User Manual

1Getting Started

Interface Overview

Reel's interface is organized into five zones, from top to bottom:

• Display Panel — Timecode, track info, mode indicators, and level meters
• Control Buttons — Five circular buttons: Mixer, Inputs, Metronome, Settings, and Library
• Reel Disc — The large central disc for scrubbing and pitch control
• Mode Controls — CUE, PITCH, and LOOP mode buttons with +/- controls
• Transport Controls — Record, Play, Stop, Rewind, and Fast Forward

Your First Recording

1. Open Reel and grant microphone access when prompted.
2. Tap REC to start recording. A red dot appears next to the timecode.
3. Tap STOP to finish. Your recording is saved automatically.
4. Tap PLAY to listen back. Rotate the disc to scrub through the audio.

2Display Panel

Timecode

The large timecode display shows the current position in H.MM.SS format (hours.minutes.seconds). During playback, the display scrolls smoothly to show fractional seconds.

Track Name & Status

Below the timecode, the display shows the current track name or status message. Status overlays appear for 2 seconds when actions are triggered (e.g., "NEW REEL REC", "PLAY", "STOP", "CUE 001").

Recording Indicator

A red dot appears next to the timecode whenever recording is active.

Mode Indicators

Three labels — CUE, PITCH, and LOOP — show the current state of each mode:

• Grey — Mode is off
• Red — Active / recording / adjusting
• White — Locked / navigate / playback

Track Selector

Four numbered boxes (01–04) show which track is currently selected. The active track is highlighted.

Level Meters

Dual-channel (L/R) level meters display 12 rows of circular dots on the right side of the panel. During recording, the IN label lights up showing input levels. During playback, the OUT label lights up showing output levels. Rows 10–11 are the red peak zone — if these light up consistently, your input is too hot.

3Quick Reference

Every action at a glance:

4The Reel Disc

The reel disc is the centerpiece of the interface — a rotary control that behaves like a physical tape reel.

Scrubbing stops automatically at the start and end of the audio — it won't wrap around.

5Transport Controls

The transport bar at the bottom of the screen provides the core recording and playback controls.

RewindForward

RecPlayStop

REC (Record)

• Tap to start recording. The display shows "NEW REEL REC" and a red dot appears.
• Tap again during recording to pause. Tap once more to resume.
• When recording to Tracks 2–4, Track 1 plays back simultaneously (overdub).

PLAY

• Tap to start playback. Tap again to pause.
• In CUE Navigate mode, playback starts from the currently selected cue point.
• Tap PLAY while recording to finalize the recording and immediately begin playback.

STOP

• Single tap — Stops playback or recording. Position stays where it is.
• Double tap — Stops and resets position to the beginning (0:00:00).

REW (Rewind)

• Hold to rewind. Speed starts at 1x and ramps up to ~10x over one second.
• Release to decelerate smoothly back to normal speed.
• You can switch directly from Rewind to Fast Forward without releasing first.

FF (Fast Forward)

• Hold to fast forward. Same speed ramping as Rewind.
• Release to decelerate. Supports mid-press direction switching.

6Mode Controls

Three mode buttons sit between the disc and transport controls. Each cycles through three states. The +/- buttons on either side change behavior depending on which mode is active.

CUE Mode

Tap the CUE button to cycle: Off → Add/Delete → Navigate → Off

PITCH Mode

Tap PITCH to cycle: Off → Adjusting → Locked → Off

LOOP Mode

Tap LOOP to cycle: Off → Recording → Playback → Off

7Recording

Single-Track Recording

Tap REC with no existing recording loaded. Audio records to Track 1 as a WAV file at your configured sample rate and bit depth. The display shows "NEW REEL REC".

Overdub Recording

With an existing recording loaded, select Track 2, 3, or 4 using the +/- buttons, then tap REC. Track 1 plays back through your headphones/speakers while the new track records simultaneously. The project directory is created automatically.

Punch-In Recording

Seek to the position you want to re-record (using the disc or cue navigation), select the target track, and tap REC. The original audio from that point forward is temporarily replaced with your new recording. When you stop, the punch recording is spliced seamlessly into the original track.

Pause & Resume

During recording, tap REC to pause. The position is maintained. Tap REC again to resume recording from the same point.

Count-In

Enable count-in from the Metronome settings. When active, pressing REC triggers a 4-beat count at your set BPM before recording begins. The display shows "COUNT" during the count-in.

Multi-Input Recording (USB Audio Interface)

Connect a USB audio interface to record up to 8 input channels (4 stereo pairs) simultaneously to separate tracks. Configure input routing in the Inputs panel. Each input pair maps to a track (1–4).

8Playback

• Tap PLAY to start. Tap again to pause. All tracks in a project play simultaneously.
• Use the disc to scrub to any position before or during playback.
• Hold REW or FF for speed-ramped navigation (up to ~10x).
• Enable variable speed via PITCH mode (0.25x–4.0x) — speed persists when locked.
• In LOOP Playback mode, audio loops seamlessly between your IN and OUT points.

9Mixer

Tap the Mixer button to open the 4-track mixer panel. Each track has independent controls:

• Volume — Vertical slider (0–100%). The orange fill shows the current level.
• Pan — Horizontal slider from L (left) to R (right). Center is the default.
• Mute (M) — Turns red when active. Silences the track completely.
• Solo (S) — Turns white when active. Mutes all other non-soloed tracks.

10Cue Points

Cue points are saved markers that let you quickly navigate to specific moments in a recording.

Adding Cue Points

Enter CUE Add/Delete mode (tap CUE once), then press + at the desired position. Cue points are auto-numbered (CUE 001, CUE 002, etc.) and saved permanently with the recording.

Navigating Between Cues

Enter CUE Navigate mode (tap CUE twice), then use + and - to jump forward and backward between cue points. Press PLAY to start playback from the selected cue.

Deleting Cue Points

In CUE Add/Delete mode, press - to remove the most recently added cue point.

11Library

Tap the Library button to open the Reel Library where all your recordings are organized.

Browsing Recordings

Recordings are listed by date (newest first). Each entry shows the title, duration, track count, and file format. Tap any recording to load it into the main interface.

Tags & Filtering

Create color-coded tags to organize your recordings. Tap a tag pill at the top of the library to filter. You can drag a recording onto a tag pill to assign it.

Actions

Swipe left on a recording to reveal actions:

• Share — Export via the system share sheet
• Rename — Change the recording title
• Tag — Assign or remove tags
• Delete — Permanently remove the recording

Long press any recording for a context menu with all available actions.

Import

Tap the import button to bring in audio files from your device. Supported formats: WAV, AIFF, MP3, and M4A.

Batch Actions

Tap Select to enter selection mode. Choose multiple recordings, then use the action bar to share or delete them in bulk.

12Export & Sharing

Export Formats

Auto-Normalize

When enabled in Settings, exported audio is normalized to 0 dB peak. This ensures consistent loudness across recordings without clipping.

Sharing

Share recordings via the iOS share sheet: AirDrop, email, Messages, Files, or any compatible cloud storage app.

13Settings

Audio Quality

• Sample Rate — 44.1kHz (CD quality), 48kHz (video standard), or 96kHz (high-resolution).
• Bit Depth — 16-bit (~96dB dynamic range), 24-bit (~144dB, default), or 32-bit integer (~192dB, maximum precision). Internal processing uses 32-bit float, but files are written as integer PCM.

These settings are preferences — Reel will honor them when the connected hardware supports them. The actual recording quality depends on your audio source:

Microphone

• Source — Auto (system selects), Built-in, or External (when connected).
• Studio Vocal Mode — Enables Apple voice processing: noise reduction and echo cancellation. Ideal for voice recordings in noisy environments.
• Input Monitoring — Hear the microphone input in real-time while recording.

Interface

• Haptic Feedback — Toggle on/off. Controls haptic response for buttons and disc interaction.
• Disc Sensitivity — 1 (slow, precise) to 10 (fast, broad navigation). Default is Level 5. Reset button returns to default.

Storage

• Location — iCloud Drive (syncs across devices) or On My iPhone (local only).
• Current storage usage and available space are displayed.

Export

Set your default export format: WAV, AIFF, or M4A. Auto-Normalize is an optional toggle that peak-normalizes to -0.1 dB on export only — your source recording is never modified.

14Workflows

Multi-Track Band Recording

1. Record the first instrument/part on Track 1.
2. Press + to select Track 2, then tap REC. Track 1 plays back while Track 2 records.
3. Repeat for Tracks 3 and 4.
4. Open the Mixer to adjust volume and pan for each track.
5. Use Mute/Solo to focus on specific parts during review.
6. Export the final mix from the Library.

Loop Recording

1. Record or load an existing track.
2. Tap LOOP to enter Recording mode.
3. Press + at your desired start position to set the IN point.
4. Press - at the end position to set the OUT point.
5. Tap LOOP again to enter Playback mode — audio now loops seamlessly.
6. Select a new track and tap REC to overdub within the loop.

Punch-In Re-Recording

1. Load the project you want to fix.
2. Use the disc or cue navigation to seek to the section that needs re-recording.
3. Select the target track with +/-.
4. Tap REC to begin punch-in recording at that position.
5. Tap STOP or PLAY to finalize. The new audio replaces the original from the punch-in point.

Speed & Pitch Adjustment

1. Tap PITCH to enter Adjusting mode.
2. Rotate the disc to set your desired speed (0.25x–4.0x).
3. Tap PITCH again to lock the speed.
4. Press PLAY — playback runs at the locked speed. Useful for transcription (slow) or quick review (fast).
5. Tap PITCH once more to reset to 1.0x.

15USB Audio Devices

OP-1 Field

The OP-1 Field outputs 8 channels over USB, allowing true multi-track recording — one track per channel pair. Before connecting:

1. On the OP-1 Field, go to System → USB Mode.
2. Set USB Mode to 8ch.
3. Connect to your iPhone via USB-C and select the OP-1 Field as your input in Reel.

Original OP-1

The original OP-1 is limited to 2-channel USB output — all 4 tracks are mixed into a single stereo pair. To record each track individually into Reel, use this workaround:

1. In Reel's Mixer, set the channel input for all 4 tracks to the stereo output 1–2 from the OP-1.
2. On the OP-1, mute tracks 2, 3, and 4 — leave only track 1 playing.
3. In Reel, arm Track 1 (shown as 01 on the main display) and record.
4. Next, on the OP-1, solo track 2 (mute 1, 3, 4). In Reel, press + to arm Track 2 and record.
5. Repeat for tracks 3 and 4.

16Audio Specifications