FAQ (Frequently asked questions)

For support-related discussions, visit the Music Studio community forum.

1. Additional instruments

1.1 Where can I purchase additional instruments?

Tap the Shop icon in the bottom left corner of the instrument screen. Instruments are in-app purchases, they are not available directly in the App Store or in iTunes. Browse through the available purchases and tap the preview button to listen to a short demo. When the prices are retrieved from the App Store, the buy buttons will appear.

1.2 How do I restore my purchased instruments or get them on my second device?

Simply enter the shop and tap the Restore button in the upper right corner, enter your Apple ID and password that you made the purchase with in the past, and wait for the instruments to appear in the instrument list. This process can take up to a few minutes depending on your internet connection (WiFi recommended).


Note: Your credit card won’t be debited twice for the same product. If you tapped the Buy button of an item that you already bought on another device, it will be a free download.

2. Installing

2.1 I want to install the app on my second device. Do I have to pay for it again?

No, if you open the App Store on your device and search for Music Studio, a cloud icon will indicate that you already purchased it and that it will be a free download. Just make sure that you are logged in with the same Apple ID that you used to purchase Music Studio in the first place.

2.2 Do I lose my songs if I remove the app from my device?

Yes, if you tap and hold the app icon and tap X to remove the app, all files and settings associated with this app are deleted. Even if you sync the app back from iTunes onto your device, it will be a fresh install and your files won’t be restored. In order to save your songs, transfer them to your computer with iTunes file sharing or the WiFi Server.

Note: Restoring your device from the Restore menu in iTunes will restore all your app data (e.g. Music Studio songs) too, along with a reinstallation of iOS and all other apps. You will however lose all the data that you created on your device after the restore point was created by iTunes (sync).

2.3 Why is the app size so large?

Studio-sampled instruments require a lot of space. We decided not to trade quality for app size.

Music Studio is a 700MB download. During the installation, roughly 1.7GB of free space is required. After the installation it takes up about 1GB on your device. It comes with all the instrument data, purchasing instruments only unlocks them, so there are no additional downloads when you purchase a pack.

3. Functionality

3.1 Can I connect my external audio or MIDI device?

See the quick start guide for a list of compatible devices.

3.2 Can I record my electric guitar/bass or vocals?

Yes, but an external microphone or an audio interface for iOS is recommended. Music Studio even lets you record both at the same time if you have a stereo audio interface for iOS.

However, it doesn't have an amp/box model effect for guitars. The distortion effect is only meant for synths. For guitar recording, it is recommended to record the output of your amp, or use another app with amp models as an Audiobus effect or AudioCopy/AudioPaste the recording made in another app into Music Studio for editing and sequencing.

3.3 How do I get my song into iTunes?

  • Export your song to AAC format.
  • Transfer the resulting .m4a to your computer with iTunes file sharing or the WiFi Server.
  • Drag the file from a Finder (or Windows Explorer) window into the Library section (top left) of the iTunes window to add it to your library.
  • Sync your device (maybe you need to edit the music sync settings in iTunes) to transfer the song into the iPod app.

3.4 How do I get my project into a desktop DAW?

A project’s MIDI tracks can be exported as MIDI (.mid) files which can be read by almost any desktop DAW or scoring software. You can also export each track as a wav file and add it as an audio track in another DAW:

  • Export your song to MIDI format.
  • Export your song to WAV format and enable “Save tracks separately” to mixdown every track as a wav file.
  • Transfer the resulting .mid and .wav files to your computer with iTunes file sharing or the WiFi server.
  • Import those files in your desktop application.

3.5 How do I transfer files to Music Studio?

A list of the supported file types can be found in the Projects section. There are 4 ways to copy a file into Music Studio’s folders:

  1. iTunes file sharing is the simplest method to quickly copy files from your computer to Music Studio and vice versa.
    The disadvantages are that a computer is required and that folders can only be copied as a whole.
  2. The WiFi Server requires that your second device, which can be a computer or any mobile device, is in the same WiFi network. It allows you to browse Music Studio’s folders and to download, upload (= import) or delete any number of files to or from any folder.
  3. Supported file types can be opened from other apps (Mail, Safari, Dropbox etc.) with Music Studio. Some apps have a dedicated share button, others (like Mail and Safari) require you to tap and hold the file, then select “Open with” and tap Music Studio. The file will be copied into Music Studio’s Inbox folder.
  4. Audio files can be transferred between apps via AudioCopy and AudioPaste. Music Studio can also import audio files from your iPod music library.

iOS does not have an open file system and thus no Finder or Explorer type app. Every app has its own closed (sandboxed) folder that no other app has access to, except for the 4 methods described above.

3.6 How to maximize the sound quality of the instruments?

To get the most out of the high quality studio-recorded instruments, use earphones, headphones or external speakers. Most instruments are designed for a specific tonal range, an E-Bass sounds as unreal in the 4th octave as a flute in the lowest octave.

Some instruments also benefit from a higher or lower release time.

  • Wind and brass instruments sound best with a low release time and a large reverb.
  • A great effect for synths is to set the delay to 1/8th and dotted.
  • String instruments sound best with a medium attack time (around 0.5s) and a high release time.
  • Guitars, plucked and percussion instrument can be played one-shot with a high release time of about 1s.

3.7 If I select and edit bars in the bar editor, why are some notes ignored?

Selected notes are colored dark blue. If you select a bar but a note starts a few ticks earlier than this bar, it will not be selected. If possible, quantize the track, thereby aligning the notes to simplify further editing.

3.8 Why can’t I play all the keys C1 to C8 of an instrument?

Many instruments are limited in their tonal range. For Music Studio’s keyboard, the range is extended as far as possible, but it is limited because the sound would be awkward or of poor quality outside of this range. This especially concerns orchestral instruments.

3.9 Why are the drum kit's sounds arranged in such a strange way?

This "strange way" is called the "General MIDI Level 1 Percussion Key Map". It is commonly used on nearly every hardware keyboard/synthesizer to retain full MIDI compatibility.