iPhone iPad

This free, beautifully-designed music studio app has power and capabilities well beyond its price tag. You'll love creating mixes with Groovebox.

Create your own mix. Groovebox gives you a good selection of the essential instruments you need to create your mix. Add in your drum pattern, your retro bass, and then your poly-8 synthesizer. You can randomize the choices, so even though it may look like your selection for each instrument is limited, it's actually not. This is just the start, though, since you can create your own beats and melodies, or draw in notes.

Edit your instruments. You can tailor your instruments just the way you like. Adjust pitch, patterns, and shapes, as well as add as little or as much distortion as you like. You can also use the touch screen interface to tap out your own beats and melodies, or draw notes to make your mix truly your own.

Export your track and jam with others. Groovebox is compatible with Audiobus, Inter-App Audio, Ableton Link, and Ableton Export. That means you can jam with others, or export your mix however you want. Send it to Ableton Live, or just export your project files for later use. This is a very flexible and powerful music recording app.

What is it about?

Groovebox is designed to kick-start your music creation process, giving you a starting point from where you can craft and create something meaningful, beautiful, and maybe even inspiring.

For those who...

Want an easy-to-use interface for making music
Love laying down beats and synths

Not for those who...

Want to use a MIDI instrument
Don't make music

Why we love it

Not only is Groovebox free, but it's a fairly comprehensive app. It's easy to get started, but deep enough to really get some mastery over creating your own sounds. It offers advanced synth parameters, some free and some through in-app purchase, that can really amp up your music-making game. Groovebox also allows you to jam with others, using Audiobus, Inter-App Audio, Ableton Link, or Ableton Export. Speaking of Ableton Export, yes -- Groovebox is compatible with Ableton Live. I mentioned getting started with random synths, beats, and mixes. However, the creation doesn't have to stop there. You're freely able to adjust just about every aspect of each instrument. You can craft and sculpt your sound the way you want it, adjusting pitches and volume levels as well as adding or subtracting distortion. Each instrument also allows you to lay down your own tracks, using its simple (but comprehensive) touch interface to create drum mixes, pull together bass riffs, and draw melodies. This truly is a complete beats and synth music studio.

App Screenshots

App Details

Version

2.10.4

Rating

(4197)

Size

44Mb

Genre

Music

Last updated

December 5, 2023

Release date

June 13, 2017

More info

vimeo

Groovebox is FREE but there are more add-ons

Free

Drum Booster
$1.99

Earthquake
$4.99

Poly-8 Expansion
$4.99

Drumbox Expansion
$1.99

Deep Analogue
$1.99

Bass Rewired
$4.99

Retrobass Expansion
$1.99

Worldwide Hip Hop
$1.99

Future Sequence

App Store Description

If you love making electronic music, you’ll love Groovebox. Enter an inspiring world of music production on your iPhone & iPad.

Groovebox is a free, beautifully designed music studio app packed with inspiring synths and drum machines. In minutes you’ll be making beats, melodies, and playing with world-class instruments. Expand your own collection with more sounds and instruments available in the store. From the creators of Launchpad, Groovebox helps you produce music on iPhone & iPad.

• A BEATS & SYNTH MUSIC STUDIO
Play with touchable instruments to quickly create your own beats and melodies, or draw in notes. Need inspiration? Groovebox has hundreds of patterns and sounds to get you started. Four powerful synthesisers, designed in partnership with Novation, deliver deep retro basslines and analogue harmonic melodies. The modern drum machine, with expanding drumkit library, will turn Groovebox into your go-to beat production studio.

• SYNTHS DESIGNED WITH NOVATION
Designed in partnership with Novation, legendary synth pioneers, Groovebox packs a world-class sound. Each instrument uses a new powerful synth engine capable of recreating classic warm analogue sounds and rich modern harmonics.

• EASY TO START, DEEP ENOUGH TO MASTER
Groovebox is designed to kick-start ideas, but it has serious features for artists and producers too. The advanced synth parameters* let you sculpt your own sounds. Automate the parameters over time to create a vibrant dynamics. Control your sound with the multi-channel mixer (iPad only), note sequencer, key and scale modes. Build your arrangements into songs with sections. Export your sounds easily to a laptop for further production. Sync to other apps or a laptop with Ableton Link. Connect using Audiobus, Inter-App Audio and even Export to Ableton Live seamlessly.

FEATURES
• Discover and build ideas - Quickly explore sounds with hundreds of melody and rhythm patterns
• Play touchable instruments - Create your own melodies and beats
• Five powerful instruments - Drumbox, Horizon, MiniMon, RetroBass and Poly-8
• Build beats - Play drum pads or keys, sequence notes or use patterns
• Arrange your tracks - Simple song-building using sections
• Create dynamic changes - Record synth parameters as automation
• Sound innovation - Instruments developed in partnership with synth pioneers Novation
• Expand your sounds - Regular, fresh-content drumpacks, presets and patterns*
• Production-ready sounds - Crafted by world-class sound designers and artists
• Extendable Instruments - Expose more tweakable synth controls
• Sequence your music - Draw notes and build patterns instead of playing them
• Stay in time and key - Choose from any tempo, key or musical scale
• Share your music - Easily create a mix of your music to share with others
*Requires In-App Purchase

ADVANCED FEATURES
• Jam with others - Audiobus, Inter-App Audio, Ableton Link and Ableton Export
• Swing - Instantly add swing to your session.
• Ableton Export - Easily send your project to Ableton Live
• Full scale support - All keys and major, minor and modes supported
• Project management - Rename, duplicate and delete
• iPad Pro support - Optimised to use the entire iPad Pro screen
• Send your ideas to a laptop - Batch export your pads as a .zip file, or use Ableton Export
• Bluetooth speaker supported

Get it for FREE in the App Store