BUFFR
Never miss happy accidents again.
A retrospective audio and MIDI recorder—with a twist
BUFFR is an always-on recorder plugin with up to two hours of multichannel audio, System Audio, and MIDI history. Every note, expression, pitch bend, and YES—even MPE—captured just in case you need it. Forgot to hit record while jamming a masterpiece? We got you. Need to mark that masterpiece? Yeah, we got markers too!
Synthesized some cool shit on your hardware? BUFFR keeps the audio and MIDI it actually receives, so you can reproduce it later—or drag the MIDI onto a track and keep going. Select it, process it, normalize it, and drag and drop it to another BUFFR, your DAW, an accepting app, or your file manager on every OS. Listen back to everything, mark it, save it, and import or export in a ridiculous number of audio formats. It's allll still here!
I developed a custom drag-and-drop protocol for BUFFR—and open sourced it!It even has a cute thumbnail while you drag things around. Check it out, fork it, use it, abuse it.
Features
Spectrogram and Spectral Grab
- See the full frequency history as an Enhanced FFT heatmap, from a whole-recording overview down to individual bins, with FFT sizes up to 16384.
- Alt-drag on the spectrogram to isolate a sound across time and frequency, then audition or drag it out.
- Reconstruct with FFT, minimum-phase, or linear-phase at the exact selection length, and audition before you drag it out.
System audio and every source
- Capture computer output as its own stereo source beside the track, without a third-party loopback cable or bridge plug-in; macOS asks for one-time permission.
- One instance also records Main plus up to seven stereo Aux inputs the host delivers, each with its own lane, monitoring, playback, drag-out, and recovery.
- The Capture Sources panel finds every audio and MIDI input, shows live signal activity, and gives host-specific routing guidance.
Always listening
- BUFFR retains up to 120 minutes of audio and MIDI, so you can pull a take after the moment has passed.
- Capture grows in one-second RAM pages and discards silent channel planes. Separate disk checkpoints recover audio, MIDI, and markers for the saved instance.
- Capture rolling, on detect, or manually, with a silence threshold you set.
Multichannel MIDI
- Retrospective capture across all 16 MIDI channels from the DAW, a global controller, or both, even with BUFFR on the master.
- Global mode opens your hardware controller's OS MIDI input directly, so BUFFR can sit on the master and still record the keyboard you're playing.
- Retains notes, velocity, CC, bend, pressure, SysEx, MPE, note expression, and supported UMP; Standard MIDI export down-converts data that SMF cannot represent.
Drag it anywhere
- Drag any selection, channel, or Spectral Grab straight into your DAW or file manager.
- 24-bit FLAC by default, or WAV, MP3, AAC, and Ogg/Opus. MIDI regions drag out as Standard MIDI Files.
- It has worked on every Linux desktop Matari has tested: Hyprland, niri, KDE Plasma/KWin, GNOME/Mutter, and Xfce, with adaptive portal/native and Zenity file dialogs.
Edit, snap, and mark
- One Snap control unifies DAW-synced grids, cached transient snap, zero-crossing snap, and MIDI snap. Hold Shift to bypass.
- Drop markers at the playhead with B or MIDI CC 20 while capturing, then name, recolor, and move them per lane.
- Offline FX covers Dynamics, Spectral, and Phase Correction, with auditions for Raw, With FX, FFT, minimum-phase, and linear-phase, all with undo and redo.
Make it yours
- Preset themes plus seed-based custom themes from nine editable tokens, with a reusable color picker.
- CLAP and VST3 across macOS, Windows, and Linux, with a sticky always-on-top window and file drop onto the editor.
Retrospective capture is only the baseline
“Retrospective” only means a recorder looks backward. The limits below show whether it protects your full workflow or one narrow stream.
| Capability | BUFFRDAW audio + MIDI + System Audio | RewindAudio + MIDI; System mode in standalone | Rolling SamplerRetrospective audio | MIDI CapRetrospective MIDI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum published historyHow far the current first-party material says the recorder can look back. | 120 minutesSelectable 1–120; dense audio remains RAM-resident, with separate recovery checkpoints | Up to 90 minutesProduct, Welcome, and settings agree; other manual sentences conflict at 30/60 | Stable: 10 minutesDefault 45 seconds; 1.4 beta says increased but gives no number | 60 minutesDefault 60 seconds; adjustable to one hour |
| DAW audio capacityWhat one loaded recorder can retain from the host. | Up to 16 DAW slotsStereo Main plus seven host-routed stereo Aux pairs | Insertion-point mixStandalone inputs are merged into one export track; the plug-in records its routed channel/master | One audio streamAudio reaching the plug-in | NoneCLAP audio passes through but is not retrospectively recorded |
| Retrospective MIDIRecover played notes and controller data after the performance. | 16 channels + MPE/UMPDAW or direct device; rich events retained in the buffer | MIDI + CC/MPEVendor warns Ableton drag-in can lose MPE and Bitwig can truncate CC | NoneAudio-only recorder | MIDI + CCMultichannel; vendor says MPE support is unfinished |
| Controller without arming BUFFR’s trackOpen a hardware MIDI device from a bus or master rather than routing it to the recorder track. | Built inSystem device opens the OS input; matching DAW/device duplicates collapse automatically | Direct device or DAW inputThe manual makes them mutually exclusive; Windows sharing can require its SharedMIDI extension and a cloned DAW port | NoneNo MIDI capture | No direct-device modeVendor’s typical setup is a record-armed, always-monitored MIDI track |
| System Audio inside the retrospective plug-inRetain computer output beside DAW material without leaving the plug-in workflow. | Built in · separate stereo laneNo third-party cable or bridge; macOS 13+ grants permission to the bundled helper | Standalone onlyExternal/System switch clears current memory; macOS reroutes output, Windows selects an app | Not in stable plug-inStable uses loopback/System Audio Bridge; 1.4 beta adds experimental Windows standalone capture | NoneMIDI only |
| Spectral extractionSelect a sound by both time and frequency before exporting it. | Only BUFFR: Spectral GrabAlt-drag, audition, then export with FFT, minimum-phase, or linear-phase reconstruction | No spectral workflowTime/waveform selection | No spectral workflowTime/waveform selection | Not applicable |
| History after a host crashWhat the documented workflow does with unsaved recorder history. | Five-second checkpointsSaved instance identity restores audio, MIDI, and markers; an abrupt tail may be lost | RAM cache with loss warningsClosing standalone or changing source/length can clear memory; no checkpoint-restore workflow in its manual | RAM loop onlyFiles are created on drag; no restore workflow in stable manual | No restore workflowManual describes the live plug-in buffer and drag-out |
| Linux Wayland-session drag-outHow retrospective file drag is handled in Linux desktop sessions. | Open Wayland/XWayland-aware backendMatari-tested on Hyprland, niri, KDE Plasma, GNOME, and Xfce; Void and NixOS also tested | No Linux build | Vendor warns drag can failSome Linux distribution/DAW combinations | No Linux build |
Matari Audio makes BUFFR. Competitor facts come from the linked first-party pages and were reviewed July 25, 2026. Each cell names the documented workflow or current source boundary instead of treating missing documentation as a feature.
Learn retrospective recording
Compare the tools, connect Bitwig, capture System Audio, or recover a performance after you forgot to press Record.
- Compare retrospective recorders
BUFFR, Rewind, Rolling Sampler, MIDI Cap, AudioRoute, and built-in DAW capture compared.
- Retrospective recording in Bitwig
Recover DAW audio, System Audio, and controller MIDI without keeping BUFFR on the armed track.
- Record System Audio in a DAW
Capture desktop and application audio beside your DAW tracks on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
- Recover audio or MIDI after playing
Understand rolling history and recover a performance after you forgot to press Record.
Specs
- Plug-in formats
- CLAP, VST3
- macOS
- 10.13 or later · Apple Silicon and Intel
- Windows
- Windows 10 or 11 · 64-bit
- Linux
- 64-bit · glibc 2.35 or later
- Host
- 64-bit DAW with CLAP or VST3 support
Independent proof
Press, producers, and real users
What people say
Translation first. Native wording directly beneath it.
Press impression“I think Matari Audio is onto something here, and my first impressions are great.”
Translated press impression“A useful plugin for creators who want to preserve unexpected ideas and great performances.”
“思いがけないアイデアや名演を残したいクリエイターにとって便利なプラグインです。”
Translated user reaction“I tried it and was impressed. BUFFR captures the output wherever it is inserted, and MIDI is easy to understand on the same timeline.”
“試して感動。BUFFR ではどこに挿しても出音をキャプチャーできる。MIDI も同一のタイムラインで表示されて分かり易い。”
Quick answers
The important stuff before you install BUFFR.
How does the BUFFR beta work?
The public beta is free and has no announced end date. Beta licenses remain valid until Matari ends the public beta; they do not expire after a fixed number of days. We will announce any change before it takes effect.
What can BUFFR capture?
BUFFR keeps up to 16 DAW audio channels, all 16 MIDI channels, and a separate stereo System Audio lane. It records while BUFFR is running in your DAW; it cannot recover audio from before the plug-in was loaded.
Does my audio or MIDI leave my computer?
No. Capture, playback, editing, processing, and export happen locally. Matari only receives licensing, download, and support data you deliberately submit.
Which systems and plug-in formats does BUFFR support?
BUFFR supports CLAP and VST3 on macOS, Windows, and Linux. The current macOS beta is unsigned and includes a local installer.
How do I get a take out of BUFFR?
Select the time, channels, MIDI notes, or spectral area you want, then drag it into your DAW or file manager. You can also export supported audio and MIDI formats directly.
How many computers can use my BUFFR beta license?
Up to three computers. Use Manage activations on the Matari activation page to deactivate an old machine and free a seat.
Community reviews
Used BUFFR? Say it straight.
Any license is welcome. Polar order matches receive Verified Buyer.
No account or key paste. Confirm Yotpo’s email after posting; reviews then enter moderation.
BUFFR roadmap
24 shipped · 1 next · 8 planned
Wheel or dragSwipe to explore←→
Download BUFFR
Every platform includes CLAP and VST3. The unsigned macOS beta includes a local installer.
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