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.
MPE Controller/iPad
I have messed around with various mpe controllers over the years, sensel, roli, eigenharp etc. The only one I immediately connected with was the roli block - I really want something similar non keyboard design that has all the mpe dimensions velocity pressure etc slide glide. The roli stops working when batteries run out or if you don’t turn on for a while and is too small.
I have been thinking of getting an erae controller but understand from them you’ll need a desktop of Mac etc to set up which is an instant no for me on principle. Also the price is quite high when out beside the other possibility ...
I wanted to get some opinions on how possible it is to just build something on i[ad that is to all intents and purposes almost the same as the block or erae touch interface. The one thing that’s missing is the tactile pressure dimension, but I’ve started feeling if this could be simulated using touch radius intelligently, the price difference is not worth it if the playability difference is so slight and I like the elegance of everything being in ipad. I just want to be able to intuitively adjust velocity etc say when playing swam instruments after having struck a note (which can be simulated using iPad motion) for humanistic expressive playing rises and swells and volume differences on the same note.
So to my question: what do you think, if any is the best way to do this? I’d really really appreciate Iput in this and think it’s a thread that might be useful for a few people to clarify that area. I use velocity keyboard which I love but I’m really struggling to get any consistent performance from it when I get into touch radius. Cannot get it to work for the life of me in swam instruments. And it’s very finicky for me with bends and stuff I have to reset or set random values to make them work and the amount seems inconsistent with the numbers. I might need a bit of guidance there also.
So I just downloaded Midikraken, and thought back to the midi designer apps... do you think one of these or something else is the best option for what I’ve described?
Comments
I keep meaning to try it now I have a second iPad but pen2bow might be worth investigation.
I did think of pen2bow when reading the original post. There are 4 (don’t quote me) different parameters that are mapped to different pencil movements/ positions/ pressures. Seems like it could work.
I have not yet had success with GeoShred recognizing it. I plan to try it out with some of the standalone SWAMs soon.
I trust that Blue Mangoo, makers of Velocity Keyboard, probably know more about trying to optimize this than anybody. Seems unlikely you're going to get any helpful suggestions here about software/app solutions that end up better.
Blue mangoo is one (amazing!) developer. There are other apps like midikraken and the question was about people’s experiences with them comparatively for the usage described.
I have had lengthy discussions with pat from Geoshred about this. They have not implemented this radius width triggering aftertouch because it doesn't work well enough to play with real accuracy. Velocity Keyboard by Blue Mangoo will also not give you anything like the level of control that you will get from any of the hardware controllers. It is not sensitive enough, not predictable enough, even with a pillow etc behind the ipad. So I think it is highly doubtful that if these two devs haven't managed to implement a perfect version you may want to give up the ghost. Moforte are highly competent devs and they have given up on trying to make a radius control that will be of pro quality.
A shame that so few developers are able to match the velocity sensitive keyboard (and MPE function for those sounds which use such a feature) that Apple has built into their own GarageBand product.