a personal journey in mobile music
From the developer who brought us RunloopSound, Csound for iOS, comes Plectrum, a classic emulation of plucked string instruments. It is impossible not to fall in love with its deep and complex sonority. Plectrum supports USB and Bluetooth MIDI devices and works both as a standalone application, and as an Audio Unit plugin for GarageBand and many other hosts.
Plectrum is free on the app store now:
Today Igor Vasiliev (creator of FieldScaper and SoundScaper) brings us another synth specifically for experiments and soundscapes, and I’m betting that this is going to be just as interesting in terms of sound design as his other apps.
Synthesizer specially designed for creating and experiments with ambient soundscapes in wide range from noises to melodic instruments and everything in between.
You can construct melodic pads or atonal soundscapes from different kind of built-in or downloaded samples by using all power of multi-layered oscillators, chains of filters and effects, envelope generators and low frequency oscillators. Or just use predefined scenes and creating your own scenes from library of oscillators presets.
Very flexible settings of each module give you a great opportunity for creating unique and colorful sounding from usual instruments or natural samples and adding automated changes and spatial effects for an endless variations. Different ways of assigning screen and MIDI keyboards to the oscillators provide very advanced features to control the sound. The on-screen keyboard is adapted to create special effects and varying the continuous textures and drones.
SynthScaper will be constantly developed and next version will have even more sounds, effects and features.
Recommended at least iPhone 6 / iPad Mini 4 / iPad Air 2 and higher.
You can find more details about SynthScaper on the website:
http://motion-soundscape.blogspot.com
Not content with their already excellent apps Blocs and Launchpad, Novation have brought a new app to add to their stable. Groovebox – Beats & Synths Music Studio arrived this week and it marks a shift in apps of this genre.
I first heard about Novation’s latest app back at SuperBooth and I really liked the idea behind it and also what they were trying to achieve too. Since then I’ve been testing the app and really enjoying it, and I hope you’ll really love it too.
You can check out the app for yourself of course, it’s free (with IAPs), and it’s universal too. The main thing that Groovebox does that’s different from other apps that help almost anyone to get into making music is that it helps you take the first step. With Groovebox you don’t have to start making patterns all on your own, Groovebox will give you a headstart, and I think that’s going to make a big difference to lots of people who haven’t mad music before but would like to.
Here are the app’s details:
If you love making electronic music, you’ll love Groovebox. Enter an inspiring world of music production on your iPhone & iPad.
Groovebox is a free, beautifully designed music studio app packed with inspiring synths and drum machines. In minutes you’ll be making beats, melodies, and playing with world-class instruments. Expand your own collection with more sounds and instruments available in the store. From the creators of Launchpad, Groovebox helps you produce music on iPhone & iPad.
A BEATS & SYNTH MUSIC STUDIO
Play with touchable instruments to quickly create your own beats and melodies, or draw in notes. Need inspiration? Groovebox has hundreds of patterns and sounds to get you started. Two powerful synthesisers, designed in partnership with Novation, deliver deep retro basslines and analogue harmonic melodies. The modern drum machine, with expanding drumkit library, will turn Groovebox into your go-to beat production studio.
SYNTHS DESIGNED WITH NOVATION
Designed in partnership with Novation, legendary synth pioneers, Groovebox packs a world-class sound. Each instrument uses a new powerful synth engine capable of recreating classic warm analogue sounds and rich modern harmonics.
EASY TO START, DEEP ENOUGH TO MASTER
Groovebox is designed to kick-start ideas, but it has serious features for artists and producers too. The advanced synth parameters* let you sculpt your own sounds. Included iPad mixer, note sequencer, key and scale modes let you control your sound. Export your sounds easily to a laptop to produce further. Sync to other apps or a laptop with Ableton Link. Connect using Audiobus, Inter-App Audio and even Export to Ableton Live seamlessly.
FEATURES
ADVANCED FEATURES
SUPPORTED DEVICES
Groovebox is compatible with iPad 4th Generation, iPad Air 1/2, iPad Pro 9.7/12.9, iPad Mini 2/3/4, iPod Touch 6th Generation, iPhone 5/5C/5S, iPhone 6/6S, iPhone 6S/6S Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus. Requires iOS 10.
Groovebox is on the app store and is free (with IAPs):
Bram Bos bring another excellent app to their portfolio. Ripplemaker: a West Coast Flavored Modular Synth
The freedom and versatility of a modular synth in a stylish mobile package.
In typical West Coast fashion the available modules, such as complex oscillator, lowpass gate, FM, mathematical utilities and slope generator, are designed for exploration and experimentation. The virtual patch cables will let you take your sound wherever you want to take it, from morphing basslines to evolving generative drones.
A modular playground
Even if you’re not familiar with modulars, wavefolders or control voltage you can dive right in, because all modules are prewired; offering a powerful monosynth without using a single cable. Then whip out the virtual cables and start patching. Ripplemaker is designed for fun – big enough to lose yourself into, yet intuitive enough to not get lost.
Standalone sequencer goodness
Sometimes you want to get away from your DAW and just play. That’s why Ripplemaker, beside being an AU plugin, also comes with a standalone sequencer app that helps you get creative. It has a random pattern generator with scale locks, a realtime probability-based mutation engine and it syncs with your other apps and hardware via Ableton Link or MIDI Clock.
Download the user manual on www.ruismaker.com
Connectivity beyond cables: obviously in a modular synth it’s all about cables. But Ripplemaker takes connectivity to the another level:
This app requires iPad 4, iPad Mini2, iPhone 5S or higher!
Ripplemaker is available now on the app store for $8.99:
Looks like an interesting synth. Here are the details:
Morphing waves technology for great space sounds. AUV3 (Audio Unit) and midi keyboard support! In Hyperion I have used everything I know so far to create most full and nice sounding FM synth based on my sound engine.
Hyperion Synthesizer has:
Drum Session now comes to your iPhone, which, in my opinion is a very good thing indeed. I’d like to see a lot more of this especially with some of my favourite iOS iPad apps. I’m sure you know the ones I mean.
Anyway, rant over. Here’s what’s new:
zMors Modular is excellent and now in 1.8 it just gets so much better. I’m a big fan of iPad apps that go universal. Here’s what’s new:
If you’re looking for a new controller you might want to take a look at Parat+. I can’t say that I’ve tried it myself but it looks and says that it’s pretty impressive.
Here’s the app’s description:
Parat+ is an Open Sound Control (OSC) and MIDI controller app allowing intuitive and sophisticated control of networked sound and visual computer software and hardware devices. Parat+ has powerful gestural touch screen controls and multitouch gestures available in the most efficient and intuitive ways possible. Developed by practitioners for practitioners, Parat+ is a tool for the musician, artist and technician using technology to advance their art.
Much more than a virtual ‘fader box’, it allows you to record, remap and set controls instantly and intuitively. Swipe and multitouch gestures record, loop and remap the interval of each fader and responsivity curve. Rescale, enlarge, pause and interrupt to modify your controls in realtime. Control sound levels, effects parameters, synthesis, lights and more via OSC and MIDI simultaneously.
Parat+ combines powerful software and hardware parameter control with data automation and manipulation. It is fully compatible with OSC enabled software such as:
All other software and hardware including DMX for lighting rigs can be controlled via MIDI.
The fader-style controller modules at the core of Parat+ can control parameters and functions of any MIDI and/or OSC enabled software and hardware. Multiple OSC targets can be defined to optimise user flexibility.
The Faders offer unparalleled realtime control via the multitouch three point control feature which allows the user to remap the interval and responsivity curve of each fader in realtime.
The touch gesture features include:
Use absolute touch mode to have the Fader value jump to whichever finger position is applied and relative touch mode to avoid any sudden jumps due to changes in finger position, allowing for seamless transitions in volume etc..
Each Fader can also be remotely controlled and automated by the Gesture Recorder, internal LFO generators, audio analysis and sensors, external OSC sources and MIDI controllers.
Use Parat+ as a central control hub for any performance and production setup, and shape OSC data streams sent to Parat+ to control your software and hardware parameters. Incoming OSC data (e.g. data from sensors, analysis modules and generative algorithms) can be modified and modulated using the the scaling and modulation features of Parat+ Sources and Faders.
Gesture recording and playback allows looped and one-shot automations of unlimited length.
The simplicity and coherence of the tools enable any novice to venture into custom built controls, while the accustomed performance system developer will appreciate the time saved for complex setups.
The philosophy behind Parat+ is to extend and assist your practice without imposing an approach. The app has been designed with the knowledge that creative work requires tools that can grow with their users, allowing individual and intuitive creative application while maintaining flexibility and diversity. Artists who are familiar with programming will appreciate the intuitive approach to data handling and parameter mapping. Users who lack experience with sophisticated technology will find themselves empowered to embrace cutting-edge interactive technology in the most intuitive and approachable manner. By keeping technical concerns to a minimum, the user is free to make artistic and aesthetic choices guided by their own creativity, avoiding the constraints of conventional software and controllers.
Parat+ is on the app store and costs $16.99
Klevgränd are steadily building a very credible and impressive set of apps to their name, and Pads adds nicely to that.
Pads is basically a wavetable synthesizer with a noise/grain generator and a high cut filter. With a carefully developed ”wobbler” that detunes the waveforms and makes small inconsistencies to several internal parameters and a nice sounding chorus, this synthesizer is able to create some really interesting and non-statical pad sounds.
Noteworthy features:
Important: Pads in stand-alone mode does not support IAA, Audiobus or MIDI. You can try it out using the keyboard at the bottom, but that’s it. We recommend using Pads with AUv3 compatible hosts.
A full documentation is available at https://klevgrand.se/products/pads
Pads costs $4.99 on the app store now:
iVCS3 version 2.0 arrives with the massive list of new features, updates and fixes.
PalmSounds 