App Profile: ESPi

Kevin F. M.

Rating: 3/5

It’s a cool app, it emulates the legendary SP1200 workflow and sound pretty well. Get it if you really want that classic boom-bap sound from early 90s. Think Pete Rock, Large Professor, DJ Premier, etc. But be aware of it’s limitations. Like other comments have mention, it can be kind of buggy. For reference, I’m on an iPad Pro 10.5. There is a bit of latency with tapping on pads. Not a ton, but it’s noticeable. There’s also some sound dropping out when I try to play a pad over a sequenced loop. For example, I have a snare and hat looping and when I play a kick, the kick mutes my recorded snare and hat while I perform. On playback it sounds fine however. It makes sequencing a beat frustrating. It’s pretty bare-bone in terms of modern features. No Audiobus or AUv3 support. Also, make sure to save your project before closing the app as there is no auto-save option. Lastly, the workflow of an SP-1200 is kind of clunky. But that’s not the fault of the app developer. There are quick tips that help, but I found myself looking up how to use the app. Just mentioning this for new users who are used to modern iOS samplers like Koala or Samplr. I would wait to purchase this app until the developer updates some of software and audio issues. Or wait until the price drops. $14 is pretty steep when comparing it to Koala that is about $9 with all its upgrades.

thadisrad

Rating: 3/5

Apps is cool but needs more support, when can we expect the iOS version to have support for audio input?

dreinstein

Rating: 5/5

Truly an achievement and a labour of love. I have a real SP1200 and I'd prefer to use this. It's not perfect but real SPs fetch over 5k and are super limited. This can be the future of the SP with so much more potential when it is refined. There is a soul to that machine and the workflow that inspires a sound and an approach and this captures that. People who say it's no good simply do not understand. This is a real production tool.