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Koala Sampler

Chapter 10

Perform

Sixteen live effects under your fingers, and how to record the result.

Written in our own words from the Koala manual’s perform, main menu and effects chapters. The Koala manual

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In this chapter · 4
  1. 10.1Play your song live
  2. 10.2How the live effects respond
  3. 10.3The 16 live effects, one by one
  4. 10.4Record your performance
10.1Basics

Play your song live

The PERFORM screen turns your sequences into a performance. You play the song, throw the 16 live effects over it, mix it and record what comes out. It’s also a good source of new material, because you can resample with the effects applied.

Play your song

  1. Tap PERFORM.
  2. Tap PLAY to start the sequencer, and tap it again when you want to stop.
  3. Tap a SLOT to jump to another sequence.
  4. Touch an effect bar, and that effect goes over the whole mix.

On a phone held upright, the effects are split across two pages, VANILLA and STRAWBERRY. Turn it sideways and all 16 appear together. How the live effects respond explains how the bars behave.

Where to next

From the community

The Best App For Beatmakers (Koala Beginner's Tutorial)

TAETRO

A 32-minute tour with chapters, from mic sampling and editing to sequences, the Perform page, resampling and the Mixer. Sponsored by Synido, and filmed before Koala 2.0.

How to Live Perform on $4 Koala Sampler, just like an SP404 | GAS Therapy #7

playpm

Performing a beat live on Koala the way you would on an SP-404, in about three minutes. From 2020.

Koala for Beginners Lesson 5- Master bus FX, Performance FX, 8 bar loops

small plates music

Basic mastering with the master bus effects, plus ways to keep the eighth bar interesting using Perform effects.

10.2Basics

How the live effects respond

Each live effect is a bar on the PERFORM screen, and it works on your full mix. An effect comes in when you touch its bar and drops out when you let go. Where you touch matters, and the marks on a bar tell you how it will respond.

Three kinds of bar

What the bar looks likeEffectsWhat sliding does
Split into horizontal sectionsSTUTTER, CUTTEREvery section stands for a tempo division, so you choose a rhythmic value by where you touch.
Divided in the middlePITCH, FILTER, VIBROFLANGEThe effect changes according to which way you slide from the middle.
No marksEvery other effectSliding gives you more of the effect. TALKBOX moves between vowel sounds instead.

Your sound runs through the effects from top left to bottom right, so each active effect works on what the ones before it have already done.

Keep effects on with HOLD

  1. Tap HOLD.
  2. Touch the effects you want. They now stay on after you lift your fingers.

Gestures

Hold an effect bar and slide
Applies that effect until you let go.
HOLD
Makes effects stay on after you let go.On the Perform screen

You aren’t limited to one effect at a time. Multi-touch lets you stack several, and all 16 can run together.

From the community

  • No sound at all? Check STUTTER isn’t on. It loops whatever it caught when you pressed it and blocks new sound, so switch it off or press HOLD to release the effects. via elf audio Help: no sound

Looping in Koala Sampler | part 1 - BASICS

Rooshie

Part one of a live-looping series: sequence length, pad layout, counting, and adding bus, mic and Perform effects as you go.

Koala Sampler’s New Pitch Bend & Perform FX Automation | Tutorial

elf audio

elf audio’s October 2026 walkthrough of recording pitch bends, editing them in the automation editor and recording Perform effects into a sequence. Both need Samurai.

Koala Sampler Tutorial - EP 14 - The FX Rack

NervousCook$

A demo of the live effects in the FX rack, so you can hear them before you try them.

How to Live Perform on $4 Koala Sampler, just like an SP404 | GAS Therapy #7

playpm

Performing a beat live on Koala the way you would on an SP-404, in about three minutes. From 2020.

10.3Basics

The 16 live effects, one by one

Here’s what each effect does and which way to slide it. They all work on the full mix, and How the live effects respond explains how the bars behave. If you’re new to them, try one at a time over a sequence you know well.

LIVE · CRUSHOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the lower the sample rate.

LIVE · PITCHOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

Above the middle of the bar, all pads play higher.

LIVE · COMBOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the slower the delay time.

LIVE · RINGOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the faster the modulation.

LIVE · REVERBOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the bigger and longer the reverb.

LIVE · STUTTEROn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the shorter the repeats.

Range 1/2 bar to 1/64 bar

LIVE · GATEOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the higher the threshold.

LIVE · FILTEROn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the VANILLA page.

SLIDE UP

Above the middle of the bar, you get the high-pass filter.

LIVE · CUTTEROn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the faster the muting.

Range 1 bar to 1/64 bar

LIVE · REVERSEOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the longer the reverse time.

LIVE · DUBOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the slower the delay and the longer the feedback.

LIVE · TEMPO DELAYOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the longer the delay.

LIVE · TALKBOXOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE

Moves between different vowel sounds.

LIVE · VIBROFLANGEOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

Above the middle of the bar, you get the flanger.

LIVE · DIRTYOn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

The higher you go, the more overdrive you get.

LIVE · COMPRESSOROn the Perform screen. On a phone held upright, it’s on the STRAWBERRY page.

SLIDE UP

The higher the setting, the more drastic the ducking.

From the community

Koala Sampler Tutorial - EP 14 - The FX Rack

NervousCook$

A demo of the live effects in the FX rack, so you can hear them before you try them.

10.4Basics

Record your performance

RECORD SONG captures your performance as you play it, sequence changes and live effects included, and gives you a WAV file at the end. Use it when the take itself matters, not just the notes.

Record a take

  1. Tap MENU, then RECORD SONG. Koala is now armed.
  2. Go to the SEQUENCE or PERFORM screen and tap PLAY. Recording starts along with the sequencer. Tapping the recording timer starts it too.
  3. Perform your song.
  4. Stop the sequencer or tap the recording timer. Either one ends the recording.
  5. Enter a name for the file when Koala asks.
  6. Share the file, or save it to a destination folder you choose.

Gestures

Tap the recording timer
Starts the recording or, once it’s running, finishes it.With RECORD SONG armed

From the community

The Best App For Beatmakers (Koala Beginner's Tutorial)

TAETRO

A 32-minute tour with chapters, from mic sampling and editing to sequences, the Perform page, resampling and the Mixer. Sponsored by Synido, and filmed before Koala 2.0.