Moog Music has released Animoog v2. This updated iOS app offers many user-requested features, including an available 4-track recorder and the ability to import audio tracks. You can also import tracks and record/loop multiple layers of synthesizer within the app. Finish up by directly uploading to Soundcloud or sharing with Apple file sharing.
You can read more about this app update here: http://musicindustrynewswire.com/animoog-v2-with-4-track-recorder-announced-by-moog-music/
iOS recording
Arpeggionome Pro By Alexandernaut Released For iPad
The professional version of Arpeggionome, Arpeggionome Pro puts all the details in your hands. You can change the key, step distance, octave style, tempo, and numerous other musical and technical settings. The ability to save and playback patterns can help with consistency, and the integrated iTunes file sharing makes backing up and transferring files painless. The Pro version is $14.99 and Arpeggionome is $4.99. Compare the features list to see which is right for you.
You can read more about this new release here: http://www.idesignsound.com/alexandernaut-releases-arpeggionome-pro-a-new-midi-controller-for-the-ipad/
Analog Synthesizer For iPhone And iPad – Arctic Keys
Here is another cool music making app for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch – Arctic Keys Virtual Analog Synthesizer. This is an instrument that emulates hardware synthesizers, which create sounds via oscillators. This one has two LFOs (low frequency oscillators) and the same kinds of controls you would expect from an analog synthesizer to create your own sounds by endless tweaking, including arpeggiator, 16×4 step sequencer, pitch and mod wheels.
You can save your performances as 16-bit 44.1KHz wav files or as MIDI files. And as with most iOS music apps, you then share it via one of several methods.
The app costs $4.99 in the Apple app store. For a complete description of the specs and features, see the article here: http://www.idesignsound.com/arctic-keys-virtual-analog-synthesizer-ipad/
RØDE Rec Audio Recording App For iPhone And iPod Touch
RØDE, the company that makes excellent microphones (my everyday go-to mic is the large diaphragm condenser called the RØDE NT2-A), has just come out with an audio recording app for iPhone and iPod Touch. And they’ve done it together with another big name in audio recording, iZotope, maker of fabulous mastering (Ozone) and other audio effects and tools.
You can record direct into the device with the built-in mic, or you can use something like the iRig Mic ( see our review of the iRig Mic here – Review of IK Multimedia’s iRig Microphone For iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) or other iOS compatible mic or mic/interface connection. Then you can use the built-in processing presets, such as Dictation, Interview, Lecture, Office Mode, Live Concert Outdoors, Outside Noise reducer, Rumble Reducer, or Hiss Reducer. You can also apply compression and EQ. When you’re done, you can share your audio in a bunch of different ways, including SoundCloud, Dropbox, iTunes & Browser Sharing, eMail or FTP. You can also save the audio as anyone of a number of formats, such as AAC, Podcast, Apple Lossless, FLAC and Ogg Vorbis.
This is pretty darned awesome even without an external microphone. And with the right microphone connector, such as the Tascam IM2 Stereo Microphone for Apple iOS products, or the soon-to-be available RODE iXY Stereo Microphone for iPhone/iPad (see picture on the right) you can turn your phone into the only field recorder you’ll ever need. Use it for interviews, gathering sound effects, dictation, recording lectures, etc.
It costs $6.99 at the Apple App Store, a pretty amazing value.
MIDI Step Sequencer For iPad
There are so many cool music making and recording apps for the iPad that it’s hard to keep up with them all. Here is a recent one that is a 4-track MIDI sequencer called the Nord Beat CoreMIDI Step Sequencer. If you don’t know what sequencer does – well, it’s sort of like the drum machines of old (though the sounds a sequencer uses don’t have to be drums). There is a tempo and time signature you can assign to a box (in this case, an iPad app). Then there are buttons that correspond to up to 16 beats in one “sequence.” You can assign a sound – usually a drum hit – to each button to create a pattern over the sequence. Then you can build songs by stitching together a bunch of sequences.
Anyway, here is some info on the Nord Beat: http://en.audiofanzine.com/virtual-instrument-iphone-ipod-touch-ipad/clavia/nord-beat/news/a.play,n.14074.html