Top 5 Audio Apps for iOS

Top 5 Audio Apps for iOS

More and more podcasters and musicians are taking their craft on the road and are looking for ways to downsize their required packing. The question that keeps coming up is how does one record a podcast using an iOS device, or how does anyone who works with audio edit their media and get it exported, how does one publish that media out to the world, and how does one do this without a computer.

It use to be that a good DAW or system for recording required money, work, big software. That isn’t necessarily true anymore, with phones and tablets shipping with powerful processors and more and more RAM, app developers have more to work with in order to build more fully featured apps that give us audio people the tools we need in small packages.

To me, anything I can do on the go, especially on my iPhone or my iPad, makes me happy. Considering how many ask me this very question, I can only assume the ability to do these things in small packages makes many of you happy people also!

So without further á deux, I present to you my absolute favorite five audio apps for iOS.

Ferrite

Ferrite

Ferrite is a beautiful DAW made for iOS. It supports multitrack, has many applicable filters and effects, cut and paste, and other very easy and intuitive features that make this one of my favorite DAWs for mobile.

It even offers support for generating ID3 tags with artwork (something many DAWs, even on desktops, don’t support).

When I first saw Ferrite, after years of using TwistedWave (which I do love), I thought the interface was so much more streamlined, easier on the eyes, much more modern. But… it has a fault.

It will not export as an MP3. It will export M4A, or CAF, it will not export as MP3. After a conversation with the developer, it looks like there aren’t any plans to add it anytime soon.

This is where apps like iConv (listed below) come in really handy. It means I can use this DAW all day long, and still use iConv to export as an MP3 because despite any argument over whether or not M4A is better, MP3 still has the best and most widespread compatibility for online audio (especially for podcasts).

I still recommend this app, I still love this app, but it is important to note it’s lack of MP3 functionality and the need for something like iConv, Workflow, or some other option that can handle that conversation for you.

TwistedWave Audio Editor

TwistedWave

Twisted Wave is an audio editor available for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and via a browser based solution. It isn’t the prettiest solution by any stretch, but it is incredibly easy to use and gets the job done.

This app offers recording capability, though to be honest, I never use it. I use Twisted Wave for it’s editing and exporting capabilities. That said, it supports 16-bit and 32-bit, low latency recording, and even bluetooth recording support.

One of the things I love about Twisted Wave is the ability to ingest audio everything I’d ever use. iTunes file sharing, Dropbox, Box.com, and of course iCloud support are all available.

Twisted Wave offers plenty of editing filters, including amplification, normalization, fading, reverb, delay, pitch, dynamic equalizers, parametric EQ, mono/stereo conversion, and many other options. It is very easy to cut, paste, add in silence, and all those things any happy podcaster would want for entering ad slots, intros, or outros.

Exports aren’t only easy, but there is a wide range of formats the app supports including WAV, AIFF, CAF, AAC/M4A, Apple Lossless M4A, FLAC, and MP3. You can also customize your bit rate. The file can be saved just about anywhere, including iCloud, Dropbox, Box, iTunes file share, e-mail, FTP/SFTP, even Soundcloud.

I’ve personally used Twisted Wave for many years. While they offer several options, I’ve only ever used their app, but it is a fantastic solution for on the go editing and exporting.

Bossjock

Bossjock

Bossjock is the ultimate podcaster studio in an app. Originally created by one of the founders of the longest running podcasting hosts around (Libsyn – full disclosure, my full time gig is with Libsyn), Bossjock is an app made by podcasters and for podcasters.

The app is centered around the idea of carts. Additional audio pieces can be loaded into each cart, and each cart can be individually configured with ducking, fading, overall volume, and so on. Arrange the carts as you want for your show, then start recording.

Of course, the app will also record via a microphone, working with just about any microphone for iPhones/iPads, as you record voice, you can then select a cart to play allowing easy dispersement of intros, outtros, ads, pre-recorded interviews, sound affects, whatever you can dream up.

Using the Apple lightening to USB adapter (commonly called the camera kit), most USB microphones, such as the Audio Technica ATR-2100, can be easily connected for a truly portable podcasting studio.

While the app currently doesn’t support editing (though easy export to other DAWs is possible), you can take your recording and publish it directly to several locations, or use the built in FTP function to upload to any host allowing for FTP (including Libsyn). You can export in mp3, m4a, wav, or aiff.

Soundboard Studio

Soundboard Studio

As a podcaster, often times we want to splice in additional audio into our show. This might be an intro, an outro, a certain sound affect, an ad from a sponsor, whatever you can think of.

Radio stations do this using cart machines, hardware configured with specific audio pieces that are spliced in when the button is hit by the producer.

I don’t know about you, but I have no interest in spending that kind of money on a machine my iPad can do with a decent piece of software!

There have been several cart apps, and this is one of two that have cart options available. The previous cart app I used was also… aptly named… Soundboard, but unfortunately that app didn’t keep up with the times and has issues with compatibility with newer versions of iOS.

So I bring you… Soundboard. This app makes it silly easy to import audio files, associate them with different soundboards, setup fade options, and other options.

The one downside to this app is it comes at a steep price for what it does. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice app and one that I will use often, but it comes with a price tag of $29.99.

iConv

iConv

IConv is one of my favorite iPad apps… period… for media producers of any kind. It allows the ingestion of video or audio files to convert to a range of different formats.

This is particularly helpful if you need to, for example, reduce the file size of a video file, or convert an M4A audio file over to MP3.

To bring this full circle, one of my favorite audio editing apps for the iPad happens to be Ferrite (mentioned above). However, to date, Ferrite does not offer an option to export as an MP3 (I’ve already discussed this with the developer, I’ll just say I didn’t get very far). However, I can export it as a raw WAV file, import it into iConv, and easily convert it to an mp3 with a bit rate and frequency of my own choosing.

If you ask me, if you do any media production at all on your iOS devices, you must have iConv in your toolbox.

The old argument continues to be made that tablets, especially iPads, are consumption devices. That you can’t do real work on an iPad.

I call malarkey. You can actually do a lot of real work on an iPad. That is why my on the go device to get work done is now an iPad, with keyboard, and the ability to record on the go.

If you liked learning about a few of the several rockin’ (and not insanely expensive) audio apps available for iOS, check out my article on my favorite video apps also for iOS. Got a new iPad Pro? Do you do a lot of video work? I can tell you the iPad Pro packs a lot of bang for video processing also.

Happy creating!

Top 5 Video Editing Apps for iPad’s

Top 5 Video Editing Apps for iPad’s

Video Editing, on an iPad

I am an extremely mobile worker. I work two full time jobs, one being for a podcast hosting company, and the other as mom. That means I have to be able to work anywhere, and that includes working with media files.

Historically, it’s been thought that real work just couldn’t be done on tablets. That simply is no longer true, and that includes in the world of video editing. No, we aren’t doing full on 3D animations a la Adobe After Affects on our iPad’s. But what you CAN do is incredible, and fun, and mobile.

Given that I’ve spent a lot of time and energy trying to find those apps that rock my video editing world, I’ve put together a list of my top 5 favorites that I simply cannot live without.

Pinnacle Studio Pro

 

Pinnacle Pro

I’ve played with a lot… a LOT of video editing and creation apps, but none come close in my opinion to Pinnacle Studio Pro.

Pinnacle Studio Pro has TONS of features that you expect absolutely on a desktop video editing application, but only hope to find on an iPad app you can take with you in your purse anywhere you go.

Pinnacle Studio Pro allows you to create projects, so each project has it’s own set of files in it’s library including images, videos, and audio. It offers preview and timeline functionality, so you can easily preview your media before adding it to your timeline, and you can easily add and adjust each clip on the timeline. 

The app also comes with a host of transitions, text title options, theme packs, effects, and can even pull in music from your music library (just make sure you’re allowed to use the music you are choosing in your video…).

You can even record voice overs right from inside the app.

On an iPad Pro 9.7″ (my daily driver), this app exports videos right quick, allowing you to choose your resolution, quality level, frames per second, and audio sampling. You can export to your camera roll, YouTube, Facebook, Box, Vimeo, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft One Drive. You can transfer the project for use in Pinnacle Studio on your PC, if that’s your fancy, and you can even share audio using AudioShare or AudioCopy which is awesome if you also have an audio editing app, giving you even more granular editing opportunities.

Pinnacle Studio Pro: $12.99

View in the iTunes App Store

VideoGrade

VideoGrade

VideoGrade is like photo editing, for your video clips. It allows you to adjust all kinds of settings including exposure, contrast, vibrance, lighting settings, shadows and highlights, sharpness, brightness, and more. You can run side by side comparisons with live previews, save and load presets, view the timeline, and of course save your video.

Export options are Full HD, 580p, or 360p, Frame rate settings, and other quality settings.

This app is fantastic for fixing individual clips that you might then use another app such as Pinnacle Studio Pro to put together. Any video that needs corrections can be put through VideoGrade and come out the better for it.

VideoGrade: $5.99

View in the iTunes App Store

Quik

 

Quik

Quik wasn’t always called Quik, it was originally called Replay which was an app I used for years for family video compilations. GoPro took ownership and renamed the app Quik.

It’s still awesome.

I take TONS of pictures of my human baby and my fur babies, and I love using Quik to take those images and plug them into a compilation with a theme, music, and lots of fun quirk for sharing with the family. They think it’s fun and always want to know how I do it, and now you know.

It’s very simple. When you select to create a video, it will load your photo library on your device so you can select any image or video you want, it will ingest both. I often use this for certain events, such as a day at the zoo with the munchkin, so I’ll ingest every image and video I took during that day. Then pick a theme from their many precreated themes fitting all different kinds of tastes (and that get updated on a pretty regular basis). You can stop there, and have a fantastic video created for you, automatically. Otherwise, Quick allows you to manually move images and videos on the timeline to different places in the video, lengthen or shorten duration, change music, and so on. 

Then all you have to do is share.

Quik: Free

View in the iTunes App Store

IntroMate

 

IntroMate

IntroMate is a new find for me, and it took a lot of searches to find it. When I’m creating more professional videos, I like to have intro and outro bumpers that are made for that video. On my desktop, I typically do this using Adobe After Effects, and each intro is named for the video so I have to create a new After Effects export for each video I do.

Can we say time consuming? Can we also admit this is far from a mobile solution?

I wanted something quick, lightweight, and mobile that allowed me to create decent intro or outro bumpers or title slides that would fit my branding, use the colors I want to use, that were exciting but not overdone.

In came IntroMate.

IntroMate offers a range of pre-made intro templates that range from minimal and nice to full of movement and motion, as well as some blank templates that give you the movement, background, text, and image slots, you enter the rest. You customize each text, image, and background slot to your needs, and either use the audio they include, use your own, or turn the audio off.

Then just export and use your new bumper in your next video creation.

IntroMate: $2.99

View in the iTunes App Store

iConv

iConv

iConv is more utility than it is a nifty editing app, and that’s exactly what I was looking for when I found it. This app allows you to ingest video or audio, and export it using the format you set. That’s it! That’s all it does. 

To clarify, this app will convert video formats AND audio formats, making it a great, quick and dirty solution for importing a WAV or an M4A file and exporting it as an MP3, a feat that can be difficult depending on the audio editing app you are using and what formats they will support.

You can ingest from your camera roll or library, or you can import from Dropbox.

Simply put, if you work with audio and/or video on a frequent basis and you need an option for when you go mobile, iConv is a no-brainer, and a necessity. 

iConv: Free with a Pro Upgrade

View in the iTunes App Store

 

There you have it, my absolute favorite video apps that keep me productive on the go without compromising my professionalism and doesn’t break my bank. Have a favorite app you love for video editing? I’d love to hear about it!