I just used LXN36E3JXHTE - Thank you, look forward to checking it out...

Tried to use promo code but ended up playing full price
Will try it out.

Almost happened to me at first, but I hadn't updated my credit card so it errored out. My mistake was searching for the software and clicking on buy, thinking that it would then give me a promo code box, but I was wrong.

You don't need to search for the software at all, as the code tells the app store what app it is. On an iphone, open up the app store, and click the 'featured' icon at the bottom, then scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on the 'redeem' button. Then just put in the code and the app store automatically installs the software.

Redeem Code : HMNHRRLLFWEF

Thanks! And here's your review

MIDI Studio (MS) is a very welcome app to the iOS family of audio apps. Of course the biggest problem with iOS is that our needs as musicians go counter to the typical compartmentalization that Apple tries to subjugate us to. We want a system where we can chose a controller and chose what it plays in a concrete and direct way, and not have every dev re-invent the wheel every time. In that context MS is part of the iOS vision most of us want. Part of the trials and tribulations we experience are simply our heroic devs trying to get around the roadblocks that Apple has put in place.

That said, MS is great beginning towards the specialization and evolution of a multi purpose MIDI controller for iOS. Virtual MIDI seems to have been replaced with Core MIDI which MIDI Studio supports. However, my favorite MIDI dispatching app on iOS, Audeonic's MidiBridge, doesn't see MS's Core MIDI ports. I'll be contacting Audeonic about this as it should in principle show up. This means that I have to resort to "hopefull" invisible routing between apps. There's nothing I can see MS to route, which should be the case, and with some of my music synths, it's a mixed bag:

Note: Backround Audio has to be enabled for any of these to work.

Alchemy Pro: works with "Virtual MIDI" enabled (is that Core MIDI?)
Samplewiz: works with enable "Background MIDI"
ThumbJam: works with enable "Use Core MIDI"
Addictive Synth: worked right away

The following don't see Midi Studio at all:

Animoog: doesn't see it (but does present a Core MIDI input)
iMS-20: not sure if it uses any external MIDI
DM-1: wouldn't work at all in Play or REC modes; tried all the note ranges in MS.
Sampletank: works with Core Midi but not MS. (?)

I noticed that the behavior when trying to run two apps concurrently using 2 MIDI Kbds wasn't always predictable. For example Addicive and Sunrizer worked fine on different channels. But Thumjamb and Sunrizer didn't work unless I started Thumjamb first: if I start Sunrizer first, and then start Thumbjam, Thumbjam works, Sunrizer doesn't and there a constant buzz in the outputs.

So there's obviously teething pains. Until everyone adopts the same standard, likely Core MIDI, and Apple doesn't pull any features on iOS, there's going a lot of this kind of thing. And background audio clearly needs some fine tuning too.

Enough about system issues, let me discuss more about MS itself. On the whole it's a good version 1, but there are both GUI and feature deficiencies.

The good:

-The fact that it even exists!
-Nice variety of setups, though version 2 with its user configurable setups will be killer.
-Velocity is somewhat usable but it also depends on the scaling on the synth patch. Maybe some user control the scaling might help. But it is welcome.

The bad:

-On the GUI level, any switch or its text should change color when switched. The graphic pull-down of a switch isn't easy to see. The setup button is very small and hard to catch.
-Using the xy pad for both pitch and modulation makes it almost impossible to affect modulation without affecting pitch. Maybe it'll be possible to implement x or y only pads for these in version 2.
-Velocity isn't very smooth. The way it works on Garageband seems better (maybe they're using undocumented "tricks"...)
-There should be a manual or help file integrated in the app. Version 2 is certainly going to need it. It should mention to disable the iPad's multitouch features to avoid stuck notes when playing. iPad players usually require this.

The feature requests:

-The drum pad velocities could be set to different ranges. Old drum machines had just two levels: normal and accented. A lot could be done with just that! But there could be 2-4 fixed levels in user adjustable ranges. This would make using the pads more predictable.
-Speaking of the drum pads: allowing separate MIDI channels for separate pads would allow setups to play more instruments and be used for one shot trigger effects on different synths.
-It would be nice to operate the keyboards from an external keyboards as well.
-Many years ago I read an article where Robert Moog and another artist where developing a keyboard where the keyboard tops would slide in and out to offer another modulation vector. This is what has translated today in the Animoog and Rudesses keyboards: assignable CC control by running the finger up and down a key. I would love to see this in MS and I would dare say it belongs here!
-With regards to the coming Velocity scaling addon in version 2: an elegant way of offering that is the way Truepianos (PC MAC) or Sampletank iOS, where a simple slder offers negative and positive curves.

So thanks again for the opportunity to try MIDI Studio for free. I'm very eager to see version 2 as it shows great promise. I hope the Core MIDI issues will be resolved in Version 2 as well.

Thanks for the large review! BTW, you can disable pitch control, just click on the right upper bookmark and disable pitch.

You're welcome! We're Scratching backs here. It's really refreshing to get the opportunity to try an app without buying it. With the rising costs of specialized apps in the app store, Apple is going to have to do something about allowing temporary full licensing. I have my share of apps that I regret buying, as I'm sure many others here do as well.


Yes, but I typically want to have simultaneous access and independent control of both, as in the traditional two wheel model.

I actually bought this the other day to use for controlling EZDrummer on my PC....VERY disappointed...latency was soooo bad that I could only play very simple beats at around 90 bpm..... Not impressed

The delay depends on the speed of your network. You should ping your network connection and check what the latency is. As there none latency in other users or me for example.

I'm no newcomer to the audio world....and I'm not trying to sound like I know it all...but fact is, my whole studio is equipped with literally all brand new hardware...drives, computers, speakers, instruments...iPad 3 to boot. Plenty of ram more than enough space on 2 drive (internal and external) blazing fast connection speeds, and yet...I could barely fumble through some 16th notes. I love the idea, but if it doesn't work all the time, every time.....it just won't work. Thanks, but I'll go back to point and click.

If you have delay on this application then delay should be in other midi controller apps for iPad, right ? Because all of them use Apple CoreMidi framework (most of them which I know), this means that all apps which use coremidi will work equally. In most cases it does not depend on the developer, it depends on Apple and user network connection. But again, the amount of devices or the size of the disk and processor speed is not affected here. It's something strange with your setup. Thanks for feedback.

I'll look a little more into it later...(correct, drives and whatnot should not affect). Is there another server application besides the one provided on your site that you could recommend trying...to stream the signal. I could continue using the computer keyboard to record notes on the drum app or even use piano roll...which works fine...just wanted something a little easier and more familiar like the drum pads to convey the message. However, I've also found that when using NI StudioDrummer, it bogs down even some of the more powerful computers if running inside a DAW program...I was using Cubase 5 and FLStudio 10 to test this...I will try Reaper later and see if there is a difference...thanks for the quick response....and just so no one gets the wrong idea...I wasn't trying to bash the app...I don't do that. Simply stating that this one did not work for me at the moment. Hope I can get it to play well with others....as this would really be cool.

@Derek Buddemeyer: You might also consider setting up an ad hoc network, which can reduce latency as it is a direct connection between your computer and your ios device. So long as your computer has a wireless card, it should be able to host a session.

(BTW: it's kind of sad we railroaded the OP's thread. All this information about MIDI Studio should have been posted to a new thread and linked to it from here.)

Yes it's better to crate new thread. I'll do this soon.
BTW Midi Studio price will be $3.99 today or tomorrow instead of $10.99. Maybe just a couple of day, so some users have a chance to buy at a discount.