LeCoqRoti
8,700-plus one-shot samples and 240 fully editable beat presets. That is the starting count inside XO, a drum sample browser and beat-maker that organises its library by how sounds actually relate to each other, rather than by folder name.
Format compatibility: VST, AU, AAX and standalone on Intel and Apple Silicon
XO runs as VST, AU and AAX, covering most major DAWs, and it also includes a standalone application. It works on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs from macOS 10.13 onward.
How does the sample browsing actually work?
Samples appear as points inside the XO Space, a visual map where similar kicks, snares and hats cluster together. Clicking through a neighbourhood lets you audition sounds that share timbral DNA, which turns searching into a more intuitive, ear-led process.
What happens after I find a sound?
A built-in step sequencer lets you build patterns directly inside the plugin. You can then drag the audio or MIDI into your DAW, or shape the tone further with the included Accentuator processor.
Settings: the first things worth changing
A fresh install arrives with sensible defaults, but a few adjustments make the workspace feel more personal. Open the settings panel and check the buffer size for auditioning: if your host runs at a high buffer to keep a large session stable, XO can still preview samples at a lower one, which makes browsing snappier. The difference is immediate on a drum pad or when clicking through the Space.
Next, visit the hot swap mode toggle. When active, dragging a sample from the Space onto a slot replaces only the sound, leaving the sequencer pattern and its per-step parameters untouched. Keeping this on by default prevents the common frustration of losing a carefully programmed pattern during an exploratory swap. Also consider the MIDI export behaviour: you can choose whether exported MIDI includes the Accentuator groove or stays dry, which matters if you plan to process dynamics later in the DAW.
How XO fits into a wider setup
XO works best as a dedicated sound-design layer rather than the final drum mixer. A typical workflow drops it on an instrument track, uses the sequencer for pattern ideas, then drags audio or MIDI out to separate DAW tracks where EQ, compression and spatial effects live. Because the plugin handles drag-and-drop export cleanly, there is little temptation to mix inside it — and that separation keeps projects tidy.
The standalone application pairs naturally with a lightweight audio interface and a pair of headphones for sound-scouting sessions away from the main project. Producers who collect field recordings or custom one-shot packs often point XO to a watch folder; the similarity map updates and new samples settle into the Space alongside the factory library. On macOS, the plugin also respects the system’s Audio MIDI Setup routing, so aggregate devices and multi-output configurations work without extra configuration inside XO itself.
First import chaos: dumping your whole library before learning the map
The most frequent mis-step is treating the Space as a full library browser on first launch. Importing a huge, uncurated sample collection before understanding how the map organises sounds can turn the Space into a dense cloud where navigating feels slower than a traditional file tree. A better approach is to start with the factory library, learn the clustering behaviour over a few sessions, then add personal folders gradually.
Another common oversight is ignoring the Playground mode. New users often lock a pattern into the sequencer too early and audition every sample against a fixed rhythm. Playground mode flips this: it loops a row of samples in time, letting you hear how they sound together before a single note is programmed. Skipping it leads to patterns that fight the very character of the chosen sounds.
Finally, some producers treat the Accentuator as a simple gain stage or clipper. It is a per-slot transient and sustain shaper that can completely alter the front edge or tail of a sound, and dialling it in subtly — rather than cranking every knob — usually yields punchier results that still layer well with other drums.
MIDI export cleanup: muted lanes no longer clutter the piano roll
Version 1.8.10 brought several fixes that smooth out real-world sessions. MIDI export now correctly handles muted sequencer lanes, so dragging a pattern into the DAW no longer brings along silenced hi-hats or ghost snares that clutter the piano roll. Audio export while the host transport is running — a workflow some rely on for quick renders during playback — was also repaired, removing the need to stop the project just to bounce a loop.
A rare slow start-up issue was addressed in the same update, alongside other minor refinements. For anyone who keeps XO in a large template or loads it frequently during a writing session, the start-up fix means fewer interruptions. In practical terms, these changes make the plugin feel more predictable when moving between the browser, the sequencer and the DAW timeline.
Correspondence 0
Take a chair or join the table to send a letter.
No correspondence on this note yet. Letters are read before they appear.