Loopy Pro: Create music, your way.
What is Loopy Pro? — Loopy Pro is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive live looper, sampler, clip launcher and DAW for iPhone and iPad. At its core, it allows you to record and layer sounds in real-time to create complex musical arrangements. But it doesn’t stop there—Loopy Pro offers advanced tools to customize your workflow, build dynamic performance setups, and create a seamless connection between instruments, effects, and external gear.
Use it for live looping, sequencing, arranging, mixing, and much more. Whether you're a live performer, a producer, or just experimenting with sound, Loopy Pro helps you take control of your creative process.
Download on the App StoreLoopy Pro is your all-in-one musical toolkit. Try it for free today.
Your Go-To Audio App Review sites?
I've only recently started reading reviews for various audio apps on a few sites. The app store is tough to get a clear picture if an app is worth the money or not. You've got friends and fans of the dev leaving reviews... then others who have a bad experience or don't like the dev's pricing model... and still others who leave bad reviews because they simply didn't understand the app.
Only been to a small handful of review sites, but some appear to give glowing reviews to every single app they present. Can't tell if they're only reviewing great apps? Or, if they're giving "glowing" reviews in exchange for advertisement banners. 
The best I've seen so far are the reviews from musicappblog.com - the reviews seem honest and fairly comprehensive.
What are your go-to sites for new app announcements, good honest reviews, and comprehensive details regarding function?
Comments
This forum and a few others.
discchord.com
musicappblog.com
ipadloops.com
(Hope I don't get busted by the 'forum spam-bot' for posting URL's).
Musicappblog, reviews are usually very in depth. I also check out a lot of the soundtestroom videos on YouTube.
I like musicappnews.com which aggregates links to iOS music headlines at various sites and has links to all the app updates on the store.
John Walden at musicappblog.com has the most comprehensive and thorough reviews around. I always read his reviews.
For videos, The Sound Test Room as mentioned before is good to get a look at apps. Doug usually does a great job of demoing apps as they're released (or sometimes before), and Jakob does some great videos on how apps can be used to create tracks. They are more "in action" videos rather than traditional "reviews", but I always watch their content.
I usually come here first the follow the posted links to the various blogs and review videos. I don't usually proactively check out those places without someone already posting "this is a great review, check it out".
All the other guys have said. I also take notice of what certain people say on these forums. Some of the guys and gals here are so helpful at reading between the lines.
The main thing I would say is, get to know what you want and need. That may sound silly, but all of us can get washed along with the excitement tide, or the dislike of some Devs apps. Remember an app many dislike, may be just what you are personally looking for.
Try to get good at reading how people are using apps, as you may find that your use of apps is very different.
Now a sticky subject...price! Be careful when trying to way up price. An app may seem cheap, but if you buy lots of cheap apps that just don't quite fit your style, you will waste a lot of money long term. I have done this. Still waiting to get Auria Pro, but have probably wasted twice its value on loads of cheaper apps since its release!
So best advice. Read and listen everything on the app, but remember your own instinct. Deep down you usually just know if an app is going to be of any real use to yourself
All of the above mentioned: thesoundtestroom.com and discchord are good for video demos, MusicAppBlog is great-thoughtful reviews and you can sign up for a newsletter email Walden sends out that is also superb. I still check PalmSounds, it was the first mobile music app blog I remember reading when I was just using Android apps like Caustic 3 and uLoops-later called PocketBand.
Those are essential to keep up with iOS music app news and of course checking this forum and a few from app devs (the Auria forum, etc.).
Another source of info, if you're into podcasts, is Chip Boaz's "iOS Music and You" podcast. He usually does a brief overview of a specific new app, shares some tips & tricks, and has really good in-depth interviews with app developers.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ios-music-and-you-podcast/id578694804?mt=2
Thanks all! Great tips and info. I'm trying to be a little more careful about just constantly hitting the "buy" button without reading up and evaluating what really makes since for my own use. Auria, for example, is likely a good option for some here. Instead of truly reading reviews and weighing if it was what I really needed, I just trusted the hype and bought it. Ended up regretting it because it really wasn't what I needed at the time.
Loving the musicappnews.com site's dedicated page to apps currently on sale. Grabbed one that's "free" called Firo. It seems to be a very good app. No in-app purchases or upgrades. Just looks to be an extremely well thought out app and it's free. How do they make money? Is this perhaps just a launch tactic and it'll cost something eventually? Grabbed DubFilter too and it also seems to be a cool app that's free with no way to support the product with in-app purchases or upgrades. Neither have ads either.
I don't mind paying for something that's well done, fairly priced, and meets my own needs. In the past I haven't been very thoughtful about the purchases and ended up wasting money on apps that got abandoned, weren't really a good fit, were too buggy, etc. That's why I'm looking for more review sites/blogs to cross-reference in order to make more informed buying decisions.
Some I've bought without checking into, like SoundPro Link, turn out to be very pleasant surprises. And AUM has likely been the best $10 I've spend in a couple months. But, with AUM... I had a pretty good idea what it was going to be beforehand and it turned out to be even better than I'd hoped.
Here to find out what's coming and to see what is being said about a particular app, then google and YouTube mainly, watch and read everything you can, I always look out for the TSTR vids or for vids of people performing with an app, you can't get better than seeing someone actually using an app to get a feel for what it is like. most importantly remember not everybody's opinion is the same on everything, so use the information and make your own assessment. If you are unsure of anything then ask here, everyone is very helpful and willing to let you know their experiences own with any given app.
Firo used to cost $20 when it was first launched. But the developer (Adam Kumpf, who occasionally pops by) discovered that the iOS music market is tiny, and his apps (which were priced between $5 and $20) were not generating enough revenue for him to carry on developing them. So he made Firo free to try and increase the user base - his aim was to get it into schools. Unfortunately I don't think he has found a way to make app-building viable, which is a shame because his apps are great, I really like Firo.
It's tricky for indie developers, because without a large marketing budget it's very difficult to generate sales. You have to rely on word-of-mouth, or some good luck (like being showcased on TV).
That's a shame. I've only played with it for about a half hour and really like it a lot. It's very well designed, functions and sounds great, and is very intuitive... even for a non-musician like myself. Knowing that it indeed has value to me, if he had an extra collection of presets or something to buy in-app, I would have purchased them to support the dev's work in Firo, even if I didn't really need the extra presets, etc.
Need to get through the TSTR video "epic" video for Samplr. Started it last night and it got too late. Looks like just what I need. Love their videos.
A little off-topic, but if you're interested in Samplr, my favorite demo vid is from Gaz Williams of SonicState. They don't do a lot of iOS reviews/videos, but this is one of him showing off Samplr. It's a magnificent app.
Thanks! I think it's actually on topic for sure.
I've spent enough time with Samplr over the last couple of weeks to know I need to dive much deeper with this one. Will watch it now. Thanks!
I know our friend Doug @thesoundtestroom has had some challenges of late and I have really got to thinking about how much I will miss his videos if he decides he doesn't want or can't carry on with them. His approach and informed yet down-to-earth style are the perfect balance (for me) as far as getting a real feel for an app by watching. Invaluable.
Thanks, I've been looking for something like this! Even shows you all apps currently on sale on one page!
Yes, fully in agreement
+1 Doug is the King.
Here are the sites i've collected on this twitter list:
https://twitter.com/originalDJB/lists/ios-music-news/members
34 members. You have to be a twitter user to access it.
Then, throw it into flipboard.
Add to already mentioned:
SweetwaterSound channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1kdsZUTDSW1BtsHEoYx4WQ
Sonicstate channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW64y2tidRL5njv0JrQdvbA
Great list. Just subscribed to it. thx!
yeah, that Samplr video with the guitalele was very good and made me want the app immediately
the Sweetwater videos are also quite informative and watching Jakob Haq is very enjoyable indeed (though I often don't really get what exactly he's doin' there)
i have a few other useful lists here:
https://twitter.com/originalDJB/lists
for example, i realized @thesoundtestroom is not in the "news" list, but in the "VIPs" list.
so there is some overlap, and there are some differences.
http://musicappblog.com
http://discchord.com
http://appshopper.com
http://www.iosnoops.com
http://palmsounds.net
http://musicappblog.com
http://discchord.com
http://appshopper.com
http://www.iosnoops.com
http://palmsounds.net