T	1/4T	1/8T
1/16T

Quantise modes:

Mode (LCD)	Effect
START	Snap note-on times to the grid.
STARTEND	Snap both note-on and note-off times.
END	Snap note-off times only.
DURATION	Snap note-on times and move note-offs by the same amount (preserves note length).

Song mode clock offset

In song mode, hold QUANT to edit per-track clock offset (−48 to +48 ticks) for the current song step’s part. Use +/− to nudge by one tick, or enter a two-digit absolute offset. Select tracks with track buttons. Press RECORD to store.

Transpose

TRANS shifts note numbers on selected tracks by up to 99 semitones. Notes wrap within the MIDI range by octave (MMT-8-style) rather than clipping at 0 or 127.

1. Stop transport and select the part.
2. Hold TRANS (or T).
3. PAGE UP sets transpose up; PAGE DOWN sets transpose down.
4. Enter a two-digit semitone amount (00–99) or use +/−.
5. Press track buttons to include or exclude tracks.
6. Press RECORD to apply.
7. Release TRANS without RECORD to cancel.

Tempo

Tempo sets playback speed in BPM from 40 to 240. In part mode, tempo changes apply to the current session. In song mode, you can store tempo into the selected song.

1. Hold TEMPO (or B).
2. Use +/− to adjust by 1 BPM, or enter a three-digit value.
3. In song mode: press RECORD to store tempo in the current song.
4. Release TEMPO without RECORD to cancel (song storage only).

In song mode while stopped, PAGE UP/DOWN (without holding TEMPO) also nudges the selected track clock offset by one tick — the same as in Song mode.

MIDI filter

MIDI FILT controls which incoming MIDI message types are recorded and which input channel is accepted. Filter settings apply project-wide during recording.

Message type toggles (page 1)

1. Hold MIDI FILT (or F).
2. Press keypad digits to toggle types:

Digit	Type	Default
1	Notes	On
2	Controllers	On
3	Pitch bend	On
4	Aftertouch	Off
5	Program change	On
6	SysEx	Off

Release MIDI FILT to exit; filter toggles take effect immediately and do not require RECORD.

Input channel filter (page 2)

1. While holding MIDI FILT, press PAGE UP to switch to the channel page.
2. Enter 00 for all channels, or 01–16 for a single input channel.
3. Press PAGE DOWN to return to the type toggles page.

Clock

CLOCK configures whether WMT-8 runs from its internal tempo, follows external MIDI clock, and sends MIDI clock to outputs. Hold-button pages switch with PAGE UP/DOWN; changes apply immediately without RECORD.

Clock source (page 1)

1. Hold CLOCK (or I).
2. Use +/− to cycle source:

LCD label	Behaviour
INT+MIDI	Internal tempo; MIDI clock sent when clock out is enabled.
INT ONLY	Internal tempo; no MIDI clock output.
EXT MIDI	Follow external MIDI clock and transport (start/continue/stop).

Clock output options (page 2)

1. While holding CLOCK, press PAGE UP for the output page.
2. Use +/− to toggle clock out and auto-start.

Click

The CLICK utility configures the metronome: click division, whether click sounds during record and/or playback, and count-in length before recording. When MIDI output is connected, click beats are also sent as short drum notes on MIDI channel 10 (General MIDI percussion). The browser also plays an internal metronome beep; use Settings to disable that audio without affecting MIDI click output.

1. Hold CLICK (or K).
2. Use +/− to choose click division (same grids as quantise, including triplets).
3. PAGE UP toggles record click (RC) — count-in and click during count-in.
4. PAGE DOWN toggles play click (PL) — metronome during playback.
5. Enter a two-digit countdown length (00–99 beats; default 04). Use 00 to disable count-in.
6. Release CLICK to exit. Click settings do not require RECORD.

See Recording for how count-in interacts with arming and playback.

Settings

Open Settings from the link in the status row beside User manual. Preferences are saved locally in your browser and persist across sessions independently of project export/import.

• Enable user interface sounds — mechanical key-press feedback when panel buttons are pressed with the mouse or keyboard shortcuts.
• Enable internal metronome sounds — browser audio for count-in and playback click. MIDI click output to connected devices is unchanged when this is off.

Both options default to on for new browsers.

MIDI setup

WMT-8 uses the Web MIDI API (Chrome, HTTPS). Connect your interface, choose ports, then record and play back through your gear.

Hold utilities and transport

Most utility buttons (COPY, ERASE, LENGTH, QUANT, and others listed in this manual) use MMT-8-style hold workflows: press and hold the button while stopped, adjust settings on the LCD, then press RECORD to confirm. Release the button without confirming to cancel. Hold utilities cannot be started while transport is playing.

Projects and export

• Projects auto-save in the browser.
• PROJ OUT downloads the full project as JSON (parts, songs, tempo, filters).
• PROJ IN restores a previously exported project.
• MIDI OUT exports the current part as a Standard MIDI File (.mid). In song mode, all steps are concatenated into one file using each step's part data and track mute mask.

Memory capacity

WMT-8 models approximate MMT-8 note-memory limits (about 10,000 MIDI events across the whole project). Copy, length, offset, and record operations that would exceed remaining capacity show INSUFFICIENT MEMORY on the LCD.

To check how much memory is free, press RECORD and LENGTH together (R+N). The LCD shows MEMORY xxx% FREE. This works in any part, song, or edit mode. While stopped, holding LENGTH first enters the length utility instead — press both buttons at the same time, or hold LENGTH during playback and tap RECORD.

Demo projects

Two ready-made projects are available to download and load with PROJ IN. Each replaces the current browser project with the demo parts, songs, and settings. Use them to explore playback, editing, multi-track mutes, and MIDI export without recording from scratch.

Bach Prelude in C major (BWV 846)

A faithful transcription of the complete first prelude from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (35 bars). Song 00 (BACH PRELUDE C) plays part 00 (BWV 846 PRELUDE) at 72 BPM. The arrangement uses two tracks on a single piano-style part — useful for checking basic multi-track playback and MIDI output.

Download bach-prelude-c-major.json

Both hands share MIDI channel 1 (track channel assignment 00, unchanged). Send both hands to one MIDI instrument, or assign separate channels with MIDI CHAN if you want to split the hands.

The Entertainer

Scott Joplin's ragtime classic (1902, public domain), arranged as a five-track band demo from the Mutopia Project transcription. Song 00 (THE ENTERTAINER) plays part 00 (THE ENTERTAINER) at 92 BPM (76 bars). Each active track uses its own MIDI channel — suited to testing multi-timbral MIDI output with separate synths, bass, and drums.

Download entertainer-joplin.json

The drum groove enters after the two-bar introduction and drops out for the final bar. Loading this project uses about 70% of WMT-8's note-memory capacity — press RECORD + LENGTH to check the remaining free percentage.

Keyboard shortcuts

Hidden shortcuts

These chorded shortcuts mirror undocumented MMT-8 behaviour:

• RECORD + LENGTH — show remaining project note memory on the LCD (MEMORY xxx% FREE). See Memory capacity.
• RECORD + PLAY — start recording immediately without arming first.
• RECORD + STOP/CONT — Oops: undo the last recording pass on the armed track without entering edit mode.
• STOP/CONT while playing — pause; press again to continue from the same beat (sustaining notes are not cut off).
• Shift clock (song mode) — press PAGE UP/DOWN to nudge the selected track timing by one tick (96 PPQ). Hold TEMPO and press PAGE UP/DOWN for the same adjustment. QUANT in song mode also adjusts per-track clock offset with +/−.
• COPY track / song append — hold COPY, cycle to track or song mode with +/−, then confirm with RECORD to copy a track into another part or append one song onto another.

Factory reset

To erase all parts, songs, and browser-saved project data and return WMT-8 to its initial state, press Ctrl+Shift+Backspace (use Cmd instead of Ctrl on Mac). You are prompted to confirm before any data is erased. Press Esc or Cancel to abort, or Reset to continue. Transport stops first if playback or recording is active.

MIDI implementation chart

This chart follows the MIDI Manufacturers Association Implementation Chart version 2.0 (MMA/AMEI RP-028). Compare the Transmit/Export column of one device with the Recognize/Import column of another to judge compatibility. WMT-8 uses Web MIDI ports selected in the app; timing is 96 PPQN. Additional detail appears in MIDI setup, MIDI filter, Clock, and Click.

MIDI echo: When the echo LED is on, incoming channel voice messages (not real-time or system common) are copied to the output with the armed track’s channel assignment. SysEx echo requires browser SysEx access.

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