So you always wanted to be in a band, but you have no musical talent whatsoever? Well, there’s an app for even that. GarageBand ($4.99) is perfect for making simple music on the iPad, and everything from guitar strums to drum fills is preprogrammed. But to make real music, dust off that guitar and plug in the iRig ($40, ikmultimedia.com). This bad boy’ll let you play real guitar and bass directly into your GarageBand project or the included Amplitude app. Take that, Smart Guitars!
The iRig is best when used in conjunction with GarageBand.
After melting some faces Joe Satriani–style, it’s time to win some hearts like Mick Jagger. How? Just plug in the iRig Mic ($60), which works the same as its guitar-centric cousin (and also comes with its own app). You might not sing well, but who cares? Ke$ha’s made it, and you’re the lead singer of an iBand—you can always fix it in postproduction.
The iRig Mic won’t make you the next American Idol, but we won’t judge.
Once you’ve made your debut single, why not listen to it with a little added oomph? Just plug the iWow 3D ($60, srslabs.com) into the 30-pin connector on your device. This bad boy boosts audio like nobody’s business and makes just about anything sound better by giving it a surround-sound feel. Plus, with all the boosted audio, you might just hear something in your recording that you want to fix. Oh and don’t forget to bring along a good pair of headphones when you try to win over those soulless suits at the record label!
The iWow will give your recordings a boost you’d never have expected.
