Android apps for musicians

[64Guitars]

Here's a great site for Android users. It lists a whole bunch of music apps for Android.

http://www.androidmusician.com/

There's some interesting stuff there. I don't know how well it will work because I hear that audio sucks in Android (latency problems, etc.) So probably not as good as iOS music apps but they might be worth a try.


Here are a couple of apps that caught my eye:

Mini Synthesizer - Moog emulation. This is written by Nick Copeland who is the guy that did the Bristol synth emulations for Linux, so he knows what he's doing.

http://www.androidmusician.com/mini-synthesizer/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=audio.bristol.minimoog


Audio Evolution Mobile - An impressive-looking multitrack recorder.

http://www.androidmusician.com/audio-evolution-mobile/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.extreamsd.aemobile

http://www.audio-evolution.com/

There's also a Free Trial version so you can check it out to make sure it works with your Android device before you spend your money on the full version.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.extreamsd.aemobiledemo




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM1vsZk2R_o

[launched]

There's some interesting stuff there. I don't know how well it will work because I hear that audio sucks in Android (latency problems, etc.) So probably not as good as iOS music apps but they might be worth a try.

Android is very far behind Apple when it comes to sound. The latency problems prevent the creation of a comparable TJ app. There may be some improvements lately but last summer I had a dismal time trying to find something. And I just can't bring myself to buy anything from Apple. Although brilliant, Steve Jobs was a mean asshole that only cared about himself and had no philanthropic ideals whatsoever.

Anyway I hope the Android situation improves.

[64Guitars]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Apple either. I'm sure their products are very good but the thought of being locked in to that tiny world of proprietary products is totally unacceptable to me. Android has a much bigger user base and many more products to choose from, but by all accounts the audio is rubbish. That could change though. At Winter NAMM 2013, Sonoma was talking about a low-latency audio solution they developed for Android. If they can get enough manufacturers to incorporate it into their products, then developers can start making good music apps for Android. Meanwhile, I heard that Google has made some improvements to recent versions of Android that make latency much lower, at least for playback. So perhaps there's hope for the future of music apps on Android. I'm sure developers would love it because they'd be able to sell their apps to a much bigger customer base on Android than they can on Apple.

http://www.sonomawireworks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=11468


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OXeHwErQsE

[launched]

Yes, I have heard Google is making progress - No doubt they'll catch up eventually. These guys make a USB audio program for Android that's currently in development(Or even finished for all I know). It shows what can be done with a phone's USB port. I downloaded the app last summer (USBaudioTESTER), but never used it because I don't have a usb audio device anymore. All it does now is identify hardware and perform basic recording and playback tasks. Here's the app.

It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to design a USB audio device with components similar to the cheap Behringer model that clips right on to a phone or a tablet.

[Oldrottenhead]

i got fruity loops     http://www.image-line.com/documents/android.html for my android tablet but was not impressed. and i don't have the patience to learn how to use it.

[dasilvasings]

I ended up not using it at all because I got the Ipad in the meanwhile, but chordbot (http://chordbot.com/)
is extremely simple and an amazing way to start  song or lay a backer track in minutes.

No latency whatsoever, obviously.

[64Guitars]

This looks like it might be a good app for android users.

http://www.singlecellsoftware.com/caustic

$9.99 on GooglePlay.  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.singlecellsoftware.caustic
(or try the demo version for free)

Also available for iOS.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/caustic/id775735447?ls=1&mt=8

And there's a FREE PC version available too.

http://www.singlecellsoftware.com/download/Caustic_3.0.0_installer.exe



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB3qoz1B35s

[64Guitars]

I downloaded the free Windows version of Caustic 3 (see previous post) and have been playing around with it. I think it's a pretty good program and a lot of fun to play with. And the Windows version works great in Linux using Wine. I get a bit of latency when using my Akai midi keyboard controller, but that's to be expected since it's not a native Linux program. Still, it's good enough and provides an easy way to record phrases into patterns. You can also use the program without a midi keyboard controller by entering the notes into the sequencer manually. This is actually quite easy to do, as you'll see in the following video.

Learning Caustic is easy, thanks to the simple user interface and excellent video tutorials. There are currently 29 official video tutorials on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/CausticApp/videos

Here's one that covers the basics to get you started.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q86OrU-E7RU

I'm sure there are better apps available for iOS, but this is a great app for Android and PC users (though an iOS version is available as well). It's also a nice, easy introduction to midi sequencing for anyone who's interested in exploring that world. And it's great for making drum arrangements - probably easier than the BR Rhythm Editor, and more flexible too. No 3/4 or other time signatures though - it only does 4/4 (as far as I can tell).

Give it a try. You'll like it.

[Balleo]

A must is Chordbot
this is a lite version https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chordbot.demo.gui

but with about  5 euro  you catch a great arrangement accompainment https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chordbot
 

[danieldesete]

I can't wait for Christmas : the kid is getting a tablet for me to steel it back and try all these apps !