GUIDE · DAWLESS RECORDING
RECORD YOUR
GROOVEBOX
WITHOUT A DAW.
A DAW is a studio. Most of the time you only need a tape machine. REK. is a groovebox recorder for iPhone: one USB-C cable from the box to the phone, one press, and the hardware jam you just played is kept.
LAST UPDATED 1 OCTOBER 2026
What “without a DAW” means
A groovebox already does the sequencing, the sound and the mix. What it cannot do is remember the performance: the way you brought the hats in, the filter you rode, the bar you nearly lost. Opening a laptop, starting a project, arming a track and naming a file to catch that is a lot of ceremony, and the jam is usually over by the time it is done.
REK. leaves all of that out.
- No project. Record is on the first screen when you open the app.
- No track to arm. Press the red one and the pass is being written.
- No naming. Every take is named for when it happened.
- No overwriting. Every pass makes a new take, so the good one is never under the next one.
- No database. Takes are files in Files.app, where you can see them.
What you give up is everything a DAW is for: overdubs, layers, stems, editing. That is deliberate. If you need them, take the file into one afterwards.
What you need
Grooveboxes, samplers and synths people plug in
Anything that sends class-compliant USB audio arrives in REK. as an ordinary input. These are the five on the homepage, plus synths. Three have their own step-by-step guide.
- Elektron Digitakt and Digitakt II. One menu setting, USB AUDIO/MIDI. Digitakt guide.
- Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II. USB audio since OS 2.5, with nothing to set. EP-133 guide.
- Ableton Move. Check the manual for its USB audio setting.
- Akai MPC. Standalone models vary. Check yours for class-compliant USB audio.
- Roland SP-404 MKII. Check the manual for its USB audio setting.
- Synths. Over their own USB audio or through an interface. Synth recorder guide.
No USB audio on your box?
Then put an interface in the middle. Run the box’s line or headphone output into any class-compliant USB-C audio interface, and plug the interface into the phone. REK. takes the interface as its input and everything else on this page applies. The USB audio guide covers interfaces, cables and power.
Why the levels matter less than you think
The record path is 32-bit float, so a loud pass has no ceiling to clip against on the way into the phone. GAIN in REK. moves what you hear by ±12 dB and leaves the file alone. The only distortion you cannot undo is the kind the box makes itself before the cable.
Product names are the trademarks of their respective owners and are mentioned for compatibility reference only. REK. is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any of these manufacturers.
Questions
Does this replace a DAW?
No. It replaces the step before one: getting the performance down while it is happening. If you later want to arrange, overdub or mix, take the file into a DAW. Most takes never need to go that far.
Can I overdub or add layers?
No. A pass always makes a new take. There are no tracks to stack and no stems, on purpose.
My box does not appear as an input
Check that it is class-compliant rather than driver-dependent, that USB audio is switched on if the box has a setting for it, that the cable carries data and not only power, and that the box has enough power of its own. A powered hub often settles it.
How long can a take be?
One minute on the free version. One payment of $9.99 removes the limit. Takes stream from disk, so an hour plays back as easily as a minute, and low storage warns rather than refuses.
What do I get at the end?
A file. Takes live in Files.app and export as WAV, AIFF or AAC. WAV follows the take’s own depth, and normalize is off by default, so an ordinary export is a bit-exact copy. There is no MP3 and no stems.
Other guides
- A synth recorder for iPhone
- How to record your EP-133 on iPhone
- How to record Digitakt performances on iPhone
- USB audio recording on iPhone
- Something else wrong? Support has the common situations and a human on the other end.
START
RECORDING.
Record is on the first screen when you open the app. There is nothing to set up first.
$9.99unlimited recording
Free1 minute per take