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.
Koala Sampler sound quality as compared to hardware samplers
exactly what the title says, how does it compare to say an MPC one, SP404 mk2 or 1010music Blackbox purely in terms of sound quality, looking for opinions with people who've used it with an audio interface cause i'm guessing the 3.5mm jack on some iPad is out of the game.
Comments
Well as the audio ins/outs and converters in the Akai stuff are crud…( why black lion audio exists)…laughing out loud so there’s that. Technically I don’t know about the other 2 devices) but I’m going to go way out on a limb and say to you…Nobody really cares, people watch countless streams and listen almost entirely to streaming audio…which is the sh’ttest of the sh’t quality. Plug ins are designed to make audio sound bad on purpose. Do you see where I’m going here. The more shite it is, the better these days.
I appreciate the reply, i understand that for most use cases sound quality is not crucial, but i want to use it for live sets and recordings where sound definition really does make a difference, not that anyone can "tell" the difference in a blind test, but i do find it more pleasant when a kick and/or snare naturally fit well with other instruments. For instance, using my MPC1000 by itself i can't really tell the difference but in a mix (even live mix) there's definitely some unwanted mud in there.
The MPC is muddy…I agree. The new Mpcs are worse actually.
You may want to research the internal audio bounce result in a iOS device that you own and see if it works for your projects? Other than that, I feel like audio is going to be altered by whatever interface you use. I also feel like other people’s opinions may not add much value to what you need to know.
Personally the audio I render from Logic Pro on IPad is great, I created songs with it alone, and put them out.
I have also used my iPad to go on location and record guitars, live drums, and vocals and add those file stems straight to a project on my studio DAW…without any difference being heard.
I use Apogee products and Presonus, just in case you are curious about what I use.
I think my mpc one sounds better than the iPad in general so it’s another case of it being subjective. Haven’t tried the iPad with a headphone amp maybe that would do something, it’s hard to say
Heh. Every word is true.
Then you might consider to get the best analog path on whatever interface you choose.
Imho the Audient ID44 has an impressive price/performance ratio for the $500 range.
It‘s the only ID interface that can be configured (externally) for permanent IOS use.
(you need a Mac/PC to do it once and that setup will be stored on the interface)
Koala itself doesn't have a "sound". It's just a digital recorder. It captures exactly what it receives and plays back what it records + any changes you make and FX you add to the sound.
So, the two significant factors are the audio interface and the edits/FX. The better the audio interface, the better the results unless you screw it up by poor use of FX. If you're asking about Koala's FX ... they're good enough. The result will depend on how well you use the FX. Fortunately in iOS you're not limited to the in-app FX got a compressor or EQ that you like better? You can use it.
IPADs (most apple stuffs) audio out is quite top notch… unless you are trying to drive high impedance headphones, rather than lower impedance (that the device is intended for).
Well… thats according to a chap called Ken Rockwell who’s done lots of measuring tests.
Apple can do quality for a lower price than Roland, Akai etc due to economies of scale and affording better engineers.
Using some Shure SE215 in ear monitors… the quality of my Air 3 or ipad pro with the cheap apple dac… seems crystal clear to me, i think better than my ears and abilities.
However… for my higher impedance headphones… i can very obviously hear the difference using different headphone amps of different audio interfaces.
I doubt you’ll do a live set where the p.a. sound system is a better quality than apples audio outs.
If you are making recordings/producing inside an Ipad DAW… the converters wont lower its quality.
Apples 3.5mm jack is not a pro connection, but sounds fine!
I haven't done actual comparisons at the waveform level, but I think it's very safe to say that an audio sample recorded by and then rendered by Koala without any changes, compared back to the original, would be virtually identical.
Once you get into the digital realm, you actually have to go to a lot of work to color the sound. Left alone, what goes in is exactly what comes out. I'm sure that if the Koala developer had put in the kind of effort needed to emulate the coloring that analog gear can impart, it would be advertised as such.
Koala is great and most of its “sound” comes from the internal effects. The 404 is mostly the same but does have a sound all its own. I find it warmer than Koala and captures that “lofi” vibe more easily.
thank you all, this is helpful, i feel more confident with my choices
If you want clean and pure (with hundreds of options for making it otherwise, however you choose) then I would say iPad/iPhone is a superior platform.
12.9” iPad Pro in particular is also just godlike, as interfaces go.
In your opinion, it sounds good. You are definitely entitled to your own opinion. In reality and to a music engineer, it is probably not so much the case. I mean a company literally exists on the fact that Akai mpcs sound less than stellar. I won’t even mention blown sound boards (common if you use the mic preamp) oops I mentioned it. Laughing out loud. I think you are being fooled into thinking louder sounds better…because akai’s outputs are that…LOUD. This is why you mentioned the headphone amp.
Now because I really really want to help you…I will make a suggestion.
Never listen to music in headphones or near fields at high levels for very long…unless you want to harm your hearing.
Maybe try a woojer vest or subpac…and keep the hearing you have as long as you can. I went deaf on the right side a couple of years ago, and after going through that ordeal as a musician…I never want to see it happen to anyone else. Take care of your ears my friend, for without them the music becomes a tragedy.
I never listen to music loud for more than a minute or so…I use a bass vest like I suggested above, because now…I have to.
I agree, louder is NOT better. Both when mastering AND with listening to music. I keep my volumes nice and low when creating and mixing music and mastering my own tracks. (Then again, I don't master my music anymore now that I use LP4i's Mastering Assistant.)
I just don’t want anyone to lose their hearing.
Eh? Whatdja say sonny? Speak up kid!
Neither do I mate. 🙉
What?! 🦻 Did you say I'm funny? 😂🤣
Eh? Who you callin' honey??
Huh? Your bowels are runny? Eat some more bran and stay regular. 🤣
I think I read in another thread that Koala records 16-bit audio, not 24-bit, if that makes a difference to you.
I don’t know what it records at, but it can export at 24 bit.
I remember asking about here it a while back and the answer was 16 bit for recording. Or maybe that was Drambo? Now I'm confused. Still, Koala always sounds amazing.
Maybe a bit of a mixup with the free version of Endlesss? I think that does only record in 16 bit.
Or maybe it was 4Pockets Multitrack Recorder? That one is 16 bit only for sure.
Oh is it? I bought it a long while back because I got it for like $1 with the bundle pricing but I’ve yet to really use it. Is it still viable and worth using?
IMO, yes.
Are you using it as a replacement for recording the stems in AUM? So you record it all directly into the recorder instead? I never figured out a proper use for it.
If you're happy recording in 16 bit, sure. I tried to use it in Drambo and it worked, But after that I used koala similarly and now loopy pro, which is my favourite, so far. But I didn't mind the sound of MTR, it was alright for me.
IMO, Loopy Pro works better for capturing and sequencing audio . I used to use MultiTrack Recorder but pretty much haven’t touched it since Loopy Pro came out. I find it less fiddly than MultiTrack