Making Music With iPad

Creation is part of what gives us our humanity – some write, some paint, some sculpt and some – like myself – like to create music. I have done since getting my hands on the Spectrum’s bleeper, and when we picked up an Amiga (eventually equipped with Octamed) I was in heaven. I currently own a few bits of hardware that make noises in addition to a Korg dynamic sampler and a rack of software, but my recent delivery of an iPad has shown me that once you’ve bought the kit, six quid gets you some pretty powerful tools.

In something of a diversion for TheSixthAxis, I’d like to discuss some of these applications (all of which are available from the US and UK App Stores, although as the US Store is the only one that’s officially open, all prices are in US Dollars) and try to balance them all up against each other.  Naturally they’re all very different and all have their own identities, but I’ve yet to come across a comprehensive round-up of iPad music creation software on the net so, as we do here at TSA, I thought I’d write my own from scratch.  Creation, see?

There’s plenty of apps out there just now that span what I’d call the three different types of utility.  Firstly, there’s synth-based creation, which uses onboard algorithms to produce sounds which you can manipulate and sequence at will.  Secondly, sample-based creation which instead of using formulas and maths hidden behind knobs uses pre-built samples that already sound like basslines and drums.  Thirdly, there’s music recording, which is limited in this set of reviews to the wonderful StudioTrack, whilst we’ll come to last.

Korg iELECTRIBE, $9.99 – 9/10

Korg’s software based emulation of the rather cool Electribe R is the current darling of the iPad scene.  Topping the charts since the machine launched, Korg’s ten dollar app really does show off Apple’s new tech with a single high resolution screen offering everything a traditional R does but at a fraction of the price.  It might well be limited to eight parts and a full sequencer is entirely lacking, but the analog emulation is wonderful and the noises you can make with those knobs beggars belief.

The on-board demos don’t really do the iElectribe justice, because with time and effort it’s possible to push the basic sounds far beyond what you might think.  The knob twists and turns can all be recorded so the few bars you do have can start to create patterns at least, and you can bring in new patterns, mute and solo parts and, of course, tweak to your hearts content if you’re planning to use the device as part of your live set.  For recording it’s rather more limited, but as a performance tool it’s brilliant.

Looptastic HD, $9.99 – 7/10

Looptastic HD is the iPad evolution of the popular series of apps on the iPhone.  A sample-based tool, the iPad version is leaps and bounds ahead of its smaller cousins due mainly to the iPad’s increased memory as opposed to the screen resolution.  Yes, the higher resolution interface means it’s easier to work with Looptastic’s effects bank, but the boosted RAM means you can now load in fresh loop sets whilst there’s already some playing, which means you can effectively work with hours worth of loops without pausing.

Basically a synced sample player, Looptastic HD lets you drag and drop pre-set loops (drums, basslines, melodies etc) into a grid split into three.  The left and right sides can be crossfaded between and the centre column, always on, acts as your beat constant.  An effects rack at the bottom lets you alter the sound live (again, on each or all of the columns) but Looptastic’s HD killer feature is the ability to import your own loops into your sets via wi-fi.  It’s very, very clever and if you’re prepared in advance can create some wicked sounds.

Practise makes perfect with Looptastic HD, though, and because there’s no ability to cue sounds up you’re left with remembering what each sound actually sounds like based on nothing more than the waveform and the filename.  If there was the ability to route one channel of the output to some headphones and one to the mixer the application would be incredible, but as it is it’s a neat, simple take on something like Ableton Live at a bargain price.  The included loops are mostly great, too, so you can get started right away.

bleep!BOX, $9.99 – 8/10

I’ll admit to initially being a little bit overwhelmed by bleep!BOX.  It’s a powerful bit of kit, but the menus aren’t particularly intuitive and the application takes a good hour or so before you’re really aware of what’s going on.  A synth-based sequencer, bleep!BOX is capable of creating some stunning sounds if you’re prepared to put the time in.  Faced with a grid of colours, lines and slightly misplaced background graphics, you’ll find ten channels, a sequencer, a comprehensive sound editor and some performance tools.

Each sound is set to play at a specific note at a specific place in the loop like a traditional sequencer, and once populated these patterns can be cued up manually or placed together as a song.  Moving between the various parts of the application is via the menu at the top, and each menu offers many more buttons inside that let you tweak and change each instrument at a ridiculously low level.  If you can’t (ultimately) make bleep!BOX produce the sounds you want it’s no fault of the software other than the steep learning curve.

That said, once you’re in the flow this is a really nice app and because there’s 10 tracks there’s plenty of room for your songs to breathe, it’s just a shame it’s so complicated.  As an example, each slider (and there are loads) can be changed during performance or pre-recorded using the Motion menu, which lets you push up little meters for each of the 16 bits of a pattern, for each of the ten sounds, but to get the Motion menu to modify the parameter you want you need to double tap the appropriate one on the Edit menu first.

Still, stick with it and you’ll do well. It’s worth mentioning that the developer really helped me out with getting started, which was nice to see.

Sonorasaurus Rex, $12.99 – 7/10

Rex is something of an oddity in that you don’t actually create music with it, you mix existing music together like a traditional DJ.  There are no loops here, just MP3s you’ve copied over (Rex can act like a little HTTP server so you can just upload your tracks from a PC without fuss before performance), and although the interface is a little garish it’s actually perfectly suited to the task at hand.  So, one for budding DJs and with the ability to split the cueing through the left channel and the audience mix through the right, it’s a powerful one.

Once you’ve got your tracks lined up it’s simple enough to drop them onto a ‘deck’ and from there Rex will show you the waveform of your track in the centre column, highlighting the beats.  Once a track is playing you’re then left to beatmatch the next one yourself (there’s no beatmatching, at least yet) which whilst familiar to anyone used to ‘real’ mixing (ie, on Technics) I’d imagine it would be very offputting to anyone else.  Still, once I’ve spliced together a few phone leads I had no problems getting my mixing hat on.

There’s a few neat tools, including a rack of effects that add a little bit to the overall quality feel, but the biggest issue I had was the cueing, which was really quite tricky to accurately place given that the scrubbing wasn’t nearly as smooth as I’d like (and confined to a smaller bar rather than the large waveform that would have made more sense).  The developers are aware of this, though, and thus an update down the line would make Rex far more usable – as it stands, it’s a little bit overpriced but showing great potential.

technoBox, $4.99 – 8/10

TechnoBox isn’t actually an iPad application (although I’m told there is a native version coming) but it’s just so damned brilliant that it had to be included in this round-up.  Essentially an emulation of the classic Roland 303 sound (those squelchy basslines are a big favourite of mine) TechnoBox offers up one synth and one drum machine (either an 808 or a 909) and a few effects, but is priced at a bargain sweet spot and absolutely deserves to be part of any iPad software line-up when you start putting this stuff together.

The interface is nice and simple (and looks fine blown up 2x on the iPad) and the various slide-in and out sections are intelligent enough to enable you to (for example) tweak the effects knobs at the same time as the synth knobs for the acid section, creating some wicked sounds.  At the top of the screen are the various patterns which can be switched at will and enable you to pre-load various drum and synth sections and jump around during a performance.  The emulation is spot on, too, so don’t miss this one.

Electrify, $14.99 – 5/10

Electrify is a bit of a disappointment.  For the price you’re getting a bundle of 600 or so samples but only eight tracks to play them on, and it’s one sample per track.  To further simplify things, the only way to change the pitch of the samples is via little (and rather imprecise) sliders, there’s no piano-roll. Whilst the sliders can change things like pan and decay, I’d much rather have the option to set things in a little grid like bleep!BOX does.  Still, there’s some nice sample tricks like changing the start position, and loops, to mix things up.

I’m desperately hoping that the developer has just launched Electrify as a starter for ten and intends to work hard on building it up because there’s stacks of potential here (and the interface is lovely) but as it stands it’s simply too bare bones to be anything more than a novelty.  With a doubled sample rack (16 would be fine) and a proper sequencer rather than just the ability to mess around with basic patterns Electrify could be pretty good, but whilst it looks the part there’s better apps out there, and cheaper ones too.

StudioTrack, $39.99 – 8/10

And finally, once you’ve dumped everything above out to file you’ll need something to put it all back together again.  To be perfectly honest, StudioTrack is more suited to traditional instruments rather than electronic composition, but given the current physical interface issues the iPad has (namely the only real way to get sound in is via the onboard mic) perhaps this particular app is a little bit ahead of the game.  Once a proper mic port is added (via the connector at the bottom) StudioTrack will be indispensable.

Until then, if you think of StudioTrack as a portable, powerful 8 track for your band’s ideas then it’s pitched perfectly.  Not only are there multiple effects per track but you can bounce recordings down to the first two tracks so theoretically there’s no limit to the number of instruments you can actually record onto the one song.  It’s all very slick looking and works really well, and although the price is higher than most of the apps mentioned, it’s still far cheaper than buying an equivalent multi-track.

More interesting, the app supports Sonama’s AudioPaste protocol, which means you can drop in audio from compatible applications, a list of which is here.

All applications were tested on a 16GB iPad running through a Korg Kaoss Pad and into Technics headphones.