Impaktor is an amazing new app for iOS.  The video shows the app being used on an iPhone, but it’s also available for the iPad and iPod Touch.  Impaktor allows you to turn any flat surface into a percussion instrument. What’s surprising is how well it actually works.

It comes with over 90 presets and latency is a non-issue.  It has a 6 track recorder and some nice modulation parameters.  The Auto-Quantize feature makes you sound a lot better than you probably are.  It also supports audio copy/paste and allows you to export WAV files.

At $5, this app is an absolute steal.  Be sure to check out Impaktor when you can!

The TC-11 is a multi-touch synthesizer for the iPad.  It takes an unconventional approach to sound creation and delivers some interesting results.  Sound is expressed by touch relationships (distance, angle, timing). Simply touch, slide, and drag your fingers across the screen.  It also makes use of the gyroscope and accelerometer built into your iPad.  Things like tilting or shaking your iPad can have a unique effect on your sound as well.

The strength of the TC-11 is its complex routing options – which are fully programmable.  The possibilities seem endless.  You can set up any number of effects, filters, and mods to respond to your touch or movement in a specific way.  The result is a very expressive sound.

It comes with 64 patches, which isn’t exactly a truck load, but you can create an unlimited number of patches yourself.  It’s also easy to share them.

The TC-11 is capable of producing some extremely interesting sounds, but also carries a hefty price tag ($30).  If you’re an electronic producer that likes to take sound creation to new places, then this could just be the app you’re looking for.

Arpeggionome is an app specifically designed for music production on the iPad (no iPhone or iPod Touch versions).  As its name implies, it focuses purely on the nature of arpeggios and creating complex note progressions.

Arpeggionome revolves around an X / Y grid that can be used to specify pattern notes (X) and pattern speed (Y).  Manage up to 480 notes per second!

Choose a preset or create an arpeggio from scratch using parameters such as – Key & Scale, Octave Range, Control Range, and more.  You can also save your presets and patterns so they can be used at a later time.

Arpeggionome is a cool app with some decent sounds, but we would like to see a wider selection of presets and more features.  Some quality updates could really elevate this app to new heights.

If you’re looking for an iOS synth that focuses on arpeggios, then Arpeggionome is definitely what you’re looking for.

Figure is a beat-making app for the iPad.  It’s specifically designed for mobile users and is simple enough for someone with little (if any) musical ability to use.  You get 3 tracks to work with choosing from bass, drums, and lead synth.

Once the key and tempo of your song is set, you play the app by sliding your fingers across a pad.  Never play a note out of key or rhythm in Figure.  It’s stock sounds are great!

The only thing about Figure, is its lack of quality features.  This is the difference in this app being more of a cool toy than an awesome production tool.  If you’re sitting at the airport waiting on a delayed flight and need to kill some time, then this app is perfect, but beyond that, not to so much.  You can’t export your work.  You only get 3 tracks to work with.  There’s no piano roll or keyboard, etc.

Figure only cost $1, so at least the pricing justifies its lack of depth.  Serious music makers aren’t going to get what they need from this app, but it’s probably ideal for users looking to have a little fun.

SynthTronica is a unique, spectral synthesizer for the iPad.  It comes with 90+ presets (including vocal/vocoder effects) and the ability to create your own.  It’s formant synthesis allows the filters to use time-varying  formants that can be edited and viewed in spectral form.

Manipulate as many as 11 filters at once by using the Dynamic Multi-touch filter.  Numerous lay outs give you added flexibility to accommodate different playing styles and preferences.

Sharing a mix is easy.  SynthTronica allows you to export your creations as 16-bit and 24-bit WAV or AIFF files.  It also supports Audio Copy/Paste, which is important.

It’s hard not to like this app, but the downside is that it doesn’t have MIDI support and there’s only 92 presets in the core library.

Nonetheless this is still a quality app you can get some functional use out of.  SynthTronica is still offered for the introductory price of $5, be sure to check it out.

Sunrizer is a virtual analogue synthesizer for the iPad.  Its beautiful GUI and excellent sound quality make this app one of the best iOS synthesizers available.  With 2 oscillators per voice, 2 independent filters per voice, and selectable waveforms  (PWM, SuperSaw, Saw, FM, Triangle), it is easy to create some very interesting sounds.

It comes with complete core MIDI support, Audio Copy/Paste, iTunes file sharing, and over 200 quality presets.  Not a bad deal for $5, especially when you consider the price of the popular Korg IMS- 20 ($32.99).

Sunrizer may not have the complexity of the IMS-20, but sometimes less is more.  If you’re not an intuitive synthesis and sound designer then you might find this app more favorable because of its simplicity.

If you are looking for a straightforward virtual synth that’s capable of delivering great results then look no further.  I would recommend Sunrizer to any musician wanting to get functional use out of their iPad.

AniMoog is a polyphonic synthesizer dedicated entirely to the iPad.  The synthesis engine is driven by ASE, which is a new Moog technology that “allows the user to move dynamically through an X/Y space of unique timbres to create an expressive and constantly evolving sound-scape.”

The Upside….

Polyphonic modulation and pitch shifting (expressive controls)  can be controlled directly from specific finger movements while playing.  Amp, Filter, LFO, and Mod Envelopes let you design an endless array of sounds.  Create complex X/Y paths to take your sounds on an authentic and constantly-changing musical journey.  Other key features include classic Moog filtering and orbital control of your sounds.

The Downside…

The app has potential, but it isn’t the easiest to navigate through.  The latency for playback is good, however some of the knobs don’t respond to touch that well.  A lot of the preset sounds are quirky and not well rounded enough. You have to record directly to Pasteboard, which is not always the most convenient.  Did I mention AniMoog costs $30!

If you’re an electronic producer with an adequate knowledge on audio synthesis then you might think this app is golden, but outside of that scope, I just don’t see how AniMoog is worth the $30 price tag.  You can get a lot more bang for your buck elsewhere.

MadPad is a unique remixing tool for your iPad.  It gives you the ability to record short audio/video snippets and generate thumbnails for each of them.  The thumbnail’s then act as trigger pads for triggering the different snippets you’ve recorded.  You can then shuffle and replay this collection of recorded segments in any order you want.

The MadPad (minus the inclusion of video)  basically functions similar to that of an average audio sampler, which is where it draws on it’s remixing capabilities.

You will find this app very easy to use, especially if you’re familiar with sampling music.  The layout is simple and extremely easy to navigate but almost makes you wish there was more to it.  You can upload your remixes to YouTube, but there’s no general exporting options in case you wanted to build upon your creation on your desktop computer.

All in all, this a cool app that needs a few more features to really make it a professional tool.

There’s not a lot to say about this app, but sometimes less is more. Polychord’s simplicity and ease of use make it an extremely efficient working machine that allows you to create, record, and share music.  It doesn’t come jam packed with a million features that you will probably never use.  It’s just a straight forward music making app that delivers quality results for any aspiring musician.

Strike any of the chord circles to play a chord.  Tap and slide your fingers across the strumming keys for individual notes.  Select a scale and never play a bad note.  You also have the ability to switch between Major and Minor keys on the fly.

Other notable features include the ability to use Polychord as a MIDI controller; ‘auto accompany’ for playing along with drums, and bit shift effects for 8 bit music.

Polychord 2 is a quality music making app for the iPad.  It’ll set you back $10, but nonetheless, it’s a solid buy.  Be sure to check it out.

Seline Ultimate is a music app for your iPad.  It is the successor of Seline HD, which was already a solid app.  It comes with 30 factory instruments, 8 drum loops, 6 drones, and the ability to expand this library via app store.

A drone is a pad that automatically creates a backing track for your melody.  Record your creations to .WAV/MIDI/.M4A file formats.  Onboard effects include: Stereo Reverb, Dub Delay , Lush Chorus, Grit Crusher, and MeloDist, which is a singing distortion processor.

I like this app a lot.  It houses some quality sounds and its unique, ergonomic design makes playing melodies a breeze.  Seline’s innovative workflow also makes it a unique improvisational tool that can be used for live performances.

I would like to see more factory instruments, and more drum loops, but otherwise, this is an app still worth checking out.  Seline Ultimate was developed by Amidio Inc and is currently priced at $7.