KOALA

SAMPLER
MANUAL
Last updated: Tuesday, April 23, 2024
 CONTENTS
1. Introduction

2. General Overview
2.1. Sample Screen
2.2. Sequence Screen
2.3. Perform Screen
2.4. Main Menu

3. Quick Guide
3.1. Add samples to pads
3.2 Record a Sequence
3.3. Perform a Song

4. Sample
4.1. Sample Sources
4.2. Monitoring Input
4.3. Import Audio
4.4. Extract Audio From Video Files
4.5. Copy, Swap, Merge and Extend Pads
4.6. Sample Controls: Volume, Pitch, Pan, Edit, Delete
4.7. Sample Editor
4.8. Mix and EQ
4.9. Chopping Samples
4.10. Split Stems
4.11. Time Stretching
4.12. Mute and Solo

5. Sequence
5.1. Sequencer Controls
5.2. Timeline Controls
 5.3. Tempo Menu
5.4. Sequence Copy, Mix and Add to End
5.5. Sequence Controls
5.6. Keyboard Modes [SAMURAI]
5.7. Sequence Grid
5.8. Grid Controls

6. Perform
6.1. Perform a Song
6.2. Record a Song
6.3. Live Effect Controls
6.4. Mixer
6.5. Mixer Effects Controls

7. Main Menu
7.1. Create New Song
7.2. Load Song
7.3. Save and Save As
7.4. Record Song
7.5. Resample Loop
7.6. Export
7.7. Export Options
7.8. Import Audio
7.9. Import Video
7.10. Settings
7.11. Help
7.12. Get Live Lite

8. Settings
8.1. General Settings
8.2. Audio Settings
8.3. MIDI Settings
8.4. Extras Settings

9. Effects
9.1. Perform FX
9.2. Mixer Effects
9.3. Background Effects

10. In-App Purchases

10.1. Samurai
 10.2. Mixer

11. AUv3 Functionality

11.1. AUv3 Instrument (no input captured)
11.2. AUv3 Effect (input captured)
11.3. Multi-Bus AUv3 Mode

12. Specifications
 1. INTRODUCTION
Koala is a multi-platform, fun and powerful sampler. Record with the mic of your
phone or tablet, import audio, extract audio from video files, sequence or resample
your ideas and screen record performances with unparalleled immediacy.
Koala can hold up to 64 samples of any length. 32 sequences are available for
arrangement. 16 multitouch live effects can be used during the performance and
another 26 effects can be assigned to 5 channels in the mixer section.

Koala’s mixer, available as a paid in-app purchase, adds 4 buses and a master
channel, with 5 effect slots each, including sidechain effect.

When resampling from Koala, you can either apply live effects or resample a
sequence with channel effects applied.
Koala can be used as a standalone app, AUv3 instrument or AUv3 8-channel multi-
bus effect unit in apps like AUM, Garageband or Logic Pro.

Screen of koala in AUM as instrument, effect, instrument into effect

When used as a multi-bus effect unit, Koala receives audio on the main input of the
app. Each pad can be assigned to 8 different output channels for individual
processing in your DAW app.

Read more about AUv3 functionality.

2. GENERAL OVERVIEW

2.1. SAMPLE SCREEN

Sample screen is used to load samples to the pads, manipulate samples and for
resampling.

When using the mic as input, additional input effects can be applied during the
sampling process.

64 pads are available for samples, divided into banks A,B,C,D.

Use powerful features like looping, stem extraction, time stretching, resampling, EQ
per pad and auto-chop.

Tap and hold any free pad to start recording from mic input. Release to stop
recording.

Image: loading Koala as effect and instrument

Pro tip: you can select additional output channels when Koala is loaded as AUv3
effect (not instrument).

2.2. SEQUENCE SCREEN

SEQUENCE screen is used to create and play back sequences. sequences can be
merged together, played live or resampled on a pad.

Tempo, time signature and quantization options of your song are all set on this
screen.

Tap the record button to start recording a sequence. Tap the play button to play
back the selected sequence.

Drag sequences over the sequencer slots to copy, merge or replace them.

Powerful trigger modes are available to play your samples in scales, piano roll or as
note repeats.

2.3. PERFORM SCREEN

PERFORM screen is used to perform and record your song.

Hit play, switch between sequences and use live effects to spice up your
performance.

Tap hold button at the bottom of the screen to lock settings for any of the 16 effects.
All 16 effects can be applied simultaneously.

The signal flows left to right, top to bottom thru all the effects.

Tap on the mixer selector to bring up Koala’s powerful mixer (in-app purchase).
Mixer offers 4 BUS channels and one main channel, with 5 effect slots on each of
them.

2.4. MAIN MENU

Tap on the burger icon to open the menu. Advanced import and export options,
saving and loading, as well as general settings.

Read more about the menu options.

3. QUICK GUIDE

3.1. ADD SAMPLES TO PADS

Koala’s default input source is the mic of your device. Tap and hold any empty pad
to start recording. Make noises, release the pad when done. This input source
changes to the audio interface is one is connected to your device.

Tap on FX button to activate mic effects. Use one of the eight input FX to mangle the
input signal during the recording.

Switch the input source selector to IMPORT FILE. Tapping empty pads will now
bring up the file selector screen.

Drag samples over to empty pads to assign them. Tap the load button to assign a
selected sample to the next free pad.
Another way to import samples is loading them from file browser or the sample
library in Koala.

Audio from video files can be imported by selecting import video in the main menu.
Switch the input source to RESAMPLE FROM APP to record a sequence or live
performance to a pad. Tap a pad you want to record to to activate recording. Play
the pads or a sequence you want to record. Tap the recording pad again to stop the
recording.

3.2 RECORD A SEQUENCE

Switch to the sequence screen to start recording your sequences.

Tap on tempo next to play and record buttons to adjust the tempo, time signature
and quantization for your song.

Tap on metronome to enable or disable the metronome sound.

Select any free sequence slot. Adjust the length of your sequence by tapping on
bars dropdown.
Tap the record button to start recording a sequence. Play pads with samples while
sequencer is running to live record a sequence.
Double tap on any sequence to open the note grid editor. Each row corresponds to
pads, starting with bank A pad 1 and going down to bank D pad 16.
Tap within the grid view to place and remove notes.
Tap and drag the end or beginning of any note to extend its length.

3.3. PERFORM A SONG

PERFORM screen is used to perform your song, play live effects, tweak the mix and
record your performance.
Tap play, switch between sequences by tapping on them and use live effects by
tapping and holding respective effects. All 16 effects can be used simultaneously
through multi-touch.
Image: hold button pressed

Tap hold button to lock in live effects without the need to tap and hold them.
Select record song in the main menu to live record your performance. Tap play
button to start the recording, tap stop when finished. The recording will be saved as
WAV file.
Change the name in the pop-up window and tap on save. You will be able to select
the destination folder after that.
 4. SAMPLE

4.1. SAMPLE SOURCES

Koala supports a multitude of input sources, such as mic, audio files, video files,
input from audio interfaces and plugins when loaded aus AuV3 effect.
Mic input lets you record any sound captured by your device.
Use one of the 8 built-in input effects to mangle input sound during the recording.
Following effects are available:

More Bass: low end boost

More Treble: mid range boost
Fuzz: classic fuzz overdrive
Robot: adds a robotic flavor
Reverb: basic reverb
8ve Up: pitches audio 1 octave up
8ve Down: pitches audio 1 octave down
Bass Synth: adds low end harmonics
When an audio interface is connected to your device, mic input changes to Input
and captures audio coming through your USB device.

When using Koala in AUv3 hosting apps like AUM, Input option captures audio
routed into Koala.
Resample from app mode lets you capture sounds within Koala. Tap any free pad to
start recording, then tap other samples or play a sequence while using live effects
in perform screen to capture longer passes on a single pad.

Pro tip: sequences can also be bounced to a pad with the bounce option in the
main menu.

Read more about bounce options.

Select import audio to bring up file selector when tapping on an empty pad.
Selected sample will then get loaded on the same pad.

Supported audio formats are whatever your OS is able to play back natively with the
default media player.

4.2. MONITORING INPUT

Tap the Monitor button to enable input monitoring. This is helpful when Koala is
capturing other instruments in AUv3 mode and will allow you to hear the instrument
in the first place.

Warning: make sure to use headphones when monitoring the mic input to avoid high
pitch feedback.

4.3. IMPORT AUDIO

Koala offers several ways to load your samples. One of them is importing audio
through the input source described in the previous chapter.
Tap on the MENU button, then choose IMPORT AUDIO. File browser appears,
which lets you browse your files, preview samples and load them individually.
Tap the LOAD button in audio preview to load selected sample on the next free pad.
Alternatively, drag the file to the preferred pad.
Tap on SAMPLES in the bottom right corner of the SAMPLE or SEQUENCE screen to
open the samples browser.

Koala’s SAMPLES browser simplifies access your samples faster with favorite
folders readily available and also load samples and whole banks from other Koala
songs.
You can add any folder on your device to your favorites by tapping on the ADD
LOCATION button. Tap EDIT button to remove folders from your favorites. Tap on
the cloud button to open iCloud in Files app.

Tap on the multi select button in the top right corner, which enables selecting and
loading multiple samples in one go.
Select a koala song in the SAMPLES BROWSER to open a preview screen of that
song.

LOAD SONG loads all content: sequences and samples from all banks.
LOAD BANK loads the selected bank of samples.
LOAD SAMPLE loads individual samples.

Pro tip: you can drag samples over to pads in your current song.

4.4. EXTRACT AUDIO FROM VIDEO FILES

Tap the MENU button, then choose IMPORT VIDEO. A window with videos on your
device will open. Tapping on any video will open that video for preview. Tap on USE
in the top right corner to extract audio and put it on the next free pad in your song.

Warning: converting videos may take a while depending on your device.

Pro tip: use the iOS screen record feature to record videos during their playback in
the web browser.

4.5. COPY, SWAP, MERGE AND EXTEND

PADS
Tap and drag a pad with a sample over a free pad to copy it. If the target pad is not
empty, you will be prompted to either

merge samples of both pads

swap samples of both pads
add the pad you’re dragging to the end of the original pad

Merging mixes both samples, replacing the sample on the target pad. Adding to the
end replaces the target pad with extended version of the sample.

Note : All parameters you set on both samples are baked in when merging and
extending them.
4.6. SAMPLE CONTROLS: VOLUME, PITCH,

PAN, EDIT, DELETE

Pro tip: tap and hold the EDIT button, then tap all the pads you want to tweak.
Changes to the VOL, PITCH, PAN and sample editor controls will be applied to all
selected pads.

Hold VOL and slide in any direction to change the volume of your sample. Tap twice
to reset back to the original volume of the sample.
Hold PITCH and slide in any direction to change the pitch of your sample. Tap twice
to reset back to the original pitch of the sample.

Pitch adjustment can be changed from fine tuning to full semitones in general
settings.
Hold PAN and slide in any direction to change the panning of your sample. Tap
twice to reset back to center.
Tap DELETE to erase the currently selected sample. A confirmation window will
open. Tap OK to confirm.
Hold DELETE and tap pads you want to delete without confirmation.

Pro tip: drag any sample up into the trash area that appears when dragging
samples.

4.7. SAMPLE EDITOR

Sample editor offers additional tools for playback, manipulation and adjustments of
your samples. When used on phones, buttons are spread over 3 pages. Tap on
arrow buttons to switch between the pages.
Open the sample editor by tapping either the EDIT button. Main area is the
waveform of your sample with controls below.
Drag the left and right corners of the highlighted red area to determine the
beginning and end of the playback.

Pro tip: select a single waveform and activate looping to make your own sample
based synthesizer. Try playing the pad in chromatic mode to create melodies with it.
Read more on chromatic keyboard mode.
Zoom in and out the waveform by pinching within the waveform area.

Pro tip: Zoom out and drag while holding the top stripe of the selected area to move
it around.
ONE SHOT: enables/disables one shot playback. When turned on, sample plays
through on tap. Off means sample plays back as long as you press it.

Pro tip: One shot mode can be set by default in the settings.

REVERSE: reverses the playback of the sample

 LOOP: activates looping of the sample with three modes available.
PING PONG loops front to back and then back to front.
LOOP POINT creates an additional marker determining the beginning of the
loop.
CROSSFADE determines the amount of fade out and fade in at the borders of
the loop.

Note: When LOOP is activated, ONE SHOT button changes to HOLD. Hold setting
means pad playback is activated with a single tap and stops when you tap it again.
ATTACK: adds an attack envelope, making the sound fade in when played

RELEASE: adds a release envelope, making the sound fade out when released

TONE: add a low pass filter to the left of the center and a high pass filter to the right
of the center

Pro tip: play with ATTACK and RELEASE while LOOP is engaged to get additional
motion in your chops.
CHOKE: adds selected sample to one of the 6 choke groups, choking any other
sample playing back in the same group. Try choke groups with open and closed hi
hats.

STRETCH [SAMURAI]: activates time stretching for the sample. Read more.
STRETCH is only available in SAMURAI, an in-app purchase.

Pro tip: tap and hold EDIT, then select all the pads you want to tweak. Control
changes will be applied to all selected pads.
TOOLS: opens a dropdown menu with additional tools

LABEL: add a custom label to the pad

CROP: trim the sample to selected area
NORMALIZE: normalizes the sample to 0 dB
TRIM SILENCE: removes silence from the beginning and end of the sample
AUTO-CHOP [SAMURAI]: divide sample into chops. Read more about
SAMURAI add-on
SPLIT STEMS: separate stems into drums, vocals, bass and other instruments.
Read more
MAKE MONO: convert sample from stereo to mono
BOUNCE: save selected area to a new pad
EXPORT: export sample as WAV file

4.8. MIX AND EQ

To see the MIX tab, activate “Show EQ” in SETTINGS. Read more.

Tap on the MIX tab to switch to the 3 pole EQ screen for the currently selected pad.

Each pad can have individual EQ settings. Tap and drag one of the three poles to
adjust their settings. Spectrogram of the sample will be shown when the pad is
played back.

Pro tip: Use multi-select by tap holding EDIT button, then selecting all pads you
want to adjust. EQ settings will be applied to all selected pads.
Left pole is a low shelf filter that changes to high pass when dragged to the bottom
of the spectrum.

Middle pole is a bell filter which acts as a notch filter with extreme Q setting.

Right pole is a high shelf filter that acts as a low pass filter when dragged to the
bottom of the spectrum.
Double tap, then swipe up or down to change the Q width of the pole. Swiping up
widens the Q, swiping down narrows it.
Tap ENABLE button to activate EQ. Great for making A/B comparisons of your
changes to the EQ.

Tap RESET to reset back to neutral position.

Tap the BUS button to determine which BUS the pad is sent to. BUS button is part of
the MIXER in-app purchase. Read more.

4.9. CHOPPING SAMPLES

Auto-Chop is available in SAMURAI mode, an in-app purchase.

Koala offers several modes to chop your samples. Tap on AUTO-CHOP in the
TOOLS dropdown to open the chopping window.
Pro tip: change the volume, pitch, panning, tone, stretch and reverse settings of
your sample as needed before entering AUTO-CHOP. Chopping is applied to a
resampled version with those settings baked in.

Use TRANSIENTS to automatically chop by transients within your sample. This

mode is useful for shorter samples and drum breaks. Reduce or increase the
amount of chops by swiping within the chops bar. The chops bar turns red if there
are not enough free pads for the current amount of chops.
Use EQUAL mode to chop the sample into equal parts. This mode is useful when
chopping loops or breaking a longer sample down into smaller chunks. Swipe the
chops bar to increase or decrease the number of chops.
Use LAZY mode to use the MPC style of chopping, placing chop markers during
the playback.
Tap the waveform to preview the chops.
Drag the markers at the bottom to change their starting points. Tap anywhere in the
blue stripe below the waveform to add chop markers.
KEEP ORIGINAL: turn on if you want to keep the original sample. It will be replaced
by the first chop when off.

CHOKE GROUP: adds all chops to the selected choke group

ONESHOT: set all chops to ONESHOT mode

PLAYTHRU: set the endpoint for all chops to the end of the sample. When off,
chops start at their marker and stop at the next marker.

4.10. SPLIT STEMS

SPLIT STEMS is a powerful stem separation feature which allows extracting up to 4
stems from your sample.

Note: This feature is not active by default, as it requires 150 MB of additional space
on your device.

SPLIT STEMS is only available in standalone mode.

Read how to activate stem separation in general settings.

4.11. TIME STRETCHING

STRETCH is available as in-app purchase SAMURAI. Read more.

Tap on STRETCH to activate time stretching. Top bar of the sample selection shows
the number of bars and the playback of the sample is locked to the song’s tempo.
Tap on top of the selected area with the number of bars to change the duration of
playback. Select one of the four stretching modes: MODERN, RETRO, BEATS and
REPITCH. Every mode has its distinct sound. BEATS mode is particularly useful
when stretching drum loops.

Note: every mode except for MODERN can be played chromatically. Read more
about keyboard mode.

Pro tip: using long durations on short selections creates interesting ambient sounds.
Create your own granular sounding synth by playing stretched pads in chromatic
mode. Read more on chromatic keyboard mode.

4.12. MUTE AND SOLO

Image: mute and solo buttons

To see mute/solo buttons, activate them in the SETTINGS. Read more.

A sequence must be playing back in order to hear mutes and solos.

Tap MUTE, then tap pads you want to be muted during the sequence playback.

Tap SOLO, then tap the pads you want to solo during the sequence playback.
 5. SEQUENCE

Koala has a powerful and easy to use sequencer. 32 sequence slots are available,
with each sequence having a max length of 64 bars.

5.1. SEQUENCER CONTROLS

Sequences can be switched during a performance by tapping on different slots
while the song is playing. Switch sequences of different length at different locations
to create interesting transitions.

5.2. TIMELINE CONTROLS

Tap play to start sequencer playback. Tap play again to stop it.

Tap the record button to start recording a sequence. sequence is recorded to the
currently selected slot. Tap record again to switch to playback. Record mode
overdubs sequences on top of previously recorded material.

Pro tip: switch to another sequence by tapping on it to continue recording

seamlessly.

5.3. TEMPO MENU

Tap the metronome button to enable or disable metronome sound.

Double tap on tempo to open TEMPO MENU.

TEMPO: tap and drag within the tempo to gradually change the tempo. Fine
dragging changes tempo in decimal increments. Fast dragging changes tempo
in full increments.
-, TAP, +: change tempo by 1 bpm with the -/+, tap the TAP button repeatedly to
set tempo
BEATS PER BAR: change the number of beats per bar. Use this setting to
change the time signature of your song
QUANTIZE: enable or disable note quantization. When disabled, recorded notes
are placed exactly as placed. Enabling quantization records notes to the
nearest 1/16th of the note.
SEQ SNAP: when disabled, end of the note is recorded as played. 1 BEAT, 1
BAR and SEQ END snaps the end of the note the respective measure.
SWING: increase or decrease amount of swing for note playback by draggin
within the SWING bar.
5.4. SEQUENCE COPY, MIX AND ADD TO

END

Drag a recorded sequence to a free sequence slot to copy it.

Drag a recorded sequence over another sequence to bring up the pop-up.

MIX: mixes both sequences together. The length is extended to the longest of the
both.

ADD TO END: adds the sequence you’re dragging at the end of the other
sequence. Length of the new sequence is extended by the length of the sequence
you are dragging.

CANCEL: cancels mixing operation.

5.5. SEQUENCE CONTROLS

KEYBOARD MODE [SAMURAI]: switches to one of the available keyboard modes
and allows you to play pads chromatically, in a predefined scale or as note repeats.
Tap on the keyboard button, the on the pad you want to play in keyboard mode.

UNDO: undos previous action

CLEAR: clears selected sequence. Alternatively, drag a sequence up into a trash

area to clear it.
Tap the BARS button to bring up the menu.

DOUBLE UP: doubles the length of the selected sequence, duplicating all notes
and settings.

+ adds one bar

- removes one bar

5.6. KEYBOARD MODES [SAMURAI]

SAMURAI in-app purchase enables a powerful keyboard mode, which lets you play
pads chromatically, locked to scales, have fine velocity control or create rhythms
with note repeat functionality.

Tap KEYBOARD button to activate keyboard mode, then tap the pad you want to
play in keyboard mode.

Tap on KEYBOARD dropdown arrow to select between the three available modes.
When keyboard mode is active, the selected pad has a keyboard icon in the
SAMPLE screen. Selecting another pad automatically switches that pad to keyboard
mode.
GRID mode shows notes locked to one of the available scales:

CHROMATIC: all 12 notes per octave are available

PENTATONIC: 5 notes per octave
MAJOR: 7 notes of the major scale per octave
MINOR: 7 notes of the minor scale per octave
WHOLE TONE: 6 notes per octave
DIMINISHED: 8 notes per octave
HEXATONIC: 6 notes per octave
JAPANESE: 5 notes per octave
PELOG: 5 notes per octave
YING ZHONG: 5 notes per octave

Use the selector to change scales.

Note: tap several areas to play chords of up to 5 voices.

Pro tip: resample a chord to a pad, then use that pad in grid keyboard mode again
to play chords that are always in scale.
Keyboard mode shows a regular piano keyboard. Keyboard can be locked to
scales.
Tap the lock button to lock/unlock the visible range of keys. When unlocked, tap and
drag the keyboard to change the visible octaves of keys.
Tap the VEL button to activate velocity mode. Pressing the higher areas of the keys
will reduce the velocity, pressing the bottom areas increases the velocity.
Note repeat mode is great for creating rhythmic content like hi hats or stabs.

Note repeat triggers either immediately or locked to ones of the tempo when SNAP
is activated.
Tap snap button to snap note repeat to first beat of the bar and enable clean
change of note repetition from 1/4th of the bar to 1/64th. When disabled, note repeat
starts on tap and allows gradual change of note repetition from left to right.

Tap TRIPLETS button to change between 1/4th and 1/3rd note repeat modes.
Tap on ADVANCED drop down to select between PITCH, VEL or OFF modes.

PITCH changes the pitch of the pad by sliding up or down.

VEL changes the velocity by sliding up or down.
OFF disables additional controls.

5.7. SEQUENCE GRID

Double tap on any grid to open the grid editor. Tapping within a free area places a
note, tapping a note removes it. Drag the beginning or the end of the note to extend
its length.
Pinch with two fingers to zoom in or out the visible area of the grid. A bar with
sequence preview will highlight the area currently visible in the grid view.
Tapping on notes that were recorded using the keyboard mode opens the piano roll
view.

Note: piano roll and keyboard mode are available as in-app purchase SAMURAI.
Read more about SAMURAI.
Tap and drag in the bar showing bar numbers to create a loop within your
sequence. This will engage loop playback of that area.
Tap in a free area, then drag to create a selection area. Selecting several notes
brings up a popup with additional options.
DELETE: deletes selected notes
COPY: copies selected notes to the buffer
SNAP: snaps selected notes by the snap setting.
 LEGATO: adds legato between all overlapping notes within the selection. Try this
with bass notes.
REVERSE: reverses the playback of the selected notes.
200%: doubles the length of selected notes
50%: halves the length of selected notes
REPEAT: duplicates the selection at the end of the selection

5.8. GRID CONTROLS

PEN: enables adding and removing notes in the grid view

VEL: enables changing the velocity of the notes. Tap and slide up/down on notes to
change its velocity. This also works with selections.

DICE: enables randomization of the notes. Tap and slide up/down on notes to
change their chance of being played. This also works with selections.

SNAP: enables snapping to grid when placing and moving notes.

UNDO: each tap undos one previous step

REDO: each tap redos one undone step

Pro tip: randomization is a great way to create ever changing sequences. Try this on
your drums or melodic notes.
SNAP menu allows you to select how fine the notes are snapped to the grid when
moving and placing notes. FREE setting allows for finest placements without
snapping to grid. SNAP END setting snaps the end of the note when changing its
length.
 6. PERFORM
Perform screen is where you spice up your performance, resample with the 16 live
effects applied and mix and record your song. Play around with effect combinations
to find your signature sound. Get creative by resampling over and over with some
effects applied.

Pro tip: get to know what the effects do by listening to how they affect your sound
with different settings. A hair thin amount of an effect might add an interesting depth
to your sound or create a texture.

6.1. PERFORM A SONG

Start/stop the sequencer and switch between the sequences similar to the
PERFORM screen.

Use the effect bars to add effects to the full mix. On the phone, effects are broken
down into two pages, STRAWBERRY and VANILLA when in vertical mode. Flip your
phone horizontally to see all 16 effects at the same time.

6.2. RECORD A SONG

Select RECORD SONG from the MAIN MENU. Engage record mode by pressing
PLAY button. Once you stop playback, recording will stop too and you will be
prompted to save your song.

Pro tip: add a few empty bars or switch to an empty sequence to add a tail to your
recording.

6.3. LIVE EFFECT CONTROLS

Signal path for the effects section is top left to bottom right. Tempo locked effects
are divided into several horizontal sections. Each section is locked to a tempo
division. STUTTER and CUTTER are tempo locked.
Effects with directional modulation are divided in the middle. PITCH, FILTER and
VIBROFLANGE modulate differently depending on where you slide from the middle.
Effects without any marks simply increase the amount of effect applied. Every other
effect

Read more about live effects.

Pro tip: Koala’s COMPRESSOR creates a ducking, almost sidechained effect when
cranked up.
Image: HOLD engaged with all effects active

All effects are applied on tap and disengage on release. Press the HOLD button to
make effects stick after release. Use all your fingers to add several effects
simultaneously. All 16 effects can be active at the same time.

6.4. MIXER

Koala features a powerful mixer with four channels and a master section. Each
channel offers five slots for effects. Put up to five effects to the MAIN channel to
create your personal mastering chain.

Note: MIXER is an in-app purchase. Tap on MIXER in the bottom right of the screen
and you’ll be prompted to purchase the update.
Route pads to different channels from the SAMPLE screen. The volume bar in the
mixer section will show you which channels have pads routed to them
Drag the red level bars on any channel to change it’s volume.
Tap the label (BUS A, BUS B, BUS C, BUS D) to change the name of the channel.
Tap the M button below any channel to mute it. Tap the S button to solo a channel.

6.5. MIXER EFFECTS CONTROLS

Tap any of the free slots to bring up the effect selection screen.
Once added, tap and drag enabled effects to change their order within the effect
chain. Experiment with different combinations and sequences to develop your
signature sound.
To remove any effect, open it, then tap on the hamburger menu and select DELETE.

Read more about available mixer effects.

 7. MAIN MENU
Last screen is the MENU screen. Options to create, load, save, export, import and
adjust settings are all accessed through the MENU.

Tap MENU to see the current name and size of your song. Information on available
storage and RAM is shown below.

Note: the number of songs you can save is only limited by the available space on
your device.

7.1. CREATE NEW SONG

Tap MENU, then NEW to start a new song. You will be prompted to save current
song if any changes were made.

7.2. LOAD SONG

Tap MENU, then LOAD to bring up the file browser. Tap on any song in the list to
load it. Tap IMPORT SONG to add a song from a different location, i.e. iCloud. Tap
on SORT dropdown to change how the songs are sorted.

7.3. SAVE AND SAVE AS

Tap MENU, then SAVE to immediately save the song. On iOS devices, songs are
continuously saved in the background with every change. When starting koala, last
state of the song you worked on last is automatically loaded.

Tap MENU, then SAVE AS to save your current song as a new file. Modal window
will pop up prompting you to enter new name for the song.

7.4. RECORD SONG

Tap MENU, then RECORD SONG to engage record mode. Recording starts once
you start the sequencer from the SEQUENCE or PERFORM screen. Recording
stops once you stop the sequencer.

You can also tap on the recording timer to start recording.

Tap the recording timer or stop the sequencer. You will be prompted to enter the
name for your recorded file. You will be able to share or save the recorded file after
that.

7.5. RESAMPLE LOOP

This option quickly resamples the currently selected sequence as a clean loop to
the next free pad in your song.

7.6. EXPORT
Exporting songs, sequences and individual samples is available thru the EXPORT
menu option.

Sample export options give you a choice of raw samples and edited samples. Raw
version is the full sample without any setting adjustments. Edited version will contain
the selection area of the sample with all adjustments made in the sample editor tool.

CURRENT SEQUENCE and ALL SEQUENCES can be exported as stems or mixed.

Stems will be a WAV file per pad in the length of the sequence. Mixed will be one
WAV file with full sequence mixed down to one stereo file.
7.7. EXPORT OPTIONS

CURRENT SAMPLE: export currently selected pad as a WAV file.

ALL SAMPLES: export a zipped file with all samples from the song.
CURRENT SEQUENCE: export currently selected sequence. Stems option
exports a zipped file with WAV file for every sample in the sequence. Mixed
option exports a single WAV file.
ALL SEQUENCES: export all sequences from your song. Stems exports a
zipped version with every pad in every sequence. Files are named numerically,
with the first number being the number of the sequence. Mixed exports a
mixdown WAV per sequence.
SHARE KOALA SONG: export .koala file and share with your other devices and
friends. File can be opened in any other version of Koala.
ABLETON DRUM RACK: export an ableton drum rack .adg file with all pads in
your project. File can be opened in any recent version of Ableton.
ABLETON LIVE SET: export either mixed down loops for Ableton Live Lite or
individual stems of sequences for paid versions of Ableton Live. This option is
ideal if you want to continue working on your song in arrangement mode of
Ableton.
GET ABLETON LIVE LITE: opens a prompt to enter your email address to get a
free version of Ableton Live Lite.

7.8. IMPORT AUDIO

Select IMPORT AUDIO to open the file browser. Last used destination is the default
starting screen. Depending on your OS, wide range of audio formats is available for
import.

Generally speaking, anything you are able to preview and listen to on your device is
available for import.
Tap LOAD button in the file preview to load the selected sample to the currently
active pad.

On tablets, file browser opens as a sidebar. Tap and hold any audio file for 1
second to activate drag mode. Drag the file to any of the pads in your song.

7.9. IMPORT VIDEO

Select IMPORT VIDEO to open the video preview window.
Tap on any video to preview it. Tap the PLAY at the bottom to play the video. Tap
USE at the top right to extract audio from the video and put it on the next free pad in
your song.

Pro tip: use Screen Recording feature of iOS to grab sounds from a multitude of
places and apps.

7.10. SETTINGS

Tap on SETTINGS to open the general settings menu of Koala.

7.11. HELP

Help opens a link in your default browser with the official help page of Koala.

7.12. GET LIVE LITE

Tap GET LIVE LITE to open a window with an email entry field. Confirm your email
and you will receive a free version of Ableton Live Lite.
 8. SETTINGS

Koala’s settings are divided into our groups: GENERAL, AUDIO, MIDI and EXTRAS.
Most settings have a small question mark icon next to the titles. Tap on them to get
a short explainer on what the option does. Tap the ABOUT button at the bottom to
open the about Koala website. Tap OK to close the settings window.
8.1. GENERAL SETTINGS

One-shot enabled by default: samples play to the end by default when on.
Hold to record: hold the pad to record when on. Tap once to engage recording,
tap again to stop recording when off.
Count in: number of bars counted in with metronome before recording starts.
Pitch knob snap to semitone: change the pitch in full semitones when on,
change in cents when off.
Enable audioshare: Audioshare app is used instead of Files app on iOS devices
when this setting is on.
Warn before delete samples and sequences: a short prompt to confirm deletion
of the sample or clearing of the sequence. WARNING: this does not apply when
 dragging samples and sequences to the trash area.

8.2. AUDIO SETTINGS

Input source (USB only): select which channels should be used when a USB
audio interface is connected.
Background audio: audio will continue playing when switching to other apps
when on.
Inter-App Audio Sync: sync through IAA with older apps when on. IAA standard
is now deprecated, with a decreasing number of apps supporting it.
 Pocket Operator sync out: send PO sync signal thru when on.
Metronome volume: use the slider to change the volume of the metronome
sound.
I/O: see the sample rate, number of channels and the buffer size.
Auto trim on record: the selection in your sample will automatically be at the of
audible content when this option is on.

8.3. MIDI SETTINGS

Important note: To trigger pads, MIDI note messages must be use. MIDI CC
messages can be used to control many other controls of Koala, but not the pads.
Enable MIDI velocity: using velocity sensitive MIDI controllers will print notes with
according velocity to the grid of Koala when this option is on.

Use MIDI mapping: enables the MIDI learn functionality. Turn this on and a button
Map MIDI will appear below this option which enters the MIDI mapping mode.
MIDI Channel: when MIDI mapping is off, you can select the MIDI channel Koala
listens to.
MIDI Note Offset: when MIDI mapping is off, you can select which MIDI note
triggers the first pad in the first bank. Each consecutive note triggers the next
pad in line.
MIDI can select pads: pads are selected by corresponding MIDI note mapped
to the pad.
MIDI can record pads: pressing a key on your MIDI controller will engage record
mode if the pad is free when this setting is on.
External MIDI clock sync: MIDI clock sync is enabled and syncs with external
gear when this setting is on.
Tap Ableton Link button to bring up the Ableton Link menu.

Ableton Link: enables and disables syncing with Ableton Link.

In-App Notifications: get notifications when other apps start or stop syncing
through Ableton Links when this setting is on.
Sync Start/Stop: sync start and stop of the sequencer when this setting is on.
Connected Peers: List of other apps syncing with Koala currently and devices
that can be added to Ableton Link sync.
Tap the CONNECT button to open bluetooth devices screen. All known bluetooth
devices are listed here, with the option to connect new devices below. Tap on any
device from the list to connect it and use bluetooth MIDI device with Koala.

Note: this setting is not available on Android, since there’s no need for this step.
Connect your bluetooth device just as you always do.

8.4. EXTRAS SETTINGS

Show EQ: Enable and disable EQ in the MIX tab of sample editor. Read more
about using EQ.
Show Mute/Solo: Enable and disable Mute and Solo buttons in the SAMPLE and
SEQUENCE screen. Read more about mute/solo.
Show file names on pads: File names are automatically added as pad labels
when this setting is on.
Show Debug Info: adds an overlay with start, end, length and samples per pixel
information on sample waveform editor.
Export bit depth: switch between 16 bit and 24 bit for exported WAV files.
Koala Version: information on the version number you’re currently using and in-
app purchases that are currently active
Stem splitter neural network: tap UNINSTALL button to remove the files required
by the SPLIT STEMS™ feature.
Background: Tap CHOOSE button to open photo preview window. Select any image
from the gallery to make it the background image of Koala.
Background Effect: After selecting an image to be used as Koala’s background, this
option appears in the menu. Select between several effects or set to NONE to
remove background effects.

Note: Animated effects engage when SEQUENCER is running. Read more about
background effects.
 9. EFFECTS

9.1. PERFORM FX

CRUSH

Bitcrusher effect. Slide up to decrease the sample rate of the signal.

PITCH

Trigger based pitch shift effect. Slide up from the middle to pitch all pads up. Slide
down from the middle to pitch all pads down.

COMB

Comb filter. Slide up for slower delay time.

RING

Ring modulation. Slide up for faster modulation.

REVERB

Stereo reverb effect. Slide up for bigger and longer reverb.

STUTTER

Tempo synced beat repeat effect. Slide up to go from ½ bar to 1/64 bar repeats
synced to your song’s tempo.

GATE

Threshold gate effect. Slide up to increase the threshold of audible sound.

FILTER

high pass / low pass resonant filters. Slide up from the middle for a high pass filter.
Slide down from the middle for a low pass filter.

CUTTER

Tempo synced gate effect. Slide up for faster muting. 1 bar to 1/64 bar
REVERSE

Reverse effect. Slide up for longer reverse time.

DUB

Dub delay effect. Slide up for slower delay and longer feedback.

TEMPO DELAY

Stereo delay effect. Slide up for a longer delay.

TALKBOX

Talkbox modulation effect. Slide between different vowel modulations.

VIBROFLANGE

Flanger / Wobble effect. Slide above the middle for flanger. Slide below the middle
for wobble effect.

DIRTY

Overdrive effect.
COMPRESSOR

One-knob compressor. Higher setting creates more drastic “duck” effect.

9.2. MIXER EFFECTS

AUTOPAN

Versatile panning effect.

DEPTH: 0.00–100%
SPEED: 0.000–30 Hz / 1/64–8 bars
 STEREO: 0.00–100%
WAVEFORM: Sinus, Square, Triangle, Saw, Inverted Saw, Random Square,
Random Triangle
TEMPO SYNC: on/off

BANDPASS

Band pass filter.

FREQ: 50–20.0 Hz
WIDTH: 0.50–20
BITCOOKER

Bit reduction and sample rate reduction with variable jitter.

SAMPLERATE: 800 Hz to 44.000 kHz

BIT DEPTH: 3–24 bit
JITTER: 0.00–100%
MIX: 0.00–100%
COMPRESSOR

Compresses the loudness of a signal to make it more uniform in loudness. Can also
modify transients.

MAKEUP: on/off
KNEE/GRAPH: switch between knee indicator and spectrogram
THRESHOLD: -42–0.00 dB
RATIO: 1.0–100
ATTACK: 0.010–30 ms
RELEASE: 10.0–1200 ms
DELAY

Filterable, syncable delay.

DELAY: 0.00000 ms to 2.50 sec / 1/64–8 bars

STEREO: on/off
TEMPO SYNC: on/off
FREQ: 100 Hz to 8.00 kHz
WIDTH: 1.0–20
FEEDBACK: 0.00–100%
MIX: 0.00–100%
DRIVE

Basic waveshaping distortion.

DRIVE: 0.000–36 dB
MIX: 0.00–100%
OUT: -90–0 dB
EQ

3-band parametric EQ

LOW SHELF/HI PASS: -18–18 dB

BELL: -18–18 dB
HI SHELF/LOW PASS: -18-18 dB
Q: 0.50–10
FILTER

Filter featuring multiple filter types and modulation options.

FILTER TYPE: Lo-pass, Hi-pass, Talkbox, Wah Wah

CUTOFF: 0.00–100%
RESONANCE: 1.0–10.0%
LFO: red dot pulsates in set speed and depth
DEPTH: 0.00–100%
SPEED: 0.000000–30 Hz / 1/64–8 bars
WAVEFORM: Sinus, Square, Triangle, Saw, Inverted Saw, Random Square,
Random Triangle
TEMPO SYNC: on/off
FLANGER

Flanger effect.

RATE: 0.00000–20 hZ
DEPTH: 0.00–100%
FEEDBACK: 0.00–100%
STEREO: on/off
FREEVERB

Basic reverb.

SIZE: 0.0000–1.0
TONE: 0.000–1.00
DRY/WET: 0.00–100%
STEREO: on/off
HI-CUT

High cut filter.

FREQ: 50 Hz to 20.0 kHz

SLOPE: 0.50–10.0
LIMITER

Lookahead limiter for mastering.

GAIN: -18.0–18.0 dB
ATTACK: 1.5–6.0 ms
RELEASE: 60–1000 ms
LO-CUT

Low cut filter.

FREQ: 50 Hz to 20.0 kHz

SLOPE: 0.50–10.0
METER

Various time and frequency domain information.

VU: VU meters and short term/momentary/integrated LUFS

SPECTRUM: visual spectrometer
SCOPE: zoomable oscilloscope
MIC

Allows feeding microphone directly into the mixer

GAIN: -18–18 dB
NOISE GATE

Cuts off audio going below a certain threshold.

THRESHOLD: -60–0 dB
ATTACK: 0.10–50 ms
HOLD: 5 ms to 2 sec
RELEASE: 3–1000 ms
SIDECHAIN: OFF, MIC, BUS A–D
REDUCTION: -90–0 dB
PHASER

Phaser effect.

RATE: 0–10 Hz
DEPTH: 0–100%
FEEDBACK: 0–100%
STAGES: 2–16
STEREO: on/off
PITCH SHIFT

Frequency domain pitch shifter.

PITCH: -12 to +12 semitones

BLEND: 0.0–100%
QUALITY: Low, Medium, High
STEREO: on/off
RING MOD

Ring modulator.

FREQ: 1.0 Hz to 8.00 kHz

MIX: 0.0–100%
DRIVE: 0.0–18.0 dB
LFO: red dot pulsates in set speed and depth
DEPTH: 0.0–100%
SPEED: 0.000000–30 Hz / 1/64–8 bars
STEREO: 0.00–100%
WAVEFORM: Sinus, Square, Triangle, Saw, Inverted Saw, Random Square,
Random Triangle
TEMPO SYNC: on/off
SIDECHAIN

Sidechain compressor. Controls the volume of CHANEL by the volume of SOURCE

SOURCE: MIC, BUS A–D

THRESHOLD: -60–0 dB
RELEASE: 10.0–1000 ms
OUTPUT: -12.0–12 dB
TAPE DELAY

Delay effect simulating analog tape loops.

DELAY: 10.0 ms to 2.50 sec

FILTER: 300 Hz to 3.00 kHz
FEEDBACK: 0.000–120%
WOW AMOUNT: 0.00000–100%
WOW SPEED: 0.04–8.0 Hz
MIX: 0.00–100%
TUNER

Instrument tuner. Picks up the channel signal.

UTILITY

Basic utilities and helpers for mixing.

CHANNEL: Stereo, Left, Right, L+R Mono

GAIN: -18.0–18.0 dB
FLIP PHASE: on/off
WARBLE

Emulates pitch wobble from a turntable or cassette.

VINYL: hold to pause audio

AMOUNT: 0–100%
WOW/FLUTTER: 0–100%
WOW SPEED: 0.05–5.0 Hz
FLUT SPEED: 5.0–25 Hz

9.3. BACKGROUND EFFECTS

Background effects are a nice way to make your Koala look unique and spice up
screen recordings of your songs.
BLINDS

Slices the background into rotating lines creating an effect of window blinds.

SPEED: change the speed of rotation.

ZOOM: change the size of each blind.
RINGS

Slices the image into rings rotating in different directions.

SPEED: change the speed of rotation.

ZOOM: change the ring’s size.
ZOOM WARP

Continuously zooms, rotates and warps the background image.

SPEED: change the speed of rotation and zoom.

ZOOM: change the size on warped regions.
ZOOM

Perpetually zooms the image from the center.

SPEED: changes the speed of the zoom effect.

WARPWARP

Warps and bends the background.

AMOUNT: changes the amount of warping.

SPEED: changes the speed of warping.
TV

Adds interlaced effect often used on CCTVs.

QUALITY: change the quality of interlace.

KALEIDODELIC

Mixture of kaleidoscope and psychedelic effects.

NUMLOOPS: change the number of loops within each section.

SPEED: change the speed of looping.
GLITCH

Computer screen glitch effect.

FREQUENCY: change the speed of glitching.

AMOUNT: change the amount of glitches on the screen.
HUEY

Splits the background into red, green and blue hues and shifts the overlays.

RGB: change the amount by which layers are shifted.

SPEED: change the speed of shifting.
MIRROR

Mirrors and moves the image from the center in two halves.

SPEED: changes the speed of movement.

ANGLE: changes the angle of mirroring.
SCROLL

Infinite scroll of the image in one direction.

SPEED: change the speed of scrolling.

ANGLE: change the angle of scrolling.
NONE

Static background image.

 10. IN-APP PURCHASES

10.1. SAMURAI

Samurai In-App purchase enables advanced features of Koala.

10.1.1. TIMESTRETCH
Time stretching allows locking the playback of the sample to a specific set of beats
and bars synced to the tempo of your song. 3 unique algorithms to stretch your
samples so they fit perfectly with your song’s BPM, and change pitch independently
of time. MODERN algorithm sounds buttery smooth, RETRO emulates classic
sampler granular timestretch, and BEATS uses transients in your sample to make
chops and loops to extend or shorten your sample.

10.1.2. PIANO ROLL

Edit your sequences on a grid, change pitch and velocity, also useful functions like
copy/paste, reverse, stretch and legato are built-in.

10.1.3. AUTOCHOP
Slices your beats automatically, auto (threshold based), manual and the classic
MPC like lazy chop.

10.1.4. 3 BAND EQ
Fine-tune your mix effortlessly. Tonally sculpt your sounds with a powerful 3 band
equalizer.

10.2. MIXER
Mixer in-app purchase adds the mixer section to the PERFORM screen.
Send pads to 4 channels of the mixer for detailed mixing and processing with up to
5 effects per channel.

Read more about mixer effects.

Adjust overall sound with fine tuned gain staging per channel. Mute and solo
channels during the performance of your song.
Add up to 5 effects to the master channel to get that unique character to your song.
 11. AUV3 FUNCTIONALITY
Koala can be loadedas AUv3 plugin in host applications like AUM, Garageband,
Logic Pro and Cubasis.

Koala cannot send transport information to the AUv3 host, meaning you need to
enable playback in your host application for the sequencer in Koala to start/stop
playback.

Koala can be loaded in three different modes apps:

as AUv3 instrument
as AUv3 effect
as a multi-bus AUv3 plugin.

Note: Stem Split and Solo/Mute features of Koala are not available in AUv3 mode.

11.1. AUV3 INSTRUMENT (NO INPUT

CAPTURED)
Koala can be loaded as an AUv3 instrument into any AUv3 compatible host
application. This makes Koala the signal source.

Note: Koala cannot capture audio thru it’s INPUT setting in this mode.

11.2. AUV3 EFFECT (INPUT CAPTURED)

Koala can be loaded as an AUv3 effect into any AUv3 compatible host application.
This enables capturing of audio thru the INPUT.

Loading Koala as effect is the preferred mode if you want to sample something
INTO Koala.

11.3. MULTI-BUS AUV3 MODE

Additional 8 output sources are available when Koala is loaded as AUv3 plugin.

Note: only AUv3 hosts supporting multi-bus functionality make additional output
destinations available. Currently, only AUM supports multi-bus format.
12. SPECIFICATIONS
Vertical and horizontal modes
Adaptive UI, works on multitudes of screen sizes
32 bit signal processing
24 bit export resolution
64 pads for samples
32 sequence slots
Unlimited length for each sequence
Samples of any length, limited only by your device’s memory
Songs of any size limited only by your device’s storage
Import any audio file your device can play back with the default media player
Import audio from video files your device can play back with the default media
player
Runs on iOS, Android, Windows, MAC and Linux platforms

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