iPad Music Software: Xewton has upgraded its $14.99 music production environment for iOS, making Music Studio like GarageBand for the iPad.
While it’s recently been updated for the iPad, it runs on iPhone & iPod touch. A demo version is available.
It combines a piano keyboard, 27 instruments, a 128-track sequencer, extensive note editing, reverb and real-time effects.
Details below.
If you’ve used Xewton Music Studio, leave a comment with your thoughts!
Features:
- 85-key piano keyboard
- Instant resize and positioning
- 2 rows with different instruments
- 26 instruments
- 47 more in add-on packages:
- Band package
- Electronic package
- Classic package
- World package
- Real-Time effects:
- Reverb
- Delay
- Equalizer
- Amplifier
- Filter with accelerometer control
- Pitch Bend with accelerometer
- 128 track sequencer
- Piano roll editor
- MIDI import and export
- Wave file export
- WiFi file transfer
I instantly took a liking to Xewton Music Studio when it was released on the iPhone (I use it on my iPod Touch). My main gripes are that the instruments are sampled rather then synthesized so there's very little one can do to edit them, other then to alter the EQ or the attack and volume.
Having said this, the sounds are very nice and work well in a mix, though some of the add-on instruments aren't entirely up to the quality of the built-in instruments.
Note editing is very intuitive if you've done any work with a DAW and/or with GarageBand. In some respects, Music Studio is more flexible then the more recent NanoStudio is in terms of editing and mix options. For instance, you can place any instrument anywhere in the stereo field, which you can't do with NanoStudio yet.
Also, drum tracks are laid down like any other note information from the keyboard, which allows you to take your percussion track, copy it over as many tracks as you like, then edit the notes so that each percussion instrument can be placed in the stereo field. You can kind of do something like this in NanoStudio as well, but I like Xewton's approach better.
The app comes with tons of incredibly well done demo songs, some of which can be heard on their website:
http://www.xewton.com/musicstudio/downloads/
I've done a few songs as well, which are more "orchestral". You can hear them at my Bandcamp page. The songs "Fanfare For A Bearded Man", and "Tick Tock" were both created with Xewton. I'm very impressed that I'm able to create finished pieces of music on a low-end iPod Touch. The URL is:
http://pierrefontaine.bandcamp.com/
I highly recommend it both NanoStudio and Xewton, but Xewton has the upper hand if you like to create music with sampled instruments, while NanoStudio is better for more experimental, synthesized pieces.
Pierre
This is just advertising Isn't it?
it is by far the best studio ive used. 5 stars
not anymore! GARAGEBAND!
Music Studio is a great app. I agree with the first reviewer thought about the sounds. I wish they were more editable. I also wish that it could sample/record your voice, which would make it a killer “production in your pocket” app. NanoStudio is starting to get a lot of my attention though…
How about putting effects on individual tracks???
Doesn't seem possible