Update December 16th 2016
The Freewheeling SVN codebase here on Sourceforge is no longer being maintainted!
The original SVN repo has been converted to git and future development will take place on the github free-wheeling team fork https://github.com/free-wheeling/freewheeling/.
The wiki documentation has also been restored and is now hosted on github.

A Good Playground

PAST/FUTURE	or	PRESENCE ?
PRODUCT	or	PROCESS ?
CONSUMPTION	or	PARTICIPATION ?
ENDLESS EDITS	or	SPONTANEOUS TRUTH ?
WARLIKE	or	WOMBLIKE ?
LINEAR	or	CIRCULAR ?
CONTROL	or	SURRENDER ?

• Focus on the ideation process
Freewheeling empowers the trance of immediate creativity by bringing us into a circular process. Time is utterly relative, and we are freed from the future-oriented mindset of product sequencing. If inspiration flows, later arranging and editing on a timeline can be done with other tools.
• Fluid and intuitive interfaces for instrumentalists
Loops grow from your inspiration. Your hands stay on your instrument.
• Record, overdub, and play in a dynamic playing field of audio loops
Multiple loops with different lengths can be recorded, triggered, cut and overdubbed at once.
Continuously variable feedback on multiple overdubbing loops- so you can journey through your soundscapes, while weaving in more solid, consistent grooves.
Loops can be syncronized to a common time pulse, and can also time-drift freely.
You can begin by just improvising- with no concept of tempo- and build from there.
• User interface and audio processing work independently
Any MIDI interface can work with loops.
Multiple MIDI interfaces can work together on a common set of loops. Try multi-player looping teams.
• Integrates with Ableton Live and other sequencers.
Already using a sequencer to arrange or jam with loops?
Plug Freewheeling in. Freewheeling provides the instrumentalist-focussed zen-like environment for your initial inspirations. Speak to your Goddesses, channel your Muses.
Then, when your groove appears, sync up via MIDI clock, and you are online with your sequencer. Now, JACK moves your audio in tempo with your sequencer, so you can move your inspirations to a timeline gracefully.

Or, start with a semi-sequenced or DJed vibe, and pull back gently into something more organic, like your voice and a bass. Layer and overdub your acoustic sounds lightly, as your sequence dissolves into something completely new.

Under Linux, Freewheeling can also use the JACK transport for sample-level syncronization with other apps.

• Control your synths live
While you are improvising, Freewheeling works to direct your focussed energy to get the right sounds.
With the integrated MIDI-controllable patch browser, you can change your whole sound quickly.
Patches can cause your MIDI keyboard, guitar, or drum signal to be routed to different synths or plugins. Combi patches can be setup to split your performance controller into several zones, each feeding a different synth. Freewheeling brings your studio modules together to work in a live setting.
• Integrated FluidSynth soft-synth
Under Linux, Freewheeling comes with a built-in FluidSynth soft-synth.
FluidSynth is a SoundFont-based synth, and it is open source.
Right away, we have a big palette of sounds to work with. Your FluidSynth patches are folded in and can be easily browsed along with your other synth patches.
• Flexible configuration system
Freewheeling's configuration system offers keyboard and MIDI bindings with parameter mappings, user variables, and math expressions. You can radically tailor how Freewheeling looks and responds, so that it works closely with how you already make music.

Free hands? Free feet? Freewheeling can be set up to capture, trigger, and play with loops in new ways. Here, we go beyond parameter X controlled by MIDI Y. You can link several pedals to control feedback for different loops, or control volumes for a bank of loops with a single fader. Setup toggles and shift keys to vary the function of common buttons. Control many synth plugins from one hardware controller. Show loops in an onscreen piano keyboard, or define a visual layout for loops assigned to your MIDI drum kit. Go under the hood to make it fly.

• Multiple loops with different lengths can be captured and triggered at once.
Loops with different lengths can be quantized based on a common time pulse.
Multiple time pulses can exist concurrently.
Polyrhythm, donkey time?-- go for it!
• Inspired moments are easy to arrange later
Loops can be saved and loaded.
Live mixdown is streamed direct to disk.
Many supported input/output formats: OGG, WAV, AU, and FLAC
• Growing your music
Inspired sets of loops can be saved together in 'scenes'.
Loops and scenes are easily named, browsed, and reloaded.
Freewheeling includes integrated patch, loop and scene browsers, or you can browse directly on your filesystem.

Both individual loops and live mix streams can be imported into other audio tools for remixing. Full timing information is striped to disk, and can be converted to provide time markers within Ardour.


• Multiple inputs allow improvising in a group
Input combinations for grabbing loops are easily selected--
Grab loops from vocals 1 & 2 together, or just tabla, or synth and guitar.
If you punch record a bit late, Freewheeling is forgiving and grabs the missing audio from before your punch.