Settings
Mix and shape each instrument, set the timing of the pluck, and tune the look of the app — all from one tab.
The Settings cards
Settings is a single scrolling list of cards. Each one takes effect immediately:
- Unlock — your access. Shows the daily free time remaining, starts a 3-day free trial, unlocks unlimited practice, and restores a past purchase. Once unlocked it simply says so.
- Instrument Mixer & EQ — a master level and an 8-band EQ for each instrument, and the surpeti (below).
- Tuning Reference — the concert pitch (A4) every instrument and the tuner follow. 440 Hz is the global standard; orchestras often use 442/443, and 432 is a lower alternative.
- String Timing — the gap between each plucked string (see below).
- Background Play — keep the drone playing when you leave the app or lock the screen. Available with Premium.
- Appearance — light or dark, remembered across launches.
- Reset — put volume, pan, instrument EQ, tempo, pitch, string timing and the drone back to their defaults.
Mixer & 8-band EQ
The Instrument Mixer & EQ card has a tab for each instrument. The Tanpura tab's master level covers both tanpuras and the upper-octave layer, and beneath it a slider for each tanpura sets the balance between them, the same level as its dial on the Tanpura tab.
Open 8-band Channel EQ to shape the instrument's tone. It starts switched off; the switch at the top puts it in or takes it out. Behind the curve you see the instrument's sound live, so play it while you adjust:
- Drag a coloured handle to move its band in frequency and level.
- Pinch to make the selected band narrower or wider.
- Double-tap a handle to send that band home.
- The presets along the bottom — Flat, Warm Drone, Clarity, Deep, Soft, Focused and Phone Speaker — load a starting curve, and ↻ flattens it again.
The tanpura and the swarmandal each keep their own EQ.
Surpeti
The surpeti is a continuous, reed-like drone that sounds under the tanpura's plucked cycle — useful for vocal warm-ups and long sittings. Find it on the Surpeti tab of the mixer: switch it on and set its volume.
Configure swars chooses what it holds: three slots, Sa, Ga and Pa to begin with. For each, pick the note, switch it on or off, and set its volume relative to the others; Reset Sa-Ga-Pa puts them back. The surpeti plays with a tanpura, so start one to hear your changes.
String Timing
Open the timing controls to set the gap after each string in the pluck cycle — the changes apply live to both tanpuras.
Each string gets its own slider in seconds. Tighter gaps give a busy, percussive feel; longer gaps give a slow, spacious drone. The tap-to-set row mirrors your 4-, 5-, or 6-string layout, and Reset to defaults brings everything back if you over-tweak.
Guide, legal & contact
Scroll to the bottom of Settings for the housekeeping links:
- The app version and a tap target for the update changelog.
- Rate The Tanpura — a review on the App Store or Google Play helps other musicians find it.
- Contact Support — opens an email to [email protected] for questions or feedback.
- User Guide, Privacy, and Terms — the same pages you are reading now, linked straight from the app.
