DM1 Drum Machine for iPad
Published January 29, 2012 | 
DM1 is a classic drum machine for your iPad. It is comprised of a traditional step sequencer, a drum pad section, a mixer, an arranger, and X/Y FX pads. You can manually input grooves via the seqencer or record a performance using the drum pad section. Automatic quantization makes it easy to create beats on the fly. No need to record a groove, stop playback, hit quantize, then start playback up and keep working. Simply lay down a groove and keep building without ever breaking stride.
The mixer gives you control over the final polish of your mix, but you also have manipulative control over the individual samples. On board effects include: Overdrive, Delay, Phaser, Robotizer, Filter and Compressor.
It’s lacking some necessary features like audio copy/paste and MIDI support but FingerLab (the developer) is promising to include these sort of things in future updates.
All FingerLab music apps are on sale for $.99 making the DM1 a great buy. The sale ends January 27th so be sure to check out the DM1 and other FingerLab products.
Rebirth on iPad
Published January 19, 2012 |
Propellerhead’s Rebirth has been a popular desktop production tool for many years, so I knew it was just a matter of time before it made its way to the iPad. Rebirth is a beat making app built around the popular TB-303 and TR 808 and 809 drum machines. The groove engine behind all three of these modules is a programmable step sequencer with various effects. You’ll get a Compressor, Tempo-synced Delay, Distortion, a Pattern Controlled filter, and Mixing section for polishing your creations.
The stock sounds are good, and the app affords the user a lot of tweakable flexibility. Rebirth is compatible with other popular apps like the Korg Electribe and the IMS-20. Easy file sharing is supported and using WIFI sync you can link your iPad with another iPad to make use of both or rock out with another friend. The app also allows you to record different fader movements to give your songs that extra attention to detail.
All in all, Rebirth is a solid beat making application for the iPad, but I have received a lot of bad feedback about the app’s instability issues. My hope is that Propellerhead can correct the problem because Rebirth is a great program and now it only cost $7. If you’re into producing electronic music this is an app you’ll want to have on deck.
VirSyn Addictive Synth for iPad
Published January 4, 2012 |
VirSyn Addictive Synth is a wavetable synthesizer with extensive sound shaping capabilities. Its six oscillator engine can be tweaked and morphed through LFO’s, envelopes, and filters to create some impressive sounds – anything from squelching leads to atmospherics.
To get the most out of this app you will need to hook up a MIDI keyboard via the iPad Camera Connection Kit. The on-screen keyboard responds to touch well, but is small, so a MIDI keyboard makes a big difference. If the sound design aspect of Addictive Synth seems a bit intimidating it also comes with 128 sound presets and 32 arpeggio presets to get you going. All of these presets sounds are tweak-able as well.
The arpeggiator works great and is easy to manipulate. Achieving good results is easy with the 32 step sequencer and its stock presets. It’s also nice that you can save and share your presets with other people.
This is a solid app for the iPad. It makes use of vital functions like audio pasteboard for exchange with other apps, allows you to export loops as audio or MIDI files, and preset sharing is done thru iTunes. If you’re an electronic producer looking for a music app that delivers a nice sound then you can’t go wrong with Addictive Synth. At $9.99 it’s well worth considering.
miniSynth Pro for iPad
Published January 2, 2012 |
miniSynth Pro is a virtual analog synthesizer with some great features and cool sounds. It has FM and Subtractive synthesis as well as monophonic and polyphonic capabilities. The newest update is version 1.6 and has some great additions like virtual MIDI support, which allows you to use the app’s interface as a MIDI keyboard in conjunction with other programs. It has re-sizable keyboards, audio copy and paste, and the ability to create and save presets.
The synth engine behind the app are two oscillators with adjustable waveforms for tonal shaping. Changing the waveform drastically changes the sound. You can experiment with different combinations of waveforms to easily create your own sounds.
MiniSynth Pro comes housed with 82 stock presets and the ability to import and export thru iTunes. If you’re looking for a nice analog synth application capable of producing quality results then you have a winner in miniSynth Pro. At $4.99 it’s worth the investment.
SampleTank Comes To iPad
Published December 31, 2011 |
I first bought SampleTank (the desktop version) about 3 years ago. It was a solid workstation back then, so I was excited to hear it was making its way into iOS. After getting some experience with the app, what stood out the most are the quality of the sounds and the amount of sounds it comes with. You’ll get 136 instruments with the opportunity to expand with additional purchases. These expansions are reasonably priced at $4.99 and compliment the program nicely.
You can choose from over sixteen instrument categories, which is a rarity for an iOS workstation, and you also get hundreds of melodic and rhythmic templates to get help you get a groove started in any situation. Export your work via iTunes or email.
The only considerable flaw in SampleTank is the 4 track recorder. Four tracks doesn’t give you much to work with and the app alone cost $19.99. Hopefully an update will bring us more tracks, but nonetheless, this is still a cool app worth checking out. The quality of the sounds alone are worth the money.
OMGuitar for iPad
Published December 27, 2011 |
OMGuitar is a cool guitar synthesizer for your iPad. It comes with 3 electric guitars, 3 acoustic guitars, and 10 on-board effects. Some of the effects include Distortion, Compression, Reverb, Delay, Wah Wah, Vowel Filter and EQ. You also get access to hundreds of chords with a ‘quick chord’ section on the UI that allows you to load up several chords for instant access.
The interface is fairly easy to navigate through and I’m big fan of the ‘picking’ section. Strumming through chords is a little weird at first and I would like a better performance response from the app in this area, but it still works well enough.
OMGuitar shines brightest in the quality of its guitar sounds. The synth engine behind this software is designed with ‘artificial intelligence’, which attempts to recognize your playing style (on the fly) and appropriate the sound accordingly to give it character and depth.
The biggest issue with this app lies in the developers’ a lack of updates which is where OMGuitar doesn’t match its competitors. We need updates with new guitar sounds, new effects, upgrades and more bells and whistles. Hopefully Amidio, Inc. will recognize this and kick it in gear.
With that being said, this is still a solid app worth the money ($6.99). It’s nice that Amidio Inc. put so much attention in the quality of the sound. Being able to record and export your grooves make this a mobile tool for any musician.
Rockmate for iPad
Published December 18, 2011 |
Rockmate is a unique audio scratchpad that allows several people to play the app’s on board instruments at the same time. This means I can play the keys, you can hop on the drums and Freddy can play some rhythm guitar for us all at once. Try wrapping your head around an iPad rock band that only uses 1 iPad…
Rockmate is the only iOS software (that I’ve came across) to incorporate a functional platform for multiple users. Being able to work with a fellow music maker on a project has never been so easy and I would say this app is great for touring rock bands.
FingerLab (the developers) boast up to four players at once, but expect some tight quarters. While the app is meant to handle several players, the iPad is not. You can do two players at a time fairly comfortably though. If you’re in a band that tours a lot you could make good use of this app in generating song ideas. You might not spend a lot of time huddled around playing the app together, but it’s the type of thing I could see passing around the van while on the road.
Rockmate is easy on the eyes, responds well to touch, and gives you the ability to record. It’s also on sale until December 21st for $.99 making it an absolute steal.
NanoStudio for iPad
Published December 15, 2011 |
NanoStudio became known for its success on the iPhone as being one of the best music making apps in 2010, but the iPad makes even better use of this software because of a bigger screen. There are a lot of reasons why this feature-laden program is a special one. First and foremost, the depth of NanoStudio, makes it one of the most complete iOS production app’s available.
It comes with a decent catalog of processors and sounds and gives you the ability to work with a maximum of 16 tracks if you purchase the app store upgrade. You can import your own samples and manipulate them. You’ll get a sequencer, a mixer, a performance drum pad, a synth engine, a piano roll and extensive exporting capabilities. Export final mixes or tracked out elements directly to your computer using Nanosync. The app supports MIDI, allows you upload your work directly to Sound Cloud, has undo/redo options, and an intuitive audio copy and paste feature.
If you don’t own this app and you’re serious about making music on your iPad you need to get it. It’s impressive and worth the $15 price tag. I also recommend you purchase the 16 track upgrade. Ten extra tracks go a long way.
Pro Keys for iPad
Published December 10, 2011 | 
Pro Keys is a multi instrument and recording tool for singers, songwriters, and musicians. With the ability to record vocals this app is somewhat of a simple DAW. The majority of the sounds revolve around different key instruments (piano, Rhodes, B3, etc.). You’ll get a dual keyboard interface for playing and each keyboard can have a separate sound allowing you to play two different instruments at one time. It’s also worth mentioning that the app responds to touch very well.
Do you suffer from chubby fingers? Change the span of the keyboard range from covering two octaves to one octave and thus double the size of the keys.
Other cool features include Mirrored mode, which allows you and someone sitting opposite of you to play together. Overdubbing, vocal recording (requires headphones) and the ability to work with loops are all cool as well.
On the downside, I don’t feel that the sounds really do the app justice. They just sound a bit like ‘general MIDI’ – there’s no flare or realism. My other issue is the app’s stability. Larger sessions seem to overload the app and cause it to crash on occasion (sometimes frequently).
I think Pro Keys has some great potential especially with some higher quality sounds. I really like that you can record vocals and I wish other apps similar to this one made use of its sensible approach. At $2.99 I don’t feel bad saying Pro Keys is worth the money – so long as it’s stable on your iPad. The app’s price tag will probably rise in the future as more features get added.
Reactable Mobile for iPad
Published December 8, 2011 | 
Reactable Mobile is a music creation app based off of its hardware predecessor, Reactable, which costs thousands of dollars. Fortunately for iPad users the iOS version rings in at $9.99. The problem is that, while the hardware version is an amazing performance and creation tool, the app is simply unimpressive. A cluttered interface and catalog of sub par samples make this unique approach to sound design a hot mess – to say the least.
If you simply wanted to play around with a few of its on-board samples, the app would do the trick, but asking for much more is a stretch. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if the app was free, but for $10, you can get a lot more bang for your buck.
On paper, the app has some great processing effects and features like delays, reverbs, compression, modulators, wave shapers, and so forth, however a lot of them just don’t work as well as you would think. I like the fact that you can receive mic input and upload your own loops but otherwise the app is a disappointment. I found it to be as frustrating as it was ineffective.
My advice would be to save your money. There are a lot of music apps available that will yield much better results for a fraction of the price.
