MusicRadar

2009 was the year in which Apple's iPhone became a viable music-making platform, with countless tune-crafting apps finding their way into the iTunes Store.

Earlier this year, you nominated your favourites in an Ask MusicRadar poll, but since then, there have been several more notable releases.

You can find reviews of these newer apps below, and we've also included write-ups of several other bits of software that weren't included in our Ask MusicRadar round-up.

Oh, and don't forget that all the titles will run not just on the iPhone, but on the iPod touch, too.

White Noise Audio Software bleep!Box
£5.99

Sticking to the tried and tested step-sequencing formula, bleep!Box is a simple app that can put out some serious grooves. It takes a little while to figure the control system out, but once you've got the hang of it, it's easy to put together loops and patterns, then tweak them in real time.

As well as the main programming pages for composing patterns, you'll also find a couple of live performance options enabling you to loop/ stutter, mute and preview parts. An updated version (which should now be available) will enable you to sequence patterns into songs.

Each pattern is composed using a maximum of ten parts, split into six drum instruments and four synths. The drum sounds are reasonably authentic 808- and 909-style hits (three kick parts, one snare and two hi-hats) all synthesised in real time. This might not sound like much, but the excellent synthesis engine makes it surprisingly effective.

To offer more variety, all the sounds can be triggered at any pitch from C0 to A8, meaning you can create all kinds of zaps, crashes and claps to throw into the mix.

The synthesis engine of bleep!Box is where the software shines, with eight waveforms, frequency/phase/ring modulation and dozens more variables to play with. The results are surprisingly usable and every parameter can be automated, too.

Although the app itself is stable during use, there are a couple of minor graphical glitches that make it look slightly less slick than it otherwise would - hopefully these will be ironed out in the update. Overall, though, bleep!Box is a simple but surprisingly versatile step sequencer that could also make a great performance tool. At this price, it's a bargain.

Buy now from the App Store

NEXT: Xewton Music Studio