The term “bonehead simple” has gained traction among music tech folks who know full well most players hate reading manuals, or taking night courses to learn a program’s ropes. Musicians want to jump in and start jamming, pronto.
That’s why I got in the groove of Looptastic Producer (Sound Trends LLC, $9.99), one of the more intuitive musical iPhone apps out there. I’m sure once I coach my 5-year-old daughter for a spell, she’ll make music on this app as readily I did. The app contains six loop presets. To start, choose one and drag sound squares that represent riffs, beats and synth pads onto the screen. You can also simultaneously access other presets to add to the loops you create. A few touches will save your handiwork; Looptastic Producer also allows you to import loops from a central web browser.
About the only semi-tricky move I encountered involves changing tempo. That left rail button operates not by touch, but touch-and-slide. Slide up and the speed accelerates, while down decreases. A numerical readout is also available to tell you beats per minute.
And if for some reason (heaven knows why) you get stuck, a help button shows you the finer points of building and mixing loops on the screen.
