IK Multimedia has released the Trance & Techno versions of GrooveMaker, in addition to the other four already in the App Store. Read below to find out how you can get a hold of one of these apps for FREE!

The GrooveMaker Apps are a new way of creating great music on the go. Intermediate users of electronic music creation will find this app on top of their best music creation apps for the iPhone.

The new GrooveMaker Techno gives you the raw energy of early techno, the monobeats of yore with a touch of gritty, eerie cyberfunk. These are
beats straight from the roots of electronic music, so you have all the tools to move the dance floor. Includes 4 songs, plus 1 FREE song by registering, and a total of 315 loops in 140-150-160-180 BPM ranges for 228 MB of samples.

New GrooveMaker Trance allows you to immerse yourself in a total state of trance with anathematic bass lines, progressive structures and lead melodies; a hypnotic journey with no interruption! Includes 4 songs, plus 1 FREE song by registering, and a total of 315 loops in 140-150 BPM for 230 MB of samples.

Find out all the really cool things that this app can do by taking a look at the in-depth review here.
And listen here of a LIVE recording of me using the Hip-Hop version (recorded via Audacity).

App Giveaway: IK Multimedia has graciously given us some promo codes to share. We have ones for the Techno, Trance, Hip-Hop, Club & House versions. In the comments tell us who your favorite Techno or Trance artist is and why. Winners for the comments will be chosen by 10/09/09 @ 10pm CST. To get the Techno, Trance or House versions – first comment will receive a promo code, the other two will be randomly selected from the comments. Get even more apps by following us on Twitter (@iphoneappblog) and watch for our tweet on how you could get the Hip-Hop or Club versions for free!

Make sure when you post a comment you put some way to get a hold of you – Twitter, website, etc.

A button in the upper-right-hand corner will appear named “monocle” tap on it and move your the iPhone around to view the labels spinning around you. Realize this only works on the iPhone 3GS.

Have fun!

**Note: This review is a blanket review – having beta tested all the apps in the Groove Maker series, they all operate in the same basic way, the main difference are the sound loops.

The application is a new revolutionary way of creating music and it’s going to change the way people DJ on the go.

Check out this MP3 I created using the app LIVE with the Hip-Hop version!
I simply plugged a stereo cable from my iPhone into my computer and recorded it live in Audacity. Nothing else was edited on the song.

Pros:
-Easy to learn UI
-Export your song via WiFi (as a *.wav file)
-Multiple song pack per app
-A lot of loops per app (about 70-100 loops per song)
-Loops stay on beat – no attempting to match the beat
-Tempo modifier (& pitch)
-Loads quickly (after initial load)
-Intuitive & Interactive Help
-Save songs/layouts

Cons:
-Song created is limited to approximately 3.5 minutes/ 15 grooves per sequence
-No fading between grooves
-No filters
-Changing tempo also changes the pitch

4/5

Intro:

The Groovemaker Apps are a new way of creating great music on the go. Intermediate users of electronic music creation will find this app on top of their best music creation apps for the iPhone.

Buttons & Using the Interface:
The interface is quite intuitive and unique. When you open the app, you can choose from a set of songs. On the initial load, the song will take some time to unpack. After this is done, you will not have to do this again for that song. In the main interface you have pads in the middle, below that is a waveform. Tap on a pad and it displays the waveform for that loop, this will help you introduce loops on the beats you want especially if you are performing live.

The buttons of the right side are randomization buttons. These four buttons allow you to randomize the loops depending on the button you tap on – A – D. This is really a nice touch especially if you are just brainstorming to find your new groove.

Below these buttons is the Tempo button. By tapping on it 3 times, the app averages the beat and sets the new tempo. If you want to be more precise, you can hold down the tempo button until a set of buttons appear (about 2 seconds). You can utilize the tack wheel to speed up/down the tempo or you can even be more precise by tapping the “+” & “-” buttons. By holding down the tempo button again the tempo setting disappear. The only thing I really didn’t like about this was the fact that it actually changes the pitch of the loops, that’s not exactly something I like happening, I’d rather change them interdependently.

On the opposite side of the screen you have the interactive help. The interactive help is very neat as it…well… let’s you interact with the app & helps you get to know how to use the application very quickly. The other buttons are your preferences – allowing you to set which pads are randomized via the randomization buttons. While I found this nice, I didn’t fully enjoy it as I couldn’t pick pads out of order, rather I had to choose 2-5 or 2-7, etc. The next button allows you to go back to the song menu. Next is the sequencer, more on that later, lastly, the master button, this controls the master volume for your song.

In the middle of the bottom side of the screen you have 4 very important buttons. The far right one allows you to pull up a loops list and select a loop for the pad. Tapping on the Track button pulls up another set of buttons. The one on the left coordinate the pads on screen allowing you to empty, lock, solo, and/or mute the pads. The ones ones the right side of the screen allow you to control the volume of the pad/loop and it’s pan. Of course to remove the buttons you simply tap on the track button again. The play button is what gets your groove on (pun intended). Lastly, the Groove snap button, this is explained in the next section.

Music Creation:
I really loved how easy it was to create songs. You simply get the pads going the way you want to, then tap the “Groove Snap” button and this saves the “groove” you have created into the sequencer. Before I continue I must explain some terminology – A “Pad” contains a loop. A “Groove” contains a mixture of up to 8 pads playing at once within an 8 Bar/32 beat groove. The “sequencer” allows you to put multiple grooves together to create your song. With me so far? I hope so.

Continuing on… Once you have your pads in place you tap the Groove snap button, this saves you pads and whether they are on or not, you then can change the pads and press the Groove Snap button again to save another groove. These set of actions is what make Groovemaker so unique, you don’t have to turn off the music to save a piece of your music. Once you feel you have saved all the grooves you want, tap on the sequence button on the right side of the screen.

All the buttons will be replaced by the sequencer except for the buttons on the right. The sequencer is separated into four portions – the top one contains all the grooves you’ve saved, the second one (from the top) is your sequence, the third section displays where you are listening to in your sequence and the very bottom are buttons allowing you to empty you sequencer, place certain grooves into the sequencer, play the sequence, mix browser (allows you to save you song/sequence to edit later) and finally the almighty Export button – you’ll need WiFi for that.

The main thing that happens here is – you drag saved grooves (first row) into the sequencer (the second row). While I found this very easy to do, I wasn’t a fan of being limited to only 15 grooves in my sequencer… it broke my groove. I suppose a way around this is to export the first 15 grooves, create a new set, then export and so on.

If you are wanting longer song exports and more control in-between groove changes, I’d recommend exporting your grooves independently, then mixing them on another sequencer. Hopefully in one of their next updates they will allow this to occur.

Performing Live:
Live performances are possible however depending on how you are soloing & muting buttons, it can easily get confusing to which pad is actually playing. However, you can select multiple pads and press the solo/mute buttons. The main issue here is you have to “hold” down one pad while tapping on other pads to select multiple pads at once.

Overall:
I found this app quite nice and easy to use I’d recommend this to anyone interested in creating music in their spare time, but for anyone that likes making their trance (for instance) songs longer that 3.5 minutes or creating sudden changes in the song rather than over a 32 beat section, this might not be the best application for you.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

TxtDrop is a web-app that allows you to send text messages to anyone’s cell phone (it also supports international users; however, it is not an iPhone web-app). I was initially concerned about privacy, but after reading their Private Policy (and viewing other trust-website-lookups), it look safe. If you are worried about getting spammed you can add your phone number to their block call list. I thought this was a nice as I have never found a “truly” free text messaging as some of the apps that do this still cost to purchase them [Free- Web link]

Game Crazy iPhone App, is an app for gamers. It is the first-of-its kind for an iPhone application. The app lets you view the details about new games and upcoming releases. You can watch trailers and even check trade-in prices. And if you happen to want to go get a game, there is a in-app store locator.The app is split into 3 main section: Games, Stores & Settings.

Under the Games tab, you can view all games, new releases and upcoming releases.

In the game details screen, you can view its number of players, systems it’s available fore, Publisher, rgular trdae in price, MVP trade in and the used price of the game. You can also find a synopsis about the game and view the trailer or find a store closest to you on where to buy the game.

Under the Stores tab, you can locate the closet store near you or search another city.

Under the settings tab, you can choose which systems you wish the app to view games for. So if you are only interested in games for your Wii & PSP, then the app will only display games for those systems.

I was quite surprised on how well the app was organized and how well it flowed. It was easy to find games for the systems I was looking for and even read a short amount about the game. This is a great app for any console, PC or Mac gamer!

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts