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.
Using existing WAV backing tracks with LP - possible?
Or do I need to run a separate app within LP to achieve this? (as you need to in AUM)
Did a search but nothing directly relating came up.
Comments
You can absolutely run them in Loopy Pro. You can easily import any audio file.
Also, unlike most other apps, the files don't have to fit into memory as Loopy does disk streaming. So longer files are no problem.
You probably want to turn off time stretching when importing the files.
cooly cool, so I just insert them into a loop circle at the top? And if so, do I copy and paste, drag and drop, load from a menu?
Any of the above.
If you look at the detail screen for a loop, you should see an import icon at the top right. You'll have options to paste from the clipboard, import from your iTunes library, or use Document Picker (the files app). Note the options carefully in that dialog. It should show the detected tempo, number of bars, etc. These are only Loopy's educated guesses. Tweak as necessary before finalizing with the import button.
If you drag into an empty loop from the files app, I think loopy will assume time stretch and will try to set the project tempo based on its guess. If not the first loop and you drag from the files app, I think it'll try to stretch the clip to fit by default.
For your use case, the import from the detail screen will give you the most control for the initial import.
Sweet!! Thanks much for the detailed help wim.
I just bought it today, after pretty much "tyre kicking" and never really getting into it over the past trial period....man this has a learning curve hahaha!
Trying to get back to a single iPad at a gig and I really do think, going on yours and others comments over time, that LP will do looping, backing tracks,simple bass keys and drum machine live play etc etc, just got to get the MO down
The best suggestion I can think of is to take it one step at a time. Where people end up tripping up seems to me like when they're trying to do too many things at once. You might want to start with the default project, delete all but one loop, get a backing track imported and playing back as you want it to, then add in your additional pieces one thing at a time.
Ask questions early and often. Beating your head against the wall not only isn't necessary, but also often leads to changing a bunch of things at once, which makes troubleshooting more difficult.
The learning curve can be reduced a lot by
thanks to both of you for the tips....certainly going to need them...will look at those things as I cannot even get a single loop (from an AUv3 instrument) recorded as yet hahaha!
Make a screen recording and post a link to it AND post still screenshots of your Loopy mixer in extended mode.
What isn't working?
thanks, I'll keep plugging away - I can get a MIDI controller loaded, and a plugin but nothing is recording....if I'm still getting nowhere after a day or so I'll post back
Don't wait a day. Post the screenshots and I should be able to get you squared away in minutes.
@pax-eterna : see if this helps. Hopefully this can get you started
thanks for that, it clarified what I was already doing tbh I load an image of the page...BUT when I tap the first disc all it does is highlight the disc, it actually starts nothing. If I tap the record tab (top right) play something and then go to the recordings section under File - THAT recording is there. I did a short vid of tapping the disc, but I cannot find a way to upload it.
Please post screenshots of your Synchronization panel and recording settings in the global clip settings panel.
It sounds like you might have changed some settings. Perhaps, wait for transport is on?
For video, upload the video to YouTube as unlisted or Google Drive or somewhere and post a link here.
The recording button at the top right is not for recording into clips. That is for Session Recording or recording a performance into into the clip sequencer. See the manual for details about session recording.
Note that in my video I started with Loopy Pro’s default project and changed no settings besides what is seen in the video.
Yes I know that! I was only pointing it out to prove that it IS actually recording something! The issue of the first disc when tapped only highlighting the colour and then showing a rotating bar and doing nothing else remains.
I actually removed the app and re-installed and followed your video EXACTLY! Same result.
@pax-eterna : what you are describing is very unusual. I will need more information to understand why. Let’s start with some simple troubleshooting.
Please try the following:
STEP 1
Did that work?
If not, please post screenshots of the system settings and synchronization panels. And please make a screen recording of those steps and upload it somewhere and post a link.
STEP 2
If that does not work, please post screenshots of the system settings and synchronization panels. And please make a screen recording of those steps and upload it somewhere and post a link.
Yes, I got my voice to record to disc 1
Yes that worked as well, so why did it not work with my connected keyboard?
User error there somewhere - I just cannot figure where, as I did not play with anything, well, that wasn't accidental and unknown I mean....can I actual turn the iPad mic input off though? It is quite "hissy" in the background.
I noticed from the screenshot above that the clock had not been set. Unless you had threshold recording enabled, not having the clock set to something would cause nothing to happen when you tapped that first clip.
All you need to do is mute the microphone in the mixer to get rid of its input. You can also delete it altogether if you're not going to use it.
Tapping an empty clip when the clock hasn't been set will start recording with the default settings as long as there is an input source.
@pax-eterna : a screen recording with your mixer visible would be invaluable for understanding what is happening. Make a screen recording of Step 2 of my troubleshooting steps and add your controller as a source for the audio unit.
Something interesting. If I load up any of the demo projects, it works exactly as I would expect. Load a synth, select the controller, tap the disc. All works. Only thing I need to figure is how to set the number of bars I want to play. So far when I stop there is always a time gap before the loop I recorded starts again. If I keep recording to fill the space, it just keeps recording, with the same end result
I have no idea what the issue is with the default new project.
A couple of things, go through each of the trial projects in the sample projects. It won’t take long and you will learn some critical concepts.
What exactly do you want to happen when you record? If you tell us exactly how you want it to work, we can tell you the settings you need.
I would really love to see what is going wrong for you when you set up the default project so that we can get you on track.
Thanks espiegel123 - what I want to accomplish is to lay down a bass line and chord comps for songs live, and then play some other synth and keys stuff and leads over the top of those with live vocal.
Re the default. It works as it should if I only use the inbuilt keyboard and iPad audio...seems I've narrowed it down to : when I connect the external controller (which is also the audio interface) - that's when it glitches. This is with it already connected when LP is started or connected after it is started.
Please post a screen recording going through the steps I outlined. The behavior should be no different. But without seeing what is happening it is impossible to advise.
When you play the external keyboard, are is it triggering the AU when you play?
Yep, explained that at the start
- all it does NOT do is start the recording when I tap the disc. It DOES start recording when I load the same controller and AUv3 in any of the demo projects. I will just use a demo project and remove what I don't want and go from there. Just because I cannot use the default startup is not an issue now, tbh.
I now need to figure how to set some sort of count-in to get the start of the clip correct, how to start external drum apps via the clock. hahaha, AT the same time and setting fixed lengths to the loops IE 8,12,16 bars which is how I work. Not wuite into the completely "freestyle" sort of thing yet hahaha!
TBH, I am still "umming and ahhhing" on whether to invest in some sort of hardware looper instead (viz Aeros from Singular Sound) and going full hardware for everything. I have the keyboard (NC2xSE) and synth (Gaia 2) and a Beatbuddy 2 drum pedal, and sometimes the appeal of simply all hardware gets tempting!
It is mysterious why starting recording isn't working for you when connected to your interface. That is very very unusual. We could probably solve it if you posted screenshots of your system settings and synchronization panels and posted a screen recording of the steps you mention,
There are several ways to set up fixed loop lengths. One way is to manually set the loop length in the clip's details panel. The downside of that is that you need to manually re-set the loop length if you want it to be something else.
My preferred method for 'fixed' loops is to use master count-in/count=out with auto count-out turned on. I can then set up a radio button set for the loop lengths I'd work with. There is a tutorial in the Loop with Jack series where he walks through the steps to set up such radio buttons.
Starting external devices with the clock is generally as simple as opening the synchronization panel and choosing your devices as clock destinations.
About count-ins, the default setting is to use the master cycle length as the count-in which assures the recording starts on a master cycle interval. Some people prefer using a custom count-in of 1 or 2 bars rather than master.
Much of this is covered in the tutorial projects.
@pax-eterna
Here is another troubleshooting video.
Make sure that when you add your AU that it has colors as destinations.
thanks for that I will have a look. btw, where do you host your videos?