How to Use Voloco as a Vocal Plugin in Your Mobile DAW Workflow

If you make music in GarageBand, Cubasis, AUM, or any other AUv3-compatible DAW on iPhone or iPad, Voloco works as a professional vocal plugin directly inside your existing workflow. No need to switch apps or export files back and forth.

This guide covers how to integrate Voloco into a mobile DAW setup, beyond the basic GarageBand setup covered in our How to Use Voloco as a Pitch Correction Plug-in in GarageBand (iOS) article.
 

What AUv3 means and why it matters

AUv3 (Audio Unit v3) is Apple's standard for audio plugins on iOS. When Voloco is installed on your iPhone or iPad, it becomes available as a plugin inside any AUv3-compatible app, not just GarageBand. This means you can use Voloco's full effects library (pitch correction, harmonies, vocoder, and more) as a real-time insert effect on any vocal track, inside your DAW of choice.

The main advantage over using Voloco as a standalone app: your vocal stays inside your DAW session. You're not exporting stems and re-importing. Everything happens in one place.
 

AUv3 plugin access requires Premium

Voloco's AUv3 plugin functionality is available to Premium subscribers only. If you're using the included version of Voloco, you can still use the standalone app to record and export vocals, then import them into your DAW.
 

Compatible apps

Voloco works as an AUv3 plugin in GarageBand, Cubasis 3, AUM, Audiobus 3, and any other iOS app that supports AUv3 Audio Unit Extensions.

Note: AUv3 support is iOS/iPadOS only. Android users can use Voloco as a standalone recording app but the plugin workflow is not currently available on Android.
 

How to load Voloco as a plugin (general steps)

The exact steps vary by app, but the general approach is the same across all AUv3 hosts:

1. Create or open an audio track in your DAW.
2. Open the track's effects or plugin chain.
3. Add a new plugin and select Audio Unit Extensions (or similar).
4. Find Voloco in the list and add it.
5. Open the Voloco plugin UI and choose your effect.
6. Set your key manually. AUv3 hosts don't pass key information to the plugin, so Voloco won't auto-detect the key the way it does in the standalone app. Match the key to your session.
    

Key differences from the standalone Voloco app

When using Voloco as a plugin rather than a standalone app, a few things work differently:

• Key detection is manual. Set your key in the Voloco plugin UI to match your track's key. This is the most important step. Wrong key = wrong pitch correction.
• Multi-track features aren't available. Voloco's built-in multi-track recording is a standalone app feature. In AUv3 mode, Voloco is a single-channel insert effect. Use your DAW for track management and layering.
• Beat library isn't available. Beats and the BeatStars integration are standalone app features. In AUv3 mode, your DAW session's tracks handle playback.
   

Recommended workflow for mobile producers

A common approach that combines the strengths of both:

1. Build your beat and arrangement in GarageBand or Cubasis.
2. Add an audio track for your vocals.
3. Insert Voloco as an AUv3 plugin on the vocal track.
4. Set your key to match your session.
5. Record your vocal directly into your DAW with Voloco's effects applied in real time.
6. Mix and master inside your DAW session.

This gives you the full power of a mobile DAW for arrangement and mixing, combined with Voloco's professional vocal effects, all without leaving your DAW or bouncing files.