Beatmaker 2 is King!!

[Derek Buddemeyer]

I find myself falling in love with Beatmaker 2 more and more each day...lol. This thing is SO deep...just amazing. I know a few people have been experiencing "popping" or jitters when used with AudioBus but the guys at intua have an update submitted to Apple to fix that issue. Besides that, BM2 is a very capable app on it's own and I've been able to compose quite a few different styles of music with it....some of epic proportions. For $20 you can't go wrong with this...it does it all...and whatever you don't find in the stock sounds, you can easily import, layer, and map to the trigger pads or keyboard sampler. This thing is a workhorse. I did this in about 5 hours....no post EQ or any PC alterations...pure iPad bliss.

https://soundcloud.com/buddemeyer72/bra ... d-homeland

[mojofunk]

I agree that Beatmaker2 is wonderful. Just every feature imaginable, albeit usually tucked away in an odd place. Well, every feature except on the fly time stretching of loops (like Modrums "looper" slot).

I enjoy doing live looping, and that "pop" or glitch when app switching has rendered Beatmaker2 unusable for me. Such a shame - I'd use it like some kind of marvelous futuristic Emu Command Station from Mars! But looping on an ipad involves lots of app switching, and that hiccup is a total disaster. Midi clock sync goes off, there's an audio glitch, and the music is destroyed. Sigh. I have watched the app evolve, and was excited when background audio was added, I had been using Backgrounder until then, and I hoped it'd behave better when this was officially added. But no, still causes trouble.

Every update I revisit the app, to see if this has changed, but so far no luck. I really hope they can fix this because theirs is obviously the most complete and capable sequencer recorder on ios.

PS: Derek, thanks for the terrific drum samples, and the interesting instruments you shared about a year ago - great sounds and very nice of you to share. Ciao!

[mojofunk]

And why oh why can't Nanostudio do Clock sync . . . boo hoo!

[Derek Buddemeyer]

And why oh why can't Nanostudio do Clock sync . . . boo hoo!

I'm waiting for the update for BM2 to see if the "pop" is fixed...a little bothersome at times! Not sure what Nanostudio is doing these days...I try to keep my eyes on their forum to keep up, but pretty slow as of now!

[BMoore]

Deep?!

BM2 needs better effects sooo bad.
Plus better file handling and get the old mixer faders back.

[Derek Buddemeyer]

Deep?!

BM2 needs better effects sooo bad.
Plus better file handling and get the old mixer faders back.

I don't mind the workflow too much...it not too bad. File handling seems fine for me (I've got everything in its own neat little folder) Dropbox works great. The mixer automation needs work. The effects are better than Cubasis. The keyboard sampler is amazing how you can map individual samples to each key, add several layers and zones....it works great for me. I don't know of any other apps that would allow me to do what I can with BM2.

[iPlogger]

For whatever reason (well I chose to get Auria instead of BM2), I still don't have BM2, but have been keeping my eye on it for months based on another post of yours. That is just a beautiful piece you linked to. Are those all built-in sounds? Or did you create your own?

I have some questions regarding the use of BM2.

1) Can I use an external keyboard with BM2 and record my playing while triggering any virtual synth app (Alchemy Mobile Pro, Sunrizer, etc.)? Same for recording my hardware synths. I'm sure the answer is yes, but just want to be sure.

2) I see BM2 uses patterns. Can these be used in a live situation? For example, hang on pattern 4 and then tap pattern 5 to switch to that. This is what I like about Genome. Or are you limited to only pre-creating a song based on the patterns?

I've used Genome a little bit for sequencing and have rather liked it, but was recently working on something and wanted to move some drum hits a bit and just could not edit the notes how I wanted. I was reading the BM2 manual last night and it looks pretty straightforward to add/delete/move notes. So kinda thinking of moving to BM2 for sequencing and exporting to .MIDI if I want to bring into Genome to change patterns in a live situation, or even just playing around at home. I sometimes like to hover on a pattern as ideas flow and then move on to the next idea/pattern.

[DrApostropheX]

+100 for all the BM2 love here. I got BM2 when I first got my iPad about a year ago, but didn't use it much at the time. With all the updates over the past year, though, it's definitely become my one "desert island" iOS audio app. I love the keyboard sampler: it's so easy to record a few notes in a different synth, then copy/paste that sample into BM2, slice it up, map it out and -- BAM! -- in under five minutes I have a new instrument in BM2 I can sequence away with to my heart's content. I love the look and feel of the app, too. It's very visually appealing.

[gdog]

If I could choose only one sequencer for iOS, it would definitely be BM2 - audio, midi, Dropbox, smooth workflow, etc - it's got just about everything. The only thing BM2 (& every other iOS daw/sequencer I've seen) doesn't do well is automation - by that I mean smooth editable automation where you can draw curves, adjust tension, & interpolate - that's the only thing I miss from FL Studio desktop.

I'm working on a project right now with BM2 & have to admit the workflow is super cool - better than the desktop daws I've used in the past. I still will be using Auria to do mastering. Also, Music Studio2 is my midi sequencer of choice <3