The additional control offered by tablets and smart phones creates a completely new way of making music that should not be underestimated or simplified. It’s like buying a virtual instrument and a controller all-in-one. When you buy an app you also get the functionality of the multi-touch screen, accelerometer & gyroscope, along with typical MIDI input and output controls. It’s really easy to hit that “get” button. A warning though, as I found out from personal experience, 50 cheap things add up to a couple expensive things. This allows you to experiment with a lot of stuff, limited only by the storage capacity of your device. Prices range from free (with in-app purchases that usually include additional presets or samples) to maybe $69 at the extreme high end, with the average falling around $10 to $15. Very cheap! Unbelievably cheap! So cheap that most people would not believe these things really sound that good. The iOS approach to performance and production offers several benefits that set it apart from using standard plugins in a DAW or traditional MIDI equipment. I both thank and curse him for leading me down yet another technological rabbit hole. Deane (Dino), a sampling pioneer who began live sampling back in the 80’s using tape. I first got introduced to the world a few years ago by my good friend J.A. With interfaces like the iConnectAudio and iConnectMIDI series you can route MIDI and audio streams in and out of your iOS devices to your computer and/or controller. Protocols like Ableton Link now make it possible to synchronize apps and devices wirelessly with ease. Products that include effects processing, virtual instruments, sequencers, educational apps, recording, mixing & mastering apps and weird interfaces that can’t really be categorized are being offered by major manufacturers alongside hundreds of independent developers. If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, the iOS market is ripe with possibilities for music production and it’s growing every day.

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