Music apps you don't like or disappointed you

LeeB

@McD said:

@LeeB said:
I miss Diode 108 too. I can’t even find it it my purchased list. Do you know a way to retrieve it?

Any app you have purchased can be located using your iTune profile under the "purchased" link. It will list chronologically every app you have purchased using that account and it has a search box too to save (for me) an hour of scrolling to find SampleTank. Apple and the developers respect that fact that there should be a version
downloadable long after the developer has stopped selling it.

Now... hardware and IOS version levels maybe be required for you to meet the criteria
for the re-installation process. Old iPhone and iPads are good for these corner cases
and experiments to see how far we have come from Nanostudio or Beatmaker One.

You can also create a list of "family members" and share these purchases and then you'll
see how evil IAP's are for apps like iSymphonic( or any Crudebytes roach motel), BeatHawk,
or Gadget (Korg Module too).

Thank you

It’s been a while since I last checked and I may not have even gone down the iTunes route. I have a new laptop now so I’ll check on iTunes to see if it’s there. I also have lots of older devices so compatibility shouldn’t be a problem.

wim

Oh yeh, FLSM. That one is the only app I can honestly say I'm overwhelmingly disappointed in. I had put it out of mind once and for all. I don't like to dwell on disappointments.

I think it disappoints me so much because I've been a huge ImageLine FLStudio fan since the last century. It just makes me so sad that such a sorry piece of software would come out of the same company.

Some people like it and will come to its defense. Sorry, but for me personally it's the only truly disappointing app on iOS. Thanks for the reminder. Now I wish I hadn't stopped by this thread. Shoulda known better.

itsaghost

i think lagrange is up there for me. it put me off of other iceworks synths just because i didnt like the sound of it for some reason? it just sounded boring to me. and but i did try a few other iceworks synths like mersenne and kronecker and i LOVE them which is weird since i didnt like lagrange.

i also had high hopes for sparkle - cross synthesis but the colors make my eyes hurt and it didnt really work in aum like i wanted it to with tempo syncing. maybe there is a way to get everything to sync though, i just havent figured it out yet.

a lot of my disappointments come from lack of syncing in aum. for instance, glitchcore. i wish that it would stop and start with aum but it continues to run even when i pause aum. which could work for some but it makes it hard because everytime you pause then play in aum, it changes parts that are being sliced.

and 4pockets multitrack recorder... i was really really looking for a way to loop a section in sync with aum and play that loop forever. that’s the main reason i got it because i thought it could but i was very wrong.

and as some others have said, i’ve been a little disappointed with all the daws ive tried. dont get me wrong, i do love BM3 for creating, cubasis 3 for arranging and mixing, and i’ll play around with some others too. but for me, there just isnt a perfect daw. they all have their shortcomings and problems imo.

itsaghost

@wim said:
Oh yeh, FLSM. That one is the only app I can honestly say I'm overwhelmingly disappointed in. I had put it out of mind once and for all. I don't like to dwell on disappointments.

I think it disappoints me so much because I've been a huge ImageLine FLStudio fan since the last century. It just makes me so sad that such a sorry piece of software would come out of the same company.

Some people like it and will come to its defense. Sorry, but for me personally it's the only truly disappointing app on iOS. Thanks for the reminder. Now I wish I hadn't stopped by this thread. Shoulda known better.

yeah i 100% agree. ive used fl studio for the past 5 or 6 years and i LOVED it but trying FLSM on my ipad when i got it was not at all close to fl studio on PC. im sure there’s enough power in ipads for them to bring fl studio to the ipad (give or take a few features) but yeah fl studio studio mobile was a huge disappointment

JRSIV

iMPC Pro was just a real let down. The work flow, included samples, import/export, etc all felt very hamfisted.

BeatMaker 3 of course is more for creating beats than song-y songs with verse/chorus structure, etc. but it just really felt like let down after all the hype. I take responsibility for not getting into it's workflow but even so when I think of iOS music apps I was kind of just blehh about I think BM3.

Soundscaper

Disappointments - I've had a few ... but I'm learning to spot them in advance. Apps - even brilliant apps - covered in teensy weensy little pseudo knobs drive me nuts... I'm cursed with stumpy analogue digits and the vision of a mole these days. I won't mention them but you'll know who I mean. They'll likely be sitting in the "rarely used" pile.

I'm sure there's a nostalgic attraction in recreating the old tin boxes of my childhood down to the least, most superficial detail - I still miss the smell of hot bakelite myself! ... but a vast array tiny rotary knobs on the screen will be inevitably annoying - my finger gets in the way - can't see what I'm doing ... involves squinting and guesswork.

These old synth thunderboxes were big lumps of kit - with actual knobs you could grab and twist - instinctive and intuitive ... they do not translate well to a 12.9 screen and they are a poor substitute for twiddling the real 3D tactile thing. Goes toplayability. These bonsaied recreations I have to set up well beforehand or run through mapped external controllers with proper knobs and sliders.

For iOS - give me the crisp minimalism of BLEASS, Thumbjam and the like with their fat sliders and chunky control surfaces - with scrolling simple screens like Icegear or the deceptive simplicity of Bram Bos or Blue Mangoo .... designed for touch screens and our stumpy analogue fingers. I can play these things.

Bill_Brasky

Drambo was a slow riser for me. Initially i disliked it completely but that was before I dove in. I now think it is one of the finer apps ever produced. It won't be my most used but now that I know what to do with it, it is a joy to use.

For me BM3. I have always liked it but the constant crashing since day 1 has rendered it completely useless for me.

And then there's Modstep. the GUI is so cluttered and weird to look at, I just couldn't dive in without getting a tension headache within 10 minutes every time.

Samplr was not a disappointment by any means but I just don't get on with it in terms of workflow. I don't dislike it either but I also cannot use it.

I hope my criticisms we're constructive and not harsh.

McD

@LeeB said:

It’s been a while since I last checked and I may not have even gone down the iTunes route. I have a new laptop now so I’ll check on iTunes to see if it’s there. I also have lots of older devices so compatibility shouldn’t be a problem.

Sorry. Don't check in iTunes on the laptop... check in the App Store app on the IOS device.
Your account details of purchases are disclosed there.

MrSmileZ

Oh man where do I begin...

Anything by retronyms is aweful.

Zeta being gone of course was disappointing.

But not more than camel audio alchemy and me losing all that money in buying all the packs...f()ck Apple for that one. It was like stealing 150 bucks out my wallet, but legal.

I’m not big on Virsyn either.

Reason studios takes the WIN for most disappointment I’ve ever felt for anything...Reason compact is shit, and I see they seem to have abandoned it as well so far. What a shame.

But no worries real reason will be here before you know it...as the OS X iOS platforms MERGE like I knew they would almost a decade ago.

Until then I am focused more on hardware...cuz when I turn on the hardware it’s still there and working.

ahallam

Zenbeats. I find the UI sketchy, the UX awful, and cross platform development toolkits... I don’t know what the $&@“ it was programmed in, but it’s squinty and impossible to navigate on a 4.7” screen. Native code man, native code.

I really hate cross platform frameworks. They tend to drag the entire experience to the lowest common denominator.

ahallam

@lasselu said:
There's this app developer who makes really cool apps but every time I hear them or see them in a video I'm disappointed. Why? Because I know I can't use them because I simply can't stand the user interfaces...

I feel like you’re talking about 4pockets...

Gavinski

@Soundscaper said:
Disappointments - I've had a few ... but I'm learning to spot them in advance. Apps - even brilliant apps - covered in teensy weensy little pseudo knobs drive me nuts... I'm cursed with stumpy analogue digits and the vision of a mole these days. I won't mention them but you'll know who I mean. They'll likely be sitting in the "rarely used" pile.

I'm sure there's a nostalgic attraction in recreating the old tin boxes of my childhood down to the least, most superficial detail - I still miss the smell of hot bakelite myself! ... but a vast array tiny rotary knobs on the screen will be inevitably annoying - my finger gets in the way - can't see what I'm doing ... involves squinting and guesswork.

These old synth thunderboxes were big lumps of kit - with actual knobs you could grab and twist - instinctive and intuitive ... they do not translate well to a 12.9 screen and they are a poor substitute for twiddling the real 3D tactile thing. Goes toplayability. These bonsaied recreations I have to set up well beforehand or run through mapped external controllers with proper knobs and sliders.

For iOS - give me the crisp minimalism of BLEASS, Thumbjam and the like with their fat sliders and chunky control surfaces - with scrolling simple screens like Icegear or the deceptive simplicity of Bram Bos or Blue Mangoo .... designed for touch screens and our stumpy analogue fingers. I can play these things.

Yes, yes, yes, we need a way to somehow get big knobs on screen, with ability to vary their coarseness and fineness - actually zoomable sliders probably work better - while still being able to retain the bird's eye view.

jolico

@Gavinski said:

@Soundscaper said:
Disappointments - I've had a few ... but I'm learning to spot them in advance. Apps - even brilliant apps - covered in teensy weensy little pseudo knobs drive me nuts... I'm cursed with stumpy analogue digits and the vision of a mole these days. I won't mention them but you'll know who I mean. They'll likely be sitting in the "rarely used" pile.

I'm sure there's a nostalgic attraction in recreating the old tin boxes of my childhood down to the least, most superficial detail - I still miss the smell of hot bakelite myself! ... but a vast array tiny rotary knobs on the screen will be inevitably annoying - my finger gets in the way - can't see what I'm doing ... involves squinting and guesswork.

These old synth thunderboxes were big lumps of kit - with actual knobs you could grab and twist - instinctive and intuitive ... they do not translate well to a 12.9 screen and they are a poor substitute for twiddling the real 3D tactile thing. Goes toplayability. These bonsaied recreations I have to set up well beforehand or run through mapped external controllers with proper knobs and sliders.

For iOS - give me the crisp minimalism of BLEASS, Thumbjam and the like with their fat sliders and chunky control surfaces - with scrolling simple screens like Icegear or the deceptive simplicity of Bram Bos or Blue Mangoo .... designed for touch screens and our stumpy analogue fingers. I can play these things.

Yes, yes, yes, we need a way to somehow get big knobs on screen, with ability to vary their coarseness and fineness - actually zoomable sliders probably work better - while still being able to retain the bird's eye view.

I like the way they did this in Reason Compact.

slicetwo

Loving the discussion here! Interesting to see what people don't enjoy. I agree with many who said FLMobile. Being a FLS user for 20 years, I was so excited to get it on my tablet and phone. Unfortunately, both the Android and iOS version are so walled off and unenjoyable to use that I just don't bother anymore.

Gavinski

@zah said:

@jolico said:

@Gavinski said:

@Soundscaper said:
Disappointments - I've had a few ... but I'm learning to spot them in advance. Apps - even brilliant apps - covered in teensy weensy little pseudo knobs drive me nuts... I'm cursed with stumpy analogue digits and the vision of a mole these days. I won't mention them but you'll know who I mean. They'll likely be sitting in the "rarely used" pile.

I'm sure there's a nostalgic attraction in recreating the old tin boxes of my childhood down to the least, most superficial detail - I still miss the smell of hot bakelite myself! ... but a vast array tiny rotary knobs on the screen will be inevitably annoying - my finger gets in the way - can't see what I'm doing ... involves squinting and guesswork.

These old synth thunderboxes were big lumps of kit - with actual knobs you could grab and twist - instinctive and intuitive ... they do not translate well to a 12.9 screen and they are a poor substitute for twiddling the real 3D tactile thing. Goes toplayability. These bonsaied recreations I have to set up well beforehand or run through mapped external controllers with proper knobs and sliders.

For iOS - give me the crisp minimalism of BLEASS, Thumbjam and the like with their fat sliders and chunky control surfaces - with scrolling simple screens like Icegear or the deceptive simplicity of Bram Bos or Blue Mangoo .... designed for touch screens and our stumpy analogue fingers. I can play these things.

Yes, yes, yes, we need a way to somehow get big knobs on screen, with ability to vary their coarseness and fineness - actually zoomable sliders probably work better - while still being able to retain the bird's eye view.

I like the way they did this in Reason Compact.

It first showed up in their Thor synth app. Great idea.

I have neither of these. What way did they implement it?

jolico

@Gavinski said:

@zah said:

@jolico said:

@Gavinski said:

@Soundscaper said:
Disappointments - I've had a few ... but I'm learning to spot them in advance. Apps - even brilliant apps - covered in teensy weensy little pseudo knobs drive me nuts... I'm cursed with stumpy analogue digits and the vision of a mole these days. I won't mention them but you'll know who I mean. They'll likely be sitting in the "rarely used" pile.

I'm sure there's a nostalgic attraction in recreating the old tin boxes of my childhood down to the least, most superficial detail - I still miss the smell of hot bakelite myself! ... but a vast array tiny rotary knobs on the screen will be inevitably annoying - my finger gets in the way - can't see what I'm doing ... involves squinting and guesswork.

These old synth thunderboxes were big lumps of kit - with actual knobs you could grab and twist - instinctive and intuitive ... they do not translate well to a 12.9 screen and they are a poor substitute for twiddling the real 3D tactile thing. Goes toplayability. These bonsaied recreations I have to set up well beforehand or run through mapped external controllers with proper knobs and sliders.

For iOS - give me the crisp minimalism of BLEASS, Thumbjam and the like with their fat sliders and chunky control surfaces - with scrolling simple screens like Icegear or the deceptive simplicity of Bram Bos or Blue Mangoo .... designed for touch screens and our stumpy analogue fingers. I can play these things.

Yes, yes, yes, we need a way to somehow get big knobs on screen, with ability to vary their coarseness and fineness - actually zoomable sliders probably work better - while still being able to retain the bird's eye view.

I like the way they did this in Reason Compact.

It first showed up in their Thor synth app. Great idea.

I have neither of these. What way did they implement it?

The further you go away from the knob, a visible fader gets bigger/higher resolution.

lasselu

@ahallam said:

@lasselu said:
There's this app developer who makes really cool apps but every time I hear them or see them in a video I'm disappointed. Why? Because I know I can't use them because I simply can't stand the user interfaces...

I feel like you’re talking about 4pockets...

Nope...

Gavinski

@jolico said:

@Gavinski said:

@zah said:

@jolico said:

@Gavinski said:

@Soundscaper said:
Disappointments - I've had a few ... but I'm learning to spot them in advance. Apps - even brilliant apps - covered in teensy weensy little pseudo knobs drive me nuts... I'm cursed with stumpy analogue digits and the vision of a mole these days. I won't mention them but you'll know who I mean. They'll likely be sitting in the "rarely used" pile.

I'm sure there's a nostalgic attraction in recreating the old tin boxes of my childhood down to the least, most superficial detail - I still miss the smell of hot bakelite myself! ... but a vast array tiny rotary knobs on the screen will be inevitably annoying - my finger gets in the way - can't see what I'm doing ... involves squinting and guesswork.

These old synth thunderboxes were big lumps of kit - with actual knobs you could grab and twist - instinctive and intuitive ... they do not translate well to a 12.9 screen and they are a poor substitute for twiddling the real 3D tactile thing. Goes toplayability. These bonsaied recreations I have to set up well beforehand or run through mapped external controllers with proper knobs and sliders.

For iOS - give me the crisp minimalism of BLEASS, Thumbjam and the like with their fat sliders and chunky control surfaces - with scrolling simple screens like Icegear or the deceptive simplicity of Bram Bos or Blue Mangoo .... designed for touch screens and our stumpy analogue fingers. I can play these things.

Yes, yes, yes, we need a way to somehow get big knobs on screen, with ability to vary their coarseness and fineness - actually zoomable sliders probably work better - while still being able to retain the bird's eye view.

I like the way they did this in Reason Compact.

It first showed up in their Thor synth app. Great idea.

I have neither of these. What way did they implement it?

The further you go away from the knob, a visible fader gets bigger/higher resolution.

Very nice, wonder why more devs have not adopted this.

IOSSOS

SampleTank...boring unmusical riffs....soulless app

IOSSOS

Magellan and LayR......their sequencers.....

Fingolfinzzz

Probably Reason Compact was what I had really high hopes for and was really excited and then it came out and I was completely deflated

purpan2

@Fingolfinzzz said:
Probably Reason Compact was what I had really high hopes for and was really excited and then it came out and I was completely deflated

Agreed. Even double the bar length and the possibility of a couple of extra tracks would help enormously. The synths are really good. It’s a shame.

LeeB

@McD said:

@LeeB said:

It’s been a while since I last checked and I may not have even gone down the iTunes route. I have a new laptop now so I’ll check on iTunes to see if it’s there. I also have lots of older devices so compatibility shouldn’t be a problem.

Sorry. Don't check in iTunes on the laptop... check in the App Store app on the IOS device.
Your account details of purchases are disclosed there.

Thanks again, I’ll check later once I’ve located and charged an older device 👍🏼

DMfan

@wim said:
I'll confess being disappointed that audio tracks for NS2 is taking so long and there's no indication when they will come. To be clear I'm not disappointed with the developer, and I'm not disappointed with the app itself. In fact the developer is a favorite and the app is something I marvel at and appreciate more than almost any app for what it is.

The disappointment is it gets rare use because I really can't work much without track freeze and audio. It's like having a gorgeous super model girlfriend that lives 1,000 miles away and you only go to see a few times a year. She says she's going to move closer some day but it's been many months and she still can't say when. I start to get the feeling I'll be too old to care by the time she does.

Hear, hear! NS2 is still on my iPad but Roland Zenbeats for free complete with audio tracks and active development around its quirks blew NS2 out of the water for me.... for now.

klownshed

I’ve not got into Drambo at all yet but it isn’t a disappointment as I know what it can (and can’t) do. (Which according to the hype is everything and nothing respectively )

One day when I get the time I will dig in and am sure it’s going to be useful.

The apps I’ve been disappointed with are apps that just don’t work properly and/or are ridiculously unpleasant to use (subjectively obviously).

And all the apps in that category for me are Auv3 hosts. The only hosts I have that have never given me any problems are GarageBand, AUM And ApeMatrix (which I’ve not used much Yet to be fair).

NS2: the biggest disappointment in a way as I really like the app but it’s completely unusable for me on my iPad Air 2 with pretty much any third party Auv3. The biggest problem is the way in which it fails; it seems to work ok but then refuses to save or export or carry out any file related tasks.

But it works well on my iPhone so far. But I’m reluctant to push it anymore which is a shame. It’s the best linear sequencer host type thing I’ve used on iPad. Works perfectly with the built in stuff but from my perspective a host that can’t host is a big disappointment. I’m hoping that the development is continuing though. I do like it.

BM3. Lots of potential but a sprawling UI and another app that’s completely unable to host any third party plugins reliably On my Air 2 for me make it a non starter these days. I used to use BM2 a lot back in the bad old pre-Auv3 days and liked it. I don’t like BM3. Just doesn’t click with me. I’m not target audience but I find that it is lacking as a general sequencer and too many aspects feel unfinished.

I’ll leave the worst til last.

Auria Pro. Massive disappointment. This is an app I spent more on than any other single app on iOS and I couldn’t hate it more. I don’t like anything about it other than the feature list. Every feature it does have is implemented in a way I personally dislike. Even if I could get around it’s unpleasant UX it’s unstable and I’ve had problems with just about every Auv3 I’ve tried with it in one way or another. I’m not going to give this mess of an app another second of my time.

So yeah. The only apps I’m disappointed with are DAW-type-things.

JeffChasteen

@FPC said:
Oh yeah, AUM!!!

I know it seems to be universally loved by everyone but not me.

I use a DAW (Cubasis 3) and I'm pretty happy with that. I can understand some people pair it up with Xequence or whatever for that DAWless experience but I just cannot see the point otherwise.
I've read people eulogising it as some kind of musical sketch pad or the genesis of everything they do... Fair enough I suppose but other than multi out or side chaining, C3 (or other DAW) will let me develop my little synth jam into a song in one place and that works for me.

Am I really missing something awsome here?

@wim said:
Oh yeh, FLSM. That one is the only app I can honestly say I'm overwhelmingly disappointed in. I had put it out of mind once and for all. I don't like to dwell on disappointments.

I think it disappoints me so much because I've been a huge ImageLine FLStudio fan since the last century. It just makes me so sad that such a sorry piece of software would come out of the same company.

Some people like it and will come to its defense. Sorry, but for me personally it's the only truly disappointing app on iOS. Thanks for the reminder. Now I wish I hadn't stopped by this thread. Shoulda known better.

mangecoeur

Roli noise - somewhat ironic because it's what got me into ios music with the 3D touch support on the iphone. Once you outgrow just mucking about making sounds, the app is very fiddly if you want to build up some tracks. Using it as a plugin is passable but with only limited editing is not very engaging (I guess they want you to buy sound packs). The best instruments (the SWAM physical modelling ones) are not available in the plugin . And there's been basically no updates (to be fair, they did release much better desktop software, which I guess is where the real pros are)

Gavinski

Yes, yes, yes!
@mangecour I still use Noise as an AU though because it does have some great sounds. As a standalone it's a huge fail, the Swam pack not being in the AU was very annoying too. Plus Noise crashes very easily. Pity.... Could have been so good.

Krupa

Good to know this about noise, I was looking at the swam strings last night for a cello sound, fingerfiddle comes with one as default so might be a better option...

Gavinski

The SWAM sounds have zero connectivity @Krupa. The only way you can use them is screen record or sending audio out from a 2nd iPad.