Show HN: RM2000 Tape Recorder, an audio sampler for macOS
rm2000.appRM2000 Tape Recorder makes it stupid simple to grab audio samples and organize them: just record the sample, give it a title (and maybe some tags), and it is saved neatly into a directory of your choosing.
I'm a huge datahoarder and have always appreciated tools / services like PureRef and Are.na which help me make sense of everything I collect. Those services concern themselves with images and video - I wondered, why can't the same be done with music and audiofiles?
I actually got the inspiration for the filenaming scheme from the Emacs Denote package - every sample is saved in the format of title--tag1--tag2.mp3. Emacs Denote does something similar, for example an identifier--title--keywords.org .
I chose this method as any file browser with fuzzy search can search through samples, i.e. - the Ableton file browser. Just search up some of the tags, and a title, and you'll be able to find your sample.
I wanted this app to look good, as well (and is why I spent so much time making it!) The app is made with a mix of SwiftUI and AppKit, while the assets were rendered in Sketch
I appreciate your time and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. If you do download it, and find suggestions / bugs, please let me know!
Cheers
Well done; this app has been needed forever, yet shockingly missing for years. I have some homebrew solutions in Max/MSP and Ableton but they're cumbersome.
My one request / question: is there any way this could be triggered with a global shortcut? I've long dreamed of being able to record ambient audio from films while watching without leaving full screen, much like one would take a screenshot.
Alt + Command + G is the default! This can be changed from settings too :)
From the website
> Recording system audio is still very clunky: audio routing hacks, third-party tools that aren't meant for the task - too many steps.
I really love the idea because I'm one of the people who previously had to use those hacks!
But I wonder what are the privacy implications? Maybe the OP could clarify that this:
> RM2000 Tape Recorder just listens. Whatever your Mac is playing, it can record it instantly
means that nothing is retained unless explicitly recorded by the user, right? There isn't cache somewhere that captures last X minutes of audio or anything like that?
version 1.0.1 does keep a cached file undeleted (due to an oversight)....and has a lot of other bugs. version 1.0.2 doesnt!
On the other note - right now RM2000 Tape Recorder uses the ScreenCaptureKit API. This is the worst API i've ever used - every app i've tried out that uses it (Polycapture, QuickRecorder, Ayazaka) has had EXC_BAD_ACCESS problems with it, and sometimes it causes `replayd` to consume 5% of cpu even after the recording is done. I plan to move all the recording into a CoreAudio API, which is not only stable, but also has the added benefit of being more privacy conscious - it only uses the "record system audio" macOS permission instead of the "record the ENTIRE screen" permission.
right now, the app does the bare minimum of trying to record the screen. it captures a 2 x 2 window of the screen, and it throws away all the video buffers regardless. i've always felt like im actually doing something that apple wouldn't like and they just didn't see it. moving to the new API is one of my top priorities, and it still lets me keep the minimum requirement at macOS 14.6+
Amazing, thank you for the insights!
Should be an instabuy for me... alas this app is not available in my country. "cette app est actuellement indisponible dans votre pays ou votre région".
same , croatia
Same :(
Watching the demo video klep a sample from youtube and drag it into Ableton makes me cringe. Holy lossy recompression Batman!
I like the design, very "Delicious Era". That rosetta icon gave me hope it worked on PowerPC though (Rosetta 2 icon is different)
Hi everyone, seeing all the new responses here - I will want to warn of a bug on 1.0.1 that prevents some samples from getting saved properly, and all that is left is a hidden "cached" audiofile on the sample directory. I've fixed it in version 1.0.2 and it should be approved by App Store review team soon :)
why call it a tape recorder instead of a digital recorder? nothing in the skeuomorphic design even hints at a tape recorder and looks much more like a digital recorder. if it's a tape recorder, do you introduce tape hiss based on a preference of what tape formula is being used? maybe then introduce a NR option? also, what type of tape are you recording too? is it cassette tape, or a professional studio tape? that would also have quality implications to consider. what about dirty heads or pinch roller that is sticking so the tape doesn't move at a constant rate? also, is it assumed that it's always a new tape with each recording, or will it emulate sound quality degradation of multiple re-use of the same tape? could be a cool easter egg like the crayon color picker with a system clock set far into the future
or is this just a for the lulz throw back because it's kool type of name?
I plan for more skeuomorphic themes in the future (i got very tired of looking at the same design for 3 months!)
but yes this is more of a "remember when..." kind of design. i do have some drafts for easter eggs that tie more into "real world problems" :P
Tried and bought!
One bug (possibly) that I found was that if the recorder is running in the background, the global record does start and stop, but nothing pops up to save the file. Will this be fixed in 1.0.2?
Oh wow, just tried it and youre right. This is a regression, pre-launch after you finished recording with the global hotkey, the icon in the dock would bounce and it would bring up the main window to start editing. Ill fix this in the next minor release
I like Oneohtrix Point Never :)
The original name of the project was actually supposed to be `replica.app`!
Had to change it because an AI company came out with an AI music tool called replica...but i hope daniel lopatin comes across it one day :D
Wow, I see Garamond! It's been a long time. :)
Very close to Garamond! Its "Instrument Serif" - i wouldve put Garamond but I don't know if i have the rights to that.
if my eyes do not deceive me, Oakley has been using Garamond for their advertisements in the last couple of years
Love the app, UI is great, congrats! Small side note, website loads a bit slow on mi computer, using latest Chrome on latest MacOS.
God bless you brother. Adding a one time fee for more features is welcome. I wouldn't mind paying :)
I wouldn't do it until I can get a proper iPhone port out - and even then ill still have to think about it :P
"This app is currently not available in your country or region." (Ireland)
Seems like a strange thing to be geolocked?
Europe DSA restrictions - I've given Apple some documents to prove my trader status under the EU 28 hours ago, but so far they haven't approved them yet :(
great job! love the ui.
I once made a very raw chrome plugin to sample any webpage; I guess it's still functional:
https://github.com/chaosprint/webpage-sampler
I have used Audio Hijack for recording a meeting (M1 13" MBP). How does this compare?
I would still use Audio Hijack when it comes to recording long-form internal audio like zoom meetings. RM2000 Tape Recorder is meant for shorter, "music-like" recordings.
here is what I would want the average Sample Library for RM2000 Tape Recorder to look like : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJXwCcAR6uw . Its more of a tool like PureRef, Pinterest & Are.na (for grabbing quick ideas) rather than Audacity or Audition.
"lifetime" means "for the lifetime of the application" I assume? Or does it mean "for the lifetime of macOS 15 and the cost of updating the app to macOS 26 will be covered by additional purchases"? I'm just wary of this "lifetime" idea.
Lifetime, until the app store dies, and the sun blows up :)
If you buy the lifetime license , it is my intention that you get to keep using it forever, until macOS 26, macOS 36, etc.
You'll discover the meaning of the term within a lifetime
I can't get it to save to my sample directory. On 15.5 currently.
Currently a bug in 1.0.1 - there's a fix in 1.0.2, and it should be approved by App Store review team shortly :)
i guess this goes here , too
https://existential.audio/blackhole/