Koala Sampler — Full Operations Manual

1. Getting Started

• Open Koala → 4×4 grid of pads. 16 pads visible, 64 total across 4 banks (A/B/C/D). Switch banks by swiping left/right or tapping bank buttons.
• Tap any pad → microphone icon → record from phone/computer mic. Release to stop. Sound is on the pad. That's it — 2 seconds from silence to playable sample.
• Or: tap Import → browse device storage → select WAV/MP3. Loaded onto the selected pad.
• MPK Mini IV: USB OTG (mobile) or USB (PC) → Koala auto-maps pads and keys to the 16 on-screen pads. Velocity-sensitive. Play with real hardware feel.
• Organization: Use Bank A for drums, Bank B for bass/melodic samples, Bank C for vocal chops, Bank D for FX and transitions. 96 sounds organized by purpose.

2. Pad Editing — Every Control

• Tap a pad to select it → tap Edit at the bottom to open the editor.
• Trim: Set start and end points in the waveform. Cut dead silence, isolate the hit, tighten the sample. Drag handles or type exact positions.
• Pitch: Shift in semitones (-24 to +24) and fine-tune in cents (-100 to +100). Pitch a vocal down 5 semitones for instant dark lo-fi character. Pitch a kick down 3 for deeper sub. Pitch a snare up 2 for a tight crack. Cents tuning for matching pitch to the track's key precisely.
• Reverse: One toggle flips the sample backward. Reversed cymbals for transitions. Reversed vocals for texture. Reversed kicks create suction effects before a drop.
• Loop: Enable for sustained sounds. Set loop start and end points within the sample. Crossfade option for seamless cycling without clicks. Essential for bass notes, pads, ambient textures, and sustained vocal samples.
• Choke Groups: Assign multiple pads to the same choke group — triggering one silences the others. Essential for open/closed hi-hat (open hat stops when closed triggers). Also prevents multiple bass notes from ringing simultaneously.
• One-shot vs Gate: One-shot plays the full sample regardless of how long the pad is held. Gate plays only while held — release = stop. Drums usually want one-shot. Bass and pads usually want gate mode.
• Chromatic Mode: Map one sample across multiple pads at different pitches. Each pad plays the same sample shifted up/down by semitones. Now play melodies from a single sample — a vocal stab becomes a chromatic instrument.

3. Recording Samples — Every Method

• Mic sampling: Tap pad → mic icon → record. Voice, instruments, ambient sounds, a record playing, kitchen percussion, street noise — anything the mic captures becomes a pad sample. Instant.
• File import: Import → browse → select WAV/MP3. From sample pack folders, recorded voice memos, downloaded sounds.
• Internal audio (mobile): Some phones support internal audio recording — capture audio from other apps (YouTube, Spotify, games) directly into Koala without a mic.
• Resampling — Koala's Secret Weapon: Koala can record its own output back into a new pad.
  • Play a sequence with effects → tap Resample → Koala captures the full processed output as a new sample on a fresh pad.
  • Now that new pad contains the entire beat — layered, effected, mixed — as a single audio clip.
  • Chop THAT resampled pad into new pieces. Add more effects. Resample AGAIN. Each pass adds complexity and character.
  • Infinite creative depth from simple starting material. Three rounds of resampling can turn a single vocal sample into an entire atmospheric soundscape.

4. Effects — Per-Pad Processing

• Each pad gets its own independent effect chain. Select a pad → tap Effects:
• Filter: Low-pass (remove highs for warmth), High-pass (remove lows for airiness), Band-pass (isolate a frequency range for telephone/radio effect). Cutoff and resonance controls. Sweep the cutoff for DJ-style filter transitions.
• Bitcrusher: Reduce bit depth for lo-fi crunch. 16-bit = clean. 8-bit = retro game. 4-bit = destroyed NES. 1-bit = pure digital noise. Essential for chiptune, lo-fi, and intentionally degraded aesthetics. Also reduces sample rate for aliasing artifacts.
• Delay: Echo effect with time (spacing between repeats), feedback (number of repeats), and mix (wet/dry balance). Ping-pong option for stereo bouncing. Tempo-sync available.
• Reverb: Room, hall, plate algorithms. Mix control. Add space and depth. Short reverb for room presence. Long for ambient wash.
• Stutter: Rapid-fire repetition of the sample. Chops the audio into fast repeats in real time — glitch fills, buildup effects, transition stutters. Rate control (slow stutters to machine-gun rapid).
• Sidechain: Duck this pad's volume when another pad triggers. Classic pump effect — bass ducks on every kick hit. Set the source pad, threshold, and release. The backbone of modern electronic and trap production.

5. Sequencer

• Tap Sequence tab → tap Record → play pads in real time. Koala captures every hit with timing and velocity.
• Quantize: After recording, quantize snaps hits to the nearest grid position. Choose resolution — 1/16 for standard, 1/8 for loose, 1/32 for detailed programming.
• Overdub: Play the sequence back → tap Record again → play more pads on top. New hits layer over existing ones without erasing. Build the beat layer by layer: kick first, snare second, hats third, percussion fourth.
• Sequence length: 1 to 64 bars. Most beats use 4 or 8 bar sequences.
• Patterns: Save multiple sequences as separate patterns. Chain patterns for arrangements — Pattern A (verse) × 4, Pattern B (chorus) × 2, Pattern A × 4, Pattern B × 4.
• Swing: Adjustable after quantize. Offsets even-numbered hits late for shuffle/groove feel.

6. Quantize & Transpose

Quantize

• Post-recording quantize snaps hits to grid. Resolution from 1/8 to 1/32.
• Swing applied after quantize for groove.
• Or leave unquantized for raw, human timing. Some producers never quantize — the imperfections ARE the character.

Transpose

• Per-pad pitch in Edit mode. Semitones and cents.
• Chromatic mode: one sample across pads at different semitone intervals. Play melodies from a single source.

7. Looping

• Sequences loop automatically during playback and recording. The sequence IS the loop — it repeats.
• Pad-level loop: Enable Loop in pad Edit → sample sustains and cycles while the pad is held. Set loop points for seamless repetition.
• Overdub as looping: Sequence plays → record more hits each pass. The loop grows with each layer.
• Pattern chaining: Save patterns and arrange them for full song structures.
• Resampling as looping: Play a loop → resample into a pad → now the entire beat is a single one-shot. Chop that for new variations. The loop becomes source material for the next creation.

8. Mixing

• Mixer view: Volume and pan per pad. Visual level meters.
• Mute/solo individual pads for focused listening and arrangement.
• Master volume and master effects on the output bus.
• Per-pad effects chains for independent processing (see Section 4).

9. Exporting

• Full mix: Export as WAV or MP3. The complete beat rendered to a single file.
• Stem export: Each pad rendered as a separate WAV file. Import individual stems into FL Studio, Cubase, Ableton, or any DAW for full arrangement and professional mixing.
• Share: Directly from mobile to SoundCloud, BandLab, email, cloud storage, messaging apps.

10. Controls & Gestures

11. Pro Tips — The Kokumo Method

• Resample EVERYTHING. Layer effects → record output → chop the recording → add more effects → record again. Three rounds of resampling turns a simple clap into an alien texture nobody else has. The depth is infinite.
• Speed is the point. Koala is for capturing ideas before they disappear. Don't overthink — record the sample, sequence the beat, export stems, polish in the main DAW later. 5 minutes from idea to exportable beat.
• Koala = sketchbook, DAW = canvas. Sample and sketch in Koala. Arrange and mix in Cubase/Ableton/Bitwig. Use each tool for what it's best at.
• Chromatic mode for melodies. One vocal sample pitched across 12 pads = a full chromatic instrument. Play melodies from a single recording. Sound design from a single source.
• Bitcrusher for chiptune. Set bitcrusher to 4-bit or 8-bit → instant retro game console sound. Layer with clean samples for depth. The lo-fi artifact becomes the texture.
• $5 investment. Professional producers use Koala in real workflows. Kenny Beats demos it regularly. The price-to-power ratio is unmatched in music production.