Why it's not just AVRecorder
A system recorder gives you a raw file. This gives you a take you can work with.
Parallel pitch detection
While you record, the app runs a pitch detector in parallel and stores the readout alongside the waveform. When you replay, the pitch curve is right there — no second pass, no extra app.
Low-cut / high-cut filter
Roll off rumble, wind and HVAC at the bottom, or hiss and sibilance up top — a low-cut / high-cut filter on hand as you track. Off when you want it flat.
In-ear monitoring, with a warning
Low round-trip on modern iPads with wired headphones — hear yourself in time, not half a beat late. No headphones? The app refuses to monitor through the speaker, so it never feeds back on itself.
Gain control with a real meter
A peak meter sits next to the gain knob. Set the input level before you start — clipping is impossible to recover from, and headroom is free. We make it easy to get right the first time.
Six instrument presets
Voice, Winds, Strings, Drums, Acoustic, Off — each is a mic preset with EQ + gain dialled for that source. Auto-selected when you open the drawer. Override any of them in Settings.
Pause & resume mid-take
Phone rings, takes a sip of water, dog barks — pause, handle it, resume. The file stays open, the waveform shows the gap color-coded, no re-allocation.
Live waveform with rec-history color
Red bars = captured while recording. Brass = captured while paused or mic off. One glance tells you what is actually in the file vs. what was only monitored.
Internal or external mic
Swap freely between the built-in mic and an external one. Pull the external mic mid-session and the app handles the disconnect cleanly — no squeal, no crash.
Mains-hum removal + Nixie timer
One switch removes mains hum — the electrical buzz a nearby socket bleeds into a take. And an 8-tube Nixie timer counts the seconds, because even the clock should look the part.
Screenshot coming
Record screen — gain knob, peak meter, multicolor live waveform, pitch readout
Format & storage
Lean files. Local storage. No cloud round-trip.
We chose M4A AAC at 64 kbps mono after testing dozens of files with woodwinds, brass, strings, and voice. Below that, breath noise starts to compress strangely. Above it, the file gets twice as big without sounding meaningfully better for solo practice. Recordings live in your app sandbox — not in iCloud, not on our servers.
Walkthrough
From silence to saved take in six steps.
- 1
Open Record
Tap the record icon from the Audio Editor home. The mic permission prompt appears on first use.
- 2
Check input gain
Play a few loud notes. Watch the peak meter — keep it in the green-to-amber zone, never red.
- 3
Hit record
A live waveform unrolls left to right — red where the mic is live, brass where you paused — with the pitch readout following underneath.
- 4
Monitor
Optional: enable monitoring with headphones to hear yourself in time as you play.
- 5
Stop & preview
Stop. Play back. Trim handles let you crop the start and end before saving.
- 6
Save to Library
Name the file. It lands in your Audio Editor library, ready for marking and editing.