ShowRecorder

Record an XR18 or X32 gig without a laptop

Ask how to multitrack an XR18 on a forum and the answer is nearly always the same: bring a laptop, install a DAW, and keep it running at front of house all night. That was true once. It isn't any more.

The XR18 and MR18 send all 18 channels over USB, and the X32 and M32 send 32 through their USB card, to whatever is plugged in. A USB-C iPhone or iPad can take them, and ShowRecorder records each one to its own file. The phone in your pocket replaces the laptop.

What you need

  • A USB-C iPhone or iPad. An iPhone 15 or later on iOS 26, or a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 26.
  • A class-compliant USB mixer. The Behringer XR18 and Midas MR18, or a Behringer X32 or Midas M32 with its USB card. Any other class-compliant mixer or audio interface records too, with generic channel names.
  • A USB cable from the mixer's USB port to the phone or tablet. The USB cable and setup page lists which one.
  • A powered USB-C hub (recommended). A long show drains a phone; a hub with power pass-through charges it while the mixer, and a drive if you use one, stay plugged in.
  • ShowRecorder, free on the App Store. Free records every USB Channel. Pro adds the names from the mixer on the files, a second copy on a drive and more (pricing).

You don't need an internet connection. The audio comes over the cable; channel names come over the mixer's own network.

The steps

  1. Install ShowRecorder. Get ShowRecorder free from the App Store on a USB-C iPhone (iPhone 15 or later) on iOS 26, or a USB-C iPad on iPadOS 26.
  2. Set what the mixer sends over USB. On the mixer, choose the signal each USB Channel carries: the input, pre EQ, pre fader or post fader. To mix later in a DAW, the input or pre EQ is the usual pick.
  3. Plug the mixer into the iPhone or iPad. Connect the mixer's USB port to the phone or tablet, ideally through a powered USB-C hub so it charges all night. The meters come alive, one per USB Channel.
  4. Link the mixer for channel names. Join the mixer's network (the XR18's own Wi-Fi, or a router on the X32's Ethernet port), open Settings, then Mixer Link, and tap Find Mixers. The meters take the mixer's names and colors.
  5. Record a test Take, then the show. Press record for a minute at soundcheck and play it back. At the show, press record once and tap the flag at each song to drop a Marker.
  6. Open the files in your DAW. After the show, copy the Show folder to your computer with AirDrop or the Files app and drag the WAV files into Reaper, Logic, Pro Tools or any DAW.

The details of each step are already in the docs, so they aren't repeated here: USB cable and setup for the cable, the hub and the Audio interface setting, What the mixer sends over USB for routing, Mixer Link for names and colors, and Getting started for your first Take.

What you get

When you stop, each Take is a folder with one mono 24-bit WAV file per channel, at the mixer's sample rate: 18 files from an XR18, 32 from an X32. Every file starts at the same moment, so they line up on the timeline when you drop them into a DAW.

With Pro, each file is named after the channel on the mixer ("Kick", "Vox Lead") instead of "USB 01", and comes with a Show report and a Reaper project with your Markers in place. Free names them generically and keeps up to 3 Markers per Take.

Files are saved every 2 seconds as you record, so a phone call, a crash or a flat battery costs seconds, not the show. With Pro, a USB drive on the hub gets a second copy as you record.

To get the files off, use AirDrop, the Files app or the drive, then open them as described in Opening a Show in Reaper or your DAW.

The limits, honestly

  • The X32 and M32 have been tested only against an emulator so far. Try it at a rehearsal or next to your usual recorder before you count on it for a show, and tell us how it goes.
  • Lightning iPhones aren't supported. An iPhone 14 or earlier can't take the mixer's channels; you need USB-C, so an iPhone 15 or later or a USB-C iPad.
  • Plan for power. The phone powers nothing on the mixer, but recording for three hours with the screen on will drain it. Use a powered hub, or start the show fully charged.
  • Storage adds up. 18 channels at 48 kHz take about 9.3 GB per hour; the record screen shows the time left.
  • Mixing is still a computer job. ShowRecorder records; you mix the files later in your DAW.

If a laptop is still the better pick for you (for example, you mix live from the DAW), the comparison page says so plainly.

Next

Start with your own mixer page, the XR18 and MR18 or the X32 and M32, or go straight to Getting started. Questions are welcome at the support page.