Like many here at dynamIt, I am pretty much addicted to my iPhone. It has a way of slowly edging its way into our daily routines, one day at a time, until suddenly we find ourselves wondering how we could possibly survive without it. From virtually anywhere (we’ll save the AT&T coverage debate for a later post) I can check email, the weather, Twitter, Facebook, and the list goes on and on. Yes I know, this is not news to those of you living outside of a cave. However, one recent app download has changed the way I look at my smartphone forever: Everyday Looper, developed by Mancing Dolecules.

This app is a four-track recorder/looper. That means I can record four separate tracks that play concurrently, which repeat indefinitely. Some of you might not be familiar with the concept of looping, so I shall explain. Looping is basically just as simple as it sounds: record a track that continues seamlessly when played back to back with itself, over and over. There are a few artists out there who are fairly well known for this technique; Andrew Bird comes to mind, especially when he performs solo. With a stomp of his looper pedal, he will begin recording a riff, then another stomp to stop recording – which also causes the recorded riff to begin playing immediately. Stomping in tempo is crucial to make the loop seamless.

I’ll run through the process I typically follow when I open up Everyday Looper, tip the phone landscape, and prepare to record. By this time, I’ve been playing around with a riff and have some idea of the tempo. So, I swipe one finger down to bring up the tools menu and tap the click track generator. From there I will choose a tempo (ranging from 40.00 beats per minute to 240.99), the number of beats (16 would be four measures in 4/4 time), tap “Generate,” and then I’ve got a metronome filling one of the four available tracks. Obviously you don’t need to use a click track, but it makes it a great deal easier to ensure your loop repeats perfectly. Next, I’ll plug in headphones, and double tap the screen to start the loop playing. Now I’m free to lay down a track, while ensuring I’m in tempo. Once this initial track is recorded, I’ll usually delete the click track. All it takes to delete a track is a two-finger swipe along that track. Adjust volume on a track by a single-finger swipe – the track gets brighter as its volume increases.

So now I have one track, and the metronome track has been deleted. I can lay down up to three more tracks until all four slots are filled. However, with its latest update, Everyday Looper gives you the ability to merge any or all of the tracks, simply by dragging one into another. I just save the file before merging the original tracks, record some more music, and save again under a different file name – this comes in handy later, as you will learn.

Once the loop is finished to my liking, I need to get the music off my iPhone. Fortunately, this app has a great built-in HTTP server for this task. If my iPhone isn’t already connected to a network via WiFi, I’ll exit the app and do that. Once I’m connected, I just open up Everyday Loper again, and from the tools menu move the “Start/Stop HTTP Server” slider to “On.” Next, it gives me an IP address to visit in the browser of any computer also connected to the same WiFi network. From this page, I am able to download each track of each saved loop. As I referenced before, this means I have those un-merged tracks saved as part of one loop, and then the other tracks saved in another. Each of the tracks are saved as uncompressed WAV files, so adding them to GarageBand or Logic Pro for further manipulation is easy.

As previously mentioned, I really don’t go anywhere without my iPhone. Meaning, I now have a little recording studio in my pocket wherever I go. The interface is extremely usable and elegant, using swipe and tap gestures in a way that is very intuitive. Simply put, this app makes the recording process portable and that much more enjoyable. Features like the click track, on-the-fly track merging, HTTP server, and individual track WAV output make this $5 app extremely powerful. Now there is never an excuse for me to forget the riff I was playing in my apartment the night before, at a friend’s house, or even out around a campfire. Most importantly, this app is just fun to use. So to all of the music-loving iPhone users out there, download this app and go make some music!

P.S. No, I couldn’t just write all of this without letting you hear some music I made. Hope you enjoy a short loop recorded last week, and later edited a bit in GarageBand.

Ah, the future of music..

Dynamit was honored as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2010 & 2011 by Columbus Business First newspaper and Interactive Agency of the Year. Times are even better in 2012 and we’re hiring a Web/Graphic Designer for our aggressively growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge projects for well-known brands in a dynamic, entrepreneurial and highly creative environment. Please email resumes/cover letters and portfolio information (documents or links to online examples) to Gary Moneysmith via gmoney@dynamit.us.

A web/graphic designer on the Dynamit team will:

• Be well versed with Adobe Creative Suite: Strong knowledge of Photoshop, experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
• Have a strong understanding of Usability & Web Trends: Experience with user interface design, knowledge of best practices & examples of this in a portfolio or live site/application design. They will also be up-to-date on web trends and design tactics with examples.
• Have experience in user experience design (UXD) designing application and system interfaces. This experience is crucial for this position.
• Have Basic Programming Knowledge: We’re not looking for a developer here, but the designer should have the ability to design for web with a knowledge of the boundaries and how to design for execution by a programmer.
• Have a Strong Portfolio: We’d like to see much more web work than print.
• Be eager to learn, with a passion for design & the web. The designer should have a strong internal drive for industry knowledge and be committed to furthering the craft.

Experience is important, but personality is key. Our culture is what drives us, and we’re looking to build our team with someone who both fits and contributes to it.

The position is full time at our office in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as well as a fun, high-energy, intellectually-stimulating work environment.

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary (compensation will be based on skills and experience)
• Fully paid medical/dental insurance for employees
• Paid parking
• Unlimited vacation time (within reason)
• Office bar + climbing wall — not recommended together

Don’t sit back. If you want to work in a fast paced work environment with great people who love what they do, apply today.

About Dynamit
Dynamit is a digital agency based in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We work with clients and brands on digital initiatives that include strategy, design, user experience and development. We influence communication and commerce. Client work includes Hilton Worldwide, Charley's Grilled Subs, McGraw-Hill, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), E-Z-GO, American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus College of Art & Design and the Ohio State Medical Center (OSUMC) to name but a few.