Our guy Tony G. has been a monster on the beats for some time! A quick check of his socials will prove he's proficient on numerous pieces of gear and not afraid to try new things. Recently he sent over this video with him getting mad creative with our apps Fly Tape & Lo-Fly Dirt! This performance/jam is incredible and shows the versatility one can have when blending the iOS world with external hardware. I reached out to Tony to have him share some of his process; everything from hooking up cables to using his Roland Go mixer to keep things in line. I think you'll find this mad useful! Peep his thoughts below:

Hello everyone, I’m Tony G.  based out of Raleigh, NC. I am a Producer/DJ and music gear enthusiast! When I first started producing I was introduced to the FL Studio DAW and stayed there for several years until I went to college and met other fellow music producers who put me on to various music equipments/technologies.

One in particularly is the SP404SX sampler (complete game changer for me). Started using the SP404SX for everything, from producing, to DJing gigs. After obtaining the SP404 my love for music gear/technology began to grow and I started to venture into more hardware synths and samplers like the Digitakt, Korg Volcas,  and all of Teenage Engineering products. Although all of the gear sounded amazing, I found myself always going back to the DAW or using VSTs. Space was also becoming an issue, so I gradually started selling my gear and transitioned to iOS apps once I FINALLY got an iPhone/iPad lol.

I started off with the basic apps like garage band until I found out about the Fly Tape & Lo-Fly Dirt apps by MSXII Sound Design! It was exactly what I was looking for as an alternative to the SP404SX.

In the video you see I used FL Studio, my SP404SX, and the FlyTape app on my iPad. My process for the video started with me creating the actual beat. After the beat was created I ran the audio out of my Focusrite Interface into my iPad using the GO Mixer by Roland. The Go Mixer allows you to run live audio to your iOS or Android devices. From there, I used the Audiobus 3 app which allowed me to run audio into my iPad from the Go Mixer and into the FlyTape app. The Audiobus 3 app allows you to run that audio out from the iPad. So I ran a plug from my iPad headphone jack into my SP404SX which gave me the ability to run double effects from the SP404SX and from the FlyTape app. I then ran the audio from the SP404SX back into my FL Studio DAW.

For a long time I have been searching trying to find the right gear/apps that would satisfy my ear for the sound I was going for. The FlyTape & Lo-Fly Dirt apps have been exactly what I’ve been waiting for, for a long time in the music production app world. I was yearning for the grittiness and lofi sound without having to do a lot of tweaking within my DAW and these apps have been just what I’ve been looking for. So if you’re interested in transitioning from the computer a little to explore new music technologies, my advice would be to go for it and when you do, be sure to get that FlyTape/Lo-Fi Dirt apps! I’m sure you won’t regret!

Peace & Love

Tony G.