

- #BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH SYNTHESIZER PATCH#
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Top iOS Synth Apps and Future Trendsīelow are my top 10 must-have synth apps currently available for iOS.
#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH SYNTHESIZER ANDROID#
But several apps are multi-platform and I invite readers using Android to contribute to the discussion with their own recommendations. I’ve intentionally limited my attention to iOS vs the Android platform, based purely on my personal familiarity and admitted bias.
#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH SYNTHESIZER PRO#
Over the next few months I’ll be releasing a series of articles on The Pro Audio Files listing some of the best apps on the market. With the right modules, such as the Expert Sleepers FH-1, you can easily drive a Eurorack rig using the MIDI outputs from your iOS device. There are also apps like Lemur that offer customizable and unusual MIDI generating interfaces to control standard computer-based applications.
#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH SYNTHESIZER PATCH#
I also use MIRA, an app based extension for Max/MSP that allows wireless control of a Max patch or Max for Live Device. In a home studio situation, you could route the sound into your DAW or drive the iOS device with a DAW-based sequencer or standard MIDI controller. Send out a stereo line to the PA and you’re done.


But more typically, you could have an iPad (or two), small interface, mixer, and perhaps a couple of mini MIDI controllers such as those offered by Korg or Akai. In theory, you could perform on just an iPhone. It’s powerful and intuitive, but like any other instrument, it can take some time to develop a genuine facility. The additional control offered by tablets and smart phones creates a completely new way of making music that should not be underestimated or simplified. It’s like buying a virtual instrument and a controller all-in-one. When you buy an app you also get the functionality of the multi-touch screen, accelerometer & gyroscope, along with typical MIDI input and output controls. It’s really easy to hit that “get” button. A warning though, as I found out from personal experience, 50 cheap things add up to a couple expensive things. This allows you to experiment with a lot of stuff, limited only by the storage capacity of your device. Prices range from free (with in-app purchases that usually include additional presets or samples) to maybe $69 at the extreme high end, with the average falling around $10 to $15. Very cheap! Unbelievably cheap! So cheap that most people would not believe these things really sound that good. The iOS approach to performance and production offers several benefits that set it apart from using standard plugins in a DAW or traditional MIDI equipment. I both thank and curse him for leading me down yet another technological rabbit hole. Deane (Dino), a sampling pioneer who began live sampling back in the 80’s using tape. I first got introduced to the world a few years ago by my good friend J.A. With interfaces like the iConnectAudio and iConnectMIDI series you can route MIDI and audio streams in and out of your iOS devices to your computer and/or controller. Protocols like Ableton Link now make it possible to synchronize apps and devices wirelessly with ease. Products that include effects processing, virtual instruments, sequencers, educational apps, recording, mixing & mastering apps and weird interfaces that can’t really be categorized are being offered by major manufacturers alongside hundreds of independent developers. If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, the iOS market is ripe with possibilities for music production and it’s growing every day.
