Bonsai 8

The illustrated guide

Two songs.
Make them yours.

Get to know the controls. Build a mix, one stem at a time. Keep something you love. For the effect-free 0.4.5 candidate. See the project hardware report for the installed version and current test results.

Tap Press briefly, then release.

Hold Keep the button pressed.

+ Use these controls together.

01

Find your way around.

SP-1 front view with circular fader capsThe front has four round fader caps, four stem lights and four rectangular stem buttons. Two shallow volume buttons sit on top. PLAY and FUNCTION protrude slightly from the right edge. The triangle and two dots are printed front markings, not the side status lights. Volume − / + Round faders Stem buttons PLAY FUNCTION 1234
Front. The two dots beside FUNCTION are printed markings.
Left and right edges at the same scaleThe left edge has one recessed wheel with a flat middle and angled shoulders, plus one small aperture below it. The right edge has PLAY at the top, FUNCTION at the bottom, one larger aperture and exactly four small status LEDs in between. Left edgeRight edge Wheel Four status LEDs PLAY FUNCTION
Side views. Four LEDs sit below the larger aperture on the right.
Two round volume buttons and a ten-hole grille on the top edgeThe volume buttons are shallow circular caps. The speaker grille has two rows of five holes.Top edge · shallow round volume buttons

SongA loaded piece of music, split into up to four stems.

StemOne part: vocals, drums, bass or other instruments.

Deck A / Deck BTwo independent songs that can play together.

Selected deckThe deck your physical faders and buttons currently control.

02

Start with one song.

Hold FUNCTION to power on, then tap PLAYThe lower right-side FUNCTION button powers on after a 1.5 second hold. The upper right-side PLAY button starts or pauses the selected deck with a short tap.Hold FUNCTION1.5 secondsTap PLAYPlay / pause
  1. Hold FUNCTION for about 1.5 seconds to power on. Deck A is selected and paused.
  2. Start with the master low. Move each fader to its top end, then lower it to the level you want.
  3. Tap and release PLAY. Tap again to pause the selected deck.

A tap is shorter than half a second. Holding PLAY for about half a second returns that song to the beginning, paused. Hold FUNCTION alone for 1.5 seconds to power off.

03

Any song, on either deck.

Switch decks with FUNCTION; browse songs with FUNCTION and the rockerA short FUNCTION tap changes the selected deck from A to B. Hold FUNCTION while tapping the rocker to browse every occupied song on that deck. The other deck keeps playing.Tap rockerPrevious / nextHold FUNCTIONABTap FUNCTION to switchBrowse all occupied slots. Empty slots are skipped.
  1. Tap FUNCTION to choose A or B. Its outside status light tells you which deck is selected.
  2. Hold FUNCTION, then tap the rocker to move to the previous or next loaded song. Repeat until you find one.
  3. Release both controls. The new song is at its beginning, paused. Tap PLAY to bring it in.

Change B while A plays, or A while B plays. Loading a song keeps that deck’s existing levels, mutes and speed.

1A selected
2A playing
3B playing
4B selected
04

Vocals from B. Instruments from A.

A two-song mix: three instrumental stems on A, one vocal stem on BDeck A plays drums, bass and other instruments; its vocal is muted. Deck B plays only its vocal; the other three stems are muted. Each deck keeps its levels when you switch to the other.ASong 1BSong 2 VOCALDRUMBASSOTHER VOCALDRUMBASSOTHER One combined stereo mix
With the site’s usual stem order: 1 vocals, 2 drums, 3 bass, 4 other.
  1. On A, choose your instrumental song. Mute stem 1 with its button. Set faders 2–4, then tap PLAY.
  2. Tap FUNCTION to select B. Choose your vocal song. Move all four faders to minimum, then raise only fader 1 and make sure it is unmuted. Keep stems 2–4 muted.
  3. Tap PLAY when you want the vocal to enter. Balance it with fader 1. Switch back to A to adjust the instruments.

Check mutes before playing: a stem button toggles its state. Start the second song by ear, then teach both beat grids before using live sync. Musical keys are not matched.

Pause one deck

Select it, then tap PLAY.

Pause both

While both play, hold FUNCTION and tap PLAY.

05

Balance it. Find the beat.

Faders change individual stem levels; the rocker changes tempo while preserving pitchAfter changing decks, move a fader through its saved position to take control. Moving the rocker without FUNCTION changes the selected deck’s tempo while preserving pitch and exits sync.Pick up the saved levelSavedCross it to take control.Rocker aloneFaster / slower tempoPitch stays the same

Faders control one stem each. After switching decks, cross its saved level to take control. Tap a track button to mute; hold it to solo until released.

  1. While A plays, hold FUNCTION and tap Track 1 on four or more quarter beats. Repeat on B. You teach the beat; there is no automatic BPM detection.
  2. With both playing, select the follower. FUNCTION + Track 2 syncs it to the other deck while preserving pitch.
  3. Hold FUNCTION + Track 3 and tap the rocker to nudge the follower’s beat phase.

Rocker alone: manual pitch-preserving tempo, leaving sync. FUNCTION + rocker: browse songs as before. Volume + / − controls the combined master.

The live site shows source BPM, tap progress and sync state. Grids reset on song load or cue and are not saved across power-off. This candidate still needs hardware validation; wide tempo changes can blur or repeat transients. No live key matching or separate physical stem-pitch control.

06

Leave room for the next sound.

Balance instruments on Deck A with one vocal on Deck BA schematic level example: A has its vocal down and moderate drums, bass and other stems. B has its vocal raised and its other three stems down. Add the parts you want instead of raising every stem. The master volume controls the combined result.A · InstrumentsB · Vocal12341234Start low. Bring in one part at a time.
A level example, not a required setting. Listen and adjust for your songs.
  1. Start with one deck at moderate levels. Bring in only the stems you want from the second song.
  2. If two parts compete, lower one before raising the other. Two drum patterns or bass lines can clash even when playback is smooth.
  3. Use the volume buttons for the combined listening level. If the mix distorts, lower stem levels and master volume.

The 0.4.5 candidate has no effects: Filter, Echo and Reverb are removed. Faders control stem volume. There is no effect-editing gesture or effect-choice light pattern.

Before recording, check both decks and the master level. The recording captures their combined output, so a quiet master makes a quiet take.

07

Keep the mix.

Record, stop, pause both decks, then wait for savingHold FUNCTION and both volume buttons for one second to start or stop recording. Slow blinking status lights mean recording. Fast blinking means draining or waiting to save. Pause both decks and wait for the normal lights to return. The saved stereo mix uses stem 1 of a new song slot.Hold both volume buttons+ FUNCTION1 secondSlow blinkRecordingRECORDSTOPPAUSE BOTHSAVE
  1. Start your mix. Hold FUNCTION and both volume buttons for one second, then fully release FUNCTION and both volume buttons. Slowly blinking side lights mean recording.
  2. Perform your mix. After fully releasing the first gesture, use the same combination again to stop.
  3. Pause both decks. If both are playing, FUNCTION + PLAY pauses both. Otherwise select and pause the one still playing.
  4. Keep the player powered while it saves. Wait for the normal deck lights to return.

The take becomes a new song in the first empty slot. Its whole stereo mix is on stem 1. Connect later to export it from the site.

You need an empty slot. Maximum take: about eight minutes. Fast blinking means draining or waiting to save; blinking outer lights indicate failure. Song changes are blocked until recording and saving finish.

Historical 0.4.4 evidence is one non-silent 3.17-second take saved as Song 5 and exported. That does not verify longer takes or recording under combined USB load; see the project hardware report for subsequent tests.

08

Two decks in your browser.

Deck A

Choose A under Load music, then import a song or stems. Its song selector keeps the music loaded in this tab.

Deck B

Choose B and add a different song. Each deck has its own Play, Cue and level. Select a deck to adjust its four stems below.

  1. Open Match songs and choose the master deck. Analyze both songs, then check their BPM, first beat and key.
  2. Choose tempo matching, optional key matching and any individual stem pitch offsets. Prepare makes a new set of stems while keeping the originals.
  3. Choose Align on next beat to align the browser grids. Listen and correct them if necessary. Export the prepared stems or upload them into an empty player slot.

Matching prepares audio in the browser. Browser key and stem-pitch preparation is separate from the player’s tapped-grid beat sync. After uploading, teach the physical song’s beat grid again; browser grids are not transferred. A fixed grid cannot follow tempo changes, and pitch processing can change vocal tone or soften transients. The full manual explains the controls and limits.

09

Your player. A bigger view.

Connect the physical player to the Bonsai 8 companion siteA USB data cable connects the powered-on SP-1 to a computer. The companion site mirrors controls and lights, displays deck timers, monitors USB audio, and manages songs. Firmware installation is a separate bootloader workflow.Bonsai 8A · Song 1B · Song 2LOAD A / BEXPORTDELETEUSB data cable
Schematic view. The website is the companion; the firmware runs inside your SP-1.
  1. On a computer, open the Bonsai 8 site in a browser with Web Serial support, such as desktop Chrome or Edge.
  2. Power on the player normally and connect a USB data cable. Choose Connect SP-1, then the Bonsai 8 / Dual Deck mode and your device.
  3. Play on the physical player. Watch the mirrored controls, lights and deck timers. Choose Listen here to monitor its USB mix when a compatible player audio input is available.

Manage songs

Use On your player to load either deck, export a song or delete its slot. Prepare stems on the site, then upload into an empty slot.

Install firmware

Choose Install Bonsai 8 in the site footer. Follow the updater’s bootloader steps. Wait for completion before unplugging.

The connected model mirrors the hardware; its local mixer does not remotely control physical levels. Uploads and transfers pause playback. Browsers without Web Serial, including most mobile browsers, can read this guide but cannot connect or flash the player.

Keep the full guide nearby.

Find the complete control reference, light patterns, connection help and troubleshooting in the manual.

Download the PDF manualBack to the controls

About these instructions.

For the Bonsai 8 effect-free 0.4.5 candidate and companion site. See HARDWARE_TEST.md in the project repository for the current installed version and hardware test results. Its tapped-grid live sync and pitch-preserving tempo controls still need validation; wider tempo changes can produce transient artifacts. This is not a completed release. In historical 0.4.4 tests, eight-stem playback, USB audio alone and mirroring alone passed short tests, but USB audio with mirroring caused dropouts. Removing effects and changing USB response handling still need hardware verification. Read the exact version and test status in the installer. Opening the site does not update your player.