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.
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Comments
What’s the most comprehensive sample editor on iOS to cut, trim, and put fades onto samples as a starter to prepare prior to import to AudioLayer.
TwistedWave and it hurts to say it but AudioCopy has a pretty neat sample editor built-in.(Send files to it using 'Open In...' and send them back using 'Open In...' waiting for the day when AudioCopy get's Files.app support though).
I do hope AudioLayer get's more tools for editing the samples/recordings.
Basics would be trim/crop, fade in/out, normalise and reverse.
Selection tools could include 'snap to grid' with options to set the BPM and division for the 'snap grid' and optional 'snap to zero'. Also some visual tools to make looping easier would be handy. (ie. semi transparent overlay loop start &end when moving the loop handles so the more 'solid' the colour is the closer to perfection the loop is).
The 'looping' could also be done in the 'sample editor' since it can be quite a pita to have to loop the sample over and over again if it's used in multiple patches unless there is a way to write the loop metadata to the sample.
And well, I do most of my sampling and sample editing in either Cubasis or BM3.
In Cubasis load the sample to the AudioTrack, edit it freeze it do anything with it, once 'done' save to the MediaBay. The Cubasis Audio folder in MediaBay can be easily accessed from AudioLayer.
No need to export the sample from Cubasis, same goes for BM3 since both can be accessed using 'Files.app'.
Worth noting is that iMPC Pro 2 also supports Files.app so it's easy to import samples from there into AudioLayer.
Virsyn just told me that modulating the sample start time etc is on there list of future updates. This will make this bad boy top banana for me. I just love thinking about all the possibilties modulating sample start time, woho!
"Oldschool TIme-Stretching 101". Assign velocity to sample start, add a bunch of 16th notes over a bar or two and ramp up their velocities
I would like to understand what these features mean.
Transcient Detection
Slices>Zones / Layers
Is it important to move these into the App because that's where the understanding of the "slices" lies? Can it be moved outside and still work as you would expect?
I hope that's not a typo because a demo of this might give me the clues I need.
The fact that the App loads small segments (slices?) to be prepared for any note to start within the latency of the App and then gets additional "slices" as required might help but to be prepared you'd have to load the start and end of any sample if I understand what "Reverse" might mean. How does "Reverse" typically get used? Does the whole sample just get "reversed" and used in a "layer" everytime or does it get used randomly against the normal sample form.
Sorry for all the questions but it helps me and probably a few others understand how "sampling" is used musically across the spectrum of use cases.
I'd love to see @Virsyn prioritize "sample loading" so we can share Instruments, buy Instrument Packs and encourage a new de facto "Instrument Standard" to replace the aging SF2, SFZ and ESX24 packages. Then a whole standards-based market could be emerge with additional Apps (and hardware) that supports import of these Instruments.
That's the lesson of AudioBus (thank you Michael). He created a defacto standard and we're still benefitting from the benefits of Apps working well together. It also pushed Apple to create additional useful standards like AUv3.
A "Sampler" with AUv3 is so great! But "Sampler" still has 9-10 meanings/implementations.
All I heard about @Virsyn on this Forum since I joined was how much people regretting buying their Synths. And here they are doing exactly what I was praying for: a sampler with Disk Streaming that I could load samples into without paying big IAP fees to build my personal "Orchestra". iSymphonic, SampleTank, BeatHawk, etc are great but the workflow of making a complex "classic film score" with one is a nightmare. I'm still not sure AudioLayer will fix this but at least I'll be able to "patch" the orchestra when the oboe sounds weird.
An App can be anything but it can't be everything. Too many features make for a very unstable product. So, I hope they choose wisely. Version 1 runs on every IOS product I own including an iPad 2 with 512MB RAM. How great is that for $15?
Transient = Attack portion of a sound
Slices = Portions/SingleSounds or 'Sections' of longer sample
Zones = mapped to a range of keys...
Layers = Each 'zone' treated as a separate sound (Ie. for example layer a HiHat on top of a Kick Drum).
Step sequencer could be used to re-arrange the 'Slices' to create a new playable sound.
It is in fact called 'Simpler' and it's a simplified version of the full Ableton Sampler
Ableton has plenty of videos describing the some of above...
(Google is your friend).
For example a 'reverse' version of a snare drum sound could be used before the snare that plays forward for 'woooshsmack effect' Or why not layer a reverse version of a piano sound on top of the piano that plays forward.
(Queen used this 'method' with tapes on some of their songs like in the Flash Gordon theme).
It's for creative usage.
There are as many use cases for a samplers as there are users, I can only tell you how I like to use them
For SF2 files we already have BS-16i (AUv3) if preset are a priority.
(Most SF2 files include multiple 'presets' and thus a additional preset manager would be needed).
If ESX24 files are priority AuriaPro might be a better choice?
That's simply because the 'Sampler' is so many things to many different people.
If we take the bare-bones definition a 'Sampler' it grabs a piece of audio and plays it back.
The rest (pad sampler, looper, mpc etc. etc) are just different ways to use and manipulate the 'Recordings/Samples'.
I like them all, TeraSynth, Poseidon, AddictivePro and AudioEffx is one of my most used multi-effect AUv3's
True, there will always be some compromises as the 'perfect app' will never become reality since every user has different requirements
Sorry for a long reply...
I'll read your reply in a minute.
I followed the "Simpler" clue and watched this:
Mind blown. What he does with a Trumpet lick in the first few minutes made me think "I would love that!" Looking for a good trumpet sample? Just take a loop of Miles Davis and drop in in the "Simpler"... transients, slices, map across the keyboard and
you have a playable MIDI'ed "Miles Trumpet" instrument.
So how much of that can ReSlice do already? Back to YouTube to find out.
(Oh yeah. Read @samu reply)
Samu slips me another dozen clues and a YouTube Link.
I appreciate your detailed explanation and your patience. It would be like me trying to teach academic music theory one post at a time. Probably not the best use of your time but I believe one "idiot" serves the needs of dozens that would not
take the risk of showing their ignorance.
No worries, I need to 'refresh my brain' at times too
OK. I was avoiding the "ReSlice" videos because of the $15.
Wow. I gotta get that App too using Doug's Link:
https://youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=sKRGVpxOyaPnvhITz4OovaoQcn58MTUzMzY2OTAxOUAxNTMzNTgyNjE5&q=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Freslice%2Fid1187609531%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%26at%3D1l3voJz&v=zd1BizfXRFc&event=video_description
It looks like the ReSlice/AudioLayer combo using AudioShare to pass waves back and forth will keep me busy and save a lot of time looking about for perfect samples... just slice up instruments I like from the world of recorded sound.
Please don't tell me about the @Virsyn synth wonders until next month's billing cycle. Deal?
ReSlice is good but I guess that after you've watched a few more of those SImpler videos you'll agree that bringing over some ReSlice features to AudioLayer could be pretty handy
(And well, I'm still hoping that some day Ableton will Simpler AUv3 to iOS).
Let’s see what happen in November with ableton. Mind you simpler uses a lot of CPU!
If you really want to full-bore down the sampler / slicer rabbit hole, IMO the Beatmaker 3 sampler has the most, in the most integrated fashion.
Take a sample, slice it up (unfortunately without transient section for now), send the slices to pads automatically, while also creating a pattern that will play back the original straight through. Reverse, apply envelopes, FX, loop, automate just about everything ... all per slice if you want. Layer them up, distribute into zones, make a synth out of them - you name it.
I have strayed from BM3 for various reasons, but the sampling capabilities are enormous. I’m happy to hav AudioLayer and ReSlice because of their portability, but on iOS, the benchmark IMO is BM3.
(Or Samplr, so I don’t get beat over the head by the faithful. 😎)
If it's a Simpler AUv3 I'm so ready to buy a new iPad LOL
Agree that BM3 is best sampler on iOS right now. But I carry my iPhone around with me all the time and AudioLayer allows me to sketch out stuff on the go... And the AUv3 angle is going to become increasingly important in next six months as new specialized AU hosts come on the market. I'm beta testing a new solution for live playing right now that is so compelling that I'm willing to look at AudioLayer and ReSlice because the host only allows AUv3 plugins.
Quick question, how can you set it up for round robin or random? Thanks
The random and round robin options are under the "Layers" menu--you can set each layer for "none", "random", and "round robin". If you set three layers to "round robin" each time you trigger a sample, it plays the next layer. That's cool. However, as noted in my questions, it's not entirely intuitive, based on the UX, how you set up round robin or randomization across zones. I have since figured out that round robin and randomization do, in fact, work across zones--it's just that the UI only allows you to associate multiple layers per zone via import (not record). At least that's what I've figured based on the muddling I've done so far (without a manual and/or tutorial videos). I don't feel like I'm out of the fog yet...
@lukesleepwalker
Please keep providing clues as you find them. I thought Layers made sense for velocity mapping’s but this opens my mind up to more possbilites using Round Robbin and Random to create unique sound sequences. Round robin would be the same every time you start the transport but random changes assuming random is actually random selection of the layer.
Ah! Huge thanks - I spent some time looking for that yesterday with no joy. Completely missed that you have to click on the arrow itself to get into the layer menu. Doh!
Me too. It took about 10 minutes to re-find it and I know I had seen it before. Learning Apps can be so frustrating.
I didn’t know that existed thanks that arrow hardly shows.
Yep, and me.
OK, so the good news is that either (1) the recent update sorted out some issues; or (2) I've sorted out some user error issues. Most likely the latter! Either way, I can get round robin and random working as expected now. The one thing that is confusing is that you can't record into a new Zone as you can for a new Layer--you can only import samples into new Zones associated with a layer. It doesn't make sense to me, perhaps @VirSyn can comment on the design decision made there.
Edit: I now see the REC feature in the middle of that Zone panel, but why can't I just choose record as an option when I press the + button? And what's the difference between the plus button and the Import button?
In this first screenshot, note in upper left that I have selected Layer 1 and then opened the Zones panel:
This shows three different zones for Layer 1. If I go back to Layers and select Layer 2, and then open the Zones panel, I can create three zones for three different samples (using the plus in lower left corner of panel):
Note that each Zone shows the associated sample in tiny text under the Key designation. To get round robin of the samples associated with each zone, I turn on that option back in the layer panel:
With round robin you have to have the same number of samples/zones and layers or you will get silence when you hit the place in the layer sequence where a sample has not been loaded. (In other words, the app doesn’t correct for fewer layers per zone.)
«With round robin you have to have the same number of samples/zones and layers or you will get silence when you hit the place in the layer sequence where a sample has not been loaded. (In other words, the app doesn’t correct for fewer layers per zone.)»
I would love to have an option to skip empty layers. When working with drum samples I might have i.e. 5 bassdrum samples and only three Tom samples.
I also wonder if it is possible to group zones across layers. Say I have a cymbal sample on C4, round robin across six layers. If it is too loud -do I have to go into every layer and adjust the volume for each sample?
STUPID USER TIP FOR AudioLayer:
How to modify a Zone: I'm pushing every button/widget to look through every menus (maybe a dozen times) and finally I see the little arrows on the "football field" and grab a microscope and notice that the field doesn't have yard markers but C0-C8 and little lines for the 12 half steps per octave. I can now slide the rectangle of color to define a Zone and note have every sample mapped across the whole keyboard.
Now why I thought there would be a football field with no purpose is another question. We use Apps based upon the User Interfaces we have mastered in other Apps. I have never though of 128 MIDI notes as a football field but I do now. Yes, the MIDI spec defines more notes than we have on the piano. Down to 8.18 cycles per second which is the sound I make when I put my lips together and make that motor boat sound. and up to 13289.75 Cycles per second which is the sound doctors use to detect hearing loss. I lost that sound playing Rock and sitting next to the Bass Amp in small clubs while playing drums really loud.
Of course, I feel stupid but no manual or experience with Zones makes me vulnerable to a head slapping moment. Please be advised and save your head if you're not knowledgeable in this area... learning new Apps.
I will continue of course to remain stupid until I'm not. Shades of Grey there...
"We are all stupid at something." or "We're not stupid we just don't know anything about [fill in the bank]".
Please somebody build a sampler with full elastique pro capabilities and pitch detection...that streams and runs as an audiounit
AL does pitch detection pretty well. Time stretching to come, I guess. Not sure if it'll be elastique but it would be nice...
still digging into this app, can anybody explain what these do?
also, is there a manual floating around out there?
The Mod parameter is the amount of pitch modulation the pitch envelope is applying to the sound.
The Key parameter adjusts the envelope times to which key is playing: low key can then get longer envelope times and higher keys get short times.
And the manual is been written at that very moment...