A 6-track tape-loop stompbox plugin for macOS. AU, VST3, and Standalone — Universal binary (Apple Silicon + Intel).
LoopStation is a vintage-styled, sample-accurate looper inspired by classic boxes like the Boss RC-505 and Ditto X4. It runs as an effect plugin in any modern DAW (Logic Pro 10/11, Ableton Live, Reaper, Cubase, …) or as a standalone app for desktop jam sessions.
- 6 independent tracks, record/play/overdub each one
- Multi-track Sync — first recording locks the master loop length; subsequent overdubs auto-quantize to multiples of master, all phase-locked to a global cursor
- DAW transport integration — Logic spacebar plays/pauses the looper; engine cursor follows the host PPQ so loop bar/beat aligns to the DAW position
- Bar-quantize — record/play presses can defer to the next bar boundary
- 1-bar Count-In — analog needle counts you in with a glowing dial
- Per-track Play/Stop, Mute, Loop, Volume controls
- Live waveform display + tape-reel animation
- Real-time-safe DSP — zero allocations on the audio thread, atomic parameter access, lock-free UI getters
Visual reference: see design/LoopStation.html for the original mockup.
- macOS 10.15 Catalina or later (Logic 11 requires macOS 13.5+)
- Apple Silicon (M-series) or Intel x86_64 — Universal Binary, runs natively on both
- An AU- or VST3-compatible DAW (or just the Standalone app)
Pre-compiled Universal binaries (latest release):
| Format | Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Audio Unit (Logic, GarageBand, etc.) | 3.0 MB | LoopStation-1.3.3-AU.zip |
| VST3 (Ableton, Reaper, Cubase, …) | 3.0 MB | LoopStation-1.3.3-VST3.zip |
| Standalone macOS App | 3.4 MB | LoopStation-1.3.3-Standalone.zip |
⚠️ The plugins are ad-hoc signed only (no Apple Developer ID), so macOS Gatekeeper will block them on first launch. See the install instructions below for the unblock command.
- Download and unzip
LoopStation-1.3.3-AU.zip. - Move
LoopStation.componentto your AU plugins folder:(Or system-wide:mv ~/Downloads/LoopStation.component ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/— requires admin password.) - Remove the macOS quarantine flag (required because the plugin isn't notarized):
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/LoopStation.component
4. Flush Logic’s AU cache so Logic re-validates the new plugin:
killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar- Launch Logic. On first load, Logic will run validation (~10 sec). LoopStation appears under Effect → Audio Units → Wahsh AI Intelligence → LoopStation.
- Download and unzip
LoopStation-1.3.3-VST3.zip. - Move
LoopStation.vst3to your VST3 folder:mv ~/Downloads/LoopStation.vst3 ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
- Remove the quarantine flag:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/LoopStation.vst3 - Restart your DAW and rescan plugins (most DAWs do this automatically).
- Download and unzip
LoopStation-1.3.3-Standalone.zip. - Move
LoopStation.appto/Applications(or anywhere you like). - Right-click
LoopStation.app→ Open. macOS will warn that the app is from an unidentified developer; click Open anyway. (Subsequent launches won't ask again.) - On first launch, macOS will request microphone permission so the looper can record audio. Grant access.
If the right-click trick doesn't work on newer macOS versions, also run:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/LoopStation.app- Connect a sound source — guitar, mic, synth, etc. on track 1's input bus (or use the mic in Standalone).
- Tap the left footswitch (REC/PLAY) to start recording. Tap again to stop and start playback.
- Tap REC/PLAY again to start overdubbing onto the next track.
- Tap the middle footswitch (PLAY/STOP) to pause/resume all tracks. Hold for ~½ second to reset all playheads to bar 1.
- Tap the right footswitch (STOP/CLEAR) to stop. Hold for ~1 second to erase every track and start fresh.
- Toggle Sync ON in the right-side stack.
- Optionally toggle Quantize ON so the first record press aligns to a bar boundary, and Count-In ON for a 1-bar lead-in.
- Record your first phrase. The length you record locks the master loop length for the session.
- Subsequent overdub presses are deferred to the next master-loop boundary, so every track stays phase-locked.
- In a DAW, hitting the host's spacebar resumes the looper at the DAW's current bar/beat.
Requires a recent Xcode + CMake 3.22+. JUCE 8.0.4 is fetched automatically.
git clone <this repo>
cd looper-clause
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --parallel
# Binaries land in:
# build/LoopStation_artefacts/Release/AU/LoopStation.component
# build/LoopStation_artefacts/Release/VST3/LoopStation.vst3
# build/LoopStation_artefacts/Release/Standalone/LoopStation.app
# Unit tests
./build/LoopStationTestsThe CMake project produces a Universal Binary (arm64;x86_64) by default. Override with -DCMAKE_OSX_ARCHITECTURES=arm64 to skip x86_64 if you don't need it.
Logic says "validation failed" on first launch.
Almost always the quarantine flag. Quit Logic, run the xattr -dr command above, then killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar, then relaunch Logic.
"Damaged and can't be opened" error on Standalone.
Same fix: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/LoopStation.app.
Standalone hears nothing. First launch must grant microphone permission. Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and enable LoopStation.
DAW doesn't see the plugin.
- AU: Make sure it's in
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/(note the plural "Components"), notComponent. - VST3: same trap —
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/notVST. - Most DAWs cache plugin lists; force a rescan in plugin preferences.
Logic 11 specifically.
LoopStation is fully Logic 11 compatible (tested via auval). If a previously-installed older version is misbehaving, delete it and re-install: rm -rf ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/LoopStation.component then re-copy the new bundle.
Built with JUCE 8.0.4. Audio processing, UI, and design © Wahsh AI Intelligence.
Released under the MIT license. See LICENSE if present, or assume MIT.
Version 1.3.2 — May 2026. See releases/ for archived builds.