Jug Band is a very simple application that allows the user to play four typical jug band instruments: washboard, spoons, kazoo and jug. You can play each instrument as a solo, or you can play along with any track on your iPod. It’s what every jug band fan has ever wanted in an iPhone app.
The first page of the app displays all four instruments for you to choose from. You can get instructions on how to use the application and how to make sure you get the best sound quality from each instrument. This is important because the jug and kazoo are played by blowing into the iPhone’s microphone, and you can only play them correctly by connecting external speakers, a headset or by holding the phone to your ear like you are on a call. For the jug, you need to buzz your lips like you are playing a brass instrument. This creates a low sound, but in my opinion, doesn’t really sound like a jug. The kazoo is played similarly, but with a humming sound instead of a lip buzz. The kazoo actually sounds like a kazoo.
The washboard is played by swiping your finger up and down along the screen. This sound is pretty close to the actual thing. The spoons are probably the most fun to play, as you utilize the iPhone’s accelerometer to tap up and down from your hand to your knee. The resulting sound is a short clicking noise that actually resembles wooden spoons. Each sound is actually pretty close to the real thing, except for the jug.
The instruments in Jug Band actually work pretty well on the iPhone. It’s the bugs and feature issues that keep it from being a five star app. For one, the kazoo and jug do not sound good played through the iPhone’s speaker due to feedback issues. This limits the application’s capabilities. To really make the most out of the app, you’ll need to connect your device to external speakers or a headset. Also, every help screen in the app is buggy. Most of the time, the text is broken up into two parts instead of one fluid document. In addition to that problem, sometimes the text overlaps and is unreadable. Lastly, the jug help screen has two sample sound clips that you can’t even hear.
Besides the UI problems, the application also lacks features. For example, you can’t record your performances or share them with others. However, even without these features, jug band fans throughout the country will still love this app. But, unless you are one of those people, I don’t see why you would even think about purchasing this application. Save your money for a drum set app instead.
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