Jack Audio Connection Kit on the App Store - FREE!
List updated: June 1st 2013
- Audio Filter
- ThumbJam
- CMP Grand Piano
- Live Guitar
- SunVox
- MIDI Wrench
- Turnado
- New! PixelWave
- New! SpectrumGen
- New! The Oscillator
Something missing? Leave a comment below!
Jack Audio Connection Kit on the App Store - FREE!
List updated: June 1st 2013
Something missing? Leave a comment below!

This idea has been floating around for sometime now, but the release of Arturia’s iMini for iPad really got me to realize – the iPad has quite a variety of classic synth recreation apps…
-Peter Vogel CMI and CMI Pro
Other recreations:
-Korg iElectribe & iElectribe Gorillaz Edition
-iMPC
What is it about the iPad that’s attracting so many classic synth recreations? I’ve got it narrowed down to a few contributing features…
1. Touch – A touch screen allows users to interact directly with the synthesizer, not through a keyboard and a mouse, you can literally drag and drop cables in iMS-20, turn knobs and sliders, ect…
2. It’s a second computer – Live setups can be complicated. Having a second computing device (especially on that’s as advanced as the iPad) allows musicians to have an extra screen to use software that may have otherwise been crammed onto a laptop along with several other VSTs. This will get exponentially better as soon as the iConnectMIDI 2+ and 4+ arrive with AudioPass Through.
3. Capable of producing complete tracks – Audio copy & paste, Virtual MIDI, Audiobus bring all of these apps together.
4. Portability - This one’s a given.
5. Anything else? What do you like about producing on iPads? Leave a comment below!
If you need to get songs from your iPod music library copied to the pasteboard, here are a few apps that can get the job done…
List last updated: 1/3/2013
Anything missing? Leave a comment below!

List updated: 4/27/2013
On the way:
List last updated 10/24/2012
Missing anything? Leave a comment below!
Here’s a regularly updated list of iOS apps that either started as desktop versions and came to iOS, or started as iOS versions and went desktop. It’s very interesting to see how each of these apps are used on mobile and desktop computers. I also think that each of these are evidence of iOS music making potential.
List last updated: January 7, 2013
Here are some desktop versions of iOS apps that you can use to try out before getting the full version:
Anything missing? Leave a comment below!
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Here’s a list of music apps that can use the iOS ‘Open In…’ function to open audio files in other applications. This can be done with any app that supports ‘Open In…’, the Dropbox app is just being shown as an example. In the Dropbox app, you need to have the file starred (stored locally) before you can use open it in other apps.
Help this list grow by commenting any missing apps below!
List last updated October 15, 2012
Like this list? Check out my grand list of app lists here!
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