Abbey Road’s free Topline iOS app lets you capture your musical ideas anywhere

It's symbolic that Abbey Road, the world’s most famous recording studios, is launching a free iOS recording app. Times have changed, and here’s evidence of one of the great bastions of the music industry changing with them.

Topline, as it’s known, gives you three tracks to work with and is presented in a clean and simple interface. The idea is that you either sing over an imported track or add up to two tracks of audio to your original file. This is very much a sketchpad rather than a mobile DAW, in other words.

There are various other creative options - you can add lyrics, tags and pictures - and files can be imported from various places. You can back up your mini projects on Google Drive, Dropbox and other services.

Topline is available to download now from the Apple App Store.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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