Anyone familiar with the current state of Android music apps?

1nsomniak

Just curious, not interested in switching. As an long time Apple user Im used to hearing about PC software not on Mac and even occasional Android features not on iOS but I've havent heard of any cool music stuff exclusive to Android. Is Apple dominating the mobile music segment or am I just out of the loop?

[Deleted User]

My Android tablet has just recently given up the ghost. There is a couple of decent apps, but nothing like the choice for iOS.

iOS could do with more competition. It may be a small market for Apple, but competition is usually a good thing to make that company go the extra mile to be on top.

mkell424

I agree 100% on competition. Competing with Microsoft is what made Apple the giant it is today.

fjcblanco

Caustic ($6,99 vs $9,99 iOS), Oscilab, PixiTracker, PixelWave, RD4 Groovebox, Electrum Drum Machine, Drum Beats+, FL Studio Mobile, Jasuto.

Martygras

It appears that every new OS for Android brings it a little closer to realtime use, and there are many music apps already, but the inherent latency problem is limited by the hardware ultimately.

AudioGus

There is such a wider range of android devices out there it must be way harder for devs to develop on. At least with games you have engines like Unity but for music apps... Dayum.

Ivan_Dj

I've got Caustic and G-Stomper running in a Xperia Z2 Nice apps;-)

MusicInclusive

I believe the book on that is a one-page pamphlet <ducks! > :-)

Proto

Caustic is the only music app that worked nice/reasonable on android of all the ones i tried.The biggest problem on android is that the audio start to crackle very quick and the audio latency sucks.

senhorlampada

And Zolotov's apps are reliable too:
Pixitracker, Pixitracker 1bit, Pixivisor, Virtual ANS and Sunvox
Oh... add Nanoloop, Nodebeat, GStomper, Yellofier, and as everyone said, Caustic

I prefer sticking to iOS though. But I did buy some of these apps because i use my droid cellphone as a song sketcher

BiancaNeve

Android and windows

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.openlabs.stagelight&hl=en_GB

mkell424

@AudioGus said:
There is such a wider range of android devices out there it must be way harder for devs to develop on. At least with games you have engines like Unity but for music apps... Dayum.

I read an article about a developer that had to make over a hundred versions of his app in order to get a broad enough base to make a profit.

sonosaurus

ThumbJam is available (albeit not as fully featured as the iOS version) for recent Samsung devices exclusively. DrumJam will also be released there within the month. For now, keeping them limited to Samsung's Professional Audio SDK (which is actually JACK in new clothing) means that I can manage compatibility much easier and still guarantee decent latency.

eustressor

I remember coming across this, last year I think. The dearth of Android Music Apps is all about Latency, Latency, Latency:

http://superpowered.com/androidaudiopathlatency/#axzz3eUzdWpam

parallaxobject

Audio Evolution Mobile is an impressive Android-only DAW app. It even includes third-party plugins like those by Toneboosters.

kv331audio_bulent

Just wanted to bring back this topic as I am currently doing some research on the status of audio processing on Android. Looks like Google has made a lot of improvements on latency and MIDI devices, so we as KV331 Audio will invest time and money on Android. Once we release SynthMaster2 on iOS, we'll move on to developing SynthMaster Player, SynthMaster One and SynthMaster (2.9) on Android! Hectic times ahead

CracklePot

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Just wanted to bring back this topic as I am currently doing some research on the status of audio processing on Android. Looks like Google has made a lot of improvements on latency and MIDI devices, so we as KV331 Audio will invest time and money on Android. Once we release SynthMaster2 on iOS, we'll move on to developing SynthMaster Player, SynthMaster One and SynthMaster (2.9) on Android! Hectic times ahead

Maybe take a look at this. I came across this years ago when I was stuck on a crappy Android phone, trying to find good audio apps, and trying to figure out the latency situation.
I am no developer, so I didn’t really know if this was a real solution for problems with latency on Android. Seems like it has caught on some since then, so there is probably more info out there on its usefulness.

https://superpowered.com/

Wait, did you say ‘Synthmaster 2’ ? Holy sh....

kv331audio_bulent

@CracklePot said:
Wait, did you say ‘Synthmaster 2’ ? Holy sh....

Yep! first on iOS, then on Android. I've already heard about superpowered. Will test out their implementation.

[Deleted User]

iOS is the platform but there is a little resistance spot open for the braves.
http://danieliglesia.com/mobmuplat/

Since is Libpd based it overrides the usual audio hiccups from Android so I want to point to an interesting developer who has some open source patches ready to use. These were used as start point for its standalone designs

blog
http://www.otemrellik.com/

the patches and video of the superlooper 16
https://github.com/otem/mobMuPlat_patches

kv331audio_bulent

Once we sort out Android development the next step is actually building a hardware synth using Linux/Raspberry Pi

[Deleted User]

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Just wanted to bring back this topic as I am currently doing some research on the status of audio processing on Android. Looks like Google has made a lot of improvements on latency and MIDI devices, so we as KV331 Audio will invest time and money on Android. Once we release SynthMaster2 on iOS, we'll move on to developing SynthMaster Player, SynthMaster One and SynthMaster (2.9) on Android! Hectic times ahead

Awesome, I’m not loyal the Apple, better for everyone if we have two mobile platforms to choose from. It won’t happen unless the latency is low enough.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

[Deleted User]

@Dawdles said:

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Once we sort out Android development the next step is actually building a hardware synth using Linux/Raspberry Pi

I find it hard to get hyped when companies say ‘we’re doing this thing (android), and that thing(sm3), and another thing(hardware)..’.When their current products have some major issues. Reminds me of recent Elektron...Great approach for stockholders, Not so great for recent customers. Hopefully you guys are a big enough team to juggle it all though People will stop buying from a company if they have a rep for moving priority on from one product too quickly to the next. At least buying on release...I’ll never pre-order another Elektron box. I’ll wait it out for at least a year and see how things go....
The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...) and who’s to say what your attention will shift to in the meantime with all this other stuff on the table... No harm done yet so im not criticising, just reserving judgement on whether to be excited about any of this other stuff until ios sm1 has been tidied up a little better...

+1

Still so much to fix on current platforms without aiming at new platforms and then hardware. Please don’t take your eye off the ball, KV331.

MobileMusic

@Beathoven said:

@Dawdles said:

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Once we sort out Android development the next step is actually building a hardware synth using Linux/Raspberry Pi

I find it hard to get hyped when companies say ‘we’re doing this thing (android), and that thing(sm3), and another thing(hardware)..’.When their current products have some major issues. Reminds me of recent Elektron...Great approach for stockholders, Not so great for recent customers. Hopefully you guys are a big enough team to juggle it all though People will stop buying from a company if they have a rep for moving priority on from one product too quickly to the next. At least buying on release...I’ll never pre-order another Elektron box. I’ll wait it out for at least a year and see how things go....
The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...) and who’s to say what your attention will shift to in the meantime with all this other stuff on the table... No harm done yet so im not criticising, just reserving judgement on whether to be excited about any of this other stuff until ios sm1 has been tidied up a little better...

+1

Still so much to fix on current platforms without aiming at new platforms and then hardware. Please don’t take your eye off the ball, KV331.

It is building up a backlog to work on later. In software development, people do not work on a product from start to finish and then start digging into another project. As the current project progresses, they plan and build up a backlog of tasks for future work. The backlog gets groomed and prioritized into a new project months before current project is finished. When the current project is finished, there is the next project waiting to take up so the developer has work and does not sit idle waiting for groomed tasks. There is a whole category of project managers/scrum masters whose job is just to keep building up the backlog, grooming the backlog into project/sprint backlogs, ensure that there is continuous work for developers and no one is sitting idle for the money they are getting paid. IT is one of the most expensive departments in any company and it costs the company a lot of $$! Everything about having a business office is what? Expense!

The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...)

No, it isn't. Steinberg (which is much bigger than KV331) releases maybe 2 updates at most in a year to Cubasis.

Also, it is not uncommon for music companies to diversify into hardware development, chip design, etc.

Is it surprising that when there is NO development of DAW/synth apps on Android for years forever by any company (including Steinberg), people keep asking - why not? But when a company shows promise, wants to invest time and $$ to develop for Android, people question - why?

SM1 will not be fully ready tomorrow or next week or even next month. I will evolve in a few months and we have to wait.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

MobileMusic

@Dawdles said:

@MobileMusic said:

@Beathoven said:

@Dawdles said:

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Once we sort out Android development the next step is actually building a hardware synth using Linux/Raspberry Pi

I find it hard to get hyped when companies say ‘we’re doing this thing (android), and that thing(sm3), and another thing(hardware)..’.When their current products have some major issues. Reminds me of recent Elektron...Great approach for stockholders, Not so great for recent customers. Hopefully you guys are a big enough team to juggle it all though People will stop buying from a company if they have a rep for moving priority on from one product too quickly to the next. At least buying on release...I’ll never pre-order another Elektron box. I’ll wait it out for at least a year and see how things go....
The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...) and who’s to say what your attention will shift to in the meantime with all this other stuff on the table... No harm done yet so im not criticising, just reserving judgement on whether to be excited about any of this other stuff until ios sm1 has been tidied up a little better...

+1

Still so much to fix on current platforms without aiming at new platforms and then hardware. Please don’t take your eye off the ball, KV331.

It is building up a backlog to work on later. In software development, people do not work on a product from start to finish and then start digging into another project. As the current project progresses, they plan and build up a backlog of tasks for future work. The backlog gets groomed and prioritized into a new project months before current project is finished. When the current project is finished, there is the next project waiting to take up so the developer has work and does not sit idle waiting for groomed tasks. There is a whole category of team leads/scrum masters whose job is just to keep building up the backlog, grooming the backlog into project backlogs, ensure that there is continuous work for developers and no one is sitting idle for the money they are getting paid. IT is one of the most expensive departments in any company and it costs the company a lot of $$!

The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...)

It's not. Steinberg releases maybe 2 updates at most in a year to Cubasis.

Is it surprising that when there is NO development of DAW/synth apps on Android for years by any company (including Steinberg), people keep asking - why not? But when a company shows promise, wants to invest time and $$ and wants to develop for Android, people ask - why?

SM1 will not be fully ready tomorrow or next week or next month. I will evolve in a few months and we have to wait.

You say all this like there’s only one kind of dev manifesto that they all read from religiously and like all teams have the same resources. There are thousands of devs with plenty of different approaches. Look at GR16 or BM3 for example or more recently Spacecraft. Focus on one product til they nail it. And then some....

And in hardware you can compare Deluge to recent Elektron. I know which devs/companies out of those mentioned that I would instinctively trust to throw money at on release day, and which I’d be hesitant and wait it out before buying.

KV331 might have planned for SM1 for iOS the same way while they were still working on SM1 for desktop and months before finishing the desktop app - which is why we have SM1 on iOS at least now. Had they planned SM1 for iOS after finishing SM1 for desktop, we would have had it a few months from now or maybe next year. They are doing the right way.

Trust me - that's the way software development works. Any other way is just plain wrong! Spacecraft is just one dev with just one app and he could do it however he wants with/without any project plan or timeline (same goes for any project with just one or two devs with just one or two apps). BM3 took what... 3 years to develop? And now people are asking why BM 3.1 is delayed. Maybe, BM4 would take 4 years. It all boils down to vision, planning, organizing, backlog, priorities, time-management and a clear-cut roadmap.

Mission Statement - every business has one which is clearly documented and openly communicated. Everything a business does revolves around their mission statement and nothing else.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

[Deleted User]

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Once we sort out Android development the next step is actually building a hardware synth using Linux/Raspberry Pi

Then hire otem rellik after check his other projects.

jwmmakerofmusic

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Just wanted to bring back this topic as I am currently doing some research on the status of audio processing on Android. Looks like Google has made a lot of improvements on latency and MIDI devices, so we as KV331 Audio will invest time and money on Android. Once we release SynthMaster2 on iOS-

You mean the ORIGINAL full SynthMaster?! Yeah, just shut up and take my money already will ya?

MobileMusic

@Dawdles said:

@MobileMusic said:

@Dawdles said:

@MobileMusic said:

@Beathoven said:

@Dawdles said:

@kv331audio_bulent said:
Once we sort out Android development the next step is actually building a hardware synth using Linux/Raspberry Pi

I find it hard to get hyped when companies say ‘we’re doing this thing (android), and that thing(sm3), and another thing(hardware)..’.When their current products have some major issues. Reminds me of recent Elektron...Great approach for stockholders, Not so great for recent customers. Hopefully you guys are a big enough team to juggle it all though People will stop buying from a company if they have a rep for moving priority on from one product too quickly to the next. At least buying on release...I’ll never pre-order another Elektron box. I’ll wait it out for at least a year and see how things go....
The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...) and who’s to say what your attention will shift to in the meantime with all this other stuff on the table... No harm done yet so im not criticising, just reserving judgement on whether to be excited about any of this other stuff until ios sm1 has been tidied up a little better...

+1

Still so much to fix on current platforms without aiming at new platforms and then hardware. Please don’t take your eye off the ball, KV331.

It is building up a backlog to work on later. In software development, people do not work on a product from start to finish and then start digging into another project. As the current project progresses, they plan and build up a backlog of tasks for future work. The backlog gets groomed and prioritized into a new project months before current project is finished. When the current project is finished, there is the next project waiting to take up so the developer has work and does not sit idle waiting for groomed tasks. There is a whole category of team leads/scrum masters whose job is just to keep building up the backlog, grooming the backlog into project backlogs, ensure that there is continuous work for developers and no one is sitting idle for the money they are getting paid. IT is one of the most expensive departments in any company and it costs the company a lot of $$!

The projected September release for the next Sm1 update is already kinda far between fixes (compared to some devs at least...)

It's not. Steinberg releases maybe 2 updates at most in a year to Cubasis.

Is it surprising that when there is NO development of DAW/synth apps on Android for years by any company (including Steinberg), people keep asking - why not? But when a company shows promise, wants to invest time and $$ and wants to develop for Android, people ask - why?

SM1 will not be fully ready tomorrow or next week or next month. I will evolve in a few months and we have to wait.

You say all this like there’s only one kind of dev manifesto that they all read from religiously and like all teams have the same resources. There are thousands of devs with plenty of different approaches. Look at GR16 or BM3 for example or more recently Spacecraft. Focus on one product til they nail it. And then some....

And in hardware you can compare Deluge to recent Elektron. I know which devs/companies out of those mentioned that I would instinctively trust to throw money at on release day, and which I’d be hesitant and wait it out before buying.

KV331 might have planned for SM1 for iOS the same way while they were still working on SM1 for desktop and months before finishing the desktop app - which is why we have SM1 on iOS at least now. Had they planned SM1 for iOS after finishing SM1 for desktop, we would have had it a few months from now or maybe next year. They are doing the right way.

Trust me - that's the way software development works. Any other way is just plain wrong! Spacecraft is just one dev with just one app and he could do it however he wants with/without any planning (same goes for any single dev with just one or two apps). BM3 took 3 years to develop. People are asking why BM 3.1 is delayed. It all boils down to vision, planning, organizing, time-management, backlog, priorities and a clear-cut roadmap.

Mission Statement - every business should have one clearly documented and openly communicated. Everything a business does should revolve around the mission statement and nothing else.

I can only speak as a customer and regarding the companies I trust based on the experience I have with their products/support etc. That’s what I make decisions based on, not what goes on behind the scenes

Just try to foresee the positive ripple effect this major initiative could cause.

Let me give you a few not-so-perfect analogies: 1) 3D movies in the past were intermittent - we used to see a 3D movie and then no other 3D movies were made for years. This continued for decades until Peter Jackson made Lord of the Rings series and proved the technology was ready for it. James Cameron admitted that he realized the readiness of tech after watching Lord of the Rings, went to New Zealand to meet Jackson, toured his special-effects workshop and hired Jackson’s Weta company to work on his long pending Avatar and a slew of other 3D movies followed - Spiderman, etc. and we see so many 3D movies being made each year - there is no stopping. 2) After Apple innovated/perfected touch screens, many touchscreen devices emerged from competitors and this has taken our generations to a whole new level of living in the cloud and being mobile.

Android is a HUGE market. Music is a niche market. Availability of serious music-making apps only on iOS currently make music even a much smaller niche market and frustrating for Android users. Android users keep asking online when these cool iOS apps would be available for them. Steinberg has shied away from Android so far. If KV331 proves Android is ready for action, a slew of other devs would follow suit and port their apps to Android. We would have so many more millions of users learning, producing and sharing music, their knowledge and wisdom on mobile devices that would push technology even further with more competition and innovations! Competition is always good.

All it takes is one bold step by one dev to make that happen and in that sense, this initiative is highly commendable. Kudos to @kv331audio_bulent !!

[Deleted User]

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