Koala Sampler

What it does

A pad-based sampler and beat maker that records from the device mic, chops and loops samples, sequences them and resamples its own output. The update covered here adds AUv3 hosting: effects sit on buses A and B or the main mix, and instruments load from the samples page so their audio or MIDI records straight to a pad. Hosting needs the mixer in-app purchase, which also adds a channel strip and sidechain per bus, plus multi-out routing to separate host tracks.

In the demo

Jade records a voice clip, drops a drum loop on a pad and routes them through separate buses with FAC and Audio Damage effects. She then loads Pianoteq, Hammerhead, Clavgrand and an AudioThing synth as instruments, records audio and MIDI from each, and resamples the loop.

Worth knowing

AUv3 hosting only works standalone; iOS will not let Koala load plugins while it runs inside AUM or a DAW. Input effects are printed into a sample as it records, so they cannot be removed afterwards. An earlier episode covers the app before AUv3, when it was Inter-App Audio only. Anyone wanting deep per-parameter editing is working against the app’s stay-in-flow design.