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Top 5 iOS Guitar Apps

It’s never been easier to record on the go – there’s a huge market for portable instrument interfaces nowadays aimed squarely at mobile music makers. Since the inclusion of Inter-App Audio in 2013 (and through Audiobus before that), savvy GarageBand iOS guitarists have been rocking out to and recording with many different guitar sim apps.

There’s a lot of choice in the app store for those looking to expand their audio app arsenal with a new guitar sim. Quality wise though, it’s a bit of a mixed bag…

In this video, I count down my top 5 favourite guitar apps available for iOS.

 

 

Apps featured in the video:

 

Ampkit

GarageBand

Amplitube

JamUp Pro

Bias Amp/FX

 

Is your favourite guitar app missing from the list? Let me know in the comments below, or get in touch on Facebook or Twitter.

Patrick
I've been a musician for longer than I care to remember and though I don't make a living in a recording studio, I have spent the last decade getting to know everything worth knowing about Apple's GarageBand on Mac and iOS!
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4 Comments

  1. First, Patrick, your site is a fantastic resource. Thanks for everything you do. I tried these apps. A few notes:

    AmpKit gets some of the worst App Store reviews I’ve ever seen. The free version is OK, but extremely limited. Add-ons seem rather pricey.

    AmpliTube is noisy as hell, especially with iRig 2. That’s surprising, since both are IK products.

    Apparently, JamUp has a lot of issues lately. The version I downloaded crashed at launch every time.

    As you said, Bias Amp is terrific. It has the best interface of the lot and offers a nice array of great-sounding amps. There isn’t a free version, but the current price of $5 is a no-brainer. Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, there is no iOS version of Bias FX, at least at this writing.

    Reply

    1. Hey Ted, thanks for watching!

      Ampkit has 4 stars on the UK App Store, not sure if this differs in different territories, but I find it sounds great for more dirty, driven tones. Any app will sound noisy with an interface that uses the 1/4″ headphone jack as an input – try an interface that uses a lightning connection for a tenfold increase in sound quality.

      I’ve never had any issues with either the free or paid versions of JamUp, though your mileage may vary depending on what device you are using, I suppose.

      Bias FX definitely IS on iOS… I have it on my iPad and use it regularly: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bias-fx/id937685528?mt=8

      Reply

  2. Patrick, thanks for the reply. I only had noise issues with the iRig 2 using AmpliTube. The others were fine. But that’s a great tip on the Lightning connection. I’ll check out one. Aha! on Bias FX! It’s iPad-only. You never see it if you go to the App Store on your iPhone. Who knew? It’s downloading as we speak. This is so cool I may have to upgrade my guitar. And my playing.

    Reply

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