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.
Comments
And then again, there’s DaVinci Resolve working just fine with only iPad hardware memory and display size limitations. A true testament that you can port almost any desktop app to the iPad.
Also, in the last couple of years, iPadOS has received the most significant updates to its core functionality in two decades. It’s unreasonable to think that the platform is in stagnation.
The best iPadOS DAW in 2025 is LP4i, hands down. 😌
I don't think development for the iOS platform from Apple's side is stagnant. The question more relevant for us is whether people want to make music on a phone or iPad, and it seems that many don't. The other question is whether it's profitable enough for devs to focus on making music apps for iPad and iPhone. Certainly, the idea that was popular some years ago, that mobile devices would be the future of music making, seems to have been mistaken. I'd love to be wrong.
The only thing that has decayed and is gone to dust is the Audiobus community, unfortunately. Traces of this community are still here, piggybacking on the Loopy Pro backs. 🫠 IMHO, this does not mean musicians have stopped using i(Pad)OS devices.
My vote is for Multitrackstudio (for an AuV3 capable DAW, otherwise FLSM sneaks in with it)
It’s not new, in fact it is the oldest of all, given it is a port, pre-sorted and nearly identical to desktop bro, 2009. Which to me is an advantage. Has the busiest update schedule with the exception of AEM. (That dude is a wonder)
GUI-wise and workflow-wise not everyone’s cup of mead. Many platform exclusive features and tons of features period. (A list too long for even the dev’s AppStore listing). It has its limitations like all of them, these aren’t the ones that limit me.
I particularly like the orchestral packs actually - I think the orchestral bundle is the best sounding full range of orchestral instruments option you can get in its price range on iOS. Combine with the TB v4 reverb and they sound great. I don’t have the Korg Module expansions so can’t compare I’m afraid. Most other options, in my experience, tend to not include solo instruments and/or are much more expensive.
Likewise, the drum kits are exceptionally well recorded - what more do you need really when it comes to acoustic drums?
Other favourites for myself include the voice packs and the three Proteus packs which sound amazing considering their tiny, tiny footprint on your device’s storage - if you are short of storage they are perfect for having a large range of instruments always available for making musical sketches; you can always swap in better sounding options when you work things up if necessary.
I guess all of the Digital Sound Factory soundfont products can, like the Proteus packs, legitimately claim to be the premium options from many years ago. Are there better options available today? Yes, of course, but the samples were originally recorded with the intention of justifying their original high price point in premium products. As a result, I think most still sound excellent.
That’s very true.
What opinion of iOS music making one must derive from reading this community with its frequent grand standing thread title of frustration. I am frustrated with iPad, this DAW suck because it’s missing a small feature. iPad can’t be used to make music because I have no inspiration. And let’s not forget the classic. I am going back to desktop.
Just installed Zenbeats to try it out, automation is so much better than in Cubasis, but omg it's so buggy. Just in five minutes of messing with it, I encountered two significant bugs.
Korg gadget 3 and Groove Rider 2 are my weapons of choice. They are not classic DAWs, but I find them ease to use, and with the right amount of limitations.
I’m intrigued. The KAPro expansions in Module sound pretty good to me and the articulations are fairly convincing for the price point. They offer free trials, btw.
I would take a punt on the e piano, strings, and orchestra ensembles if I wasn’t tapped out in this current round of sales, but your glowing endorsement of AE’s IAPs has me thinking. It seems the only comparable options in this price range are the Beathawk and Numaplayer expansions.
🤣 This.☝️💯 I have all I need for making music on iOS. Moreso than I could ever afford on desktop. As mentioned, I've done client work on iOS. Mostly on iPad, but some on iPhone as well. When I told one of my clients I made their instrumental on iOS, they were blown away.
The only difference between a few years ago and now is the fact iOS music production has matured. People don't seem to have the GAS like they used to for new apps.
Yes, the Beathawk expansions are of excellent quality, I’d forgotten about them but they don’t offer a full range of orchestral instruments if I’m remembering correctly. If all you need are, for example, string ensembles, brass ensembles or choirs then they are superb.
The AEMS shop has an audio demo of each pack to give an idea of the quality of the sounds included - click on the pack name on the left and then ‘Play Demo’ on the right to hear the audio example of the selected pack.
I don’t see the connection between AEM & NS2. I got AEM years ago, poked around in it on a number of occasions and I can’t get anything going in AEM. Maybe it’s just me and my “user error”. I would like to have a NS2-like graceful and intuitive experience in another DAW, so I try others out, get frustrated or bored, and go back to NS2. NS2 works for me, so I am not bothered by lack of DAW development.
On the lack of DAW development issue, I think we have no one to blame but ourselves. I think iOS DAW niche is “dead” because there is no significant money in it. When I look at photo or graphic apps all I see are subscriptions. Smart devs should make those sorts of apps if they want to make money. Music devs are motivated a bit more by passion for the project, and overlook the minor profit - at least it seems that way to me. So we get incremental “progress”. For the foreseeable future, we have the DAW apps we have and we just have to pick our poison knowing none of the options are perfect.
My comparison of AEM to NS2 is that the overall workflow of AEM clicked for me more than any other DAW and the experience is most like NS2 for me. I tried AEM in the past and it didn’t work, but I noticed recent updates and decided to give it another try. This time I found it easy to work with and pretty feature rich.
The NS2 experience was always the best. All other DAW’s that I have used (and that includes all the major players) have always had some point or points of friction that eventually just made me give up. I went back to them several times hoping for a different experience but no. I thought I would just settle on FLSM in spite of it’s lack of support for AUv3 and the way its development always seemed to be one step forward, two steps back.
Fortunately I spent some time with some of the other iOS DAW’s and one of them was AEM. While not as “elegant” as the major DAW’s, I found that AEM has a number of very useful features and once I got used to the workflow (which wasn’t difficult), I was sold.
I know everyone is different and needs to find their own way, but this is my experience and I’m quite happy with AEM. The only reason I might change is if NS2 gets audio tracks!
Yes, this is for me huge candidate for second best DAW on iOS - i like lot of things in Zend Beats, it's made pretty good in many aspects - but unfortunately even after years there is still unfixed bug where it liquidates transients on percussive sounds - by adding automatically small fade in which is not possible to disable - this is absolute showstopper for me :-(
I know @dendy. Rest assured the developer knows about it.
😎
/DMfan🇸🇪
I don’t want go into details here, derailing the thread. If you are curious about Roland Zenbeats check my latest post in https://forum.loopypro.com/discussion/50215/zenbeats-version-3#latest.
/DMfan🇸🇪
@Robin2 : BeatHawk is basically abandonware at this point though
@Samu : “When it doesn’t , it’s Mac Time”..
Where does Logic Pro for iPad fall short for you , where you feel you have to go and get your MacBook out ? I feel that Logic Pro for iPad may be just one or two major updates away from true greatness. Who knows what they’ll come up with , what with ai and such ..
Not MacBook but rather my MacMini...
Audio editing (both super basic and more advanced) is one area where LogicPro for iPad falls short.
No way to do Flex Time/Pitch, LogicPro for iPad can already play existing Flex Time/Pitch edits done on the Mac but it doesn't have any interface to edit it on the iPad.
The 'big' sampler with SF2 support among other things doesn't have an UI on the iPad so I have to use the Mac version when I need to use the more advanced sampler rated functions. I also have to do all Alchemy preset creation on the Mac as the iPad version only has a 'playback' interface for Alchemy.
Both Drum Machine Designer and Quick Sampler have a more 'integrated workflow' on the Mac compared to the iPad version where it's well, less than optimal. (On the Mac I can make the DMD auto-select the pad I play on my controller and the embedded QuickSampler View automatically shows the sample or 'instrument' for the selected pad).
And well, audio export is another pita as there's no way to save and audio region to file (On the Mac it's just a drag'n'drop to the desktop or save from the 'File Editor' which is also missing in the iPad version) and I have to use WaveBox to dig into the project bundle and export from there...
Don't get me wrong I like LogicPro for iPad for what it is but there are definitely some rough edges that need to be ironed out.
So when I'm in the mood for sampling stuff I resort to using the Mac and use the iPad as a 'sound module'.
Garageband's still my #1 DAW for its ease of use, and it's present in all devices.
Koala follows the queue because of its simplicity, and multi-use. Using it as a sampler, or a drum machine with a few of my favorite samples.
Then Cubasis 3 comes into the lineup for mixing/mastering. It's okay, could use some work, especially with larger projects lining up, but it's really good when working with others' stems and I'm away from a Computer.
Loopy Pro would have been here but I don't really use it as much as I'd like. I tend to work with Garageband Live Loops, but it's definitely inferior to Loopy Pro for live performances, and working with AUv3's.
Gadget 2 took the spot because of its AUv3 's can be used in Garageband.
I woulda said Drambo, but man, Drambo rewards those who wanna make stuff. For a DAW? IDK...But for a synth/groovebox, unbeatable.
But where's Beatmaker 3? Nanostudio 2? Zenbeats? AUM? Logic Pro for iPad?
Well, I prefer Koala to Beatmaker for my Garageband workflow.
Nanostudio 2 is great with Gadget 2, but I use Gadget for its AUv3.
Zenbeats was great, but I can't get used to its UI.
AUM isn't really a DAW, more of a mixer of apps. And I tend to use Audiobus 3, even with the changes. IAA apps are still part of my workflow (Reason Compact is still a favorite of mine).
Logic Pro for iPad isn't as good as Logic Pro for Mac. And since I got a Mac Mini, I go from Garageband to Logic Pro. Maybe someday, I'll feel the need to get Logic Pro for iPad.
More and more I think of iPad as a sound module + MIDI controller than a full featured DAW environment. I’m trying to be better at accepting when to switch to different tools for different tasks (pretty successfully). ApeMatrix has actually been a go to lately.
For some reason the combos of ApeMatrix + Cubasis and DM-10 + Logic Pro are doing good. I don’t know why those sets seem to complement each other well but I’ll spitball.
ApeMatrix does complex Audio and MIDI routing better than AUM for me with the visual matrices for both. Quicker to get setup than AUM for that and you see almost everything in one screen. I’ve been recording lines I like in that to bring into Cubasis. The flexible routing of ape matrix complements how straightforward of a DAW Cubasis is.
DM-10 is fun standalone and I can get grooves I like going in there. I like using it both as a sound module and sequencer in Logic so sketching in there and working in Logic for the auto mastering and adding extras works well. I’ve enjoyed doing the same with Beat Hawk and Logic.
I tend to like Cubasis’s instruments better than Logic as well as the interface. I hate browsing instruments in Logic on iPad and hitting back thinking it’s back for the instrument menu but really it takes you to your projects screen. Am I the only one?
@Samu : Again, a great answer Samu…. Thanks for that!!
Possibly so, I was only agreeing on the quality of the samples though, not suggesting it as DAW.
I fail to see how the forum's name change has anything to do with any changes to the community or what's discussed here.
It was a brief reply to Gav's concern about how people are reluctant to use this platform for music making. I didn’t mention anything regarding the forum name change. 😌
I use Grand Finale 2 standalone for mastering, but...you gave me an idea. I could export stems from Gadget and use Cubasis 3 for final mixing and mastering (with GF2 loaded as Auv3). Cubasis 3 is on sale, so i think that i'll buy it and i'll try this workflow.
Perfectly happy with Logic for iPad, it's a great DAW with no major bottlenecks for me.
Same here.
Dirto
I love it too but I hate the subscription model.