AppCraver » Instruments & Accessories

Tuner Metronome Minimalist Interface Gets it Done

Georges Papas — Fri, 08 May 2009 20:00:05 +0000

From the land of sushi and Godzilla comes Tuner Metronome, an app which as the name suggests offers various tuning and tempo tools for everyday musicians. It’s developer MIZO claims it to be “the most high quality digital tuner metronome.” I wouldn’t go so far, but this is certainly a solid application.

Tuner Metronome has three main functions that are easily identifiable to even novice musicians, the first of which is the “tone generator.” You choose a note and it will emit a precise synth note, to be used as a reference pitch. Couldn’t be any simpler. The second mode is the chromatic tuner, which any level of guitarist has surely used in their time. Tuner Metronome’s virtual rendition of the hardware feels just like the real thing and provides good but not perfect tuning accuracy. By placing the iPhone’s microphone near the instrument, you can accurately tune the pitch as it is being displayed on the screen. I found Tuner Metronome somewhat lacking in this department, as the note was not being detected properly at times.

In order to battle inaccuracies that could be caused by ambient noise, Tuner Metronome has a calibration option, which changes the neutral point of both the tone generator and the chromatic tuner.

The third function, as you may have guessed, is the metronome. It’s a very simple system of ticks, with a wide range of options, including an all-important BPM tap button. With support for multiple time signatures and rhythm variations, the metronome portion does its job well.

Tuner Metronome’s weakest point is definitely the GUI: It isn’t aesthetically pleasing and overall makes you feel like it was rushed into release. Hopefully, that’ll be addressed in the next update. Looks aside, if you need a 3-in-1 tool for music on the go, then you can download Tuner Metronome from the App Store today for $2.99.

app_name: Tuner Metronome
rating: 7/10

SaxMan Falls Flat — App Fails to Deliver on Description

Michael Alexander — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 01:30:16 +0000

What can I say about SaxMan, from Yudo Games, except that it really blows.

I have no idea what happened to SaxMan on the way from the drawing board to the App Store but it looks like it might have had a house with a three-car garage dropped on it. The app description contains a list of features and screen shots of those features that are not in the version I downloaded a few days ago.

The most egregious error is that the finger positions on the app are reversed from those of a real saxophone. In its app description, the developer attributes that shortcoming to a “fool mistake.” I couldn’t get some combinations of keys to work either.

If you insist on buying SaxMan regardless of fingering, here’s what you’ll get:

Like Smule highly popular Ocarina, you blow into the microphone to generate tones. Varying the force of your breath, the angle and distance of the iPhone from your will vary the tone.

You have the option of selecting altosax, tenor sax and “iewi lead.” The latter is short for either “electronic wind instrument” or “Edison Welding Institute.” It’s hard to describe what it sounds like but I’m thinking it might be the same sound as a Canadian goose as it gets sucked into a jet engine.

I’m not a saxophone player, but I’m a big fan of Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and other jazz musicians and I’ve hard enough saxophones in my life to know that SaxMan doesn’t come close to sounding like anything in real life.

SaxMan has five piano tunes that you can play along with. They include such standards as Twinkle Little Star.. and “Happy Birthday…” Not only do none of the piano songs have proper titles, but also one is “Jupitar/Gustav Holst [sic]. Either that or astronomers at Palomar Observatory discovered found a new planet when I wasn’t looking.

The developer promises the update will have “8 new songs for your listening pleasure.” I’m holding my breath, not in anticipation, but in hope that I might pass out.

The best thing I can say about SaxMan is the keys look nice.

app_name: SaxMan
rating: 1/10

FourTrack is a Big Step in iPhone Music Production.

Georges Papas — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:30:27 +0000

When developer Sonoma Wire Works set out to create a multi-track recorder for the iPhone, they enlisted the help of Retronyms, creators of the best selling Recorder iPhone app. Together they built FourTrack, the closest anyone has gotten to creating a rich-featured, studio-quality multi-track recording app for the iPhone. It allows you to create songs on the go, without the need to carry around any other hardware.

FourTrack offers a lengthy list of features for musicians of all calibers, all in a wonderful, easy-to-use package. As the name suggests, you can record a maximum of four tracks, limited in length only by the space on your device. The main screen is a mixer with, you guessed it, four tracks, each with their own metering, panning and fader controls. One of my main complaints with most serious music production apps, including Logic and Pro Tools, is the ridiculously steep learning curve. Thankfully, FourTrack has avoided all the hassle by presenting its features in an intuitive and simple way.

One of my favorite features is what Sonoma calls WiFi Sync, which allows you to copy your recording onto any computer with a browser. The addition of this feature means that you can start working on a song on the go on your iPhone and complete it at home, using more powerful software. In essence, it’s somewhat of a musical sketch pad, which lets you lay out the framework for a song anywhere, anytime.

That being said, there’s no way you could replace an application like Logic Pro with FourTrack, because there simply isn’t a way to cram all of those features into an app that can run on a mobile device efficiently. Missing features I’d like to see include a metronome, a sequencer, the option to monitor while recording and individual track deletion. On the other hand Logic Studio costs $500 and FourTrack is under $10.

Overall, FourTrack offers phenomenal bang for you buck, in a tiny package. If you’re a musician looking for a way to create songs on the go, grab FourTrack for $9.99.

app_name: FourTrack
rating: 8/10

7 Chords is a Chord Book in Your Pocket

Georges Papas — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:17 +0000

7 Chords is an iPhone app designed for both beginner and intermediate guitarists. Through a remarkable easy-to-use interface, the user can select what chord’s information to display on the screen.

The chords are presented in a simple tabulator manner, each with the fingering, fret number and notes indicated underneath. It’s just like those guitar chord posters available almost everywhere music product are sold, only smaller.

Although it’s possible to get all of this chord information online for free, nowhere can you find them laid out in a simpler, more straight-forward way than with 7 Chords. Plus, it’s only a buck ninety-nine. Grab it from iTunes now.

app_name: 7 Chords
rating: 9/10

Best-selling Ocarina Puts You in Touch With Your Inner Vibe

Michael Alexander — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:30:53 +0000

I’m not much of a musician. Back in grade school, I was always the kid who got the triangle while all the other kids got flutes, slide whistles, thumb pianos and other neat instruments. So when I first saw Smule’s Ocarina, currently the best-selling, paid app in the App Store, I knew I would finally be able to express my inner vibe.

No such luck, but I have to say that Ocarina is by far coolest instrument I can’t play.

Ocarina couldn’t be any simpler: It consists of four virtual “holes” that function in the same way as the real holes on a flute or similar instrument. Place your fingers on any combination of holes and gently blow into the mic. Tilting the phone enables you to control pitch and vibrato. Before you know it, you can be playing beautiful melodies, at least you can if you have a little bit of talent.

It’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one incapable of carrying a tune. How do I know? One of Ocarina’s coolest features is that it I can listen to people all around the world playing, or trying to play, their Ocarinas just by tapping an icon of a globe. Right now, there’s a person in South Africa who is practicing scales and there’s another person in Mexico who is doing a pretty good job with the theme from Star Trek. I haven’t found anyone playing the theme from Zelda, but Ocarina would be perfect for that.

You have options for naming your Ocarina, changing the colors of the finger holes, sharing your compositions and few other settings.

Ocarina is well worth $.99. To paraphrase the legendary rock band, Spinal Tap: Everyone else’s app goes up to 10. This one goes to 11.

Caveat: Ocarina works only with the iPhone. Sorry, iTouch owners.

Smule’s YouTube video of Led Zep’s “Stairway to Heaven” has been viewed more than 250,000 times. That’s about 50,000 more views since we ran our interview with Ge Wang, Smule’s co-founder last week.

app_name: Ocarina
rating: 10/10

Train Your Musical Ear with Karajan Beginner

Paul Martin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:45:19 +0000

Karajan and Karajan Beginner is an ear training app from Holger Meyer that is a step above many ear training programs. Beginner is a free lite version of the $14.99 version and has a lot of the features of the original version minus the advanced stages of training.

You can test your ear for prime, major second, perfect fourth and fifth intervals. There are also ear training exercises for chords, scales, pitches and tempos. Unlike many ear training software programs, the timbres to pick from (piano, e piano, acoustic guitar, slapped bass, and organ) are very palatable, especially so for a free app on a phone. The user interface is easy to understand and comes with several options for entering answers including a keyboard. There are also statistics that help track your progress.

Although it is a fairly specialized application, mostly useful for music students, it is a great way to whip your ear into shape even if your just a garage musician. Add up the number of people in cover bands out there playing Freebird who should be training their ears a little better, and you have an app that would benefit the rest of us as well.

app_name: Karajan Beginner
rating: 7/10

Guitar Toolkit

admin — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:05:04 +0000

Essential guitar utilities, including an amazingly flexible tuner and a library of over 1600 chord variations, all on your iPhone.

Guitar Toolkit Features:
– Chromatic tuner using the iPhone microphone
– Tune to any musical note or choose from 40+ tunings (Standard, Open G, Drop D, etc.)
– Chord library with over 260 chord maps and 1600 variations for quick and easy reference
– Adjustable metronome with visible flash option and multiple sound effects
– Audible tones for tuning by ear

app_name: Guitar Toolkit
rating: NR