Built like the machines it's inspired by.

NovaStudio combines the immediacy of a classic four-track recorder with the convenience of a modern, local-first web app. Every feature is designed to get you from idea to finished mix with as few barriers as possible. Your recordings stay on your device, the controls behave like real audio hardware, and the export options cover both archiving and sharing.

Runs in Chrome, Edge, and Safari

Built on the Web Audio API. File System Access on Chrome/Edge desktop and Android; IndexedDB fallback for Safari and iOS. There is nothing to install, which means a demo you start on a laptop can be reopened on another device as long as the files are stored somewhere accessible.

Live input monitoring

Hear yourself through your output while you play. Monitoring is off by default to avoid feedback and howl from laptop or phone speakers. When you do need it, plug in headphones and enable the Monitor checkbox on the input bar.

Retro mixer controls

Faders, pan knobs, mute, solo, and record-arm on every strip, styled after classic hardware. Segment meters give you an at-a-glance read on level the way an analog deck would, so you can spot clipping or weak signals instantly.

VU-style metering

The meters behave like VU meters, giving a smooth but responsive indication of level rather than a jittery peak display. This makes it easier to set a healthy input gain and keep your takes out of the red while leaving enough headroom for the mix.

Song folders

Every song is saved as its own folder with a project file and one WAV per track. That layout mirrors a session folder in a traditional DAW, so you can back up, rename, or move songs with ordinary file tools.

Adjustable latency offset

New takes are automatically compensated by the browser's reported input and output latency. A manual offset slider lets you nudge the timing earlier or later in milliseconds, which is essential when different audio interfaces report different latencies. If you want to understand why latency happens and how to reduce it, the article on audio latency explains the full picture.

Built-in click track

Toggle a metronome from the transport and set any tempo from 20 to 300 BPM. Defaults to 120 BPM and is off by default. The first click of each bar uses an accented tone so the downbeat is easy to follow. The click is generated outside the track graph and is not recorded, so you can change your mind after tracking without printing it into the audio.

WAV and MP3 export

When the mix is ready, render a final stereo WAV or a smaller MP3. WAV is lossless and ideal for archiving or sending to a mastering engineer. MP3 uses the LAME encoder and lets you choose a bitrate that balances quality and file size. The article on WAV vs MP3 goes into detail on when to use each.

Keyboard shortcuts

Space starts and stops playback. Shift+Space arms recording and starts the transport. Number keys arm tracks 1 to 9. Shortcuts only work when the deck is active, so they do not get in the way of other parts of the interface.

Ready to start?

Open the deck to record your first take, read the user guide for a step-by-step walkthrough, or browse the articles for deeper explanations of recording, mixing, and latency.