MusicRadar Verdict
While being attractive on paper, in practice, MIDI Recorder falls short.
Pros
- +
Good visual feedback.
Cons
- -
Detection algorithm isn't accurate enough.
MusicRadar's got your back Our team of expert musicians and producers spends hours testing products to help you choose the best music-making gear for you. Find out more about how we test.
MIDI Recorder takes audio input from either the built-in mic of your iPhone or an external mic on the iPod Touch and attempts to turn it into MIDI note data. It works with monophonic input only and is capable of detecting up to 20 notes a second.
From the moment you launch the application, a colourful matrix of dots in the centre of the screen updates in real time to display exactly what notes would be generated. Tap the matrix and this changes to a spectrogram. A sole slider is used to restrict the converter to any three octaves between C2 and C7. Hit the Record button and the notes are placed in a buffer - these can then be previewed using an in-built synth, emailed or shared across the local network.
Unfortunately. the detection algorithm simply isn't accurate enough to be useful - most captures resulted in a mess of notes, and it also crashed on us a couple of times. MIDI Recorder can be used creatively, but only if you're in a quiet room and you're very good at whistling.
“Nile Rodgers said, ‘Let’s make a music video together,” and we ended up supporting him on tour!”: Deco on their new album, ‘80s covers and attracting the attention of both Noel and Liam Gallagher
“Stinking good sounds inspired by our favorite vintage fuzz boxes”: There’s nothing fishy about Beetronics’ Tuna Fuzz – it’s a $99 can of high-protein tone
How to produce a dance pop hit
