Flip, Andrew Huang’s sampler app is now available for iOS and Android

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Andrew Huang’s new Flip app turns your iPhone/iPad/Android into a powerful, inspiring 9-track sampler developed in collaboration with the crème de la crème of music app developers.

In December 2020 Andrew Huang released his first sampler app Flip. Andrew came up with the idea while Oliver of Elastic Drums did the development. At the release, there was criticism as to why Flip is only an iOS and not an Android app. In a comprehensive video, Andrew then explained why iOS was chosen as first platform and why developing on Android is more difficult.

Two years after its initial release, Flip is finally also available for Android devices. The app is identical to the iOS version, only communication protocols such as AudioBus or Inter-App-Audio, which are exclusive to iOS, are missing.

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Article December 2, 2020

There has been a lot of movement in the iOS world over the past few weeks. Not only that many apps in the future will also run on macOS on M1 processors, but also from another side. More and more content creators aka music tech YouTube stars are working together with app developers. Remember Gauss Field Looper by Hainbach or Agonizer by Jakab Haq. Now the most famous YouTuber, Andrew Huang has entered the app stage.

For Flip, he teamed up with two well-known German iOS developers. Oliver Greschke (Elastic Drums/Elastic FX…) and Christian Blomert (Touchable, Soda …). Two developers who have helped shape the iOS music app world. Plus Aaron DeRoche, an user experience designer from Canada. Flip is the result and an app that turns your iPhone / iPad into a powerful sampling groovebox.

Flip

Flip

It’s an app for iPhone/iPad and features 9 tracks. Each track consists of a polyphonic sampler (up to 16-note) with the ability to load in samples. These can either be loaded from the factory library, imported, or recorded directly with the microphone. The latter is going to be exciting. Here you activate the internal microphone of the iOS device and capture sounds. These can be acoustic guitars, drums but also everyday noises. The function gives you endless possibilities.

Then, you have for each track adjustable pitch, volume, playback direction, sample start, and stop points. The features that a classic sampler should have. Plus, 4 effects per track (delay, filter, chorus, and bit-crusher) and a handy graphic EQ gives you enough room for sound manipulations.

Flip

Sequencing 

The 9 sampler tracks are powered by a powerful, inspiring sequencer in which you can see a lot of Andrew Huang’s experience as a musician. This is where the samples come to life. You can either play the samples with the nine MPC-style drum pads or with the built-in keyboard. The latter offers a full piano roll with 10 octaves, note velocity, and different editing tools. The sequencer can not only simply playback sample triggers, it can also manipulate the character of it right into the sequence.

Each track has an automation function with which you can record up to 19 parameters per track, either via knob movements or draw by hand. Independent lengths for each automation lane gives you a lot of creative freedom. The function is familiar to many iOS musicians. Especially in Fluxpad, which Oliver developed for the Berlin electronic music legends Mouse on Mars.

Andrew’s development team has also made sure that the app will inspire for a long time. To ensure this, they have built-in clever randomizers in the engine. One for randomizing the sample selection, another for mangling up the note position to create surprising variations.

That’s not all. It also includes powerful performance features for creating instant fills, pitch shifts, reverb sends, and global low & highpass filtering. A lot to keep your tracks alive and groovy. In the final stage, you have solid mixing and mastering tools with which you can refine your songs.

Communiation Inside/Outside

The two German developers have also taken care of communication inside and outside of the iOS world. With Ableton Link, you can easily synchronize the app with other apps, Ableton Live, or even entire hardware setups. Circuit Happy’s Missing Link Box makes this possible. Flip or any other Ableton Link app becomes, therefore, part of your live setup. Projects and sounds can be shared via Apple AirDrop, email, etc. AudioBus or Inter-App Audio doesn’t seem to be there. There is also no AUv3 support. It’s a shame.

I was part of the closed beta team and can say that the app is fun. It’s not a revolutionary app that is turning the iOS market upside down. Certainly not. But Flip makes something great. Its structure and design are so inviting (play with me) that not only people with an affinity for music tech can handle it, but also everyday people with no knowledge of music production at all. Nice release, congratulations guys.

Flip is available now for an introduction sale of $6,99 USD on the Apple AppStore and Google Play Store. Additional sound libraries from Cuckoo and others are available as in-app purchases.

More information here: Play Store   AppStore

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