Description
Most recording apps feel like software. Reel feels like hardware.
Reel is the multitrack recorder in your pocket. Ready for any recording scenario - capturing ideas in the rehearsal room, recording a live performance, digitising your vinyl collection, tracking a session on the road, or catching the moment inspiration hits. Connect your interface, hit record, capture it before it's gone.
The disc spins. The transport clicks. Rewind ramps up speed the way tape actually does. Every interaction is physical, immediate, satisfying. Designed so your hands know where everything is and your eyes can stay on your instrument.
THE DISC.
The large central reel is the heart of the app. Drag to scrub through your recording. Flick it and it spins with natural momentum. It stops where tape stops. It moves how tape moves. Nothing else on the App Store feels like this.
THE TRANSPORT.
Record, play, stop, rewind, fast forward. With the same tactile logic as a physical tape machine. Hold rewind and the speed ramps up. Release and it decelerates naturally. Every button does exactly what you expect, every time.
PITCH AND SPEED.
Slow a recording down to transcribe every note. Speed it up for quick review. The disc controls playback speed from 0.25x to 4x. Lock it in and it stays there across play and pause. Your recording, at whatever speed you need it.
CUE POINTS.
Drop a marker at any moment in a recording and jump back to it instantly. Perfect for flagging the take worth keeping, the section worth fixing, or the idea worth building on.
FOUR TRACKS. REAL WORKFLOW.
Reel works like tape, not a DAW. Record up to 4 tracks at once from a multi-output interface and capture your whole setup in a single take. Then work each track on its own. Punch in a fix on one, re-record another, overdub a new part on top, all without disturbing the rest or starting over. Set a loop point and record over a section until it's right. The built-in mic is there when you're empty-handed, with Studio Vocal Mode for noise reduction and echo cancellation that cleans up recordings in imperfect spaces.
THE MIXER.
Each track has independent volume and pan controls. Mute or solo any track while you work. Monitor your input in real time while recording so you always know what you're capturing. Save mixer states per project and export your recordings post mix.
METRONOME AND COUNT-IN.
Set your BPM, enable count-in and Reel gives you a 1-4 bar lead before recording starts. Stay in time from the first note on your recording.
WORKS WITH YOUR GEAR.
Connect any USB class-compliant audio interface or instrument directly to your iPhone and record. Plug in an OP-1 Field and capture all 8 channels across 4 stereo tracks simultaneously. Plug in a Focusrite, Zoom, or MOTU and record straight from your instruments, synths, or mics. No drivers, no setup, no laptop. Reel detects your device and records at its native quality, up to 96kHz and 32-bit.
No interface? No problem. The built-in mic with Studio Vocal Mode handles voice, acoustic instruments, and room recordings with noise reduction and echo cancellation built in.
YOUR FILES. NO LOCK-IN.
Export WAV, AIFF, or M4A to your DAW, AirDrop, or cloud storage. Organize recordings with color-coded tags. Your sessions stay on your device or iCloud. No account required.
What's new (v1.1)
Dark mode. The whole app now has a full dark theme.
A reworked mixer. Faders move like hardware, and a double-tap resets a channel. Your volume, pan, mute, and solo settings now save with each project and stay put. Solo overrides mute, like a real desk.
Redesigned level meters. They read accurately across the full range, show when you're clipping, and move smoothly. The input meter is stereo now, follows the tracks you're monitoring, and stays live while you scrub, fast-forward, and rewind.
Better sharing. Multi-track projects send as a single .zip file and bounced or shared audio includes your mix.
Large Buttons. A new accessibility option in Settings that makes the small round buttons, like the mode (Cue, Loop, Pitch) and menu controls (In/Out, Library, Settings) bigger and easier to tap.
The Metronome is now called Tempo. The Inputs button is now called In/Out.
USB-C instruments and audio interfaces work better, including a fix for silent recordings on some devices. Mic switching with EarPods is smoother and the playhead no longer jumps to the end while scrubbing. Plus general stability improvements.