Top iPhone Music AppsYour source for the BEST music apps on the iPhone / Touch

bleep!BOX is a combination drum machine and synthesizer box for your iPhone or iPod Touch. bleep!BOX has NO SAMPLES – every sound is generated in realtime, so you can tweak to your hearts’ content and kiss repetitive, cookie cutter drum beats goodbye. bleep!BOX is not a simple toy – it’s powerful enough for you to make real music. Great for house, hip hop, R&B, electronica, drum’n’bass, trance, techno, IDM and more.

bleep!BOX is the mobile app that musicians, DJ’s, and producers have been waiting for.

Features:

* Realtime processing – NO SAMPLES
* Classic, tweakable x0x drum emulations
* Analog style 2-Osc synths
* 10 parts (voices)
* 50+ Parameters
* Ringmod, FM, PhaseMod, Sync, Distortion
* Global delay FX
* 8 Waveforms
* Tempo, swing, pattern length
* Save patches and presets
* Live performance modes
* Step sequencing + recording modes
* Parameter automation

Here’s a youtube video overview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55JQK5300D4

bleep!BOX was made by White Noise Audio Software (http://www.whitenoiseaudio.com/), makers of Zero Vector, Additive and Doppelmangler. We have over a decade of experience coding synthesizers and effects!

Check out audio samples, videos and news at bleepboxapp.com

What list would be complete without the Ocarina app, one of the highest grossing apps on the iPhone? Ocarina quickly rose to extreme popularity due to it’s intuitive method of playing – by blowing into the microphone and covering virtual holes with your fingers. It’s loaded with features, such as being able to hear performances from other people around the world. Definately a must have.

Finger beat is a drum pad and sequencer. Interface is pretty intuitive and navigation is a breeze. It features several kits and interface skins and the ability to load your own sounds.

iSyn is a combination drum machine and synth box. It features 2 mono synth parts and a drum machine with several kits including 808/909 style drums.

DopplerPad is a great app. It’s intuitive, fun, looks great, and sounds good. Making melodies can be a little difficult (live recording is favored over step sequencing), but even just messing around this app can be fun.

From the app description:

Quickly create and perform musical hooks, phrases and loops with a variety of custom synth and sample-based instruments. Make samples on the fly and weave them into compositions.

DopplerPad is an expressive touch instrument designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Use rhythmic and melodic automation to create phrases by freely moving fingers around the musical touchpad.

Drags and taps come to life with responsive visual feedback, making the groove visible.

Some of DopplerPad’s features include:

* 37 Instruments Including Leads, Bass, Sound Effects, Drums, and Samplers
* Two Musical Touchpads
* Visual Feedback to See the Groove
* Two Recording Modes: Overdub and Replace
* A Mixer for Cross-Fading, Muting, and Playback Control
* Save Loops and Phrases. Load Them into the Performance
* Gate Arpeggiator to Create Expressive Rhythmic Patterns
* Create Samples Anywhere with External or Built-In Mics
* Adjustable Tempo and Loop Length
* Programmable Scale to Stay in Key
* Adjustable Octave for a Full Range of Notes

Noise.io was (and still is) one of the best full-fledged synths on the iPhone.

Some features:

* 3 Generators (Brother, Sister – 2×25 possible waveforms, Noizer – dedicated noise-generator with own filter and limiter)
* 2 Filters (Advanced Multi-Filter with 6 Filter Types and Noise Filter)
* UNLIMITED Banks, Presets
* 6 Effects (Delay x2, Chorus/Flanger, Phaser, Bitcrusher, Distortion)
* 3 assignable LFO (23 possible waveforms and dedicated Sample & Hold)
* Tap tempo – BPM
* Immediate on-screen preset choose menu
* 3 Sequencer Types (Piano Roll, Trance Gate, Custom parameter modulation)
* 12 patterns (3 sequencers x 4 patterns (A, B, C, D) in each)
* Unique ControlSurface, Zones and SoftRibbon controllers
* 5 On-Screen Zones buttons (map a note, pattern or any action to them)
* Download & Exchange presets via internet
* 3-Band EQ (Equalizer)

My critcisms: Only monophonic sound – no doubt due to processing limitations. The interface is a bit ‘strange’ for my tastes – just some weird naming (“brother and sister” for the names of the two oscillators?) and layout choices (cutesy space graphics abound.. things could be a lot simpler looking and thus easier on the eyes). I also wish the ‘Free Noise’ mode worked a little differently. Right now it’s an XY pad for controlling parameters. It would be cool if you could have each square mapped to a note in a specific scale – that would be really nice for jamming, and really well suited to the iPhone’s screen.

Anyway, criticisms aside, it’s clear that this synth is capable of some great sounds. If you’re looking for a pocket synth, this one is your best bet.

BeatMaker was one of the first iPhone music apps and still one of the best. Musicians who have used an Akai MPC sampler will find themselves right at home. There are 16 pads, each of which can be assigned to a sample. Live recording is fun, and it’s very easy to make something that sounds cool, since may of the samples are actually short loops. Sequencing modes are also possible. Overall this app has pretty much everything you would want from a sampler. The UI is fairly easy to pick up though it is a ‘multi-level’ interface and it may take a little time to figure out where everything is. This app is definately a must have for rap / hip hop and is useful for many other genres as well.

Our rating: 4.5 / 5