Seattle, January 13, 2010: Looptastic Producer, the flagship of Sound Trends' line of mobile music-production apps, is now more expressive, thanks to a flexible new mixer and effects. The three mixer zones now expand on the fly to fit the loops you add, facilitating custom cueing and submixes. Performers can now mute or maximize each loop with a single tap on its fader. And each zone can now be switched in or out of the effects loop with a tap, adding variety and motion to the mix.
A new "scratch strip" above the faders shows the waveform of the last loop touched; tapping anywhere on the waveform retriggers the sound from that point. In looping mode, the sound then continues from the correct point in the recording: Scratch without screwing up! Turn off looping mode, and the sound plays only while your finger is down -- excellent for deconstructing speech and triggering sound effects. Tap the side of the screen and the new tempo slider glides out; Looptastic changes the tempo without changing the pitch.
I think that the tempo change is great in Looptastic 3.0, but for me the effects are excellent:
Five new effects join the four existing filters (low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and notch) on the X-Y effects screen:
Gate -- creates a rhythmic pulsing effect ideal for chopping up vocals. Vertical movements on the touchpad control how long the gate stays open; horizontal movements control the number of pulses per second.
Bit-crusher -- adds the crunchy distortion of old video games. Vertical movements control bit depth, adding noise and distortion; horizontal movements control the sampling rate, adding metallic artifacts.
Flanger -- adds a tunnel-like resonance that's ideal for animating percussion or pads. Vertical movements control feedback, imparting a metallic whine; horizontal movements control delay, sweeping the pitch of the resonance.
Glitchy Repeater -- captures and repeats brief segments of sound for a stuttering effect. Vertical movements control the number of repeats; horizontal movements control the duration of the segment.
Delay -- adds rhythmic echoes to make a part stand out or "swing." Vertical movements control feedback (number of echoes); horizontal movements control the length of each echo. Analog-style interpolation creates dub-style pitch-shifting as you move your finger.
You can even combine the effects for more dramatic textures. The new Effect Hold button locks in the last settings, allowing the performer to, for example, swap in a distorted drum groove or echoed sound bite and then get back to mixing.
Sound Trends President Aaron Higgins remarks, "Looptastic 3 incorporates some of our customers' most creative suggestions, implemented in a way that makes the app even easier to use. In light of all the new features, we raised the price 50 percent, but as a thank-you to our supporters, we're allowing current owners to upgrade for free."
I was expecting 3 to be a whole new app, and so I'm really glad that Soundtrends have made it a straight update for current users.
The new features are great and I know that they are what a lot of you have been asking for. But it won't end there. There's more coming to Looptastic, and soon I hope!
Looptastic Producer is available now from the iTunes Store for $14.99:
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