2023
06/01
10 Best Music Production Apps For iPad
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My Top 10 Best Music Production Apps For iPad

Producing music on the go has reached new levels of professionalism with Apple’s iPad and the music production apps available today are pretty much on par with their Desktop counterparts. Apple’s announcement of Logic Pro for the iPad will push things even further no doubt. Modern music producers regularly use music production apps on iPads and iPhones. Many hit songs got started on iOS devices. In this article I’ll list what I feel are the best apps for producing music on your iPad. While I may focus on DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) I will mention some useful tools and utilities as well. Here’s my top ten best music-making apps for iPad. Essential must-haves!

#1 Drambo

Drambo is an innovative modular groovebox and audio processing environment. Modular components are used to build synthesized and sample based instruments and audio effects using high-quality DSP and audio-rate modulation. Tied to a powerful sequencer, it’s an optimal music creation tool for sound design, composition, performance, and experimentation. At the heart of Drambo lies an entirely new concept that makes modularity easy, fun and affordable. Modules are connected automatically, with no cables as you add or rearrange them. A dynamic interface creates modulation knobs when you need them. Modules may house other modules, so you can keep your patch well organized. Of course, automatic connections can be overridden. In Drambo you can focus on playing with sound and signal structure without getting lost in wires. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/drambo/id1469365718

#2 Logic Pro

Logic Pro for iPad is a professional music creation app that puts the power of Logic at your fingertips. Logic Pro features a complete collection of sophisticated creative tools for professional songwriting, beat making, editing, and mixing — all with an interface that’s been designed from the ground up for iPad. Use Multi-Touch in Logic Pro to play powerful software instruments with the tap of a finger and interact naturally with intuitive controls. Creative production tools — including the new Sample Alchemy and Beat Breaker plug-ins — make it easy to quickly make beats and explore new sonic territories, and a full featured mixer gives you everything you need to create a professional-sounding mix entirely on iPad. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/logic-pro-for-ipad/id1615087040

#3 AUM

AUM is the flexible audio mixer, recorder, and connection hub for your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Connect hardware inputs and outputs, Audio Unit extensions, Inter-App Audio apps, Audiobus, soundfile players, built-in signal processing and filters, in any configuration you want. Route anything to anywhere with mix-busses, effect sends, audiobus ports, and external multi-channel audio interfaces. Play hosted synths and instruments using the built-in keyboard or external MIDI controllers, or sequence them with AU MIDI plugins or from other apps using Virtual MIDI. Record mixes, individual tracks, or both, straight into the storage space of AudioShare (no copying of files needed), with synchronized start and end for perfect loops. Play back recordings, soundfiles and loops as channel sources in the mixer for backing tracks, further processing or mixing. Soundfiles can be opened from anywhere, including USB drives on iOS 13 and later. Route and filter MIDI in any way you like using the MIDI matrix. Combine and filter MIDI endpoints using MIDI buses. Synchronize everything with the transport clock and play in time with other apps or devices using Ableton Link. Connect external music machines and synchronize them with MIDI Clock. Includes built-in processing nodes for various stereo processing, Mid/Side balance and conversion, EQs and filters, limiting, clipping and saturation. Or use any 3rd party Audio Unit extension or Inter-App Audio effect. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aum-audio-mixer/id1055636344

#4 Loopy Pro

Loopy Pro is a live-looper. And a sampler. And a sequencer. And a very capable AUv3 Audio Unit host. And a DAW. And an AUv3 Audio Unit. You get the idea. Loopy Pro is deep. But it’s also designed to be friendly, and a great deal of fun. You can set up Loopy Pro to work however you do, with features like hands-free looping with count-in, count-out and automatic loop detection; or “free” looping, where you can choose on-the-fly how long to make loops. There’s even retrospective recording, where you can lock in a loop after the fact. There’s extensive MIDI controller support, including built-in support for the Launchpad, the APC40 mk2 and the MIDI Fighter Twister, and effortless MIDI Learn for setting up your controllers. You can also drag-and-drop audio straight onto loops in Loopy Pro, with sophisticated tempo and pitch adjustments, and use Loopy Pro as a clip launcher, with all kinds of options for song sectioning. The built-in mixer lets you set up insert and send effects for every channel in your project, and load AUv3 Audio Unit instruments, effects, and MIDI sequencers. And there’s a built-in sequencer, for arranging songs, and even performing them live, totally automated and hands-free. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/loopy-pro-looper-daw-sampler/id1492670451

#5 Koala Sampler

Koala is the ultimate pocket-sized sampler. Record anything with your phone’s mic instantly. Use Koala to create beats with those samples, add effects and create a track! Koala’s super intuitive interface helps you make a tracks in a flash, there is no brake pedal. You can also resample the output of the app back into the input, through the effects, so the sonic possibilities are endless. Koala’s design focuses totally on making the music making progress instant, keeping you in the flow and keeping it fun, not getting bogged down by pages of parameters and micro-editing. Not to mention the dev is great! He listens to his customers and is constantly adding new features and updates. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/koala-sampler/id1449584007

#6 Scaler 2

Scaler 2 iOS is a multiple award winning music theory workstation redesigned from the ground up for iPad OS. Scaler 2 is an inspirational and creative music tool that gives you access to a world of new ideas, expressions and melodies. With powerful detection of MIDI and audio, Scaler 2 can determine what key and scale you’re in and suggest chords, melodies and basslines that match your music. Scaler 2 can connect to any keyboard, synth or device using bluetooth audio and midi. Scaler is fully compatible with GarageBand and Audio Mixers to get you writing music on the fly in an environment that suits you. Scaler 2 makes finding chords and progressions intuitive and fun! It’s a comprehensive but easy to use toolbox that will help anyone make better music. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scaler-2/id1603180235

#7 Korg Gadget

KORG Gadget is the best all-in-one music production software and plugin collection; the intuitive user interface provides over 40 small synthesizers and drum machines called “Gadgets,” that you can freely combine for music production. Starting with the award winning iOS edition, followed by Gadget for Mac with its powerful plugin collection, now the Gadget plug-ins are now Windows compatible.” With carefully selected parameters and at-the-ready sounds/presets, you can now use various powerful gadgets with your favorite DAW on your Mac/PC. With improved sound and utility efficiency, the second generation KORG Gadget 2 has been further enhanced to include six new gadgets. In addition, the intuitive user interface has been polished to improve ease of use. With the new design, you can now check the status of each track at a glance, an additional four new IFX have been included and you can now smoothly change the tempo as well as fade in/fade out. You can complete your music without losing inspiration, doing all of your work with KORG Gadget 2. App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/korg-gadget-2/id791077159

#8 Roland Zenbeats

Roland Zenbeats is a music creation app that keeps you in an effortless artistic flow. Get started on any mobile device or computer platform and make music anywhere, anytime. With its collection of both modern and legendary sounds, Zenbeats brings Roland’s history of innovation into a new, mobile-friendly format. Whether you’re an emerging musician or an established producer, Zenbeats makes music creation easy. Build beats, compose full multitrack songs, or sample the world around you. Wherever you are, no matter what platform or device you use, capture your creative spark with Zenbeats. Whatever style you’re working in, you’ll find the perfect sounds for your tracks in Zenbeats. From vintage Roland JUNO and JUPITER tones to diverse and progressive instruments for any genre, the 14,000-plus presets will keep your compositions fresh and exciting. App store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/roland-zenbeats/id1473380367

#9 Garageband

GarageBand turns your iPad, and iPhone into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. And with Live Loops, it makes it easy for anyone to have fun creating music like a DJ. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play keyboards, guitars, and create beats that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug in a guitar or bass and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use a Touch Instrument, microphone, or a guitar to instantly record a performance, with support for up to 32 tracks. Use the Sound Library to download additional free instruments, loops, and sound packs created by some of the biggest producers in the world. And then share your song with friends and family. Best of all it’s FREE! App Store link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/garageband/id408709785

#10 Audioshare

Audioshare is an essential sound file manager with powerful import and export abilities. If you are using music-making apps, then this tool is a must-have! Organize all your soundfiles and midifiles on your device, and manage your AUM recordings. Record, trim, convert, normalize, transfer, export, import, zip, unzip. Create folders, rename and move files and folders around, put everything where you can find it. Use it to transfer files between apps and between your device and computer. For example, transfer your new track from your favorite music-making app and import into the AudioShare library, then share it on your SoundCloud account, or transfer it into other apps. Or record your live-jam from other IAA or Audiobus apps. You can record directly in the app, from microphone, external audio interfaces, Inter-App Audio, or other Audiobus compatible apps. Preview and play soundfiles with waveform display and looping, trim and normalize soundfiles, and convert to other file formats such as M4A AAC or ALAC (Apple Lossless), WAV, AIFF, CAF with options for bit rate or bit depth and sample rate. App Store linkhttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/audioshare/id543859300

2017
04/15
Music Production Apps On Sale
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My master list of music making apps on sale for the Easter holiday! Please let me know if I’m missing some. Thanks!

c3n loops $4.99 (On Sale, $8.99) c3n loops – c3n performance

Cyclop iPad Edition $14.99 (On Sale, $24.99) Cyclop iPad Edition – Sugar Bytes GmbH

Effectrix $9.99 (On Sale, $17.99) Effectrix – Sugar Bytes GmbH

Egoist $17.99 (On Sale, $29.99) Egoist – Sugar Bytes GmbH

Elastic Drums $5.99 (On Sale, $11.99) Elastic Drums – O-G-SUS

fluXpad $3.99 (On Sale, $7.99) fluXpad – MoMinstruments GbR

Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro $11.99 Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro – Ariel Ramos

Poseidon Synth $11.99 (On Sale, $19.99) Poseidon Synth – VirSyn

Quantiloop $5.99 (On Sale, $9.99) Quantiloop – Live Quantizing Looper – Stephan Marx

reSonare recording studio $1.99 (On Sale, $2.99) reSonare recording studio – Alvaro Maroto Conde

Thesys $7.99 (On Sale, $14.99) Thesys – Sugar Bytes GmbH

Traktor DJ $4.99 (On Sale, $9.99) Traktor DJ – NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH

Traktor DJ for iPhone $0.99 (On Sale, $1.99) Traktor DJ for iPhone – NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH

Turnado $12.99 (On Sale, $19.99) Turnado – Sugar Bytes GmbH

VocaLive $13.99 (On Sale, $19.99) VocaLive – IK Multimedia

VocaLive for iPad $13.99 (On Sale, $19.99) VocaLive for iPad – IK Multimedia

iMaschine 2 $4.99 (On Sale, $9.99) iMaschine 2 – NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH

WOW Filterbox $9.99 (On Sale, $14.99) WOW Filterbox – Sugar Bytes GmbH

WretchUp $1.99 (On Sale, $3.99) WretchUp – MoMinstruments GbR

Thanks for the support!! Have fun making music today.

2016
08/24
Free Apps For Creating Music With iOS
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Free apps for music production

The following is my master list of free apps for creating music with an ipad and iphone. I may need to go through these and make changes if necessary. Message me through my contact form if you see something listed incorrectly or if I should add something that isn’t hrere! Thanks!! Contact here http://ipadloops.com/about-ipad-loops/

2015
12/15
Holiday Sales iOS Music Production Apps
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iOS Apps Holiday Sales

The following is a list of music production apps on sale for the holidays.

CZ Touch – Coffeeshopped LLC Was $24.99 now $14.99 CA editor.

Loopy HD – A Tasty Pixel 25% off! only $2.99

TouchOSC – Robert FISCHER $2.99 (On Sale, from $4.99)

iMaschine – NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH $4.99 (On Sale, from $9.99)

Egoist – Sugar Bytes GmbH $17.99 (On Sale, $29.99)

undefined – Holderness Media $3.99 (On Sale, from $4.99)

bismark bs-16i – Shun Murabayashi $3.99 (On Sale, from $7.99)

Turnado – Sugar Bytes GmbH $9.99 (On Sale, from $19.99)

Lemur – Liine $9.99 (On Sale, from $24.99)

Cyclop iPad Edition – Sugar Bytes GmbH $12.99 was 24.99

MIDI Designer Pro – Confusion Studios LLC now $14.99!

Sunrizer synth – BeepStreet now $4.99!

Impaktor – The drum synthesizer – BeepStreet now only $1.99!

Oscilab – 2beat now $2.99!

CASSINI Synthesizer for iPad – iceWorks, Inc. $3.99!

Laplace – Resonator Synthesizer – iceWorks, Inc. $3.99!

Rytmik Ultimate – CINEMAX $9.99 (On Sale, from $17.99)

FL Studio Mobile HD – Image Line Software $13.99 (On Sale, from $19.99)

Final Touch – Positive Grid Inc $4.99 (On Sale, from $12.99)

GeoShred – Wizdom Music LLC $14.99 (On Sale, Intro Price)

Loopy HD – A Tasty Pixel $2.99 (On Sale, from $3.99)

SECTOR – Kymatica (Jonatan Liljedahl) $5.99 (On Sale, from $8.99)

AudioShare – Kymatica (Jonatan Liljedahl) $2.99 (On Sale, $4.99)

ToneStack – Yonac Inc. $4.99 (On Sale, from $9.99)

Patterning : Drum Machine – Olympia Noise Co. $7.99 (On Sale, from $9.99)

FL Studio Mobile HD – Image Line Software$13.99 (On Sale, from $19.99)

Elastic Drums – O-G-SUS $6.99 (On Sale, from $14.99)

Loopy HD – A Tasty Pixel $2.99 (On Sale, from $3.99)

SoundPrism Pro – Audanika GmbH $4.99 (On Sale, from $9.99)

Different Drummer – Techné Media On Sale $8.99 (was $14.99)

Emo Chorus – VirSyn now $2.99!

Cube Synth – VirSyn now $5.99!

SilQ Equalizer – 32 Band Stereo Equalizer – TonApp AS $4.99 40% off!

BIAS FX – Positive Grid Inc $9.99 was $29.99!

djay Pro – algoriddim GmbH 30% off intro price.

SOUND Canvas – Roland Corporation $12.99 was $17.99

KORG Gadget – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

KORG iKaossilator – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

KORG iM1 – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

KORG iMS-20 – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

KORG iELECTRIBE – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

KORG iDS-10 – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

KORG iELECTRIBE for iPhone – KORG INC. All Korg apps 50% off!

iSEM Synthesizer – Arturia All Arturia apps 50% off!

iMini Synthesizer – Arturia All Arturia apps 50% off!

iProphet Synthesizer – Arturia All Arturia apps 50% off!

I’ll add more as they become available!!

2015
08/13
Music Apps Blog
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Music Apps Blog

A Music App Blog For Today’s iOS Musician

iPad Loops was the first music apps blog to feature cutting edge music production apps and instruments apps by an actual professional in the music app industry. It was founded in 2010 by Jason Donnelly (Dj Puzzle). Donnelly was part of the Sound Trends team as their content producer and consultant. Most of the loops for Sound Trends apps (Looptastic, Meta Dj, Studio HD, and Gruvtron) were created by Jason. Sound Trends was later sold to Native Instruments.

This music apps blog focuses on useful professional level apps. It’s not just another database of every app or a new site for every tiny update. We want YOU to know about the latest and greatest music production apps and updates.

Check out our YouTube channel and subscribe for free loops, app reviews, and tutorials.

This is a great time for the iOS Musician. There are literally thousands of high quality professional music apps in the app store. You can find everything from synthesizers to audio mastering tools. It’s all there for you. Please feel free to use the iPad Loops contact form if you want some guidance and recommendations. We are here to help and inspire you!

So please follow the iPad Loops feed, twitter, and facebook for the latest music app reviews, news and tutorials for the mobile music producer.

Here are some recommended apps:


iOS Musician Apps

  • iPad Loops is an iOS music production blog dedicated to exposing the best iPad apps musicians, producers, and Djs. This is not a database of every app. It is, however, one of useful recommendations from someone with many years in music production. I try to update it on a daily basis (ok sometimes every two days) and I do my best to post useful apps only. My name is Jason Donnelly (Dj Puzzle). You might know me from my royalty free loop packs and sound design. Some of the apps that contain my sounds are Synth One, EG Segments, Hammerhead, Retronyms AudioCopy, Audio Evolution Mobile, LP-5, iPRO.DJSAMPLER, Looptastic. My work is published by Roland, Antares, Magix, Soundtrack Loops, Sample Logic, Acoustica, Loopmasters and many more. Subscribe to our RSS feed below to get updated when new apps are posted.
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