04 · Browser studio
SoundX
A beat studio in a browser tab: load a demo, play it, shape the master and generate. Audio stays on the machine. No sign-in.
Runs in the browser
Challenge
A music demo usually sends audio to someone else’s server. The job was a studio you can open in a tab: playback, a mixer, and an assistant that suggests settings without taking the session away from you.
Role and scope
Built the browser DAW and the AI Producer
- Built SoundX as a browser DAW: library, pattern and song views, mixer, and a master bus.
- Added a four-step demo path so a visitor can Load Demo, press Play, shape the master, and Generate without an account.
- Shipped an AI Producer that takes a request and proposes drums, bass, keys, or arrangement ideas. It does not silently overwrite the session.
- Kept synthesis, the microphone path, and export in the browser. There is no hosted listening session.
Architecture
01
Session
The studio state lives in the tab. Closing it leaves nothing on a server.
02
Engine
Web Audio for playback, stems, the mixer, and the master EQ and reverb path.
03
AI Producer
A local assistant. It proposes a pattern or a processing chain and explains it. You apply or dismiss it.
04
Export
The demo UI offers WAV, FLAC, MP3, and Ogg from the browser. The mic is optional and permissioned.
60–90 second demo
- Open SoundX. You should see the demo path, not a login wall.
- Load Demo, then press Play. The transport should move without an account.
- Open Shape master and move one control. The change stays in this tab.
- Ask the AI Producer for a change and apply it yourself. It should not replace the session on its own.
Flows to look at
SoundX
The public studio: demo path, transport, mixer, and the AI Producer panel.
AI behavior
- AI-assisted: a suggested drum, bass, keys, or arrangement idea from a written request.
- Agentic: the producer can pick a demo path step and propose the next control change.
- Human-controlled: Apply and Dismiss stay with the person. The session is not overwritten in the background.
- The public studio describes the producer as local logic, not a cloud model call.
Security
- No account and no upload of the session to a portfolio server.
- Microphone capture is optional and asks the browser for permission.
- The producer cannot export or publish on its own.
Monitoring
- This demo has no server health endpoint. The check is local: Play makes sound, and the demo path chips advance.
- If Web Audio is blocked, the page still shows the studio and the written path.
Limits
- This is a browser demo, not a hosted DAW with saved cloud projects.
- Sound quality and export depend on the browser’s Web Audio support.
- Automated tests sit with the private source. The public check is the four-step path on /apps/sound-deck/.