Count the beats Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

A closer look at Capo, the app that helps musicians learn music

by Matt Tinsley (Mar 9th, 2011)

The tag line that follows Capo reads, "reverse engineering rock and roll." And that's exactly what Capo does. Capo is an app (Mac OS X or iOS) specifically designed to help musicians learn how to play music in an environment that makes it easier to hear what's going on in the music -- by ...

iKlip attaches iPad to mic stand, musicians rejoice

by Matt Tinsley (Jan 5th, 2011)

If you're a musically-inclined techie, you probably noticed the introduction of IK Multimedia's iKlip late last year, we certainly did. And since several of you probably received an iPad last month, we thought it was worth a mention today. Especially for the musicians out there. Musicians have ...

Tascam introduces Portastudio, 4-track recording on your iPad

by Matt Tinsley (Dec 10th, 2010)

It was about 30 years ago that Tascam introduced the first 4-track cassette recorder -- the Portastudio 144. In 1984, Tascam introduced the Porta One, a revolutionary product that many would argue kick-started the home recording studio as we know it today. Many artists demoed their music on the ...

Count The Beats: A closer look at Amplitube 2.0 for iOS

by Matt Tinsley (Nov 20th, 2010)

A few weeks ago, IK Multimedia released Amplitube 2.0, the next iteration of its guitar effects and amplifier emulator app for iOS (don't forget, you need the external iRig piece of kit, too). It's only been about 5 months since version 1.0 came out, but when we got word that version 2.0 was in the ...

Guitar World & Agile Partners introduce Lick of the Day app

by Matt Tinsley (Nov 15th, 2010)

If there's one thing we love here at TUAW -- besides Apple, of course -- it's music. And it especially rocks our world when these two great loves meet. So, when we got wind that Agile Partners (makers of GuitarToolKit and TabToolkit, which, by the way, are fantastic) and Guitar World Magazine ...

iOS 4.2 to support MIDI

by Matt Tinsley (Nov 5th, 2010)

It's come to light that the upcoming release of iOS 4.2 (due in November) will support all-out MIDI. According to Mike Keller, writing for PC World, Core MIDI on iOS 4.2 should work just as Core MIDI does on Mac OS X, meaning that your iDevice running iOS 4.2 will communicate with other MIDI ...

AmpliTube for iPhone updated to 2.0 - allows you to play along at your own speed

by Matt Tinsley (Oct 29th, 2010)

This week, the guys from IK Multimedia released version 2.0 of AmpliTube for the iPhone. We took a closer look at AmpliTube 1.0 back in June and were pretty impressed with what it had to offer. Since then, uses have requested the ability to import songs and play them at a custom, slower tempo. ...

Count The Beats: Moog Filtatron - a closer look

by Matt Tinsley (Oct 27th, 2010)

Last week, Moog Music released Filtatron, an iPhone app modeled after Moog's own analogue hardware. If you're not familiar, and you're wondering what the heck a Moog is anyway, you may be surprised to find you've probably heard one dozens of times before, performed on countless albums. Moog Music, ...

Count The Beats: Filtatron by Moog Music to be released Monday

by Matt Tinsley (Oct 15th, 2010)

This is just a heads-up to let you know that Moog Music is releasing their own iPhone / iPod touch music app on the App Store on Monday. From the PR, we can glean that Filtatron is a real-time audio effects engine and studio tool that has a finely-modeled Moog Ladder Filter at its core. Yes, it's ...

Count The Beats: First look at Amidio's Seline HD app for the iPad

by Matt Tinsley (Sep 15th, 2010)

The guys over at Amidio Inc (Touch DJ / Noise.io) have recently released their latest app for the iPad, Seline HD (US$5.99). Seline HD is a musical instrument designed for performance and composition of music on the iPad. One of its key features is to make the creation of complex melodies easy, ...

Count The Beats: Akai brings the analog synth to your iPhone, and more

by Matt Tinsley (Sep 2nd, 2010)

If you have a secret love affair with shoulder padded t-shirts (that you wear around the house when no one's looking), and you instinctively roll up your sleeves when you put on your favourite blazer jacket (and don't get why people look at you funny), then here's an app for you. Back in June ...

Count The Beats: AmpliTube and iRig review for the iPhone

by Matt Tinsley (Jun 16th, 2010)

A few weeks ago IK Multimedia announced its iRig hardware and AmpliTube app for the iPhone / iPod touch. Today the software has officially gone live on the UK iTunes store ready for your perusal. The app comes in three variations: AmpliTube Free, AmpliTube LE (£1.79) and just AmpliTube ...

Count The Beats: IK Multimedia announces Amplitube iRig for the iPhone

by Matt Tinsley (May 11th, 2010)

To all you guitarists out there, we know you're incredibly particular about tone when it comes to your axe and the boutique pedals you play it through. But lets be honest, every now and again it can be a little tiresome lugging that oversized pedal board, and your vintage amp, through the ...

Count The Beats: IK Multimedia brings GrooveMaker to the iPad

by Matt Tinsley (Apr 14th, 2010)

On the heels of the popular GrooveMaker app for the iPhone / iPod touch, IK Multimedia (musicians first) has released GrooveMaker for the iPad. Perfect for that upcoming house party (DJ set) you've been planning. If you're into house, hip-hop and drum 'n bass style music (mixing loops and samples ...

Count The Beats: Learn to read and play sheet music with Etude on your iPhone

by Matt Tinsley (Mar 17th, 2010)

From the creators of ShoveBox, Wonder Wrap Software has just launched their new iPhone / iPod touch app Etude. Etude is a beautifully designed app that helps you learn to read and play sheet music on the piano. While the built-in synthesizer plays through a piece of music, Etude will scroll ...