Getting started

This walkthrough takes you from first launch to a saved loop in a few minutes.

1. Open ARC-24

After the launch animation, you land on the Playback screen — the main place you play and record.

Full iPhone Playback tab: ARC-24 title and "Untitled" song name; timeline showing "Bar 1 / 4 · Beat 1"; Notes / Chords / Drums / Sampler pills; pad grid; extras row (left: Hold, Pulse; right: FX, Erase); control bar with T1–T8, play, record arm, BPM.

2. Choose a sound

Tap Sound Design in the bottom bar (dial icon — third tab), or swipe left twice from Playback (past Mixer).
Select a track (T1–T8) at the top.
Scroll to Recipes and tap a preset (e.g. Evolving Cloud).
Optional: use the Preview keyboard at the bottom to hear the sound — preview never records.

Effects (reverb tail, delay, distortion, and the rest) are found by opening Mixer → FX on that track, or tap FX in the extras row on Playback.

Sound Design Track tab: Track 1 selected, Recipes section with one preset highlighted.

3. Set key and loop length

Open Setup (gear icon).
Under Music, set Key and Scale (e.g. C Major).
Set Loop length (4–32 bars; default is 4).

These apply to the loop you're editing now.

Setup tab, Music section: Key, Scale, Loop length.

4. Arm a track and record

Go back to Playback.
Tap a track tab (e.g. T1) in the control bar.
Tap record arm — it turns red when armed.
Tap Play. If preroll is on, you'll get a four-beat count-in first.
Play the pad grid. Your performance is recorded into the loop.
Tap Stop when you're done.

You only record while playback is running and a track is armed.

Playback during recording: red arm, timeline showing recording if visible.

5. Hear your loop

Tap Play again. You don't need to stay armed for playback. The timeline shows the current bar and beat, and pads flash as your part plays back.

6. Save your song

Tap the song list icon (top right).
Tap Save or Save As and name your song.

The app also saves automatically after your first recording and as you keep working.

Song list sheet with Save, New, and at least one song.

What to try next

Layer tracks — arm T2 and record a second part while T1 plays back
Try Chords, Drums, or Sampler from the mode pills above the grid
Open Mixer to adjust levels and FX (reverb tails, delay, inserts)
Read Sampler to import or record your own sounds
Read Recording for quantize, drums, and overdubbing
Connect a MIDI keyboard — MIDI input

iPad

On iPad, performance stays on the left and Mixer, Sound Design, and Setup sit on the right in that order — no bottom navigation. Everything works the same; only the layout differs.