Playbook Apps for Musicians - what's out there and what's instore

Hi fellow musicians
Loving my playbook but I am really hoping to see some more professional apps for musicians. I have only found a few apps like Instruments and Sion and Wagerg. Although all are fun, none are really usable in a studio environment.
What else is there that might be interesting?

I hope we will see a full sequencer type program for the playbook, like Caustic for android, or even something like Reloop for Android.

Does anybody have any insight as to what we might see in the future?

The Playbook deserves some serious Musicians tools ! Fingers crossed here.
Cheers
manytone
btw I own Manytone Music and make music software for Windows and Mac

Personally I think the rock-solid reliability of the PlayBook OS would knock the socks of IOS for live music purposes. As a sound engineer I've seen too many iPads, MacBooks and Windows laptops crashing mid-performance on stage.

To be taken seriously by the music industry, the PlayBook needs:

• a compatible USB MIDI interface (at least in/out/thru)
• a compatible USB Pro-audio interface (low latency, 24bit, 96Khz)
• supporting multi-app platform API's for routing, merging, sharing, managing the above
• if possible, a VST-like plugin standard

Do that right, and we'll be seeing PlayBooks on stage everywhere.

Originally Posted by Innovatology

Personally I think the rock-solid reliability of the PlayBook OS would knock the socks of IOS for live music purposes. As a sound engineer I've seen too many iPads, MacBooks and Windows laptops crashing mid-performance on stage.

To be taken seriously by the music industry, the PlayBook needs:

• a compatible USB MIDI interface (at least in/out/thru)
• a compatible USB Pro-audio interface (low latency, 24bit, 96Khz)
• supporting multi-app platform API's for routing, merging, sharing, managing the above
• if possible, a VST-like plugin standard

Do that right, and we'll be seeing PlayBooks on stage everywhere.

@Kevin, could you please take this request to RIM?
It's good market for PB to develop and excel.

I think it would be neat to have an impulse tracker / octomed style interface. I think it would a lot better on a touch screen device.

As a performer, an app like OnSong for iOS would be tremendous. I've been using Hymnsongbook, but it doesn't allow you to create set lists and the portrait panning doesn't work very well.

With the upgrade to Beta, I spoke with the developer for Chordinator and since then have had it converted to .bar file, and it works very well.

Agree, thought RIM made a massive tactical error not launching with a powerful musician application and am totally chagrined that we've had but a few mere toys, and toys without updates at that.

Inexcusable and a real shame.

Well great to see some input here.... I'll post a few replies to keep up...

Originally Posted by Innovatology

Personally I think the rock-solid reliability of the PlayBook OS would knock the socks of IOS for live music purposes. As a sound engineer I've seen too many iPads, MacBooks and Windows laptops crashing mid-performance on stage.

To be taken seriously by the music industry, the PlayBook needs:

• a compatible USB MIDI interface (at least in/out/thru)
• a compatible USB Pro-audio interface (low latency, 24bit, 96Khz)
• supporting multi-app platform API's for routing, merging, sharing, managing the above
• if possible, a VST-like plugin standard

Do that right, and we'll be seeing PlayBooks on stage everywhere.

Now that's forward thinking!! I don't expect that sort of thing to start, but perhaps it may get there at some point. For now we just need some musicians tools/software to get the ball rolling. You can still have a decent little sequencing/synth/drums/virtual instrument setup, without all that hardware part involved. Yes it would be grand but, let's start the ball rolling with some tools that are usable with what we have now.

I have the sounds and samples and design skills available (including owning and managing a music software company for over 10 years), to create some awesome apps, but I don't have the programming knowledge to do so. I would love to collaborate with someone and start designing and building some great things for the PlayBook.

Any devs out there interested please drop me a shout.

Thanks for the reply Innovatology! (was just looking at your file app ;-) )

manytone

Damn this looks and sounds awesome

Introducing Animoog - The 1st Pro Synth Designed for iPad - YouTube

PB doesn't have enough horsepower to handle real Virtual Studio Environments, no tablet does. You need beefy Audio Interfaces for that kind of thing, I have my own studio and don't think I can expect a tablet to replace that level of processing, we just need something to capture ideas.

Originally Posted by Siiid

PB doesn't have enough horsepower to handle real Virtual Studio Environments

You may be surprised what optimized low-level code can do. I used to run realtime multi-channel audio with effects on single-core hardware that was much, much less powerful than the dual-core CPU in the PlayBook.

Also, the PlayBooks PowerVR SGX540 GPU could be abused for audio purposes - it's a massively parallel floating point processor, exactly what is needed for digital signal processing. I think OpenSL ES is already making some progress in this area. Not sure whether we have sufficient access to the hardware though.

As a fellow sound engineer, I'm glad to see others tooting the idea of proper music apps and even hardware for the playbook. I have also been looking for some basic apps (4/8 track recorder, basic instruments sequencer, etc.) to put down some ideas. But alas, I have seen very little. Only simple instruments and note taking recorders.

However, I have used my playbook for recording simple demo ideas with the voice notes app. But, tbh, I want more. My friends paid me a visit the other week and I was quite jealous of how easy it was for one of my friends to start messing around, musically, with his iPad.

I have no knowledge of programming or much in that area, really! But, if there's anything you need from a musician/engineer, I'm your man!

Can't wait to hear what ideas people have for the playbook. :)

I am in the music business and travel all lover with my Playbook. Would love to see studio/musician apps on the Playbook. RIM has the money to make it all happen. This tablet does have the attention from people. It's the PAID BAD PRESS CAMPAIGN (Media) that is brainwashing people.

Originally Posted by manytone

Well great to see some input here.... I'll post a few replies to keep up...




Now that's forward thinking!! I don't expect that sort of thing to start, but perhaps it may get there at some point. For now we just need some musicians tools/software to get the ball rolling. You can still have a decent little sequencing/synth/drums/virtual instrument setup, without all that hardware part involved. Yes it would be grand but, let's start the ball rolling with some tools that are usable with what we have now.

I have the sounds and samples and design skills available (including owning and managing a music software company for over 10 years), to create some awesome apps, but I don't have the programming knowledge to do so. I would love to collaborate with someone and start designing and building some great things for the PlayBook.

Any devs out there interested please drop me a shout.

Thanks for the reply Innovatology! (was just looking at your file app ;-) )

manytone

Ok guys this is great, i've been working as a sound engineer for about 9 years from FOH to Cakewalk to Pro Tools now i work mostly with Sound Design and Audio Post, it would be excellent to have something to work with on the go, sign me up please! If you guys come up with anything, you have my support!

Originally Posted by Innovatology

Personally I think the rock-solid reliability of the PlayBook OS would knock the socks of IOS for live music purposes. As a sound engineer I've seen too many iPads, MacBooks and Windows laptops crashing mid-performance on stage.

To be taken seriously by the music industry, the PlayBook needs:

• a compatible USB MIDI interface (at least in/out/thru)
• a compatible USB Pro-audio interface (low latency, 24bit, 96Khz)
• supporting multi-app platform API's for routing, merging, sharing, managing the above
• if possible, a VST-like plugin standard

Do that right, and we'll be seeing PlayBooks on stage everywhere.

I can't "LIKE" this enough. So true. So right. BUT... the music industry (the whole entertainment media industry actually) is SOOOOO entrenched in Apple...I just don't know how you entice development. Two weeks ago, I was at a friend's show and noticed the sound engineer using the iPad wirelessly to control the soundboard from different points in the room. I thought, "how clever" but I was also instantly thinking how much better the PlayBook would be (I had mine in my coat pocket) for that because of the form factor. The iPad wasn't bad (at all) for this function but the PlayBook would rock

Oh, and Innovatology, I am very impressed with the Files and Folders app... WHY isn't this native? They NEED to add this ASAP

Just reading the posts on this thread, I am using a few things on my playbook which I think are neat. Just the beginning of what's possible, but worth checking out these FREE music apps.

Sion SoundObject Quartet - awesome pattern-based virtual synth
xPiano - looks like an Android port
MusicGrid - pattern-based looper for bell synth sound
Steppy - patter-based looper for drum kit
VirtualRecorder - simple sound recording tool

(would be cool if could record sourceOUT directly to capture streams or anything else playing rather than only mic, by the way it keeps recording even when switching programs and playing either playbook native apps or other android apps... it continues to run the background)

I would like to see an MP3 mixing tool that looks like a DJ tabletop setup with 2 turntables and a cross-fader that lets you adjust pitch control or speed, and then cross-fade MP3 tracks. You just queue up your MP3's and then use it to beat-match (would have to show a graphical representation of the beat finding to line things up and suggest the proper RPM).

Surely RIM can afford to spend a little of its money in doing what it needs to do to create the apps that people want -like skype and some of the aforementioned music apps. There are only a small number of apps that account for the bulk of the use, so woudn't an investment in porting them over makes some sense, if the developers themselves seem uninterested?

I made a post about audiotool.com, not really an standalone app but the website is fully functional (from what i tried) with no lag. You need the BB Remote to get past the first page but it really shows how great the browser is.

From an app perspective i would love touchosc and any of the moog apps, animoog/moogerfoogers. A developer should also explore the Arduino for Android capabilities of the playbook.

Originally Posted by Tedd_jr

I made a post about audiotool.com, not really an standalone app but the website is fully functional (from what i tried) with no lag. You need the BB Remote to get past the first page but it really shows how great the browser is.

From an app perspective i would love touchosc and any of the moog apps, animoog/moogerfoogers. A developer should also explore the Arduino for Android capabilities of the playbook.

Nice

i am not a big techno/dub guy but i have to say this worked damn goob on the PB. i had not problems getting it to open on wifi?
i went to if the start screen is an issue you can probably just go directly to audiotools.com/app
?

Hi Guys
I'm the original poster. Thanks for all the input!
I just found this new app on app world since I upgraded to OS2.
Buy iSequenceNloop - Download iSequenceNloop - Buy Apps from BlackBerry App World

I have not purchased yet but am willing to give it a try. Looks like an interesting start but it may need some work yet.

Oh yeah, and I had a chat with the developer of Caustic, a great sequencer studio on Android and he said he is waiting for his playbook to arrive and he is going to give a go at porting it. That would be awesome! Perhaps we should all give him a ping ;-)
Here it is on the Android Market:
https://market.android.com/details?i....caustic&hl=en

Cheers all!

I got this today in my email
https://forums.crackberry.com/e?link...token=snHYxGL2

this is good and I would like to see the playbook get these apps in. RIM should try to push this, if they do and if they get some company's in, it would bring them more attention. They should get on board with Tascam, Line6, IK Multimedia, Cubase lite version and others for all kinda of Musicians apps

I just want a basic MIDI sequencer. I would love to be able to put .mid file sequences on the PB and drag it around instead of a laptop. It's not like they need much horsepower to run. Come on, devs! :)

I'd be fascinated to see what's actually possible audio-wise with the PlayBook. I had an iPad 2 for a couple of months and I was actually rather disappointed with the music Apps available; Animoog as someone mentioned above is great fun but still rather limited to my mind. I'd love to see someone create something along the lines of an Electribe on the PlayBook - a few synth channels, drums and pattern sequencer in classic "Groovebox" style. I've no idea if the hardware could handle that but it'd be an absolutely killer app if it could...

Originally Posted by Tedd_jr

From an app perspective i would love touchosc <...>

Check out OSCream in App World:
http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/36065/

Tutorial:
http://www.smugrik.org/osc/run-oscre...erry-playbook/

And the developers blog:
http://www.smugrik.org/tag/oscream/

Hey all, any one ever heard of J4T Multitrack for the android. was looking into it and sent a email to the guy who created it. I ask him if he would be writing his music app to the playbook or taking his android app and pushing it on to the play book. He replied back and told me that he is now adding new stuff to his J4T and upgrading, making it better, although he mention that he did consider doing a playbook ver. and maybe start on it next month, although nothing is for sure.

https://market.android.com/details?i...itracker&hl=en

Originally Posted by chrisbagi

Hey all, any one ever heard of J4T Multitrack for the android. was looking into it and sent a email to the guy who created it. I ask him if he would be writing his music app to the playbook or taking his android app and pushing it on to the play book. He replied back and told me that he is now adding new stuff to his J4T and upgrading, making it better, although he mention that he did consider doing a playbook ver. and maybe start on it next month, although nothing is for sure.

https://market.android.com/details?i...itracker&hl=en

That looks very cool. Thanks for the post. I just emailed some encouragement to the dev as well...
;)