"SPINshapemix" [iTunes link] is iPhone-only and was developed with an eye on the average user. No prior musical ability is needed. It marks the first time Spin has created a genre-specific app. In it, users are encouraged to take songs -- including two exclusives from Tiësto and Digitalism -- and create on-the-fly remixes and mash-ups.
Users can adjust audio channels, add effects such as reverb, and change the tempo by adjusting the BPM. Though you can remix the individual songs -- the "stem" tracks -- you can also pull specific audio tracks from other songs into your mix. In all, there are eight stem tracks that can be remixed. The results can then be shared via Facebook, Twitter and email.
The app offers an easy interface that allows you to adjust the volume of a track by dragging up and down, and panning by dragging left and right. Each of the circles represents a different musical component of your song. From here, you can easily bring in new tracks or delete ones you no longer want.
It's also quite simple to add effects to your individual tracks. If you've never known what delay does, for example, this is an easy way to play around with it. Toggling back and forth between this screen and the main screen is a matter of a click on the touchscreen.
This itself is quite fun even without accessing the ability to edit in a timeline and record your work. That's the next step to creating something sharable, and enables you to dip different tracks in and out with precision. However, when I tried to screenshot the timeline mode, my iPhone wouldn't take the photo and kept trying to shut down. After deleting some photos I still had this issue, but I do tend to run a fairly full phone so it could be contributing to the problem.
For U.S. residents, there's also a contest for the best result, which users will automatically enter by sharing their mix on Facebook. Anyone can then vote for the remixes, and the top 10 will be judged by a panel of Spin editors, who will pick one winner. The victor receives a trip for two on the Holy Ship! concert cruise.
Shapemix's previous endeavor was an iPad and iPhone app for audio mixing, released earlier this year.