Nine DJing / Music Making iPad Apps

iPad

When Apple's iPad was announced there was widespread disappointment from electronic music producers. The general consensus, for those that missed out, is that producers wanted the power and open architecture of a MacBook with a touch screen.

The reality is that the iPad is more like a big iPhone and less of a small MacBook. The iPhone retains Apple's successful locked-off architecture that, through ease-of-use and solid service convinces people to spend money on music, videos and applications rather than download them illegally. And why would Apple break such a profitable regime for a niche market like music producers? All hope is not lost – perhaps the iPad is the first step on the stairway to a touch-screen MacBook.

For now, the first shimmers of music production and DJing news are exciting. Take a look at these examples, and perhaps you'll feel better about the potential of iPad to fulfill your production and DJing fantasies.

Korg iElectribe

This is by far and away the most serious synthesiser / drum machine we've seen for a consumer touch-screen device. The original device is hardware with a visible valve protected by translucent plastic. The developers have made a digital recreation that looks exactly the same.

The original unit is a serious bit of kit, not meant for total beginners, so this releases says a lot about the possibilities of iPad and pro audio. In this software package you get oscillators that can be morphed and twisted, a step sequencer, electronic-music presets including drum & bass and a full range of effects such as grain shifter, decimator, delay, chorus, reverb etc. You can even customize the faceplate of the software. The iElectribe costs £5.99 until June 30th after which it will retail at double that. The hardware Electribe costs £450.

The problem with the iElectribe is that it can't be loaded into a sequencer and controlled from your iPad. Yes, there is a new bounce function to export full quality 16-bit wavs to your sequencer, but this process is hardly conducive to the professional workflow.

iSequence

While we all wait for Logic, Cubase, Ableton or even Pro Tools to either be converted to the iPad or get controller software, we can bide our time with iSequence, which is the most advanced sequencer out there currently. Interestingly, like other music production software on iPad it's cheap – £3.99. It's a mind-melting price for music software with 160 inbuilt Garage Band style instruments (synthesisers, acoustic sampler players, beat machines); real-time recording and automation; eight tracks; and export functions. A future update is scheduled to include sample import, allowing you to arrange your own sounds on the go.

Electrify

This is a virtual groove box. It costs £8.99 and is basically a shallower version of iSequence. It looks pretty but its limited functions shout "gimmick". How are you supposed to use this thing professionally? Whatever, we suppose you want to see some drum & bass made on an iPad application? Your wish is our command:

StudioTrack

Costing £23.99, this is a multi-track recorder allowing you to record and mix eight tracks of audio via the iPad's inbuilt microphone. It also comes with sends and FX capabilities. You can apparently create drum loops for it via the Instant Drummer application. This appears to be a serious tool for the artist looking to splash down creative ideas on the spot without a mega-budget studio at hand.

AC-7

Saitara Software's AC-7 is a virtual control surface for Pro Tools, Mackie Control, MOTU Digital Performer and Apple Logic. This is arguably the only truly professional music-production software available for iPad. Its rivals aren't worth mentioning – they're home-brew and tacky – which emphasises how untapped the music-production scene is for iPad. Of all the applications on this page, the AC-7 is the one to get hardcore fans buzzing.

ToneTable Scratch

Available first for iPhone and now for iPad at £4.99, this app gives us a glimpse into the exciting potential of touch-screen DJing. Why have a real deck at all? Just imagine this kind of control with your whole iTunes library in one device. You could take your decks, needles, music and effects boxes with you – virtually – in two touch-screen pads. For now though, you'll have to put up with the basic features of ToneTable Scratch:

Baby Decks

A cuter and more visually friendly DJ application than ToneTable Scratch comes in the form of Baby Decks at the inflated price of £14.99. Like ToneTable scratch, it isn't in professional form yet, but it certainly gets the imagination racing.

If you're feeling particularly lavish and wasteful, why don't you buy two iPads and two individual copies of Baby Decks to complete a true, virtual set-up? This guy did:

Mixr

This is being billed as the serious, professional iPad DJing application. Using Mixr as part of a genuine DJ set up in a club might be possible. We'll have to wait and see, as details are sketchy.

XA1P

This is a spectrum analyser for iPad, adapted from iPhone. At £99.99 we're not surprised there are no YouTube videos for it, as no one has bought it yet! Here's a look at the iPhone version to give you an idea:

X1AP