Capture riffs, jam, and record anywhere: Fender Studio is free and worth a look

Fender has launched Fender Studio, a new mobile recording app that can also be used on a desktop. It’s designed for musicians who want a convenient way to record, jam, and get their musical ideas down quickly and easily at any time. The best part? It’s free, and it’s available for both iOS and Android users. The app features an intuitive interface and includes a range of classic Fender tones and tools to get you started quickly.

Once you’re set up with your audio interface, I was happy to discover that Fender Studio becomes a surprisingly full-featured mobile DAW. You can create new sessions, choose from preset tracks, adjust your input settings, and apply various Fender effects. The app supports up to 16-track recording, which is plenty for me. It also includes real-time tempo control, global transposition, and an Arranger Track to help you stay organized, even on smaller screens, as cramped as it may be.

Fender gives you a classic Twin Reverb simulator right out of the gate for clean tones, along with four built-in Fender stomp boxes: overdrive, chorus, reverb, and delay. You also get global processing tools like EQ and compression, which can double for vocal tracks if inspiration strikes. I highly recommend creating an account because it unlocks even more features like MP3 export, additional Jam Tracks, and access to three more amps and four extra effects for both guitar and bass, all at no extra cost.

It’s also built for jamming and practicing. A handy tool for you to work on your phrasing or flesh out some riffs without relying on the rest of your band. Plug in, select your amp and effects of choice, and play along with a collection of included Jam Tracks. These can be looped, muted, soloed, and edited, so you can isolate sections, tweak the mix, and build new ideas. When you’re finished, you can export your project in DAWproject format for continued work in your DAW of choice or share it directly from your phone.

After spending some time with the Fender Studio app as part of my home recording setup, which includes a Scarlett 4i4 interface, I was impressed with the dynamics and responsiveness of the built-in amp sims and effects. The included backing tracks are a nice bonus, too. Dial in some gain, crank up the delay and reverb, and you’ve got a fun, effective way to practice soloing, work on improvisation, or finally lock down those tricky scales you’ve been chipping away at.

While Fender Studio is an excellent tool for capturing quick ideas, whether at home or on the move, I must say it’s not a complete replacement for a proper DAW. If you’re tracking pre-production for a larger music project, you’ll still want to rely on a more robust platform like Reaper. That said, if inspiration strikes while you’re out and about, Fender Studio makes it easy to capture the moment. And since you can export your session to your DAW later, it’s a solid bridge between mobile convenience and full-scale production.