Pro Keys for iPad
Published December 10, 2011 | 
Pro Keys is a multi instrument and recording tool for singers, songwriters, and musicians. With the ability to record vocals this app is somewhat of a simple DAW. The majority of the sounds revolve around different key instruments (piano, Rhodes, B3, etc.). You’ll get a dual keyboard interface for playing and each keyboard can have a separate sound allowing you to play two different instruments at one time. It’s also worth mentioning that the app responds to touch very well.
Do you suffer from chubby fingers? Change the span of the keyboard range from covering two octaves to one octave and thus double the size of the keys.
Other cool features include Mirrored mode, which allows you and someone sitting opposite of you to play together. Overdubbing, vocal recording (requires headphones) and the ability to work with loops are all cool as well.
On the downside, I don’t feel that the sounds really do the app justice. They just sound a bit like ‘general MIDI’ – there’s no flare or realism. My other issue is the app’s stability. Larger sessions seem to overload the app and cause it to crash on occasion (sometimes frequently).
I think Pro Keys has some great potential especially with some higher quality sounds. I really like that you can record vocals and I wish other apps similar to this one made use of its sensible approach. At $2.99 I don’t feel bad saying Pro Keys is worth the money – so long as it’s stable on your iPad. The app’s price tag will probably rise in the future as more features get added.
Posted in iPad Multitrackers, iPad Virtual Instruments | 
ipad, ipad 2, ipad music apps, music apps, pro keys
I’ve been using Notion for the ipad. It’s a great app for composing. You get an entire orchestra at your fingertips so there are many options for quality audio sounds. I’m not only learning a lot about writing notation but I am now composing scores. Love this app!