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
I sincerely think that for the most part that iOS apps are more suited for producers rather than musicians
It’s not that producers are better or that musicians are better, both are valid
For me, ios has always been as smite matter used to say “ say no to wires “
And it used to be that way
The issue is that some want ios to do everything that desktop or hardware and in some cases- a full on studio set up, can do because of the price difference and the portability aspect
This may or may not happen, or maybe for someone it is already at that stage
Who knows
What I do know is that for straight up dance music of any type, it has been possible since ns1 was released
I won't argue with that comment, but I am sure someone will nitpick things like side-chaining, or whatever that pro software and increasingly on iOS apps can do. We should remember that when a lot of us got into iOS music production we couldn't even use MIDI. NS1 was created when there wasn't much inter-connectivity between apps at all. NS1 was a great tool for creating complete tracks: not perfect, not intended to be a desktop DAW replacement, but a lot better than most apps on iOS for creating music with linear sequencing. Things have come a long way since then and I think Matt has been haunted by the specter of the expectations for NS2. We'll see how the reaction goes, but aside from stubbornly hanging on to established apps (which don't need to be abandoned), I think most iOS music producers will find NS2 a really useful and stable app. Some may be fine sticking with the apps they already use, and that's understandable, but the point of this thread indicates that many people want a stable way to bring all the aspects together. NS2 can't be perfect for all users, but the iOS music app landscape is still a bit of the Wild West as standards get hashed out. AUv3 comes to mind, but that is a subject for another thread. I think NS2 represents a big step forward. IMHO FWIW BTW LOL etc.
No worries
For the most part we all want different things, and use things differently. Rest assured though that we are generally interested in what and how other people are doing things. Something that works for some doesn't work for others etc..etc..
Yes i agree that iOS music making does have its challenges, and those challenges are changing over time as users are getting more demanding of the apps (due to the excellent work being done by developers) and the apps are getting more demanding of the devices.
Not sure SIRI singing would float my particular boat, unless she can both sing like an angel and scream like an angry punk !
What I’m seeing is that users want a complete experience
There are thousands of apps now and likely most here own most of them
And keep buying more
In desktop land, many producers use a daw and a handful of choice vst
They are not bogged down by choice as we are lol
Part of the problem is comparability between apps and then the routing
This makes the demands so much more complex
Ns1 was simple- all under one hood
NS2 will be the same as far as I can see but will host AUV3 too and has a more modern overall feel
For those that want an app that is self contained, I reckon this will be it
For others it will be part of their arsenal of thousands of weapons
Another thing I see is that due to choice and constant new apps appearing is that it’s hard to settle into a few core apps and learn them fully and really get the most out of them
I reckon we are here now, we do have enough to do it all, from start to finish
Forthcoming apps ad Infinitum will just broaden things
While I was thinking of a seperate waveform view as well, this would just be a little area in the lower right with clip parameters.
Well said.
This is not part of the rant, as I am still much enamoured with the iOS platform ( I just upgraded to a Pro2). However, upon reviewing tracks I made over my first six months involvement with iPad music production, I have walked away with a bit of a mixed feeling,
I feel very satisfied with the creative vibe the platform metes out. It really revived me from a nonproductive state. Even the glitchy workflow does not bother me. What is a problem is either because of my production inexperience or a real lack for
the music genres I utilize, which is jazz or classical like stuff. If I record just piano and bass, no problem, but as soon as I add more instruments the immediacy disappears and the mush begins. I think if I were using true synth sounds rather than simulacruae of acoustic instruments it would be less of an issue. So what, if anything, can I do to create that individuality of tracks I seem to be lacking? Thanks.
I imagine a slider that would control the voice from Angel to Angry Punk.
Great post mindscaper. The two points above stand out. I am hoping that, like NS1, NS2
help make sense out of the chaos of options (the situation with my apps currently) and will focus my workflow into a more creatively inspiring and productive state.
This is a common problem.
I look at the iPad vs jazz & classical as just a draft-machine with immense workflow.
I guess the same can be said about rock. It’s a good partner to practice with.
The seriousness of iPad music must surely be within the roam of synthetic sound music & experimental music.
It’s like an avant garde wave is showering the population without anyone realising it or really appreciating it culturally. There is a potential Karl Heinz Stockhausen or Pierre Schaeffer in every home with an iPad now
Or better still, in iOS 13 take the expression from your face through the camera and sing accordingly
@Slam_Cut : What our in the 3g days? Garageband, Caistic and Animoog?
Is this not a problem with trying to do classical or jazz on a computer or sequencer full stop ? If you want to sequence, or edit using a grid then you have to impose restrictions in order to fit that.
If however you treat the computer/ipad/linear sequencer just like a tape machine then those restrictions are not needed, and you are free to do whatever you want ? You will not be restricted by time signatures or tempo, just ignore all those settings, hit record, then play your instruments.
Other than that then it is down to arrangement and mixing skills ? Which the iPad with its wealth of cheap apps is a very good learning ground for
Tricky.
I knew someone who fancied themselves an aspiring 'legit composer' and to them they felt that they should be able to just compose brilliant traditional works with simple sine waves then apply it to whatever instruments they saw fit after the fact. For me though any time I dabbled with jazz or classical I really needed as close to the real thing as I could get (Kontakt instruments etc) to get the timbre that made my blood flow. The emotional resonance of the character of the instrument, the whole legacy of it's usage and all of the associations of the traditional performances I heard previously were super important to inspire me down that path.
I do feel that the ipad is great for the more fragmented, experimental, 'ironic' or quirky noodelings that I primarily enjoy anyway. If I had a full on lush suite of Kotakt instruments I wager my ambitions would be split quite different on iOS and I just may want to challenge my more formal composition game.
It is not only the energy from the sounds that does it, it is also the energy of the performance. Sine waves have little or no energy (unless you use a huge amount of them), and generally sequencing has little or no energy in comparison to a 'real' performance....everything is a lot flatter...that is why most really love modulation options, to try and get some of those dynamics and energy into it, but they are false and do not sound natural. That can be used creatively to get a different type of sound, but not to replicate real instruments entirely succesfully.
Even having awesome sounds from the likes of Kontakt isn't enough, in order to get the real energy you need a good player and either a real instrument, or an amazing emulation with a controller that lets them play in the same way and with the same expression as they would on a real instrument...and that usually works out a lot more expensive than the instrument itself would.
Totaly agree. My point being that some people can enjoy just composing on paper or in their head, ‘mathematically’ speaking, in isolation of the other elements. But for sure to make a recorded work in those genres goes way beyond plotting notes which for me is the most one could really get on iOS. Part of the reason that the Gestrument videos have not struck me is that I think they would be more effective on synthetic instruments than mimicking strings and pianos, part of the performance aspects you brought up.
(Now those non-AU Roli traditional instrument demos sounded lovely to my ears but not being AU I skippd right over even being tempted by them.
)
@AndyPlankton and @AudioGus, very good reasoning indeed. Still, the question for me is how to get a better result with the tools I have. The sounds are fine standalone, but lose integrity when combined. What am I doing wrong?
Hmmm, well... without hearing it I can't say much but you could post some raw/naked stems and a request for some resident mixing gurus to drop some mad mixing knowledge/skill. People love to share/show off.
It may not nail the whole equation but could at least explore the mixing variable well.
@LinearLineman ... it might have to do with how it's recorded and mixed. I have read alot of posts (and frankly have had not as much time to employ the advice) that speak of those who do their work ITB (in the box, and that would apply to you, albeit a skinny little iPad box) ... the complaint heard over and over is similar to yours. The mixes all tend to blend together into a bit of a mush. Not enough separation between tracks and an overall sort of "wet blanket" over the final mix.
Alot of folk then will take their raw tracks and send them out to an amp and then actually record the amp in order to liven up the track. Claiming that giving the track more room to breathe or "pushing air" gives them a better life. I don't know. Of course, room acoustics and ultimate room treatments then come into play. Not easy for most of us who use dual use spaces for our recordings.
Perhaps, it's also a very judicious approach to effects use may help. Depending on what you are trying to achieve. Too much spice spoils the soup. Too many effects can tire the ear and also make it sound less "real" if reality is what you are after. Or many effects can be just the ticket.
Also, if you haven't mastered anything this can really open up the piece. I've been astounded at the mastering of tracks a pal of mine and I had done one our cd project a few years ago. It just made everything sound way more cohesive and like it was all done in the same space (even though it wasn't, in fact performed 100s of miles away). Mastering is key.
You may know all this, I have no idea. But, hopefully it helps some.
Ok, @AudioGus, here s a perfect example: the first, One For McD, just piano, bass and pad. All very clear. Then, the second, Two for @Kuhl, adds horns and the mush begins. How to get a more discrete mix on the second?
Oh sorry, I should add EQ. I am no good at this but this is what separates the whales from the mules. It makes a huge difference. This is where investing in a good app (Auria? Not for me ...) is pretty important. Though that being said, I have heard tracks coming out of Gadget sound really really good. I guess it all comes down to skill, and the know-how to use the tools at hand.
Thanks, @kinkujin. Actually, I use very few effects. Ultramaximizer in Cubasis, FAc chorus, internal reverb and eq in Cubasis. Compression once in a while, tho I think Ultramax is compressing for me. Do you think Grand Finale might help?
Don't know that ... sorry.
@LinearLineman What apps are you using together to create classical compositions in Cubasis?
Not to just throw an app at it, but do you have ProQ2? Amazing EQ, super Cubasis friendly now. I imagine that reducing masking between tracks is the key.
Grand Finale has vastly improved (to my ears at least) every track I’ve used it on. HOWEVER, it should only be used after you’re happy with a mix. It’s for spit and polish, not for repairing shoe leather.
My (inexpert) opinion is you have EQ and reverb problems with that mix. The horns just don’t occupy enough of their own sonic space in the frequency pallet. I would start by looking at the sound spectrum of each separately to see if the dominant frequencies are overlapping. Then carve one down and the other up slightly where they overlap. Right off the bat the horns sound overly dull to me, so I might also try to find a place in the upper end that isn’t going to overlap the piano too much to boost a bit, but that’s subjective on my part and maybe not what you want.
Next I’d try killing all the reverb. All of it. Then adding back in only as much as needed to get it in the ballpark of the feel you’re going for. Then I would filter out the low registers of the reverb and readjust accordingly. I think a lot of the mush is coming from all that low frequency echo filling in all the gaps. You can try putting an EQ before the reverb (I’m assuming it’s on a send) and cutting below 400 or so and above 6000 or so to thin out the reverb.
You may want to have the same reverb characteristics on the piano and the horns, but I would not apply the same amount of reverb on each. I would also try a different reverb. I don’t get along well with the stock Cubasis reverb myself.
But take all that with a huge grain of salt. I’m no expert in mixing by a long shot.
Thanks.@wim! Great explanations. What you explained gives me a new way of looking at it. What you say makes sense. Not sure how much additional reverb I added but it wasn't too much. I did not do very much eq either. So, those are things for me to look at.
@Keenan, I use Ravenscroft 275, ISymphonic, Beathawk acoustic inapps, iFretless brass and bass and a little Thumbjam
@AudioGus will investigate ProQ2. Thanks.
I own almost all the decent apps but keep going back to gadget or GarageBand to actually make structured songs
AUV3 in AUM is great for live stuff or one take performance recordings
@wim it is five am and I awoke thinking about eq! Would it be possible for you to post screen shots of hypothetical eq curves showing how piano, bass, strings and horns would coexist to their best advantage? This would help me and others a bunch as I have never seen actual examples of the above ( maybe post on a support thread as an eq tutorial?). Thanks so much.
Some good stuff in this thread people.
Honestly, I’m not sure that would be useful. Every mix is different. Think of the broad frequency range a piano part can occupy. How would one pick meaningful ranges?
There are loads of YouTube videos covering these two concepts far better than I can.