how to make music on iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad

There are, surprisingly, many options for music production available in the App Store. As a result, the issue of which DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) is best suited for your specific needs often comes to surface. Keep in mind that no DAW, whether it be designed for desktop or mobile device, is perfect. Each one has it's own features and specialties that will either help or hinder each individual. Trial and error is definitely not an option unless you got fat stacks because the good DAWs can put you out $20 each. In this article, I will discuss the two main players in the iOS music production market and the features of each.

Beatmaker 2 is Intua's follow up to their original "Beatmaker" app. The original Beatmaker was laden with UI bugs and glitches. Intua learned from their mistake that was Beatmaker and completely redesigned it as a new app, as opposed to updating their old one (much to the dismay of original Beatmaker owners). The app still is not as stable as it could be, but Intua is working on it and has released several updates already to address the problem.

The UI, alone, of Beatmaker 2 is very sleek looking and presents a streamline experience. As far as intstruments and presets, though, Beatmaker 2 is lacking. There is no real synthesizer in the app, only a few synth presets. If synths and electronic music is your thing, I can't recommend Beatmaker 2. On the other hand, it is a great tool if you want a wider range of sounds like guitars, woodwinds, brass, and strings. There is also a wind range of drum machine presets and special effects to choose from.

Beatmaker 2 requires a steep learning curve and therefore, is not well suited for the aspiring audio production noob. There is no built in tutorial or guide in the app. If you want help, you have to boot up your desktop and find the guide on Intua's website. Even then, the guide isn't very descriptive. If you have a specific problem, you may have to ask around on the forums, which aren't even well supported to begin with.

Probably the best feature in Beatmaker 2, would have to be the chop lab, in which you can edit your own presets or import songs from your ipod to edit. I have yet to come across another app that allows the user to import songs from their own music library and this was a fun, but not really necessary addition.

Beatmaker 2 is going to cost you $19.99 if you decide to buy it, making it one of the more expensive programs in the App Store.

Nanostudio is an iOS DAW by, one-man development company, Blip Interactive. Blip Interactive is always working to improve Nanostudio and constantly releasing updates that include features users ask for in the forums. If you have a legit request that would work well as a feature in the app, ask for it, and it will most likely be available in a future update.

The UI of Nanostudio may not be as pretty as Beatmaker 2, but it is a whole lot more user friendly. Plus, if you need help with anything, you can just go to the help section in the app and find your problem in the guide. I found the guide to be much more helpful than Beatmaker's and as a result, Nanostudio is better for music production novices.

The main difference between Nanostudio and Beatmaker 2 is that Nanostudio actually has a real sythesizer and drum machine built into the app. The synth is none other than the Eden subtractive synth with dual oscillators (three oscillators would be ideal but, oh well) and the drum machine is the TRG-16 performance pad for triggering samples. These two instruments are really what made the app for me, being a fan of electronic music.

While you can produce tunes other than those in the electronic genre, Nanostudio is obviously more suited for "electricians". There is also a decent amount of effects for you to use on your beats, but not quite as much as Beatmaker 2. There is also a sample editor where you can edit the included presets or import your own.

Nanostudio only costs $14.99 but you're going to want to buy the optional DLC ($4.99) that allows you to go from 6 tracks to 16 tracks if you're really serious about mobile music making. You can also try out the free version of Nanostudio on desktop before you make a decision.

As you can see, both apps have their own perks. Beatmaker 2 can make a wider range of sounds, has a more in-depth chop lab, and includes more effects. Nanostudio, on the other hand, is more user friendly and actually has a real synthesizer. If I was to recommend one of these apps, it would have to be Nanostudio, simply because of the great developer support and more robust array of features. At the end of the day, though, the choice is yours and I recommend checking out more than one source for user reviews before you purchase.

App Store links:

Beatmaker 2 by Intua

Nanostudio by Blip Interactive