native homebrew, fixed-point DSP, built-in mic sampler. everything runs on the device.

descry (v.) — to catch sight of something distant or hidden; to discern.

new here? read the user guide — quickstart, the data model, every screen, all FX commands, sampling and performance tricks.

what it is

descry is a portable tracker in the tradition of LSDj, Dirtywave M8 and the discontinued Korg DSN-12: song → chain → phrase hierarchy, hex editing, a set of synth engines, and the 3DS touchscreen for live input.

it needs a New 3DS/2DS — the synth uses the faster CPU and the extra core. old 3DS is not supported.

screenshots

features

sequencer

• song (256 rows × 8 tracks) → chain (16 rows + transpose) → phrase (16 steps)
• phrase steps: note · instrument · velocity · 3 FX columns
• 23 FX commands (pitch, arp, retrig, delay, kill, filter, sends, LFO, chance, conditional trigger, hop, tempo...) with a built-in reference: press SELECT on an FX column to open the command list
• per-instrument mod tables (3 FX lanes × 16 rows, adjustable tick rate)
• groove patterns (ticks per step) and swing
• key/scale snap for the touch keyboard (11 scales)
• per-phrase length for polymetry
• live mode: quantized chain launch per track, solo pads
• clone (deep copy) for chains and phrases, undo/redo, block selection copy/paste

instruments (all fixed-point, 32 kHz)

• wavsynth — classic waves with unison/detune, plus user wavetables (drop single-cycle WAVs on the SD card)
• FM — 4 operators, 8 algorithms, feedback, per-op ADSR and waveform
• sampler — chops/slices, loop modes, WAV loader with folder browser
• drumkit — 16 pads → 16 sample slots
• DSN voice — 2 VCO / VCF / 2 EG / 2 MG analog-style voice
• preset banks for each engine

mixing / performance

• 8 tracks × 4 voices, per-track filter (LPF/HPF/BPF/notch), bitcrush, downsample, LFO routing, pan
• global ping-pong delay + reverb, sidechain duck, soft-clip master with DC blocker
• mixer view with touch faders, meters and peak hold
• KAOSS-style XY pad: two assignable destinations, per-track or all tracks at once, parameters ramp back on release
• analog sticks mirror the XY pad (left stick = the same assignable pair, right stick = sends/crush); can be toggled off

sampling

• record from the built-in mic straight into a sample slot (hold ZR)
• 12 procedural drum/tone generators — build a kit with no files at all
• sample editor: trim, normalize, reverse, fades, chop, copy

misc

• 6 color themes (tap the DESCRY logo to pick)
• fullscreen oscilloscope (L+SELECT)
• screenshots to SD (R+SELECT, saves both screens as BMP)
• battery + clock in the header, autosave on exit

controls

input	action
D-pad	move cursor
A / B	edit value ±1 · X / Y — ±16 (context-dependent)
L / R (tap)	previous / next view
L + D-pad	BPM · R + ↑↓ groove · R + ←→ swing
ZL + X / Y	copy / paste · ZL + B / A — undo / redo
ZL + SELECT	clone (song/chain) · selection mode (phrase)
SELECT	preview note · FX command list (on FX columns)
L + SELECT	fullscreen oscilloscope
R + SELECT	screenshot → SD
ZR (hold)	mic record
START	play / stop · SELECT + START — exit
touch	keyboard / pads / XY pad / faders / tabs

install

grab the latest release:

• CIA (recommended on CFW) — install descry.cia with FBI; the app gets its own home menu icon + banner
• 3DSX — unzip descry-v1.0.0.zip, copy the 3ds folder to the SD card root, launch from the Homebrew Launcher
• descry.3ds — CCI for flashcarts

the zip also carries five demo projects and a starter pack of single-cycle wavetables — worth grabbing even if you install the CIA.

build

requires devkitPro with the 3DS toolchain:

sudo (dkp-)pacman -S 3ds-dev
make        # descry.3dsx
make cia    # descry.cia (needs makerom + bannertool on PATH)
make cci    # descry.3ds

produces descry.3dsx — copy to /3ds/descry/ on the SD card and launch from the homebrew launcher.

files on SD

everything lives under sdmc:/3ds/descry/:

• session.tr3d — autosaved session
• project_XX.tr3d — 16 save slots
• sample_XX.s16 — recorded/loaded samples
• wav/ — put your own WAVs here (subfolders work)
• wavetable/ — single-cycle WAVs for the wavsynth USER shape
• screens/ — screenshots
• render.wav — song export

architecture

core/          # platform-independent (also builds on x86 for testing)
  audio/       # fixed-point math, mixer, voices, reverb
  dsp/         # SVF filter, LFO
  synth/       # wavsynth, fm, sampler, drumkit, dsn, mic, wav loader
  sequencer/   # types, project, player, serialization, FX
  ui/          # views, navigation, editing, themes
platform/3ds/  # libctru, ndsp audio, citro2d, mic
tools/         # host-side demo generators and render/analysis helpers

see also

• noise commander 3DS — a sample-based groovebox for the 3DS by gearmo, handcrafted over years and running on the old 3DS too. if descry's tracker shape isn't yours, that's where to go.
• LSDj · Dirtywave M8 — the giants whose shoulders this stands on.

license

GPL-3.0 — see LICENSE.

made by patausx. inspired by LSDj, the M8 and the DSN-12. not affiliated with Dirtywave, Nintendo or Korg.