MURAL

1 THE RECORD PAGE

THE BIG RECORD BUTTON

Tap to start recording, tap again to stop. The new take appears at the top of the Takes list, named automatically (see TAKE NAMING in Settings).

WHILE RECORDING

• Tap the big time counter to PAUSE / RESUME. The take stays one continuous file — paused stretches are simply left out.
• Tap the flag icon to DROP A MARKER at the current moment. Markers are saved with the take and shown on the editor waveform as small flags.
• The level meter shows your input. Tap the meter to reveal the INPUT GAIN slider (clean makeup gain applied to the recording). The transport buttons below stay put when the gain slider opens.

MONITORING

The MONITOR toggle lets you hear your input in headphones. When the output is the phone's speaker, the mic monitor auto-mutes to prevent feedback.

MIC PATTERN

A chip on the page cycles the mic pickup pattern (STEREO / CARDIOID / OMNI). Takes effect on the next recording. Also settable in Settings.

RECORDING THROUGH COLLAGE

The Collage strip on this page shows the current effect preset.

• Tap the strip to open the full COLLAGE WORKSTATION (section 5).
• Swipe the strip for a RANDOM preset.
• With Collage ENGAGED (the dot at the strip's right), you can record WET — the effect is printed into the take — or record dry and process later.
• ▶ COLLAGE loops your latest take through the live engine so you can hear preset/knob changes instantly.

TOP BAR

• Tuning-fork icon → the TUNER (section 2).
• Metronome icon → toggles the metronome. It clicks only while recording, in your monitor only — it is never printed into the take. If it ran during a take, the BPM and time signature are stamped onto the take name. Tempo, volume and time signature live in Settings.
• Gear icon → SETTINGS (section 10).

IMPORTING AUDIO

The load-file button opens the iOS file picker. MURAL can import: WAV, AIFF, CAF, MP3, M4A/AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC plus .mtake packages (a take + its geotag + its full Collage rack — see section 9). Imported files become normal takes.

BACKGROUND AUDIO

Recording and playback keep running with the screen off or the app in the background, and auto-resume after interruptions (calls, Siri, notifications).

2 THE TUNER

Open with the tuning-fork icon on the Record page.

TUNING BY MIC

Play into the mic (or your interface). The big note name and needle show the nearest string and how many cents sharp/flat you are. Green = in tune. Multiple tunings are available (standard and alternates) — pick one at the top.

REFERENCE TONES

Tap any string button to sound its exact pitch and tune by ear. Tap again to stop. Use headphones so the tone doesn't feed back into the mic.

MINI KEYBOARD

A two-octave keyboard sits below the reference tones — for checking a key, humming into a melody, or sketching an idea.

• POLYPHONIC: up to 6 notes at once — chords work.
• GLIDE: drag your finger (or several) across the keys and every note along the way sounds.
• OCT − / + shifts the two-octave window anywhere from C1 to C7.
• WAVE is a continuously variable waveform: SINE → SQUARE → TRIANGLE. Anywhere in between blends the shapes.

3 THE TAKES PAGE

THE LIST

Your loose takes, newest first. Each row shows the name, whether it was recorded THROUGH COLLAGE or DRY, the primary effect module, and its length.

• ▶ on a row: plays the take — by default it LOOPS through the live Collage engine (see DEFAULT LOOP in Settings), opening the take panel.
• ★ favorites a take (filter with the star at the top).
• › opens the TAKE EDITOR.
• An ↑ after the length is the CLOUD MIRROR status (section 9): muted = pending, tinted = mirrored, red ↑! = failed.

SEARCH & FILTERS

The search field filters by name. The star shows favorites only.

THE ALL VIEW IS YOUR LOOSE INBOX

ALL now shows only LOOSE (unfiled) takes — anything you've filed into a folder lives in that folder and no longer clutters ALL. Once everything is filed, ALL reads "ALL CLEAR — TAKES ARE FILED IN FOLDERS".

STASH (one-tap clean-up) When you're in ALL and have loose takes, a ⤓ STASH pill sits at the start of the folder row. One tap sweeps EVERY loose take into today's dated folder ("Stash YYYY-MM-DD", created once and reused for the day) — instantly clearing the list. Nothing is deleted; the stash folder is one tap away.

FOLDERS

The pill row shows your most recent folders.

• ☰ ALL FOLDERS (appears when you have more than 3) opens the full folder list with take counts. Tap to filter, long-press to rename/delete.
• ＋ creates a new folder.

ROW ACTIONS

• Swipe a row left to reveal MOVE (to a folder) and DELETE.
• Long-press a take's NAME to rename it inline.

MULTI-SELECT

Press-and-hold the middle of any take to enter select mode. The folder row is replaced by a command row:

• The counter at the top-left ("3/12 · TAP = ALL") toggles select-all / none.
• STASH files the selection into today's "Stash YYYY-MM-DD" folder.
• MOVE (to a folder), EXPORT (zips the selection to the share sheet) and DELETE act on everything selected. ✕ exits.

THE TAKE PANEL

Tapping ▶ opens a panel above the list with:

• The Collage strip (tap → Workstation, swipe → random preset, prev/next arrows to move between takes).
• PLAY / STOP.
• The big RE-RECORD button — the GLOBAL capture (section 7).
• Hold the record button (~half a second) to reveal + MIC — the OVERDUB (section 8).
• EDIT → the Take Editor.

MAP (⌖) The ⌖ icon in the top bar opens the take map — every geotagged take on a map.

LOOP JAM

Select a folder that holds 2 or more loops and a ↯ JAM button appears — see section 6.

4 THE TAKE EDITOR

Open with › on any row (or EDIT on the take panel). The editor shows the waveform, transport, and every editing tool.

WAVEFORM

• Tap/drag to scrub — the playhead follows your finger and plays from where you lift. PINCH to zoom in (up to ~33×); a "N.N× · FIT" badge appears — tap it to zoom back out.
• Markers dropped while recording appear as small flags.
• ▶ plays from the playhead; the skip buttons nudge back/forward.

TOP BAR

• ‹ TAKES returns to the list.
• The centre RECORD button is the GLOBAL capture (section 7) — everything you play in the editor is recorded until you stop it. A red ● RECORDING SESSION strip with a running timer shows while it's live.

THE TOOL GRID

• TRIM — drag the in/out handles (they snap to nearby transients), then APPLY TRIM. If you're in slice mode with a loop selected, tapping TRIM keeps THAT LOOP as the trim region — a precise "cut this loop out" flow.

NORMALIZE — raises the take to −1 dBFS.

• REVERSE — flips the audio (appends "(rev)" to the name). HOLD REVERSE while a loop is selected to bounce a BACK & FORTH take — the loop played forward then backward, as a new take (loops under 30s).
• FOLDER — file the take into a folder (reads FILED once it's in one).
• EXPORT — WAV / AIFF / M4A with optional peak-normalize, via the share sheet (→ Files, Dropbox, Drive, AirDrop…). M4A exports embed the take's GPS and markers. The sheet also offers MAP ROOM PACKAGE (.mtake) — audio + geotag + the full Collage rack, for Map Room.

UNDO

Trim, normalize, reverse and PRINT-pitch each keep the previous audio. After any of them an ↶ UNDO bar appears — one tap restores the take exactly (single level, per take).

SLICE INTO LOOPS

The loop-finding tool, directly under the waveform. It detects transients and the tempo, then proposes musical, beat-aligned loops.

• TAP TEMPO pad (next to SLICE): tap along with the beat BEFORE you even slice — the tapped BPM (shown live) sizes the loops when you do.
• LOOP LENGTH: with a confident tempo, dial the length in BEATS (1–32, with a BARS readout on multiples of 4) using the slider or − / + steppers. Without a tempo it falls back to seconds (1–24s), snapped to transients.
• The selected loop auditions instantly and GAPLESSLY, THROUGH COLLAGE — it keeps playing wet until you exit slice (so it feels like a performance and the session recorder captures what you hear).
• ↯ RANDOM LOOP jumps anywhere in the take.
• Loops feel the wrong length? TAP TEMPO again to re-set it, or ½× / 2× to fix an octave; RESET returns to auto. (The auto-detector also self-corrects common half/double/×1.5 errors.)
• SAVE LOOP AS TAKE cuts the loop into a NEW take (the original is never touched, and you stay in slice mode to save more). Your first two loops sit in the take list; from the third onward they collect into a "<take> loops" folder, reachable only through the folder — no list clutter.

SPLIT INTO STEMS

Separates the take into BASS / DRUMS / OTHER / VOCALS on-device (nothing is uploaded; no download — the model is built in). Takes a little while.

• Only stems that actually contain sound are created — a voice memo yields one stem, a full song up to four.
• Stems land in a "<take> stems" folder and you're taken straight there.
• Takes longer than 3 MINUTES first open the trim window so you can cut a section down, then split.
• Works best on music with drums/bass/vocals; a solo instrument mostly lands in OTHER (that's correct behaviour) — this is "good sketch" grade, for grabbing material to loop and mangle, not studio isolation.

CLEAN UP

Repairs a recording natively in a few seconds, into a new "<take> · clean". Pick the stages with the four chips below the button:

• DE-CLICK — repairs clicks/pops. (on by default)
• DE-RUMBLE — high-passes wind/handling rumble. (on by default)
• DE-HUM — removes 50/60 Hz mains hum + harmonics. (on by default)
• DENOISE — broadband noise reduction. (OFF by default)

De-click / de-rumble / de-hum are targeted and artifact-free. DENOISE is spectral subtraction — it can add "musical-noise" artifacts, so it's off by default and runs gently when you enable it. Try the first three alone first; add denoise only if they aren't enough. Your chip choices stick between takes.

TRANSCRIBE (SPEECH → TEXT) Turns spoken word into text on-device (Whisper — nothing is uploaded). The model (~60 MB) downloads on first use only. When done, a transcript sheet opens; COPY TRANSCRIPT puts it on the clipboard. The text is saved with the take — the button then reads VIEW TRANSCRIPT.

PITCH — LIVE (TEMPO FOLLOWS) A −24…+24 semitone slider that pitches the take in REAL TIME. This is varispeed — tape/sampler style — so pitch and tempo move together (+12 st = octave up at double speed).

• Drag while anything is playing — plain playback, a loop, a slice audition — and the sound bends LIVE under your finger.
• If playback is stopped, set the slider and press ▶ — it starts pitched.
• The live pitch is a PREVIEW. To keep it — so it survives for slicing, export, or the take itself — tap PRINT ±N SEMITONES; that bakes it into the audio (undoable). After PRINT, a re-slice reads the new tempo automatically, so beat-length loops stay locked.
• Extreme settings get crunchy — that's the varispeed character.
• Live preview needs takes under 15 minutes (longer ones: use PRINT).

DUPLICATE / DELETE

Bottom of the page. Delete asks for confirmation.

5 THE COLLAGE WORKSTATION

The full effects rack. Open it by tapping the Collage strip anywhere it appears (Record page, take panel, Loop Jam). The header reads SIGNAL PATH / COLLAGE. Close with ✕.

ENGAGE

Tap the COLLAGE logo / dot (top-left) to bypass or engage the whole rack. Bypassed, the surface dims and reads BYPASSED · TAP TO ENABLE.

THREE TABS

• EDIT — the effect chain (below).
• PRESETS — the built-in preset library.
• SAVED — your own saved chains.

The ‹ › arrows and dice by the preset name step through / randomise presets.

THE EDIT TAB (the chain) IN / OUT / BLEND sliders at the top set the whole rack's input, output and dry-wet. Below them, one row per effect in signal order:

• The colored ICON at the left is a BYPASS button — tap to switch that effect off (it goes hollow) or on.
• DOUBLE-TAP the row's label to LOCK it (gold 🔒) so a random preset keeps it.
• Drag the ⋮⋮ handle to REORDER the chain.
• Tap › to DRILL IN and edit that effect.

DRILLING IN (editing one effect)

• The header ICON here is also a BYPASS button — tap to switch the effect off/on without leaving the panel.
• ‹ › beside the name switch the effect's VARIANT.
• The parameters below are sliders and ‹ value › steppers.
• The ‹ back button (top-left) returns to the chain.

(Preset ‹ › arrows are hidden on this panel so they aren't mistaken for a "back to the stack" button.)

MORPH

The MORPH pill opens a blend pad — move the puck to morph between the rack's macro states.

SAVE

On the SAVED tab you can name and store the whole chain (base preset + tweaks + I/O) to recall later.

6 LOOP JAM

Select a folder with 2+ loops on the Takes page and tap ↯ JAM.

• Each loop is a pad. One plays (with a progress bar); the next queued pad switches in EXACTLY at the loop boundary — seamless, on the beat.
• Tap any pad to cue it next. RANDOM CHAIN strings pads automatically in random order.
• Everything plays THROUGH COLLAGE: the strip at the top shows the preset; tap it to open the full Workstation OVER the jam and tweak the effect live — the jam keeps playing, and it's still there when you close the Workstation.
• The record button in the top bar captures the whole performance (global capture — section 7) to a new take.
• HOLD a pad to open that loop in the Take Editor; the back button returns you to the jam.

7 GLOBAL RECORD (CAPTURE SESSION)

The round record buttons on the TAKE PANEL, the COLLAGE WORKSTATION, the TAKE EDITOR top bar, and the LOOP JAM are all the SAME recorder.

• Start it anywhere: every one of those buttons lights up, wherever you go.
• It captures EVERYTHING that plays until you stop it — take playback, slice auditions, loop-jam chains, Collage knob rides, live pitch — across page switches and take switches. Silence (nothing playing) is not recorded.
• Stop it from any of the buttons: the whole session is saved as one new take, named after where you started (e.g. "<take> · <preset>" from the take panel, "<take> · session" from the editor).
• The editor shows a red ● RECORDING SESSION strip with the true elapsed time while it's live.

8 OVERDUB (+ MIC)

Layer your voice or an instrument OVER a looping take.

1. On the take panel, HOLD the big record button — the + MIC chip appears. 2. Tap + MIC: the take keeps looping as a backing track and the mic records on top (the button reads ● MIC+LOOP). Your record dry/wet setting applies to the mic — you can sing through Collage over the loop. 3. Tap again (or STOP): a "<take> · overdub" take is saved with the MIX, and the plain loop resumes.

Use HEADPHONES: on the speaker the mic will also pick the loop up acoustically (it works, it's just lo-fi).

9 CLOUD MIRROR & MAP ROOM

MURAL can auto-copy takes — with their GPS — into a Dropbox / Google Drive / iCloud folder, so they land where Map Room watches. No account login inside MURAL: it writes to a folder you pick in the iOS Files picker, and the cloud app syncs it out.

SET-UP (once), in Settings → MAP ROOM: 1. CLOUD FOLDER → CHOOSE → navigate into your Dropbox/Drive and pick the folder. 2. Turn on AUTO-MIRROR TO CLOUD.

WHAT GETS WRITTEN, for every take (recordings, sessions, overdubs, imports):

• <name>.m4a — the audio with GPS embedded (easy for any app to read)
• <name>.mtake — the full package: audio + geotag + markers + the complete Collage rack snapshot (Map Room's native format)

Derived material is kept tidy in subfolders:

• loops/ — sliced loops • stems/ — separated stems

MIRROR ALL TAKES NOW backfills your whole library. Each take row shows an ↑ status: muted while pending, tinted when done, red ↑! on failure.

GEOTAG: with GEOTAG RECORDINGS on (Settings → MAP ROOM), each recording stores its location, shown later on the take map and carried into every export and mirror.

10 SETTINGS

• APPEARANCE Theme palettes (the accent colour flows through the whole app, including the nav pill and record buttons). Tap the active theme again to flip its light/dark polarity.
• METRONOME Tempo, volume, time signature. Clicks only while recording, monitor-only, never printed into the take.
• MAP ROOM AUTO-MIRROR TO CLOUD, CLOUD FOLDER picker, MIRROR ALL TAKES NOW, GEOTAG RECORDINGS (section 9).
• RECORDING BIT DEPTH (16 / 24-bit), SAMPLE RATE (44.1 / 48 kHz), DEFAULT LOOP (whether ▶ on a take loops automatically), MEASUREMENT MODE, and MIC PATTERN.
• MEASUREMENT MODE (off by default) captures raw, unprocessed mic — flatter and truer, but quieter with no auto-gain. Takes effect on the next recording.
• TAKE NAMING RANDOM NAMES (generated two-word names, with a selectable flavour) or sequential, plus an optional ADD TIMESTAMP suffix.
• LIBRARY Library stats; EXPORT ALL TAKES (one zip via the share sheet); EXPORT FOLDER (zip one folder); EXPORT RACK AS .KFX (save the live Collage rack as a desktop-Collage preset — drop it into ~/Library/Collage/UserPresets on your Mac); IMPORT AUDIO; and ERASE ALL TAKES.
• ABOUT Version / engine info and links.

11 TIPS, LIMITS & TROUBLESHOOTING

• HEADPHONES are your friend: for input monitoring (speaker monitoring is auto-muted), for overdubbing, and for tuner reference tones.
• Loops feel the wrong length? TAP TEMPO — on the edit screen even before you slice — overrides the auto-detected tempo instantly; ½×/2× fix octave errors.
• Pitch is LIVE: drag the slider during any playback to hear it in real time. It's a preview until you PRINT it — PRINT bakes it into the take so it survives for slicing and export.
• CLEAN UP: the safe stages are DE-CLICK / DE-RUMBLE / DE-HUM. DENOISE is off by default because it can add artifacts — enable it only if you need it.
• Stems: 3-minute cap (you'll be prompted to trim), on-device, "good sketch" grade — built for grabbing material to loop and mangle, not studio isolation.
• Every destructive edit (trim / normalize / reverse / PRINT-pitch) is undoable — once, immediately after, per take.
• STASH clears your list in one tap: it files every loose take into a dated folder. Filed takes only show inside their folder, not under ALL.
• The cloud mirror needs the Dropbox/Drive app installed with its Files integration enabled; iCloud Drive works out of the box.
• Recording and playback survive the screen turning off and resume after phone calls or Siri interruptions.