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.
Why iOS is good (for want of a better title)
There are a lot of fads coming and going through this place, lots strong opinions floating around and certain ideas seem to float to the top and reverberate around the place for longer/more strongly than others.
These come and go like the tide and one I've seen a lot lately is an ever present echo of "iOS SUCKS!! LOL GET DESKTOP!".
Do we really have that little imagination?
I mean, we've just lived the last 12 months, during which we've seen the release of a few significant apps which have basically brought iOS's slow boil onto a professional level, along with 'pro' grade devices to support growth! The stew is really starting to simmer and smell good right now. Over the next few months we're going to see a few more significantly game changing releases (that we know about so far..) which are going to add just the right mix of flavours to carry the momentum we've seen over the last months forwards and upwards.
Completely aside from the possibility for being part of the creation and growth of a COMPLETELY NEW THING (a rare and fantastic thing to experience - and I don't want to read any dirty jokes about this statement either) the basic concept of producing music on iOS is hugely different from that of Desktop production.
From now on I'm only going to speak for myself, from my perspective and in my experience.
Have you ever watched someone performing with a Macbook or other kind of desktop/laptop system? It's a weird and uncomfortable limbo of 'Now I'm performing - Now I'm using a computer - Now I'm performing - Now I'm a DJ (look at me!) - Now I'm using a computer (wait, what bar are on?)' - Now I'm doing an awkward dance while using a computer' etc. etc. No matter how many MIDI controllers and other cool tricks you have, you're always going to have to use a computer - live! Still, it's cool to have all the unlimited possibility of what's available on that mature and well developed platform. Some artists do it well.
In the studio it's a different situation again. Desktop is in it's element (an office). I've spent a LOT of time myself with various versions of Cubase (first DAW!), Reason 4-5 (creative heaven), Sonar (loved X2/X3), Studio One (sooo good for editing!!) and Ableton Live (existing in it's own category). Still though, when I used those programs (apart from maybe Reason) it was a case of deciding to sit down and work. The best part was over (creating the music) and now it was time to go and make it into an mp3.
iOS cherry picks the best elements of both situations and puts them in one (tiny) box. Not just that, but it does it with the most highly advanced and intuitive/immersive interface/input mechanism designed by mankind EVER! And artists, creators and anyone with inspiration and inclination are creating and maintaining software for this thing through an official and seamless distribution channel? The kind of mind blowing creative tools that you could only dream up in fantasy? Are you kidding me?!!?!
Beyond the fact that this thing exists at all (and that you can combine lots of them together to make one big thing .. cool as hell!) it really does annihilate the line between studio and live. Whether I sit down to create, to jam with friends, to perform as a band member, to record my own or someone else's music (etc.) I sit down with exactly the same equipment and exactly the same software setup (yeah, it rightfully took a fuck of a long time to plan, design, develop refine and practise).
There's no line at all, everything just exists in the middle, in a constant state of creation. The equipment doesn't capture the instruments and voices retrospectively and set them into digital stone. It is part of the music itself, existing intangibly around the periphery of the instruments and the creativity of the artists, expanding the possibilities of what already exists in a way that pushes harder and more powerfully towards genuine creation, while documenting the process as part of it's design, capturing and constructing itself from the creation that passes through it and so thus evolving and creating in it's own right, echoing the voices of the artists and the vision of the developers in a perfect unison.
Let's use a little imagination, yeah?
I know that I'm just playing devils advocate to a minority, as this is an iOS message board and most people here are either exclusively or primarily producing/performing with this platform. These were thoughts that passed through my mind this morning.
Funny fact.. I actually used to perform with a group which used Orion software live, running on old desktop hardware. We had CRT monitors on stage and 'custom made' anoraks to protect them from rain. Yep, it didn't last long.. The guitarists ran Digitech 2120 units with ridiculous 'tap dancing' foot controllers for more than a decade though (I just used a big old pedal board on bass). What we're doing on iOS is no more advanced in any way really, as what those guys did with hardware almost 20 years ago (before I even started working with them). We just have a smaller box and more fluid interface. Besides that, the same laws of creativity and preparation apply.
Comments
I have Reaper on the desktop which I use for work, but that's it. There's no joy in using it, it's not much better than using a spreadsheet in terms of fun IMO.
So personal stuff if all iOS. I did consider getting Studio One for my Surface Book but the additional features it offers over Auria are surprisingly small considering the additional cost. If I had a Mac I would be tempted by Logic though, just for the sheer number of instruments it comes with.
In terms of workflow though, I don't see the advantages of the desktop, editing on the iPad can easily match the mouse for precision. The only real advantage the desktop still has is storage for large sample libraries. This will change in time.
Since the workflow is different there is place and need for iOS (or other mobile OS) and a desktop workflow.
)
Both kinds can make fun or suck in certain areas.
I had an old windows notebook ones with no high res. screen and it was horrible and i never ever could imagine using it for producing music again.
There was iOS and it was/is awesome. I use it since years now for making music and sound design and will do it in the future too for sure.
Then i evolved more and missed a few things, bought a new Macbook Pro retina with fast SSD, some plug-ins and learned Logic over several months, years. It´s so much different compared to a few years ago. Notebooks booting up in seconds, some things still (and always) works much better, faster and more precise with a trackpad or mouse (never use a mouse) while there is nothing in desktop land for multi-touch performence like iOS (windows 10 is not there).
IOS is much better to start and offers so much great things but it also can still limit you where you don´t want it.
I see on both side that people say the other things is crap, a toy, too expensive, too much limits, to complicated etc., etc.
I see many posts out there with raging about things (i´m guilty too) which are not there anymore or they even don´t tryed the other side since years to compare how it is today.
There is an evolution going on, on all these workflows and i personally think no musician should ever focus on a single OS or device and should always be open for everything.
Of course this is an iOS forum and it´s clear that iOS is and should be the focus. But nothing wrong to compare things or share experiences with people who use several workflows for different things.
I must say that in general in iOS land (i mean not this forum here which is one of the most friendly still) people are more euphoric which is a great thing but also sometimes i miss some more harder critics because iOS is already there for "pro" apps and so i sometimes compare them to pro tools.
At the end i can just agree, iOS is good (even if it also can be bad
Great post! @OscarSouth You've nailed my exact perspective, glad to see I'm not alone.
I was in an all analog to tape recording studio in the '90s. The band broke up, and took my guitars, went home, and stopped playing and recording. 2010 brings me an iPod touch. I never looked back. There have been snags over the years, but I'm in for the ride.
Yep 100% IOS now. The possibility to avoid a computer was my first concern when I moved to IOS.
) and better midi implementation for a lot of apps...Then, everything will be fine for me 
No mouse, easy to add on a mic stand, easier to access with fingers, very light, Link, IAA....
Still missing a bit of stability, but confident with IOS 11, (first full 64bits system WITH 64 bits apps, can't be bad...) also miss a bit of polish to extend some very nice apps (AUM for instance
I feel similar but I can use desktop/laptop if I need them... but not so usual if you ask me.
I prefer give these tasks to my "pro users" friends with studios and so. For live or field recording I could do more than I could need just with an iPhone and the right app.
The point are "target" and "goal". Tools are tools and at last it's all about the music...
I use iOS to perform live as a keyboardist. I went directly from a hardware setup to hardware and iOS setup and this has allowed me to bring much smaller/lighter equipment and have twice the 'useful' sounds as compared to strictly using two hardware keyboards. I skipped the whole MacBook with controller option so I may not have a full perspective for comparison but I feel (as some have stated) that an iPad feels more like an instrument than any computer. With apps that can be played on screen and the quality sound libraries that have become available, iOS devices lend themselves to the musical environment that live musicians are already used to. I mean it just looks cool to an audience when I bust open the theramin in TJ and start jamming right on screen and I don't think you can achieve the same impression on a computer as easily if at all.
For me:
I think the key with iOS is just recognising what it's best at. I spent a lot of time and money trying to make it behave like my laptop, and it probably never will. Too many workarounds. But when it comes to just loading a synth up and making a cool arp pattern on the couch, or playing about with Gadget on the crapper, that's where iOS excels. Immediacy, fun, creativity,
I still feel like it's more hassle than it's worth for me to try and make it do what my laptop does...because that's what my laptop is for. So why waste my time? However I appreciate that not everyone has a full studio, and maximum respect to anyone who is making their iPad work for them in this way, despite some of it's more annoying limitations.
I would say though - without being overly negative or cynical - that I wouldn't hold my breath and wait for apple to do anything that will make this easier. We aren't their average or most valued customers. And it's not really like them to take on board criticism or feedback. If they've neglected their desktop computers to the extent they have...I'm not hopeful that they'll suddenly be super receptive to the pros and semi pros who want more out of their iDevices. Just don't see it happening. The way they've consigned all 32-bit apps to the bin is a prime example of how little they care about the needs of people who rely on this stuff for their work (in some cases).
So that's the flip side to it all, IMHO. But again don't get me wrong. I acknowledge what iOS is good at. And it is very good at it.
IOS touch screen is awesome: it encourages new musical interfaces and designs that make it not only fun but easy for a wide audience of people to express themselves with music. That's a good thing.
I'm an imaginative chap and I'm willing to adapt to new workflows, but (for me) I would still start (and finish) a large project on the Desktop. I tend to work with a large pool of material and file management on iOS (currently) is very much lacking.
Saying that, for other ways of working I can see iOS being superior to the 'big old computer' route.
I don't want to seem like I'm singling you out or anything (although by the nature of this statement.. I am! apologies in advance) but this post is a good example of the kind of mentality that I was addressing.
The flawed logic, from my point of view, is that you tried to make the iPad behave as a laptop. You already had a laptop!! That's what it's for!!
Yes I love interacting with a touch screen for music so much more than with a mouse. And it is so immediate, I haven't had the luxury of a permanent setup, so if wanted to use a computer for music, I would need to plug in an audio interface, and a keyboard, and either headphones or a speaker system, and by the time everything was wired together, you'd lost half your inspiration. With an ipad, I can pick it up and have something going within seconds. I basically don't use a desktop computer for music any more, I only use IoS.
With new devices hitting 4Gb ram and decent sync I don't see how I might go back to a desktop.
Mind you, I still use my iMac and MacBook Pro for audio editing and video work but creatively they're totally in the past.
It's all good man - maybe I laboured the point to much but what I was getting at was that I had to move past that in order to enjoy it
Now that I'm using the iPad for what it's good at, and likewise with the laptop, I'm much happier! More music. Less messing about!
I could go on all night, but I have other things to do.
The one really bad issue with iOS is that while it opens the doors for very inexperienced developers and experienced but under funded developers, the complexity of many of the interfaces and the changes Apple makes to them makes it impossible for these guys to keep up with the changes. Note that while I some feelings for the little guys, big guys like IKM, etc. that don't keep up are just incompetent assholes.
First I read this and thought, the band took your guitars!!!!!!!!!!!! Then, I re-read it and determined it was you who took them home.
Whew, that was a close one. lol....
Lol. I left out "I". Please don't tell my students!
Lately I've been using ios to create audio puzzle pieces that get assembled in a second step. Puzzle pieces get made mostly by playing apps live. The ios touch interfaces really support this live playing work flow. And Link+AUM+MIDI Link Sync makes recording the puzzle pieces a breeze. Even more amazing is using multiple linked devices for generating useful audio. Being able to monitor what you've done on one device and play along in sync and record what you're doing on other devices is Star Trek/Jetsons territory.
The best bit about iOS is the touch interface and great apps that support it, the next best bit is its size and portability.
The next good thing about iOS is also what is bad about it....It can do everything, and so I ask it to, and then it all falls apart LOL
Yeah, precisely. It's modular software environment definitely requires a thoughtful, resourceful and economical approach to utilise it's strengths fully. It's very good at being a one trick pony (Figure on the bus etc.) but to work on that higher level of fluid functionality, it takes a lot of preparation and planning.
That's fine in my opinion. It took me 15 years of dedicated self study, full time education and daily experience getting to the level that I am at such a simple tool as a bass guitar, and it'll be 15 more before I get half way to where I want to be inside my life. I've been working regularly with iOS for about 15 months now and while there's infinite scope for creativity, I feel that I'm 95% there on a technical level. That's not bad!