After examining the multi-track recorder apps in the App Store RecordStudio stood out. No frills here, just simplicity. Many others had tacky, confusing interfaces and a ton of features that looked easy to get lost in and seemed like they'd be better done later on a computer. Record Studio is a nice little musical scratchpad that records 4 CD-quality tracks.
The quality of the built-in 3Gs iPhone mic with RecordStudio is substantially better than you'd expect. You can set your iPhone on the edge of a table for recording acoustic strings, in front of an amp at low volume for amped instruments or hold it in your hand for vocals.
RecordStudio has a sleek interface and is no nonsense. You tap a track to put it in record mode and then tap the record button. You're rolling. And RecordStudio is very stable when it comes to laying down tracks. I'm seeing issues with this in competing apps.
One thing to be aware about this app is that you can't hear the track you're recording in the headphones. I assume this was done because of latency problems. What's amazing is that there are no latency issues with RecordStudio. These exist in apps like Garage Band and even in dedicated digital workstations. It's refreshing not to have to face them in RecordStudio. There's no punch-in or cue. While some may not like this, it keeps the controls to what's necessary.
RecordStudio gives you a flat "dry" recording with no effects and doesn't do mixdown. Competing multitrack apps for the iPhone seem to be limited on mixdown capabilities. And this is really best left to an app like Garage Band or Audacity. Once you send the tracks to your computer by WiFi you can set up patches that gate the noise and add effects to really sweeten your tracks. You'll be surprised with what the symbiotic relationship between RecordStudio and an app like Garage Band can create.
One nice feature is that you can import stereo backing tracks and still have three tracks to record. This allows you to add instrumental and beat tracks. RecordStudio can take short .aif file and loop them. This feature is Ideal for rapp and hiphop artists, but is also useful for composing. I created a bunch of loops in Garage Band with a Kaossilator and have these always handy on my iPhone for experimenting. There is also a metronome which takes up a track, but you can turn it off once you have three tracks down and free up the fourth track.
So will you record your next album in RecordStudio? Probably not, but you'll find yourself doing crude demos on the fly with it. The beauty of RecordStudio is that with a decent set of earbuds you can take it and record whenever or wherever inspiration strikes.
App: RecordStudio Pro
