Top Apps for Producing Stellar Electronic Music

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As electronic music production grows in popularity, aspiring producers are increasingly turning to mobile apps for their convenience and capabilities. This blog post highlights the best apps designed to help you create professional-quality electronic music directly from your device. From beginners to seasoned musicians, there’s an app suited for everyone. We’ll delve into the standout features of each app, providing a snapshot of what you can expect and why they have garnered widespread acclaim. Start your journey with these impressive tools, and let your creativity flow uninterrupted.

Cubase Tutorial: 12 Beginner Tips for Steinberg’s DAW

Cubase is a powerhouse digital audio workstation (DAW) among professional music producers. For those new to Cubase, here are 12 tips to help you kickstart your production journey. First, familiarize yourself with the workspace. Knowing where everything is will save you time and frustration. Second, use templates to streamline your workflow; they are perfect for both recurring project structures and quick setup. Third, learn keyboard shortcuts—it simplifies many common tasks. Fourth, leverage track presets to save and easily recall favorite settings. Fifth, the Mixer View in Cubase is essential; it allows you to manage your tracks’ volume levels, panning, and effects efficiently. Sixth, utilize the Control Room to facilitate headphone monitoring and mix calibration. Seventh, automation is your friend; use it to dynamically adjust volume, pan, and effects.

1. BandLab

BandLab is an increasingly popular choice among music enthusiasts and budding producers. This free app offers a range of high-quality features such as a versatile multitrack editor, over 200 virtual instruments, and effects to craft your tracks. One of its unique features is the community aspect—BandLab allows producers to collaborate with other musicians in real time, making it a perfect choice for collaborative projects. The app is also cross-platform, meaning you can start a project on your mobile and continue on your desktop without missing a beat. BandLab’s cloud storage ensures your work is safe and accessible from anywhere. It’s packed with all the essential tools needed for electronic music production, making it especially suitable for beginners looking to get their feet wet.

2. Groovepad

Groovepad is a simple yet powerful app designed with electronic music producers in mind. This user-friendly app makes beat-making accessible to everyone, providing an intuitive interface that lets users create tracks without prior experience. It offers numerous sound packs that cover a wide range of genres—EDM, Hip Hop, Dubstep, and more. A standout feature is its “Live Loops,” allowing seamless, real-time beat tweaking, making it great for live performances and spontaneous creativity. Additionally, Groovepad offers a variety of sound filters and effects, such as reverb and delay, enabling nuanced creative control over your productions. This app is perfect for anyone looking to dabble in electronic music without a steep learning curve.

3. iMPC Pro 2

iMPC Pro 2 by Akai Professional is a full-featured app that brings the iconic MPC experience to your mobile device. This app stands out with its drum pads, sampling capabilities, and a built-in recording studio. Whether you’re slicing samples, using classic MPC swing, or layering drums, iMPC Pro 2 provides the tactile and dynamic feel of an actual MPC. Features such as the built-in professional mixer with EQ and effects, along with Audio Units plugin support, make iMPC Pro 2 extremely versatile. Furthermore, its time-correct feature allows you to keep everything in sync, ensuring your beats always sound tight and professional. For those serious about mobile music production, this app offers an unparalleled experience.

4. Koala Sampler

Koala Sampler is a go-to app for musicians who love sampling and creating unique sounds. Its straightforward interface lets you capture audio using your mobile device’s microphone instantly. You can then chop, arrange, and manipulate these samples through its intuitive sequencing and beat-making capabilities. One of Koala Sampler’s most appealing features is its powerful effects section, with options like reverb, delay, stutter, and more, allowing you to add a personal touch to your tracks. Moreover, its export options, including stems and full mixes, make it easy to integrate your mobile creations into larger studio projects. This app is ideal for those who enjoy experimental sound design and on-the-go songwriting.

5. FL Studio Mobile

FL Studio Mobile has garnered much praise from electronic music producers for its rich feature set and intuitive design. Known for its desktop counterpart, FL Studio Mobile offers a portable yet potent music production suite. You can create, mix, record, sequence, and render complete songs with a diverse collection of plugins, instruments, and effects. The interface is customizable, facilitating a smoother workflow, and supports MIDI control, which means you can use it with a variety of external hardware. One of its key features is its cross-platform capability; projects created on your mobile can be imported to the desktop version of FL Studio and vice versa. If you’re looking for a comprehensive mobile DAW, FL Studio Mobile is hard to beat.

6. Roland Zenbeats

Zenbeats by Roland is another top-tier app designed to cater to the needs of electronic music producers. This app offers a sophisticated interface with a wide array of tools to spark creativity. It features pad-style interfaces for beat-making, a built-in synthesizer, and a plethora of effects and loops. One of Zenbeats’ most impressive aspects is its cross-platform functionality, making file sharing between different devices seamless. Additionally, its timeline editor and touchscreen support streamline the production process. Zenbeats also offers expansion packs covering various genres, ensuring you always have fresh sounds at your fingertips. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned producer, Zenbeats can elevate your music production game.

7. Soundtrap by Spotify

Soundtrap by Spotify is a versatile DAW that’s perfect for anyone from educators to budding producers. What sets Soundtrap apart is its browser-based interface, which means it’s accessible from almost any device with internet connectivity. The app supports real-time collaboration, so multiple users can work on the same project simultaneously, making it an excellent tool for collaborative music projects. The app includes a variety of loops and instruments that can cater to different genres and styles. Its integration with Spotify is a bonus, allowing users to publish their work directly to Spotify upon completion. Soundtrap is an excellent choice for those who want a collaborative and accessible approach to music production.

8. GarageBand iOS

GarageBand for iOS is Apple’s free music production software tailored for mobile use. This app offers an impressive array of features: virtual instruments, a multitrack editor, and high-quality effects. It’s designed to be user-friendly while providing the capability to create professional-sounding music. GarageBand’s “Live Loops” feature allows users to create EDM tracks easily, and its touch instruments give you the feel of playing actual instruments like keyboards, guitars, and drums. Another big plus is its integration with other Apple software, letting you export your project files to Logic Pro X for further refinement. GarageBand iOS is perfect for those who are beginning their music production journey and Apple enthusiasts who appreciate seamless integration across devices.

9. Ableton Live Mobile

Ableton Live is a staple in the electronic music production community, and while there’s no dedicated mobile app currently available, third-party apps like LK (Live Controller by Imaginando) provide stellar mobile integration. LK allows you to control Ableton Live sessions remotely, offering a robust MIDI controller experience. You can trigger clips, tweak parameters, and even play instruments directly from your mobile device. This third-party integration makes it easy to draft ideas and perform live without being tethered to your computer. For those deeply invested in the Ableton ecosystem, LK serves as a great mobile companion, bridging the gap between desktop DAW functionalities and mobile convenience.

10. Spire

Spire by iZotope is designed primarily for recording, but it’s packed with features that make it a powerful mobile DAW. Ideal for musicians on the go, Spire offers a high-quality, easy-to-use recording interface that facilitates capturing professional-grade audio. It supports multitrack recording and comes equipped with built-in effects such as reverb and delay. Spire’s standout feature is its cloud-based project sharing, which allows easy collaboration with other musicians. The app also provides automated mix processing to help balance your tracks, ensuring your creations sound polished. If capturing and producing high-quality audio on the move is a priority, Spire is an excellent option.

Summary

Whether you are a novice or an experienced producer, the world of mobile music production offers myriad tools to suit your needs. These apps not only provide the convenience of portability but also pack potent features essential for crafting professional-quality tracks. Below is a summary table to help you decide which app might be the perfect fit for your production needs.