Review: UVI BeatHawk Mobile Music Production Studio for iPad

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Yo what’s good fam!

Today I’m checking out BeatHawk, a mobile production app from UVI.

I first learned about it a last year’s NAMM show, and I’ve been excited ever since.

Well they released it this year so you know I downloaded it asap.

Let’s dig in!

So what is BeatHawk?

interface_UI-1It’s a “portable music production studio” according to UVI

Basically, you can sequence drums, samples, and loops, as well as multi-sampled instruments, edit samples, apply fx, and put together a full song.

It’s the workflow and way with which the approach things that makes it different from the rest, in addition to the sounds…which are dope

I’m a huge UVI instrument fan if you didn’t know by now!

It’s got a very smooth and simple layout, not a bunch of pages or menus to really dig into, and you can pretty much get to work immediately once you open it, everything makes sense.

It definitely has some features that for me, make it much more useful in conjunction with it’s simple workflow.

Quick Specs

  • content: 807MB factory, plus many in app purchases you can download
  • format: made for the iPad and iOS 7.0 or higher
  • connectivity: CoreMIDI, WIST, Audiobus, IAA, AudioCopy
  • price: $4.99 intro ($9.99 regular)
  • product link:ย https://itunes.apple.com/app/id839563064?mt=8

How does it sound?

Reel to Reel Tape RecorderI’m a huge fan of UVI sound, just check all the UVI library reviews I’ve done over the years

When they first announced BeatHawk, I asked them to put their EP in there for me…as I LOVE their EP…well, it’s there, along with plenty of other useful content.

You get everything from drums and percussion, to loops, licks, riffs, and synths.

You can even add choirs, pianos, scratches and more…and I definitely expect them to continue to roll out new content as they have plenty to pull from.

I get excited thinking about the possibility of their mellotron, or waverunner and other vintage synths.

I don’t know what all the platform can hold, but I’m definitely keeping an eye out for any new content that I can use as they always produce quality.

Also, while not specifically a sound in itself, the timestretching engine in this app is superb, which allows you to really mess with your samples at any tempo.

Oh and the use of rex style sliced content for drum loops really keeps it versatile for working at various tempos or even triggering the individual hits from the loop.

So what’s the bottom line?

I was a fan when I first saw the raw idea, and now that it’s released I’m even more of a fan.

I love how simple it is to quickly go in and edit samples, lay down a beat, and export it as a multitrack wave session…yes, you get separate stems for each track.

You can also export MIDI or a stereo file.

4andhalfsubsAs it stands right now, I give BeatHawk 4.5 out of 5 subs, it’s a powerful app with a smooth workflow and quality sound, I’m really excited to see where they take it in the future.

Of course I have some suggestions or desires that I’d like to see ๐Ÿ™‚

For starters, I’d love to see a grid mode for adjusting notes and parameters like velocity, note length, etc. A way to explode that onto the screen would be dope.

Similarly, I’d like to see a way to explode the sample editor, so we can really get in and adjust/edit samples, even a more dynamic and powerful way to slice up our own loops or audio content.

I’d love to see a quick way to duplicate pads, the ability to set the number of times a pattern will loop in a song, and a wider variety of ways to import user samples.

Yes I’ll take audiobus and/or inter-app input as well….thanks!

What they add remains to be seen, but if thisย initial release is any indication, we’ve definitely got a cool product on our hands, and knowing UVI, I’m sure they have some pretty dope ideas waiting to be implemented.

What type of stuff do you want to see? What do you think are some of the more powerful features in BeatHawk as it is?

Let me know below!

 

19 Comments

  1. Another great, on point review St.Joe! I remember when you first brought us the news of Beathawk from NAMM last year I was hyped. I was beginning to think it was vaporware, lol. Then just as I was at my wits end due to the frustration of dealing with Retronyms’ and Akai’s lack of response in supporting iMPC Pro, along comes Beathawk to the rescue! They came correct too! I love the logical workflow, it just makes sense and the sounds are divine. UVI knows their stuff and for a 1.0 release they have knocked it out of the park. They are also active in the forums (Audiobus,etc.) collecting feedback, taking in suggestions and letting us know that they will continue to feed the Hawk:)

    Take care

    Reply
  2. SJ: I never heard of this portable before. The “BeatHawk” may come in handy for those on the go. The design and concept is a nice addition to portable mpcs. Thanks for the inside peep….

    Reply
  3. The exporting options are Killing!! This is one of the things I dom’t like about the iMPC.
    I’m definitely buying it immediately.

    Reply
  4. Okay I’ve been having this software this app for a while my biggest issue with it is that the manual does not explain anything it says you can Import and Export files but it doesn’t tell you how to do it I’ve been looking all over the Internet trying to figure this out not one video no support nothing how do I import my own samples into beathawk that’s what I want to know

    Reply
    • Haven’t used this in a while, but you import samples from within the browser. There’s like a way to double click in the user section or something if I remember correctly.

      Reply
    • I really wish there was somebody out there that could make a video on importing and exporting files on this app I feel like puking a hammer right through the iPad and just say fuck iam really frustrated I’ve bought a lot of their sound packs to find out is nothing but a bunch of loops

      Reply
  5. Hey what’s up man thank you for all your help I was able to import the sounds but now ever since I did that now there’s no sound coming out of the dog on app has no sound and now nothing works on it I don’t know I think I’ll give up on this thing

    Reply

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