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.
:( very long venting my frustration, sorry
I have been really struggling finding a workflow these past couple years with IOS stuff. I have to vent… The possibilities of all this stuff OMG it’s maddening, so inventive, so quick, easy to use. I have used Drambo, Loopy pro, LK, AUM, countless generators and plugins. I loved nearly all of them to be honest. Every time I get used to something, feeling good about it, it crashes, I lose everything on a project forgetting to save, get frustrated and I start over with something else. It almost seems unbelievable that people get anything done with this stuff.
Just gave LK another shot and have been let down yet again. Everything was going great. Was wanting to create a template session in AUM to use with it as an AU. Started jamming and messing around with generators and whatnot. Got all this stuff setup, going great. Nothing had crashed and I wasn’t really trying to do anything but I was really feeling what I started to create. Got way too ahead of myself of course didn’t save anything, set a bunch of stuff up. Now I have to choose between losing everything I created and losing all the routings and plugins I set up to do what I want. Then I think is it even worth it? It’ll probably crash again.
Same story over and over with Drambo (stand alone or AU), loopy pro (AU, stand alone seems pretty stable on its own with audio looping, just waiting on midi and MULTI out). I always no matter what go back to or use AUM in some way but of course it needs other plugins to work the way I want and they always crash eventually. I would prefer not to use a timeline and I would really like MIDI. I like the ableton style workflow. Then eventually go to a timeline maybe for a final mix. I use an iPad and an iPhone. My iPhone is much more powerful but it seems a lot more buggy.
All of you who tout these apps really have no issues with this? What’s the deal? I mean I know it’s all still progressing. I very much want it to keep going but man… it’s just so draining, and really hurts my creativity. 80%of my time that I have (which is already limited) is just trying to get things to work right. I see Drambo mentioned all the time and I really like it. LK was working great here recently. Then it all goes to crap and I’m back at square one.
Comments
Are you saving your projects often enough?
Using iOS for more than 12 years I've gotten used to saving regularly, even with different names to be sure to be able to return to a different "branch" of a composition.
iOS in general is much more sensitive to working memory restrictions than desktop OS. If an app requests enough memory faster that iOS can provide, this alone can make an app or plugin crash.
Speaking of Drambo, it would be very kind of you to send crash reports to info a beepstreet dot com including a short description of what you did right before the crash.
This is the primary reason I use GarageBand on my iPhone...the stability (and ease of use) in comparison to the other stuff (plus not having an external controller yet). The autosave can be a PIA if you go further than the "undo" option allows you to actually undo stuff (meh that wording is kinda goofy but hopefully you got what I mean).
I have found a workflow that works for me. I don’t encounter a lot of crashes and if a plugin is crashy, I don’t use it or I save often and give the developer as much information as possible so that they can address issues.
I also make a point of not overloading my setups.
Bingo...it's why I don't use Synthmaster One anymore.
+1
@emc87 we all was in this kind of pain at some stage.
Sometimes things need to rething, building puzzle in mind to the knowing limitation, If needed double checking different parts of setup, and how they working together.
Some people use hardware, some other additional computer or more iPads/iPhone.
Less is more portable/faster to use/ but need clarity of idea what and how you want achieve yours goals. These problems you mentioned all of us knows. We accept this, and dont use such combinations which leads to crashing often, lost project or playing with drops in audio.
Yes, SYNTH B i more interesting than A, but at the end we choose what is working for the whole idea, not as separate part. So we all are with you, we also have similar experience, BUT touching glass is so nice in compare to touching mouse that I can play on piano and touch glass simultaneously (which is not possible with mouse, or possible but not pleasure at all). This is main reason for glass, and why iPad? Because such all wondeful apps! Some of them crash sometimes with reason or without. Learn when and which, filter out these situation and what is left is only pleasure.
@emc87: if you are experiencing crashes in the Loopy AU, please contact Michael with details. He works hard to address crashes.
The whole H-O Train Set mentality of seeing how many gadgets can be connected, how intricate and convoluted a setup can be, how many outboard boxes, controllers, keyboards, overly complex "routing", generally seems overkill on the iOS platform. Drambo, Loopy, AUM connecting to here and yon etc., just for the sake of a "jam". Insisting everything work on a phone, etc. And "saving"... is usually automatic on most iOS music apps. Coming from a DAW/computer, and tape background, and much live playing, Cubasis (for us) is a sensible, solid performer. Non-buggy pro effects, e.g. FabFilter, TB, Eventide, FAC etc., and a select group of favorite synths and drum programming apps, all (mostly) within one container (Cubasis), and a solid modern iPad (Air 5) and high-quality ($$) mics have enabled us to create hundreds of solid, finished tunes, that enabled us to get a distribution deal with our dream label. Different strokes etc., but no major complaints here. The main one being updates that screw up existing apps and tracks. And backing up regularly is beyond imperative. And also thanks to a few genuinely helpful and knowledgeable posters here who have helped along the way.
As an old-school computing guy, rebooting frequently to clear out ghost garbage is just part of my nature. I'm often surprised to find how many people don't just reflexively do that when odd problems start to show up. So I thought I'd mention it here.
(Actually, I don't often fully reboot these days because my iPad has a home button and using the "clear memory" trick after each music session is faster and almost always just as effective.)
I also habitually close all apps I'm not using. And keep from building up too many open Safari tabs. I've seen enough times when my wife's iPad gets all weird that she has tons of apps and/or dozens of tabs open. A quick cleanup (by me ... she'd rather just swear at the iPad until it gets it's shit together) and she's back in business.
I'm convinced that these two reflexive habits are the reason that I seem to encounter far fewer problems that many people here even though I'm using older hardware. (Or maybe because I'm using older hardware - I dunno. 😉)
Oddly enough, that does seem to be its strongsuit. Partially because the apps are so inexpensive. The challenge is actually sequencing a finished song, and budgeting the RAM and CPU usage properly. Now I've learned that if I want to get crazy with the sound design, I'll probably want to export the loops to desktop. Or even just recreate the project on desktop, if I have the right tools.
If I want to create something minimalistic, I can do it faster on desktop. But if I want to create some unique sounds, I can let my creativity flow more easily with AUM or Drambo. Maybe if I had a collection of MaxForLive modules, it would be easier to create strange sounds on desktop.
Dude, I feel your pain. I expect everyone here has felt that way at some point.
I’ve tried most of the main apps and various AUv3s looking for ‘The One True Workflow’, but instability just seems to be inevitable when you try to combine apps. I’m sure mileage varies depending on the device and how much you stress it, etc.
You’re probably not after recommendations at this point, but you know what’s never crashed on me once? Korg Gadget.
That’s been my go-to production tool since 2017 and I’ve never had a single crash or issue with stability, even today on the same 2017 12.9’’ iPad Pro (though I haven’t dared to update to OS 16 yet). Some may hate the ‘walled garden’, but it makes all the difference, Korg’s apps are all rock solid.
Gadget certainly has its limitations, hence why I’ve checked out the alternatives, but nothing is more liberating than just being able to get on with making music from the get-go, no set-up, no routing, no crashing.
End of advert 😂. Of course, Korg aren’t really developing new features for it anymore, or so it seems, but they do still keep their apps updated for stability/bug fixes.
However, I haven’t a clue what the approaching IAA apocalypse will mean for Korg, or stand-alone apps in general.
Anybody know if that will fudge things up for everyone who doesn’t live in AUM?
Yea honestly I have a real problem with making things very convoluted. That’s really my main problem. Atom piano roll was working pretty well for me and I was running that into Loopy from Aum or just within loopy and freezing tracks to audio. I do need to report crashes more and just constantly save I guess. It probably was all the generators I was trying to hook up with it. I like recording the stuff they output to Atom or LK and using it in there. It was working really well with LK that way. Kind of a bummer. No way I’m giving up. Sold all my hardware looping stuff and most of my good guitar pedals anyway (needed the $) Just gets emotional sometimes lol
I second this, too.
I actually do all of that as well. Could probably reboot more often. I get anxiety from having any apps open when I’m not using it and I never have more than one or more tabs open and I never have the browser open when I’m not using it. There’s just so many possibilities with routing and things you can do I constantly get excited and have to try some other weird way of doing things. I know this is my main problem.
There are a few times though (Drambo) that I just tied to use it as intended and it just crashes. I guess that’s were I need to save constantly and report crashes.
save save save, that's how I roll in drambo
When you have a workflow that requires 15 different apps going at once, this is bound to happen. Try finding apps that can handle more tasks. For example, NS2 has you covered for midi, synthesis, and many many sampling possibilities and of course arranging a track. I dunno what else to say, I always hated having a bunch of stuff open at once so I don’t really have too many issues
I use NS2. It never crashes. I keep my workflow simple: once I have my part with whatever synth I’m using for it I bounce it to audio then trigger the audio using NS2’s built in Slate instrument or - if it’s a long piece of audio - AudioLayer (as it streams from disk). I then move on to the next part repeating the process.
Come the final mix I have no synths running live
I save often. I mean really often. Just out of habit. NS2 never crashes.
I find this workflow similar to when I used Cubase on the Atari & triggered Akai S950s back in the day. It’s a fast workflow, is stable, prevents me from going back and tinkering so the track keeps moving forward and doesn’t stagnate through choice paralysis. I finish tracks which - for me - is critically important.
So, basically - keep your workflow as simple as possible and save often.
.
Yea and I’m basically the type of idiot that buys every shiny new thing that comes out as well. I’m primarily a guitar player/terrible singer that always secretly wanted to be Trent Reznor since I was very very young. Use to just use FL and Ableton was just blown away and sucked into the IOS ecosystem. I honestly prefer a lot of what is offered here. Never had the money to buy all of those desktop plugins. Not really into pirating stuff anymore. And I have a very addictive personality. It was a recipe for disaster and now I‘m searching for a workflow that allows me to utilize all this money I’ve wasted. Ultimately I’m going to get into Synthesis and sound design more heavily. But I just want to jam mostly with my limited time. Yea my approach needs to be slimmed down quite a bit. I’m getting there. LK was one way to do it, all on one screen without a bunch of midi mappings that I forget in the moment. Eventually I’d like to try NS2 as well but I’ve spent so much time learning all these other app’s intricacies I don’t have time for another right now. Sounds very promising though
I work only in AUM, usually no more than 10 or 12 channels, I save very often, keep an eye on the cpu load , and if necessary record a track to audio and run it as a file player loop instead. AUM is very stable for me, app mileage varies, so I don’t push the divas and resource hogs too hard. Mix live into AudioShare. It’s quick and dirty and I love it.
Very Interesting please tell me more! Is this for a specific app or for the entire iOS device?
Clearing memory is a device process. Apps that are IAA or use Core Midi can leave behind "ghost" processes that can take up resources and cause difficult to spot issues. For devices with a home button this is easy.
It can be done on devices that don't have a home button by enabling the virtual home button available under accessibility settings.
My consistent workflow lives in AUM:
MIDI track has Drambo (used as my MIDI sequencer because the MIDI plugin gives 8 channels instantly), Scaler and Rozeta Arpeggio. Lately my go to instruments are Splat-to-Clat, Borsta, Skaka, Pure Synth Platinum with BASSalicious 1 and 2 cross grades and a random synth. In Scaler I audition chords to build an eight bar chord progression. I typically route the chord progression to Arpeggio and route its notes to my bass line. From there layering chords with a pad and texture. I find this NDLR workflow makes a high quality sketch quickly to build a complete song from 🙌🏽
apeMatrix works well for me, in addition to others listed.
I think upgrading every few years for more available RAM and disk space improves stability.
I tend to collect FX apps from specific devs who seem to have high quality standards, but how I determine this is not an exact science.
I would recommend you to use Figure or Ableton Note and embrace the limitations they give you to just get out of the iOS ecosystem noise for a little while.
Just sit and make some jams and have fun.
Also, be aware of which AUs you are using. Some popular ones are more prone to crash than others. Not naming specifics, but if you are using the same ones in Drambo, AUM, or Loopy Pro, it's likely those AUs and not the hosts. I have rarely had crashes in any of those after many years of using iOS on multiple devices. And yeah save all the time.
What's your main device?
This is the workflow I have used since NS1 (iPhone 3GS) and it works for me. I build up pieces track by track into completed works, and convert all tracks running other apps (AUv3 or MIDI) to audio. I complete a lot of musical compositions this way.
This workflow is not the same as what emc87 desires in the OP. That style of work is like a mad scientist spinning plates (apologies for the mixed metaphore) until it eventually crashes. There is an immediate excitement with that workflow, and I think a final composition isn’t the real desire so much as is the adrenaline rush of spontaneous creation of audio magic.
@emc87 you may wish to have a composition workflow using differnt apps (NS2 highly recommended) to compliment the audio magic workflow that is frustrating you. Somewhere in the middle may be you unique workflow.
I rarely save until the end of the session. NS2 is rock solid - an aspect of the app that has been under-appreciated by many I think.
Same for me with NS2: super stable, I keep a simple workflow: NS2, audiolayer, neon audio editor and sometimes were reverb or audio kit verb, more rarely nanologue, bless monolith, primer and synth one.
for now the only issue I encounter is when adding to many reverbs, my older iPad isn't powerful enough to handle it.