Dive.
Specific training on the little things that make SimplePlay2000 fly.
Library is filling in. Short, focused walkthroughs on one feature at a time — the stuff you don't notice until you need it. Bookmark this page; new entries land regularly. Need something now? Email sp2ksupport@gmail.com.
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Getting set up
- Install & first run — download, "Yes" to UAC, sound check, you're live. Default install is per-machine to
C:\Program Files\SimplePlay2000\. - License activation — System (Sys) tab → Account → paste your key from the order email → Activate. One round-trip, you're live.
- Two activations, two devices — your $49.99/yr license activates on up to two machines. Each renewal year you get two free machine swaps if you change rigs. Click Release on the old machine first to free its slot.
- Set a default show file — Sys → Default Show File → Browse. Picks the .sp2k that auto-loads on every launch. Saves you the drag-drop on a recurring show.
- Importing a show file — drag a .sp2k file onto the window. Yellow confirm strip, accept, you're loaded. The show file remembers your window position too.
- Autosave on exit — Sys → Autosave on exit. App writes back to the loaded .sp2k on close. Off by default; flip on for "everything I touched stays touched."
License & account
- What "Active" means — your subscription is current and the audio gate is off. Green checkmark, amber ACTIVE pill. App fully usable online or offline (paid gets a 14-day offline grace).
- What "Trial" means — you've got 7 days from first launch. Audio is fully functional. Buy whenever you're ready — your show files and settings come with you.
- What "Dunning" means — your card on file failed when LS tried to renew. You've got until the renewal due date to fix it on the Lemon Squeezy customer portal. App keeps working through dunning.
- What "Expired" means — subscription ended (refused renewal or you cancelled). Audio output disables; everything else stays usable. Renew anytime — your shows come right back.
- Releasing an activation — Account modal → Release on the device row. Frees the slot for re-activation on a new machine. Your local vault clears too.
- Cancel auto-renew — Account modal → Cancel auto-renew. Sends you to the LS customer portal. Subscription stays valid through the current period.
- Promo codes — Account modal → Promo Code field → paste → Apply. Extends your trial counter. Codes are case-insensitive, single-use per machine (with some reusable exceptions).
- Why every-boot internet for trial users — your trial counter is anchored against simpleplay2000.com on every launch. Stops "fly offline + roll clock back" from extending the trial. Paid users get a 14-day grace; reconnect within that window and the gate stays open.
Cues & playlists
- Drop a file into a cue — drag onto an empty cue slot. WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG decode native. WMA, AIFF, APE auto-convert via the bundled ffmpeg.
- Fire a cue — click the cue, press its keyboard letter (top row 1-8, then QWERTY), or fire from MIDI / Stream Deck. Color flashes on the tile while playing.
- Stop a cue — click again, press the same key, or hit the global red STOP. 7ms click-fade so it never pops.
- Set the trim-in point — open the cyan Edit Modal → drag the green trim-in wedge to where the cue should START playing. Trim-out wedge sets where it stops.
- Fade in / fade out — drag the cyan fade markers in the Edit Modal. The bowtie shows you the curve. Sub-section "Loop fade" applies the fade to every loop iteration, not just the first.
- Loop a cue — Play mode → Loop. The cue plays from trim-in to trim-out, then loops back. Combine with the Once-per-fire trigger for "fire it manually each loop."
- Yellow Box destructive edits — paint a yellow selection on the wave → engage destructive edit → use LOOP, TRIM, CUT, GAIN, FADE. All UNDO-able. Recorder is always-on; cyan/amber/purple modals gate behind the engage pill.
- Page navigation — bottom-left page tabs. Click + to add, Del-X mode to remove. Each page has its own 26-cue grid + its own color.
- Color-coding a whole page — page color picker → click any of the 12 dots → cue chrome cascades to match. Operator-visible "this is page Sunday" vs "this is page Monday."
- Cross-page Cue Up fire-all — arm cues across multiple pages, hit the global FIRE ALL, every armed cue starts in sample-accurate sync. For walk-ins / walk-outs that span page boundaries.
- DIVA vs DUET vs SOLO — top-right pill. DIVA = playing a cue stops the playlist (and vice versa). DUET = both can play. SOLO inside the cue grid = firing one cue stops every other cue on the grid.
Playlists
- Build a playlist — Playlist tab → drag files in → reorder by dragging the cards. Save the show; playlist comes with it.
- Crossfade between tracks — Playlist → Crossfade toggle. Outgoing fades while incoming rises. Length set in the Playlist settings.
- STEP vs LOOP playlist mode — STEP advances on spacebar (cue-up the next track, fire when ready). LOOP plays through and starts over.
- Per-track volume / fade-in / fade-out — click a track → opens the cyan Edit Modal — same trim/fade controls as a cue.
- Save a playlist standalone — Save As .sp2kpl. Cross-show portable: drag a .sp2kpl onto any show to import that playlist.
Announcements
- Drop into a slot — sidebar Announces tab, drop the file, done. Slots are numbered 1 through 10; each has its own trim/fade/volume.
- Fire an announcement — click the slot tile, press its number key, or fire from MIDI. Auto-ducks the cue grid + playlist while playing.
- Reorder announcement slots — drag the slot card up or down. Order persists in the show file.
- Multiple announcement sets — bottom of the Announces tab → + to add a set. Switch sets per-cue or per-show.
- Quick-record from the Recorder — TO ANNC pill plants the rendered file into the next empty slot. Operator-to-operator mid-show: the announcement is in the slot, you fire it.
Recording
- Open the Recorder — Sys → Account row → Recorder icon, or from any cue's send-recorder button.
- Pick the mic / input — sidebar input device dropdown. Lists every audio input Windows sees. Switch on the fly.
- Record — red REC pill. Live meters above. 7ms click-fade at start/stop so nothing pops.
- Default save folder — auto-creates
%APPDATA%\SimplePlay2000\SP2k Records\on first open. Always writable; recordings survive reinstall. - Browse a different save folder — sidebar Browse icon. Choice sticks for the session. Useful: point at a show folder on Desktop so all of today's takes land together.
- Save a copy — green Save Copy pill. Writes a fresh WAV with " (edited)" suffix. Original untouched.
- Save overwrite — red Save pill. Overwrites the source file you loaded. Asks for confirmation when the target isn't an SP2k-named recording.
- TO CUE / TO ANNC — instant-promote a rendered take to an open cue slot or the next empty announcement slot. Mid-show: record an intro, send it to the cue you're about to fire.
- The Yellow Box on a recording — paint a selection → use LOOP, TRIM, CUT, GAIN, FADE. All UNDO-able. The recorder has destructive edit always-on (no engage pill).
- Compressor on the input — top-row COMP toggle. Broadcast-friendly defaults (4:1, -24 dB threshold, soft knee). Sliders below: threshold, ratio, attack, release, makeup gain.
- HPF + 31-band EQ + parametric EQ + reverb — bake into the input chain, or audition over a loaded file. Toggle each band's bypass for A/B comparison.
The deeper stuff
- Master EQ & room correction — 4-band biquad chain per channel (Cues, Playlist, Announces, Recorder). PA-specific, stays on the machine, never travels in a show file. Tune for the venue once, leave it.
- The W4 Wave Dock — live half-amplitude waveform of whatever's playing, sitting below the cue grid. Trim grips, fade wedges, vertical volume slider, audible scrub on the green play head — adjust the active cue or track without opening a modal. Flip back to meters via the WAVE/METER pill in the W4 header.
- MIDI controller mapping — Sys → MIDI Controller Setup → click any control in the app → move the MIDI knob/button → bound. Save with the show or save as machine-default.
- Recorder send pills — TO CUE / TO ANNC plant a finished render straight into the grid mid-show. The rendered file goes through the same chain the green Save Copy does — what you hear is what gets saved.
- DUET / DIVA pill — top bar policy switch. DIVA (default, pink) keeps Cues, Playlist, and the Web Player mutually exclusive — start one and the others stop. DUET (lime) lets them all play simultaneously. One click flips. Same rule applies in both directions, every source.
- System volume widget — status bar SYSTEM strip controls Windows master playback volume. Drag to set, click SYSTEM to mute. Two-way sync — change it in Windows mixer, the widget catches up.
- Sticky Notes — Resources tab → any section named "Notes" becomes a sticky textarea. Rename it to anything you want later ("Setlist", "Crew Notes", "Backstage call") — it stays a sticky note forever.
- File Integrity box — runs every .sp2k load. Tells you which audio files it found, which it couldn't. Relocate flow walks you through pointing the show at moved/renamed audio.
- Multi-Device Output — main PA + a confidence monitor, separate mute on each. Shelf feature, lands in a future build.
- Language toggle — Sys → English/Español pill. Locale persists. Show files stay language-independent — save in English, open in Spanish on a different machine, same content.
When something interferes with audio
- Another app pops up (Spotify, Discord, video call) — SP2K is configured to stay foreground-priority even when not focused. In-flight cues keep playing cleanly. If the audio session genuinely shifts (USB device unplugged), the watchdog will stop playback with a clean click-fade instead of letting it desync.
- System sound notification while a cue is firing — Windows usually shares the audio device; SP2K and the notification both reach the speakers. If you can't have notifications, set Windows Do Not Disturb before the show.
- USB audio interface unplugged mid-show — Chromium loses the device, SP2K's watchdog kicks in, in-flight playback stops cleanly. Re-plug the device, re-fire the cue, you're back. (Pro tip: tape USB cables to the rig before the show.)
- Headphones plugged in / Bluetooth device connects — Windows may switch the default playback device. SP2K follows the system default unless you've pinned a specific output. Pinning lands with Multi-Device Output.
Troubleshooting
- "Audio output failed" — check the SYS tab device picker. Most fixes are one click. Make sure the device shows in Windows Sound settings first.
- "AUDIO DISABLED" pill in the status bar — your license is in expired, trial-no-internet, or clock-tampered state. Sys → Account tells you which one and what to do.
- Show file won't load — File Integrity box runs automatically and tells you which audio it can't find. Relocate flow walks you through it. Audio paths in the .sp2k are absolute — moved your music library? Re-point the show.
- License says expired but I just paid — Account tab → if it doesn't refresh, hit Release then re-Activate with the same key. If it sticks, email support with your order number.
- System clock is wrong / accidentally tampered — Windows Settings → Time & Language → turn ON "Set time automatically" + "Set time zone automatically." Reboot. Anchor refreshes, gate clears.
- WMA / AIFF won't decode — those formats route through the bundled ffmpeg auto-convert. If conversion fails (rare), drop the file in Audacity, export as WAV, drag the WAV in.
- Cue tile shows the filename but firing does nothing — the audio file behind that cue can't be reached on disk. File Integrity should flag it; if it didn't, check the Relocate flow.
- App won't open — Task Manager → check for a lingering SimplePlay2000.exe process. End it, retry. If it crashes on launch, email support — the crash log lands in
%APPDATA%\SimplePlay2000\.
While the library fills in
The app's own Welcome modal (System tab → "Welcome to SimplePlay2000" pill) covers the core in 90 seconds. It runs the same tour every operator sees on first install.
Got a question that can't wait? Email sp2ksupport@gmail.com. A real person answers.