Pro Music Apps

The iOS family of devices have enjoyed no shortage of outstanding apps aimed at creating music through on-board sounds. I mean the collection of music workstations, standalone synths, and retro beatbox apps are truly amazing. Since a big part of the electronic music world has traditionally involved MIDI as a means of communicating, it was only a matter of time before hardware solutions arrived that enable iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touchs to be talk to MIDI enabled devices.

IK Multimedia has certainly been at the forefront of music and hardware products for iOS musicians, with products such as their iRig guitar interface and iRig Mic, and although they weren’t first to market with a MIDI solution, they’ve recently joined the likes of Line6, iConnect, and Yamaha, and released their own dedicated product, predictably called – iRig MIDI.

This small, light-weight box, features a standard 30-pin connector on one end that plugs into a supported iOS device, and then it has three ports on the other end labelled MIDI IN, THU, and OUT. Because of the small size of the product, these are not the standard 5-pin DIN ports used for MIDI, but instead are RTS (ring/tip/sleeve) sockets. Included with the iRig interface are 2 special cables that plug into these ports and have the 5-pin male plugs on the other end.

Other features on the iRig MIDI interface, include indicator lights that let you know when MIDI IN/OUT information is being passed through the device, plus the interface also features a handy Micro USB port, which is designed to charge/power the iOS device while in use, as the interface will drain some of the power while it’s connected and being used.

Now, naturally since standard MIDI offers two way communication, the iRig MIDI interface can be use in a variety of situations, including being able to use any type of MIDI controller, from synth keyboards to electronic drum kits, and even a piece of MIDI software running on a computer, to be able to control a virtual instrument within an iOS app, provided it supports Standard Core MIDI.  Simply connect the external device to the MIDI IN on the iRig MIDI interface and it will be able to talk to a music app, such as IK Multimedia’s SampleTank for iOS.

The other option, by utilising the MIDI OUT, on the interface allows you to send MIDI information from an app, to an external MIDI device, like a synth, sound module, or sampler which would enable the app to ‘play’ the other devices, effectively acting as a MIDI sequencer. There aren’t a great deal of options as far as apps go, but Genome MIDI Sequencer is certainly one worth looking into. IK Multimedia has also released a basic FREE app called iRig MIDI Recorder, which you can grab the details about here.

In use, there really isn’t a great deal to say about the iRig MIDI interface, other than that it just works as advertised. You simply connect it up, load up a supported app with Standard Core MIDI, and it just works. Most importantly, there is  no noticeable delay between playing external devices and hearing the sound played back within the app. I haven’t experienced a huge drain on my iPad’s battery while using the iRig MIDI for an hour at a time, and am yet to try it on an iPhone/iPod Touch, though I assume the result will be similar.

For more details on IK Multimedia’s superior sounding SampleTank for iOS, click here.

For more details on IK Multimedia’s iRig MIDI interface, click here.

Here’s a video trailer

This one doesn’t sound too serious, but the retro angle appealed to us, and besides, there’s never enough 16 bit sounds in music these days!…

No time to delve into the big and serious music apps? PixiTracker is what you need! It is a simple and fun tool to quickly create musical sketches or chip tunes. Without requiring a lot of musical knowledge!

Features:
* 16 sounds per song;
* unlimited number of patterns;
* five packs with unique sounds;
* MIDI keyboard support;
* export to WAV;
* audio copy/paste;
* iTunes File Sharing;
* true warm pixel interface!

Get a lot of fun using PixiTracker together with SunVox, PixelWave or SpectrumGen iOS synths!

Grab PixiTracker now –

iLift is an app designed to help musicians learn from recordings. Whether you’re learning a fiddle tune, lifting changes for a gig, or playing along with classical performances, this app will help you develop your listening ability. iLift’s interface is simple and intuitive so you don’t have to read a manual and you can spend more time learning.

FEATURES

— Slow down to 50% of original speed and speed up to 150% without losing pitch
— Rewind and Fast Forward like a taperecorder
— Raise and lower key by up to 12 semitones
— Adjust fine tuning for out of tune recordings or instruments
— Loop sections or entire song and save loops
— See waveform of song
— iOS4: Import songs from iPod library or iTunes Drag and Drop
— Import songs from computer via Wi-Fi
— iOS4.2: Stream songs via AirPlay
— View tag and edit tag information within the app
— Add a note to songs
— Support for MP3, Unprotected AAC, AIFF, and WAV files

Grab iLift for iPad now –

A Vocal Performance App that effects your voice in Real-Time.

ShiftyVox is great for on stage, in the studio, or on the go, and it isn’t just for vocals. All sounds are awesomely enhanced when heard through ShiftyVox.

You don’t have to be a musician to enjoy this app. Just plug in your headphones and trip-out at the sound of your own voice shifting like a robot monster from outer space.

There are two modes, TImeMOD and FreqMOD. Each mode enables you to adjust how much shift is applied to your voice by moving the blue circle around the touch screen.

Grab ShiftyVox now –

VMidi turns your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad into a wireless velocity sensitive midi percussion pad. Play your drum and percussion virtual midi instruments on your Mac, with velocity sensitive expression. Connect wirelessly to your Mac via OSX’s built-in network midi feature. Each of the 6 pads can be configured for name and midi number. The 6 preset pad layouts present 1 to 6 pads on screen for playing flexibility.

Compatible Devices
iPad 1 and 2
iPhone 3G, 3GS and 4
iPod Touch 4G
iPod Touch 2G and 3G

iOS v4.2 or later
Apple Macintosh host computer running 10.4 or later.

Advanced IGD Studio is a realtime music sequencer.

Lets the party started.
Enjoy making your own music with this amazing tool. Create music just by turning on and off the different kind of samples supplied.

Features:
- Multisample realtime selection.
- Speed control.
- Master control.
- 16 STEEP sequencer.
- +6 Track´s.

Grab Advanced IGD Studio now –

SSSSYNTH is Monophonic Virtual Analog Synthesizer.
Since the basic analog synthesizer’s parameters are implemented, this app is perfectly suitable for beginners!
You can easily create impressive phrases from 35 types of keyboard even if you cannot play the piano.

[Specifications]
- OSC x 2
- MODURATION
RING MODURATION
OSC SYNC
- GLIDE
- FILTER x 1
- EG x 2(AMP,FILTER)
- LFO x 2
- FX
DELAY
OVER DRIVE
- KEYBOARD(SCALE) x 35

iSynth is a virtual monophonic analog-synthesizer for your iPad. iSynth is designed and optimized for live performances.

Features At A Glance:

✔ Dual Oscillator:
- Generating square, triangle, saw tooth and reverse saw tooth waves.
- Octave selector
- Lag processor
- Cross-Fader
- Oscillator fine-tuning
- Oscillator synchronization

✔ LFO Filter:
- Supporting square, triangle, saw tooth and reverse saw tooth waves.
- Filter, vibrato and tremolo modulation

✔ ADSR Volume Envelope Generator:
- Control attack, decay, sustain and release

✔ ADSR Filter Envelope Generator:
- Control attack, decay, sustain and release

✔ Low Pass Filter:
- Frequency cutoff from 10 kHz

✔ Arpeggio Modul:
- Up to five notes
- Select between up, down, up/down and random playing

✔ Keyboard:
- Switch between 4 octaves

✔ Patches:
- Shiped with default patches
- Save unlimited user defined patches
- Share your patches with others via iTunes filesharing

✔ AirPlay:
- Stream directly from iSynth to any AirPlay compatible device

Grab iSynth – Synthesizer for the iPad now –

JamUp Plug is a simple way to get your guitar/bass into iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. It works with JamUp Multi-Effect App and compatible with most tuner, processing and recording apps. JamUp Plug allows you to enjoy jamming and practicing anywhere with your headphone, or with connection to powered speakers.

With the JamUp Plug, you can extend the possibility of music creation with thousands iOS apps available in the Apple iTune App-Store. Plus, it works with any line level signal sources, such as synthesizers, keyboards and mixers.

As we reported earlier this year, Positive Grid’s JamUp Lite came as a welcome addition to the growing collection of virtual guitar amp apps. While this FREE version has continued to have updated features added throughout the year, Positive Grid recently launched a PRO version featuring a bunch more amps and stomp boxes for even more creative performances. There are now 6 hybrid amp models with 6 matched convolution speaker emulation, along with 14 studio-grade stomp boxes, racks ,and processors.

Mix and matching these, in numerous combinations, offers an almost unlimited range of guitar sounds for every style of music. The interface is easy to use, with each amp and stomp box featuring familiar ‘lifelike’ looking dials and controls for adjusting the sound. The interface also features a configurable signal path that allows you to slide the stomp boxes and amp around in the order you want the sound processed. It’s intuitive, and instant as you hear the changes to the sound as soon as you move something. On top of that, there is a ‘preset’, or performance mode where you have quick access to 4 banks of saved configurations, making it easy to change to a completely different sound with one button press.

If that was the only feature in JamUp Pro, I’d still say you were getting you money’s worth, but there’s a couple of other really handy modes for guitarists.

‘Jam mode’ is a simple to use music player, that can access songs in your iTunes and let you play along to them on your guitar. But the great feature of this player is it allows you to adjust the speed and the tuning of the song. This is ideal for slowing songs down to learn difficult riffs and solos, and also learning songs that are in different keys. You can also set loop points on sections of the songs you need to go over and over.

Then we come to the ‘sampler mode’, which is effectively a phrase sampler for creating a groove by overdubbing musical performances on top of each other to build a full arrangement. Like other products, both software and hardware varieties, you can choose how many bars you want the groove to loop, and recordings can be saved for later to load up or export. There’s a metronome and auto quantization to help keep performances nice and tight. If you’re into jamming and improvising on your own, this is a really great tool for getting down creative ideas.

The final feature of note, which I know is included with most guitar apps, is a chromatic tuner. Most people probably say, once you’ve seen one guitar tuner app you’ve seen them all, but this one is really is slick, and makes it easy to see when your tuning is spot on. One feature that could improve this is options for different tunings.

Unlike the financial model most of the other premium guitar apps follow, the $20 upfront cost for JamUp Pro is all you pay for all the features, where as other apps offer a cheaper upfront cost, and then in-app purchases to ‘unlock’ the various features and extra sounds. There is a FREE version of JamUp (called ‘lite’) that offers all of the features of the Pro version, only with less amps and stomp boxes. This at least allows you to enjoy the other modes, and then decide if the sounds are to your liking, before spending up on the Pro version.

Grab JamUp Pro now –