8. Preview Playback
Studio includes a built-in preview engine that plays all audio clips as a stereo mix through your Mac's default output device. This lets you verify trim points, offsets, and tempo alignment without switching to ESTË Live.
Transport controls (in the header bar, visible when a song with audio clips is loaded):
| Control | Action |
|---|---|
| Play/Pause | Start or pause playback |
| Stop | Stop playback and keep position |
| Time display | Shows elapsed time in MM:SS.s format (accent color when playing) |
| Click toggle | Enable/disable the metronome click track (accent color when active) |
Timeline playhead: A vertical accent-colored line shows the current playback position on the timeline. Click anywhere on the timeline background to seek to that position.
Keyboard shortcuts:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Play / Pause |
| Home | Seek to beginning |
Click track: The preview engine includes a metronome that follows the song's tempo and time signature entries. Toggle the click on/off using the metronome button in the header. For more details on how click tracks work, see Click Track / Metronome in the Live manual.
Auto-reload: When you load a different song, the preview engine automatically reloads the audio clips and resets the playback position.