That's very interesting. I just want to set up a simple studio for the iPad where I can choose different apps to sync and work together as vst plugins have been doing. It is finding how to do it that's not so easy. To start with I need a audio/midi sequencer that will allow other synths to record midi in, then play back and mix down to an audio file. I have been looking for more info. on the gorillaz iPad recording process but I can' t find anything.

How does the core midi work? I presume you have to attach a bit of external hardware. Which companies are producing products?

So where does this thread stand at this day and year? Any program ahead of the others? FL Studio looks like a good compositional tool, but so does Soundprism Pro. That thing seems like a great compositional tool.

Nanostudio all the way....best sound...best response and very professional

Nanostudio is pretty good. BM2 and Meteor are the more full featured. But, just as in everything else, it's really a personal thing. What works for you, is the best for you. There is no one size fits all (thank the Lord for that).....

Wait - are you kidding me? Nanostudio offers and In-App purchase to expand to 16 tracks? Wtf, you have to pay for NanoStudio, and then pay again? First app I've ever heard of that does that....

BeatMaker 2 has really changed my opinion on things with their last upgrade. With disk streaming in the sampler, sample size is not likely to be a problem anymore. Also, you can record audio tracks with direct from disk playback. Also, there are several great synthesizers that can be used with Beat maker. It really makes a great case for Beatmaker 2.

The same could be said with NanoStudio and an app like Thumbjam--you can get your sampling and realistic instruments with this combo too.

Personally, I haven't decided on a base, other than having Auria manage all of my audio phrases. I can use BeatMaker, NanoStudio, Garageband, or just about any synth (along with Genome Midi Sequencer), and move my finished phrases into Auria. I can use effects from AmpKit for most of the effect I need.

I got SampleWiz and Thumbjam for sampling, and I'm leaning toward ThumbJam rather than SampleWiz for any sampling I need. I spoke with Bismark about the BS-16i, and he plans to add audio recording and audiocopy/audiopaste capability into his app, so that may become my main instrument soon.

However you look at it, there are several valid ways to get a decent balance of both synths and sampling for your compositions.

--Sean

Most apps do this. You must be new to the workings of iOS and the App store.

--Sean

BeatMaker 2 is really damn good.

I used to use NanoStudio but got tired of what I consider to be basic functionality missing. Can't set loops boundaries or loop points, for example, and only being able to load 1 sample in Eden pales compared to creating multisample instruments in BM2's keyboard.

I know a lot of people hype Eden, and it's not a bad synth, but I much prefer Animoog, and loading different notes sampled from it across drum pads in NS just doesn't work out for me.

Then you've got stuff like time stretching and pitch shifting and audio tracks and background audio and a bunch of other stuff, and it's all missing in NS.

NS does have some cool stuff about it, but BM2 just feels like a more complete app.

In my opinion the last BM2 update definitely killed Nano Studio.
Some people keep saying that Eden is cool but there is plenty of other powerfull synths for iOS, it's not an argument anymore, too much basic features are missing in NS.

How's the stability with BM2 after the latest update? One of my primary reasons for sticking with NS almost exclusively is that it has never crashed on me even once with all the hours I've put into it. If BM2 has become more stable, I may need to give it a serious look for the things that NS still gives me headaches with (such as building good multi-sampled instruments).

BM2 still crashes here and there, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was when it first came out. I get around fear of crashes by just saving often. Being mindful of RAM and CPU usage will definitely help limit the possibility of crashes.

You're right about NS being rock solid. I never had it crash on me even once while I used it. The occasional crash doesn't deter me from using BM2 though. It's a really good app and the additional features it has over NS saves me from a lot of irritation I experienced while using NS.

How do you use other synths with beat maker?

You can control them from Beatmaker if they have Virtual Midi and background audio and lots of fine synths for iPad have.

Cheers

In my opinion, I've never really heard good stuff made with NanoStudio, but BeatMaker has some nice stuff and examples that people have made. NanoStudio always sounds a bit "thin" and almost MIDI soundish (a little child paino sounding) to me.

-niko