When I first heard that IK Multimedia was making an iPhone app, I was sure it had to be something for the guitar. I was wrong. What IK came out with is a series of apps called GrooveMaker that allows users to make electronic, dance and hip-hop music in real-time. What that means is that you don’t create something and then play it back, your song is alive and moving the whole time.

Anyone that knows me can attest to my love of playing guitar to any Ozzy Osbourne song every written. Needless to say I was a bit skeptical of how much I would like this app — but I did.

I actually had more fun with GrooveMaker than I do with a lot of the games I downloaded for the iPhone and iPod touch.

For me, the key was the amount of layers in the app. There are so many things that you can do to create a beat without getting yourself bogged down in details. In fact, just pressing some of the buttons randomly will give you a cool groove.

The interface is pretty easy to understand, even if you’re not a big electronic music person, like me. You have eight pads in the middle, buttons labeled “A to D” on the right hand side, Master Volume, Sequencer and Preferences on the left and the Loops, Track and Groove buttons on the bottom.

There is also a waveform window in the middle of the screen that shows you the current loop, the category of the loop, bar and beat, and the tempo.

The first time you load a song it will expand, which takes about 30 seconds, but that only happens once. When the song loads, click the “D” button and the song will start playing.

You can change up the beat at any time by pressing the “C,” “B,” or “A” buttons or better yet, click on one the pads and then on the “Loops” button. This will reveal what loop is currently playing in that pad selection.

Changing the loop can dramatically change the track you are working on. After you’re done with your masterpiece, you can export the mix, connect to the app over a wireless network and download it to your computer.

I must admit, I had a lot of fun with the app, although I’m not sure I’ll be DJing parties any time soon.

There are four GrooveMaker apps in all — Free, Club ($4.99), House($9.99) and Hip-Hop ($9.99).