Macros

At a glance

• Control multiple parameters at once with a single knob.
• 4 macros available, each controlling up to 6 parameters.
• Perfect for expressive performance and creating custom controls.
• Found in the bottom panel: Play tab for performance, Macros tab for editing.

What are macros?

Macros are powerful controls that let you move multiple parameters simultaneously with a single knob turn. Think of them as custom controls that you design to fit your musical needs. Instead of tweaking multiple knobs separately, you can create a macro that adjusts filter cutoff, reverb amount, and delay feedback all at once — perfect for dramatic breakdowns or smooth transitions.

Floe provides 4 macros, and each macro can control up to 6 different parameters. This gives you tremendous flexibility to create expressive, performance-ready controls that transform your sounds in musical ways.

Setting up macros

Complete workflow: creating macro destinations, adjusting amounts, and renaming

Creating a macro destination

1. Navigate to the Macros tab in the bottom panel
2. Hover your mouse over any macro knob — a plus icon will appear
3. Click the plus icon to enter destination selection mode
4. All automatable parameters in Floe will now show plus icons
5. Click on any highlighted parameter to link it to your macro

Adjusting macro strength

Once you've linked a parameter to a macro, a small knob appears next to the macro. This destination amount knob controls how much the macro affects that parameter.

• Positive values: Parameter increases when macro is turned up
• Negative values: Parameter decreases when macro is turned up (bi-directional control)
• Strength: Higher percentages create more dramatic changes

The macro's effect is relative to the parameter's current position, so you can set your base sound first, then use macros to perform variations around that starting point.

Managing macros

Removing destinations

To unlink a parameter from a macro:

1. Hover over the destination amount knob
2. A minus icon will appear below the knob
3. Click the minus icon to remove the connection

Renaming macros

Give your macros meaningful names:

1. Go to the Macros tab
2. Click on the macro's name
3. Type your new name

Using macros for performance

Switch to the Play tab for quick access to your macros during performance. This keeps your most expressive controls front and center while you're making music.

For preset creators

If you're creating presets for others, macros are essential for making your sounds performance-ready. Well-designed macros turn static presets into dynamic, expressive instruments. Consider what aspects of the sound would be most musical to control, and create macros that enhance the emotional impact of the preset rather than just providing technical adjustments.

• Every macro should audibly do something - you should be able to easily hear that something is different moving from 0 to 100% on the macro knob.
• Ideally macro names are a single word with no abbreviations
• Check how the macros look on both the LAYERS and PEFORM page. Are the names readable or too cluttered?
• Avoid technical details in macro names - describe what turning from 0 to 100% does to the patch's sound. For example, 'Pulse' rather than 'L1 LFO', 'Reverb' instead of 'Convol Mix', 'Vibrato' if the properties of increasing the that macro knob adds a vibrato effect.
• Something to consider quite often: just like a 'Volume' knob increases volume as you turn it up, so should your macro increase the property of the name you've given. This is more intuitive. For example, set a macro that decreases the gain of a high-shelf filter: call it 'Damp' or 'Muffle' because turning up the macro increases the sense of 'muffle' in the sound. Alternatively, you could invert the macro programming so that it increases the gain of the high-shelf filter. Then, a more appropriate name would be 'Brightness' or 'Highs'. Which inversion to use is up to you and depends on what is important.
• Both 0% and 100% on the macro dial should be valid and usable. For example, if at 0% it essentially mutes the instrument, this isn't typically very helpful. Or it's similarly bad if 100% means the instrument is so loud it's clipping the meter. It can occasionally be useful to break this rule in the case of something like a filter cutoff where it's useful to be able to filter out the sound to nothing when recording a performance.
• Not all 4 macros have to be used all the time. However, when not using 4, avoid put unused macros between or before active ones. Right-click a macro to Copy Macro and Paste Macro (or Reset Macro) to move macros so that macros are filled from left to right with unused macros at the end.