Beginner's guide

Make music in
your browser.

VestApps is a suite of 8 browser instruments by deciBelboy. All eight live together in VestStudio, one tab, all instruments, a mixer, a recorder, and a master recorder. No download. No account.

8 instruments Free forever No install No account Works offline
Open VestStudio →
01

Getting started

First step

Open VestStudio

Go to the VestApps home page and click Launch Studio. If it's your first visit you'll be asked to pick a symbol, that's the member gate. All eight instruments load in a single tab.

Making sound

Hit ▶ Play

Press the glowing Play button in the top bar. Acid, Drum and Seq start immediately at full volume, and the other five instruments are silent by default so you're not hit with a wall of noise.

Navigating

Swipe and tap

Swipe left/right to move between the 8 instruments. Tap the layer button (top right) to switch between Instruments, Mixer, Tape and MIDI layers. Or scroll up from any instrument to reach the Mixer.

Tempo & key

Set BPM and scale

The transport bar at the top controls BPM, key and scale globally. All instruments follow these settings. Change them while playing and everything updates in real time.

02

VestStudio — how it's laid out

VestStudio organises everything into four layers stacked vertically, and eight instruments side by side in the instrument layer. You move around by swiping and tapping.

Layer stack — swipe up/down to move between layers
MIDI
MIDI Learn panel, assign hardware controls to any parameter
double-swipe up
Tape
Tape recorder, arm and capture the stereo mix
swipe up
Mixer
8-channel mixer, faders, mute, solo and output routing
swipe up
Instruments
All 8 instruments, swipe left/right to move between them
default layer

The layer button in the top-right of the transport bar shows your current layer and cycles through them on each tap. It glows green so you can always find it. Alternatively, scroll/swipe up from the instrument layer to reach Mixer, then Tape, then MIDI.

Transport bar — left to right
🏠 Home
·
▶ Play
·
BPM − 120 +
·
Key & Scale
·
Scroll up for more ↑
Instruments ▸
·
Links
The glowing Play button pulses purple at idle, brighter when playing. The green layer button cycles through Instruments, Mixer, Tape and MIDI.
Instruments layer

Swipe left / right

Move between all 8 instruments by swiping horizontally. The nav strip at the top of each instrument shows the instrument name and accent colour. The sequence is: Acid → Arp → Chord → Drum → Glitch → Karplus → Pulse → Seq (and wraps).

Mixer layer

Scroll up from instruments

Swipe up from any instrument to reach the 8-channel mixer. Each instrument has its own fader, mute and solo button. By default only Acid, Drum and Seq are active, bring others up as you need them.

Tape layer

Session recorder

Scroll up from the Mixer to reach the Tape layer. Arm the recorder, hit Play, and it captures the full stereo mix. Download as 24-bit WAV or 192 kbps MP3. The master recorder also exports a polished mastered version.

MIDI layer

Hardware control

Double-swipe up from the Tape layer to reach MIDI Learn. Connect a MIDI controller, then assign any hardware knob or pad to any instrument parameter, volume, filter cutoff, BPM and more.

03

The instruments

All eight instruments live in the carousel. Tap one below to see how it works. Each instrument's fader in the Mixer controls its volume in the mix independently, bring instruments in and out without stopping playback.

← tap an instrument to learn how it works
04

The Mixer

The Mixer is an 8-channel audio router. Each channel corresponds to one instrument. Swipe up from the Instruments layer to reach it, or tap the layer button until it reads "Mixer".

🎚️
Fader

Drag up/down to set each instrument's volume. Double-tap a fader to reset it to unity (85). Max is 150, useful for boosting quieter instruments.

🔇
Mute & Solo

M silences a channel without moving its fader. S solos one channel so only that instrument is audible, useful for checking a part in isolation.

📼
Tape routing

Each channel has a destination selector. Route any instrument to a numbered output track, or leave it on Monitor Only for live output only.

Default mix on first play

When you press Play for the first time, the mixer automatically sets a starting mix. Acid, Drum and Seq come up at full volume, and the other five are at zero. This gives you a working drum-bass-melody groove immediately. Bring up other instruments by dragging their faders when you're ready.

Channel Instrument Default level Status
Ch 1AcidVest85● Active
Ch 2ArpVest0Silent
Ch 3ChordVest0Silent
Ch 4DrumVest85● Active
Ch 5GlitchVest0Silent
Ch 6KarplusVest0Silent
Ch 7PulseVest0Silent
Ch 8SeqVest85● Active
05

Recording

VestStudio has two ways to capture your session: the Tape layer records the live stereo mix, and the Master Recorder captures a processed, mastered version of everything.

📼
Tape layer

Swipe up to the Tape layer. Arm the recorder with the ARM button, it pulses when ready. Press Play and recording starts on the downbeat. Stop to finish. Download as WAV or MP3.

🎛️
Master Recorder

Also in the Tape layer. Runs a mastering chain of EQ, compression, brickwall limiter and normalise, then exports a polished stereo file ready to share. Separate from the raw tape recording.

Basic recording workflow
1
Set your BPM, key and scale in the transport bar. Adjust any instrument patterns or sounds you want.
2
Tap the layer button until it reads "Tape", or scroll up from the Mixer. You'll see the recorder controls.
3
Press ARM, the LED pulses amber. Go back to the Instruments layer to make any last adjustments while armed.
4
Press ▶ Play in the transport bar. Recording starts immediately. The LED turns solid red.
5
Press ■ Stop when you're done. Return to the Tape layer and use the Download WAV or Download MP3 buttons to export.
Mastered export: Use the Master & Download buttons for a finished, polished file. The mastering chain applies a high-shelf EQ boost, gentle compression and a brickwall limiter, then normalises to −0.1 dBFS. Good for sharing straight from the browser.
06

Beginner tips

Start immediately

Press Play as soon as VestStudio loads. Acid, Drum and Seq are already up in the mix, giving you a working groove in seconds. Tweak from there.

Add instruments gradually

Swipe up to the Mixer and drag up a fader to bring in a new instrument. Karplus or Arp over the top of the default three is a good next step.

Change the key mid-session

Try switching Key or Scale in the transport bar while playing. All instruments that follow the global scale update immediately, a quick way to shift the mood of the whole session.

Use the layer button

The green glowing button top-right cycles through Instruments → Mixer → Tape → MIDI. Faster than swiping when you know where you're going.

Experiment freely

Hit randomise or regen inside any instrument to change the pattern. Nothing is permanent until you record, so explore without fear.

Capture everything

Arm the Tape recorder before you start tweaking. You never know when something magical will happen, it's always running when armed and Play is pressed.

SeqVest play modes

Try the PING, RAIN or SNAKE play modes in SeqVest for non-linear melodies. The play mode bar sits just above the step grid, tap any mode while the sequencer runs.

MIDI control

Got a hardware controller? Swipe up to the MIDI layer and use MIDI Learn to map any knob or pad to any parameter across all eight instruments simultaneously.