Top 10 Best Tablet DAWs Available Right Now on Your IPhone, Galaxy, IPad And Tablets
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Recording music is a passion that is becoming much easier to fulfill thanks to the advancement of mobile devices. The world has transitioned from needing a full recording studio to needing a tablet with a fairly fast processor and a decent chunk of memory to be successful. With the right tablet digital audio workstation, or DAW, a musician can literally record an entire album on their mobile device.
Here are the best mobile DAWs you can get right now.
NanoStudio
If your preference is to create music on your iPhone, then this mobile DAW is the way to go. This app is designed to work best on the iPhone 5, but it works really well on later generations of the iPad as well. You can add multiple layers of sound to your synth tracks with this app and adjust the wave envelopes with one-touch ease thanks to the dials that let you work the attack, decay, sustain, and release right up front. The glide is realistic and you can change the bend range with a simple +/- command. You’re also going to love the pad interface.
Cubasis
The best part about using this DAW is the sequencer, which is streamlined to run on an iPad so that it mimics your typical laptop/desktop type of platform. You can mix the sounds you record easily and editing is a pretty simple task as well. There are over 70 virtual instruments that are loaded into the program and there some good audio effects, like their overdrive, that will help you tailor the sound. Your projects can even be opened in Cubase! It’s the piano keys integration I enjoy the most, however, because with a simple slide of the finger, the octave can get changed so chords are easy to create.
FL Studio
With over 100 instruments and access to over 220 more with in-app purchases, you can quickly import/export files with this mobile DAW. Although the piano roll is easy to use, the most useful part of this program is the drum sequencer that will let you quickly tap out a custom beat. For added fun, you can then transfer the beat into your desktop FL Studio or play it through your internal sound to record on another DAW for a custom sound.
Auria
For the beginning mobile musician who is looking for the classic Garageband/Logic type of experience, this is the tablet DAW for you to use. Sync up multiple tracks into one audio file, quickly master the audio with a full digital board, and create a professional result. Up to 48 tracks can be played simultaneously and it even works on the 1st generation of the iPad, although with 24 tracks. A floating point mixing engine and full MIDI support allow all of your custom tunes to be quickly recorded.
TouchDAW
For Android platforms, TouchDAW has the ability to get a lot of your recording needs met. It’s the mixing that you can do with this program that sets it apart because you can make those minor sound adjustments to all of the track’s parameters like you would with a traditional DAW. There’s also good MIDI controllers with this program and best of all, the files you create on this platform will work in both Windows and iOS.
Garageband
The mobile DAW version isn’t as useful as the Mac version, but it still has some highlights to it. You’ll be able to put some customization into your drums, record using custom software instruments directly in the app, and with the right USB/MIDI interface you can use your home synth or keyboard to record in the app with the Camera Connection Kit for the iPad. It directly uploads to Soundcloud or you can upload to the iCloud to finish working on the file.
Sunvox
This mobile DAW works on any O/S and offers full support of .wav files up to 32 bit. It’s got over 100 drum sounds and a few synths and effects, but the vocal recording abilities of this app is where it stands out. You can filter your voice with a number of options that will make most vocals sound natural even when using your phone or tablet’s microphone as the input. You can shape the waves of almost any audio file with a professional-style audio mastering option, but an easier to use interface would be helpful to make the most out of this DAW.
Korg Gadget
If synth is your thing and you want to start making tracks, then this app is one of the best to combine the two together. A helpful start-up guide will have you recording in just minutes, while the pro musician will like the fact that you can record 16 bars at a time instead of the standard 8. The sequencer is similar to what you’d find on Korg instruments too, which is nice because you can adjust multiple notes at the same time without having to change their overall pitch.
Lemur
If sequencing is your strength, then this mobile DAW is what you’re going to want to use. With StepSlider, StepSwitch, and StepNote, you can quickly create custom sounds that sound like you spent hours tightening up. It’s also the closest mobile DAW app to its original desktop version, so transitioning to it is really easy. In many ways, this app feels like you’re using Ableton because you can easily change the parameters of the sounds you’ve created and plug in effects, like the Quick Chorus, to develop sounds that cover the entire Hz range instead of having to record multiple tracks like other DAW apps require.
Oscilab
This is a newer DAW to the market and it is a good app for those who like to make loops. You’ve 28 wave shapers that let you control the digital oscillations of your sound and 6 pads to help you further customize the sound. The drum machine has 15 sounds and there are 36 digital instruments within the app that will let you directly upload to Soundcloud or your preferred file transfer app.
Did your favorite mobile DAW get missed? Please feel free to share with us the apps you love to use to create music and a link to your