AmpliTube

Turn your iPad into a fully featured electric guitarist's studio with one simple app!

AmpliTube mimics a typical guitarist's setup, providing you with an amplifier, effects pedals and a little recording studio, all on your iPad. All you have to bring to the party is your electric guitar, some talent and a pair of headphones. Oh, and a cable to connect your guitar to your iPad (or iPhone - there's a separate version available). There are two main types of cable on the market - the AmpliTube-branded iRig. Both work equally well with the AmpliTube app, but we prefer the iRig for build quality.

The level of detail in the photorealistic amps and effects pedals is superb - it's just like using the real thing. The downside of this is that the casual guitarist could well be put off by the level of complexity involved in setting an amp up, but thankfully there are presets available for each amp with names like 'Smooth lead' or 'Seattle'.

In the free version of this app, you get just three pedals (Noise Filter, Delay and Distortion) and one amp - with more available as in-app purchases. You can also purchase a version of the app with five amps and 11 pedals and make a significant saving compared to buying every item individually. But even with this version of AmpliTube, you still need to make in-app purchases to get all the extras, such as the upgrade to an eight-track recorder.

Other features of note include the ability to import songs from your iPod app (or over your Wi-Fi network), so you can play along with them. The lengthy importing process is a real hassle, but once it's done you can slow down the track and loop individual sections. Results are mixed, however - slowing down songs seems to result in a lot of audio crackle.

The app did crash a few times on us too, but these are relatively small niggles compared to the fun that's to be had here. Its nearest competitor is Griffin's iShred, but AmpliTube beats it hands down for sheer versatility, even if iShred works better with the iPod app.

Korg iMS-20 vs ReBirth

Both of these appps are retro-styled emulations of classic studio kit that have shaped the sound of dance music for the past 25 years. Forget Garageband, these apps represent retro beat and groove creation at their most synthetic.

Heritage

Just as Gibson and Les Paul set a benchmark for rock guitar, so Roland's TR-808, TR-909 and TB-303 defined and detonated hip-hop and house. And all three machines are perfectly recreated in ReBirth. It was released on iPhone in 2010, and thanks to the extra finger room of the iPad all three classics have room to shine.

Korg's MS-20 may not be as famous as the Roland originals, but in many ways it's an even more fashionable and prized synth. The MS-20's raw powersynth sound has been key to tracks by the likes of Daft Punk, Soulwax and The Chemical Brothers. The iMS-20 is a gorgeous recreation of this classic plus a drum synth, sequencer, mixer and effects - all you need to make a banging tune.

Ease of use

As synths go, the MS-20 is a simple unit but the way its oscillators and filters are arranged (and patchable through the addition of cables to the front panel) allow some truly ear-shredding sounds. It's not particularly easy to 'make a sound' but you can spend hours happily tweaking, and the built-in presets (a luxury unavailable on the original) are a great head start in learning what certain sounds 'look like'.

Rebirth on the other hand makes it amazingly easy to bash out tunes. You now own a pair of 303 bassline machines linked to 808 and 909 drum machines. You program your beats and melody in the exact same laborious, stunted way you programmed the original machines and then you hit play. With no practice, no talent, and no idea what you're doing it's childsplay to make amazing, technically accurate house. This is because - thanks to the fiddly, near impossible to master interface of the 303 in particular- that's exactly what the makers of all those hit records did.

Authenticity

Fiddling with ReBirth's knobs-opening and dosing the sound thanks to the Multi-Touch interface - is the sound of acid house. The built in compression, distortion, reverb and delay effects help push the sound to the same dizzying extremes. Meanwhile the sound of the iMS-20 is richer and nothing short of incredible for an app. All the grit and grime is intact. Forget any 'cello', 'choir' or miked 'drum kit' sounds: this synth is raw vintage.

Use your iOS device as a MIDI control surface

If you don't want to wait for a commercial iOS-device control surface for your favorite DAW or virtual instrument, and you're willing to forgo some advanced features (two-way communication, for example), designing your own is much easier than you might think. You'll want to use OpenSound Control (OSC) because it is designed for network communication, and if you're not targeting an application that supports OSC, you'll need to convert the OSC messages to MIDI.

Hexler TouchOSC ($4.99 from the iTunes store) is an iOS application that hosts OSC control surfaces and handles WiFi communication with your computer. The free downloadable companion program TouchOSC Editor lets you design the control-surface GUI on your computer (Mac, Win, or Linux) and upload it to your iOS device. OSCulator ($39, Mac, osculator. net) lets you easily map OSC messages to MIDI messages and provides a MIDI port for routing these messages to your MIDI applications. The process for Windows is a bit more involved; it is documented on the Hexler website (hexler.net). Here are the details for a control panel that I use frequently with Propellerhead Reason.

Combinators Ready

TouchOSC Editor offers graphic elements for use as buttons, faders, knobs, labels, and LEDs. You can get as device specific as you like in your design, but you'll save lots of time and probably build a more useful control surface if you keep it generic. One way to do that with Reason is to target the Combinator module. That lets you control any Reason device by wrapping it in a Combinator and mapping its controls to the Combinator's.

Figure above shows the layout I use on my iPad. It controls as many as four Combinators along with four mixer channels into which the Combinators are routed. I've avoided labeling any of the iPad elements for the Combinators, relying instead on the labels on the Combinator to remind me of their function. I can use this iPad control surface with any Reason song that has a Combinator in it, ignoring any unused Combinator and mixer controls.

Once you design a control surface and upload it to your iOS device, launch OSCulator and ensure the iOS device's TouchOSC outgoing port matches OSCulator's input port (8000 by default). Touch the iOS device graphic controls one at a time and each will appear as a separate message line in the OSCulator window. These lines are ordered alphabetically by control name, so if you rename the controls in a logical fashion as you create them in TouchOSC Editor, you'll be able to easily identify the line corresponding to each control. (Edit only the part of the name after the last slash and limit yourself to lowercase letters and numerals.)

The next step is to set the MIDI event type, number, and channel for each line. Then lock the OSCulator document (Command + L) and save it. You'll need to open this document each time you use the TouchOSC control surface.

You can use your target's MIDI-learn function to map OSCulator's MIDI output to the desired controls, but in Reason, it's easier to set up OSCulator as an Advanced MIDI input and use Reason's built-in MIDI routings. Use a different MIDI channel for the mixer and each set of Combinator controls, and use Reason's Hardware Interface panel to route the controls by channel to the corresponding Reason devices.

Recording Studio Software Selection

When you start looking for some recording studio software you are usually focused on nice screen shots, fancy descriptions and price tag. However, most people never check the most important factors when selecting recording software. You should first ask yourself why do you need the software, what features are the most important for you, do you already have a computer or you would buy a new one, do you need compatibility with other recording studios, will this software work with your audio hardware or do you need to purchase also a new, dedicated sound card, etc. Selecting right recording studio software is not a simple task.

Why do you need recording studio software? Because every home or professional recording studio uses computers for audio production. Audio computers and software are indispensable tools in every recording studio. You can use computers with appropriate software not just for recording but also for editing, adding effects, sound synthesis, filtering, mastering, archiving, transfer, etc. It is also possible to build a cheap home recording studio with ordinary PC and some popular audio recording software. Computers and audio recording software have become an essential part of every recording studio.

What features do you need? Well, this depends on the individual requirements and studio type. Every recording software supports recording, editing and playback. You should decide if you need more emphasis on audio recording features (level matching, spectrum analysis, audio compression, conversion tools, mastering, etc.) or you need more emphasis on MIDI devices, instruments and sampling (sequencers, wave table synthesis, drum machines, musical notation, etc.). Many recording studio software solutions have good support for both, audio operations and musical instruments.

Do you already have a sound card or you don't but can afford to buy a new one? Most music recording software works with standard sound cards that are supported by the operating system, while some of them work only with proprietary audio hardware. One such example is Pro Tools which works only with special Digidesgn or M-Audio hardware. The basic rule is that you first select your audio hardware according to the needs of your studio. The next step is to find a suitable audio recording software. However, in some cases these steps can be reversed. If you know exactly what software you need or would like to have then you need to find a sound card that is supported and has the connections compatible with your recording studio equipment.

If you don't have a computer yet, then you might have a dilemma. Mac or PC? The answer is not simple. Both kinds work well and are found in recording studios. Most recording studio software solutions work on both platforms but not all. If you already have a computer that you intend to use then this question is redundant. Otherwise it is a good idea to check availability of chosen audio recording software on Mac and PC.

Do you need to transfer your music projects to another studio? If the answer is yes, then your software needs to be compatible with software in studios you intend to work with. A typical example of standard recording studio software which excels in compatibility is Pro Tools. All versions of Pro Tools support the "Pro Tools file" so you can easily transfer projects between studios that use Pro Tools. Of course, every audio software supports standard audio file formats like wav and mp3 for reading and for writing. The compatibility between different recording software is declared on the level of project files. This means that you save your unfinished project in one studio and open it in another one where it can be finished.

Price? The price of the most popular audio recording software starts at about $100. This is a very small amount comparing to the total price of your studio equipment. Therefore, the price of the software should be one of the last factors when selecting software for your studio.

Selecting the right recording studio software can be a difficult task but you can simplify it by knowing what exactly you need and how you will use the software in your recording studio.

You can find more information about software used in recording studios at Recording Studio Software website which is dedicated to recording studios, computers and software. Here you can read more about Macs, PCs, recording studio software selection, recording studio design, and you can also check supported features and compare various recording studio software.

Home Recording Studio Software

There are many professional recording studios around. Famous names, soundproof rooms, fancy equipment and high prices. But you can build a decent recording studio at home. All you need is a suitable quiet place, a computer and recording studio software. The cost of the hardware and software can be as low as the price of a state of the art gaming computer!

To build a professional recording studio at home is not so hard. It is not the equipment that defines professionalism; it is your ambition and knowledge to achieve the goal. If you can afford to dedicate one room for studio purposes then all you need is some simple audio hardware, a computer and software.

The prices of computers can vary. Faster computers with better performances are preferred, but usually are tagged with higher prices. You can also select individual components and build a custom, not-so-expensive computer according to your needs.

You would expect that the most expensive piece of equipment is the recording studio software. Wrong! There are many professional software packages that are also used in professional recording studios and that don't cost a fortune. In fact, they are quite cheap. For a few hundred dollars you can get software with a lot of features, attractive and functional user interface and with functionality to convert any PC or Mac into a powerful recording studio.

There are also many recording software packages available. They all function in similar ways. Some of the most popular studio software packages are Propellerhead Reason, Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Sonar, and Digital Performer. All of these packages can be used in home recording studio. You need to compare them and check if they support features you are interested in. If you will not buy a new computer then you should check compatibility with the existing one - be careful because some software is only available for either PC or Mac platform.

Usually the first step when building a home recording studio is to define the purpose and to select audio equipment including sound card. The next step could be selecting the computer and software. However, in some cases these steps can be reversed. For example, you are astonished by the capabilities and user interface of the Propellerhead Reason software. In such case the software is already selected. You need a computer to run it, some audio card and probably a cheap MIDI keyboard for your first music experience.

One of the most popular recording studio software is Pro Tools. It is used in many professional studios. It is so popular because it comes (or works) with dedicated, high-quality audio hardware and really covers all tasks in audio recording, editing and mastering. There are three versions of Pro Tools available. Pro Tools HD is designed with the highest quality standards in mind and runs on a state-of-the-art DSP hardware. Pro Tools LE is a medium priced solution and works with many audio cards from Digidesign and M-Audio. And there is also a very cheap Pro Tools M-Powered that can be used with dozens of cheap M-Audio interfaces. The bottom line of all Pro Tools versions is that they all use the same file format. This means compatibility between your home recording studio and any professional studio using Pro Tools.

If you have decided to build a home recording studio you should first take a look at available software. Learn what is possible and start dreaming. Even with a modest computer and cheap software you can start recording or composing music. You will be amazed with all the possibilities you have at home. Soon you will be able to do things that few years ago were only possible in professional recording studios.

You can find more information about software used in recording studios at the Recording Studio Software website which is dedicated to recording studios, computers and software. Here you can read more about Macs, PCs, recording studio software selection, recording studio design, and you can also check supported features in recording studio software comparison table.