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SYNTH APPS: One of Each and Only the Best!
Ok, so I bought Gadget and thought I had all the synths I would ever need. But then I read about Animoog, Sunrizer, Model 15, etc on this forum, check them out at the AppStore and I realize there's a lot more to this than the names of cities! Analog, mono, poly, wave table, ambient, ....
So my questions are three:
What are the categories of synths and how do they differ from each other?
Which are the most favored in each category?
And do any of my Gadget synths make the cut?
Comments
There's a lot of questions there, so I'll try to do my best as the first to address them.
There are many types of sound synthesis, so as a result there are many types of synthesizers. An easy categorization would be "How do they make sound?":
1) Subtractive - this is the most common type of synthesizer. It uses oscillators and filters to "subtract" elements of the sound to craft and shape it.
2) Additive - this is the type of synthesis most commonly found on a Hammond Organ. With additive synths, you add overtones to the signal to change the timbre of the sound
3) Frequency Modulation (FM) - When modulating the frequency of a synth at a high enough rate, the resulting sound has it's own unique timbre and pitch. This is the basic principle behind FM synthesis
4) Granular - When you take a small enough snip of a waveform (a grain) and play it back in a loop at a high frequency (similar to FM modulation) you create a new timbre and pitch.
5) Wavetable - this is similar to granular synthesis, but rather than using only a grain of the sound, the synth will run through a series of pre-determined waves to generate tones.
Mind you - this is an EXTREMELY short explanation (and not very thorough). I'm sure someone else here could come up with a better way to explain these.
As far as what are the best iOS synth for each type? Well, that's just a can of worms you're opening right there.
Community: have at it with the opinions!
Oh boy this is exactly what I was looking for.
So is Addictive Synth am Addictive Synth?
How about Model D?
Thanks Daveypoo! I've heard of all of these but not in one place! Could you edit your post (if possible) and include where each synth would be most useful in music production... Lead lines, ambient, pads, whatever descriptors you deem appropriate.
And, does each category have a mono and or poly application?
I know I am asking a lot of basic questions but I hope not just newbies enjoy talking this guff.
Honestly I don't think that's an answerable question, you can use any synth for any purpose. What I would suggest is to find some videos on YouTube and listen for yourself, you should be able to hear if the sounds appeal to you or not.
Dave,
That is a really concise, efficient, and understandable breakdown.
Nicely done, and thanks!
Where each can be used is entirely subjective, so that's a hard call to make. But I can provide you with some iOS examples of the various types:
1) Subtractive: Moog Model 15, Moog Model D, apeSoft mood, Yonac Kauldron, BeepStreet Zeeon, BeepStreet Sunrizer, Korg iMS-20, Korg Odyssei, Arturia iSEM, Korg iPolysix, Numerical Audio Volt (and about a million others as this type is VERY common)
2) Additive: Yonac Galileo (a Hammond organ emulator), Audio Damage Phosphor2
3) FM: Yamaha FM Essentials, KQ Dixie, Bram Bos Phasemaker
4) Granular: Borderlands Granular, apeSoft Stria, apeSoft iPulsaret, Tardigrain
5) Wavetable: Korg iWavestation
There are more examples (and I'm sure others here will chime in) of the above synths, and they each have their merits and drawbacks.
Just to muddy the waters a bit more, remember these words too: Modular & Semi-Modular. Here's what that means:
Early synths were built out of individual modules, each which had a specific purpose (an oscillator module, a filter module, an envelope module, etc.). The first commercially available synths were fully modular, meaning the user (YOU) had to physically wire the modules together in the order you wanted to make sound. This offered enormous flexibility but also a huge learning curve. Most commonly available synths now have the modules pre-wired so you can just turn it on and make sound. Semi-Modular synths are just that - they are pre-wired, but can also be patched to work around the internal wiring.
Hope that helps!
I'm not familiar with Addictive as I don't own it. But for comparison, Tera Synth (also by VirSyn) is a subtractive synth as is Model D.
Remember too that nowadays these are GROSS generalizations as there's a lot of crossover. Many subtractive synths can do frequency modulation, and can use wavetables, etc. We're discussing basic architecture here more than anything else.
Again - I'm sure that there are folks on this board who can provide a more complete and well thought out answer to the original post. This was my quick overview - what I'm best at!
Really @LinearLineman it doesn't matter, if you are new to all of this. Learning all the lingo is great but I would suggest just sticking with Gadget for now. Spend, say, six months trying all the synths and drum machines in Gadget. See what all the buttons do. Make a new song every day. Just churn them out, copy songs you like maybe. After a few months of regularly making sounds you will be surprised how much you have taught yourself.
What Gadgets have you got so far?
Thanks, Jocphone, that's good advice. I spend several hours a day learning about this stuff, but then I download an app... Today it was Soft Drummer and I play like crazy. It's tremendous fun as I am sure you know very well.
I have the synths that come with the original app purchase of Gadget, no in app purchases. I also have iM1.
Excellent points @Daveypoo! I'm thinking Addictive Pro is 'additive' at its core with a lot of crossover as you say. Very similar architecture to the Kawai line of additive synths (K5, K5000) and exceptionally deep.
Subtractive-Zeeon
Additive-Phosphor
FM-Phasemaker
Granular-Tardigrain
Wavetable-Nave, I guess
@Daveypoo
there is also the category
6) Phsyical modeling - sound generation simulates physical properties like strings or resonators that are stimulated by short sound bursts or noise.
Examples would be Impactor, AAS Objeq and Plectrum. Mersenne, Redshrike also feature noise-burst based resonator sounds, but also have other oscillators.
Physical modeling mostly generates bell, drum or pipe like sounds - but on the desktop you also have physical modeled pianos, brass and string instruments.