SOLVED: Is there a manual for ShockWave by Numerical Audio? - THE ANSWER IS NO

[Deleted User]

I know there is a built-in help (question mark) but I cannot find a manual anywhere (not in the app nor in their website). Am I missing something?

I could use some help getting into the different modules. It is a really good sounding synth, almost self contained.

NeuM

@despego said:
I know there is a built-in help (question mark) but I cannot find a manual anywhere (not in the app nor in their website). Am I missing something?

I could use some help getting into the different modules. It is a really good sounding synth, almost self contained.

I guess this is probably as close to a manual as you’ll find from Numerical: http://www.numericalaudio.com/shockwave/index.html

telecharge

There's a few YouTube videos for it. Here's one that with a pointer to another.

ShockWave uses Phase Distortion (PD) synthesis which is similar to Frequency Modulation (FM) synthesis, so if you can find some good tutorials for PD and FM synthesis, you should be able to apply the concepts to ShockWave.

When starting out with a synth without a manual/user guide, probably the best thing to do is to tweak the factory presets and listen to the results.

Once you know your way around the synth, try starting from scratch with an init patch and tweak the parameters one at a time with only one of the oscillators enabled and progress from there.

Gavinski

@despego
It fries my head that Kai thinks these in app help ?s are a substitute for a manual, they're not. The various ways to trigger things in this a need to be explained in a systematic way that shows interrelations. I've said this in the past, unfortunately a manual has still never been made, frustrating....

mlau

and good luck to turn the knobs ... or should i say the “ screws “ ? frustrating, indeed

Philandering_Bastard

@Gavinski said:
@despego
It fries my head that Kai thinks these in app help ?s are a substitute for a manual, they're not. The various ways to trigger things in this a need to be explained in a systematic way that shows interrelations. I've said this in the past, unfortunately a manual has still never been made, frustrating....

What do you mean? Here‘ s the trigger divider, here’s the chance module, here‘s the S&H and here‘s the logic module. What more could you ask for? 😄

Gavinski

@Philandering_Bastard said:

@Gavinski said:
@despego
It fries my head that Kai thinks these in app help ?s are a substitute for a manual, they're not. The various ways to trigger things in this a need to be explained in a systematic way that shows interrelations. I've said this in the past, unfortunately a manual has still never been made, frustrating....

What do you mean? Here‘ s the trigger divider, here’s the chance module, here‘s the S&H and here‘s the logic module. What more could you ask for? 😄

An s&m module, and no questions who's the s and who's the m, 😂

[Deleted User]

I understand more or less what PM synthesis is. In any case the oscillator section is the “easy” part and what (as far as I remember) has been the main focus in the mentioned videos.

But I think the other modules make this a very special synth, semi modular. I’ve only recently appreciated the value of reading a manual. How faster the learning process is and it surprises me that there is no one for this synth, which something out of the normal.

yes, there are many “surprising” things about this: the “screws” being another one of them. The modulation pop-up that can be irritating.

And yet it sounds so good and can’t avoid coming back to it from time to time. Pair this with a controller and you don’t have to twist those screws!

Thanks for answering, everyone. I wish you could have pointed to a secret webpage in Numerical Audio’s website with the manual in it.

I think I’m going to write to the dev and update my review in the AppStore. (Not too harsh, though, just a call to action)

Gavinski

I doubt it'll make any difference. I've asked for manuals, made no difference, but good luck and yes, worth pushing. Any app that needs a manual should have one

[Deleted User]

@Gavinski said:
I doubt it'll make any difference. I've asked for manuals, made no difference, but good luck and yes, worth pushing. Any app that needs a manual should have one

Hmm, that's sad to hear. I have written, let's see what it happens. I will wait with the rate for a while.

Did you ever made a video for this @Gavinski? I don't thing the ones out there make justice to the depth of the synth

espiegel123

@despego said:
I understand more or less what PM synthesis is. In any case the oscillator section is the “easy” part and what (as far as I remember) has been the main focus in the mentioned videos.

But I think the other modules make this a very special synth, semi modular. I’ve only recently appreciated the value of reading a manual. How faster the learning process is and it surprises me that there is no one for this synth, which something out of the normal.

yes, there are many “surprising” things about this: the “screws” being another one of them. The modulation pop-up that can be irritating.

And yet it sounds so good and can’t avoid coming back to it from time to time. Pair this with a controller and you don’t have to twist those screws!

Thanks for answering, everyone. I wish you could have pointed to a secret webpage in Numerical Audio’s website with the manual in it.

I think I’m going to write to the dev and update my review in the AppStore. (Not too harsh, though, just a call to action)

Writing a critical review is unlikely to get you what you want if a private email doesn't work and it is likely to hurt the app.

A price we pay for getting apps so cheap is relying on each other rather than manuals to share our knowledge.

Gavinski

@despego said:

@Gavinski said:
I doubt it'll make any difference. I've asked for manuals, made no difference, but good luck and yes, worth pushing. Any app that needs a manual should have one

Hmm, that's sad to hear. I have written, let's see what it happens. I will wait with the rate for a while.

Did you ever made a video for this @Gavinski? I don't thing the ones out there make justice to the depth of the synth

I didn't, no - I tend to do videos on apps that have good manuals lol

u0421793

I consider this one of the most interesting synths of the moment, but I’ve got as far as I’m going to go on this, there’s too many dead ends due to lack of info, or contradiction of my expectation of what a thing does.

This page: http://numericalaudio.com/shockwave/#voice explains what each thing is, but doesn’t explain how it connects well enough.

Having used the app, I can only conclude that there are LFOs, but they’re fucking useless because they don’t appear to connect to anything, and one of them is pink all the time and can’t be adjusted, no matter what patch. I see nothing that makes use of the LFOs. If the only way of connecting a thing to another thing is through the mod matrix, then I can’t see the connection so it basically won’t get used that way. Half of the time I get no sound out of it at all. It’s technically interesting but hostile. Nevertheless, it was my favourite synth until recently.

Gavinski

I am also very fond of it, but it really annoys me that there is no manual to tie up a few loose ends. Maybe if enough people ask Kai will make one.

[Deleted User]

@Gavinski said:
I didn't, no - I tend to do videos on apps that have good manuals lol

Good point!

@espiegel123 said:
Writing a critical review is unlikely to get you what you want if a private email doesn't work and it is likely to hurt the app.

A price we pay for getting apps so cheap is relying on each other rather than manuals to share our knowledge.

It's wonderful to have each other to share knowledge but how cheap is useless? I mean, we put money but also time, effort (sometimes even hope) on apps that, in this case, ends up being unreliable. Right now I'm trying things, some don't work as I'd expected but I can't know if it's the app or me. @u0421793 's case is a good example.

A manual would be a first step, developer response then and reliability. No matter how cheap, if it doesn't work, the money you put is like throwing it out of the window, the time you invest is only source to frustration.

Gavinski

Agreed. Manual doesn’t have to be super fancy, though a good manual is nice. But at least to describe the important information needed to understand the app properly

gusgranite

Maybe offer to pay an IAP towards the manual or something? It might be a development time/cost thing. Especially if the initial sales didn’t meet expectation to put more work into it.

Gavinski

I understand where you are coming from, but no-one should have to pay extra for a manual, I disagree with that on principle, it’s even entering the realm of farce, almost! Kai never makes manuals so it is not related to this particular app. This is something that should change.

ervin

@Gavinski said:
Kai never makes manuals so it is not related to this particular app. This is something that should change.

I didn't know this and I bought most of his output during the current sale. Well, I guess I learned my lesson...

I mean, at least here in the EU, you couldn't even put stuff out to the market without a manual if it was a physical product. And it's not like noone has manuals for ios apps - there are quite a few good ones out there, in fact. But I guess writing a proper manual is probably boring compared to the actual development and he apparently gets away with it so there's that. 🤷

gusgranite

He does do manuals sometimes (e.g. RP1) so not sure what the deal is. I always try to see it from the developer’s perspective though and we know how difficult sustaining this work on iOS can be for sole programmers. Who knows what the situation is? Well it has been vociferously requested now so let’s keep our fingers crossed!

There seems to be quite a few apps without manuals if this spreadsheet is up to date (respect Bill 👊). You might find this useful though and anyone can propose updates to it I think (I suggested the manuals and did the first edit of them but I feel I just created more work for Bill as he looks after it all).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1vydiVIIZR48AFiRcfANzmRnec-eZ-6yiE5C21ztkU6A/htmlview

espiegel123

@despego said:

@Gavinski said:
I didn't, no - I tend to do videos on apps that have good manuals lol

Good point!

@espiegel123 said:
Writing a critical review is unlikely to get you what you want if a private email doesn't work and it is likely to hurt the app.

A price we pay for getting apps so cheap is relying on each other rather than manuals to share our knowledge.

It's wonderful to have each other to share knowledge but how cheap is useless? I mean, we put money but also time, effort (sometimes even hope) on apps that, in this case, ends up being unreliable. Right now I'm trying things, some don't work as I'd expected but I can't know if it's the app or me. @u0421793 's case is a good example.

A manual would be a first step, developer response then and reliability. No matter how cheap, if it doesn't work, the money you put is like throwing it out of the window, the time you invest is only source to frustration.

I find the implication that the lack of a manual for shockwave renders shockwave useless or worthless pretty hyperbolic. The synth is pretty straightforward. I imagine that the dev thought that it was fairly transparent and didn’t need a lot of explaining beyond what is covered in the help.

Do you have particular questions?

espiegel123

@u0421793 said:
I consider this one of the most interesting synths of the moment, but I’ve got as far as I’m going to go on this, there’s too many dead ends due to lack of info, or contradiction of my expectation of what a thing does.

This page: http://numericalaudio.com/shockwave/#voice explains what each thing is, but doesn’t explain how it connects well enough.

Having used the app, I can only conclude that there are LFOs, but they’re fucking useless because they don’t appear to connect to anything, and one of them is pink all the time and can’t be adjusted, no matter what patch. I see nothing that makes use of the LFOs. If the only way of connecting a thing to another thing is through the mod matrix, then I can’t see the connection so it basically won’t get used that way. Half of the time I get no sound out of it at all. It’s technically interesting but hostile. Nevertheless, it was my favourite synth until recently.

Which LFO doesn’t work for you?

To see the connections, you go to the mod page. If you need a visual indicator of the connections on the main page, I guess this app isn’t a good fit for your needs.

To make connections, you long tap a knob and choose what modulators you want to modulate that control or tap the route button so that all the controls have a pink knob center. In that mode, you just tap a knob to pop up the modulation options window.

seonnthaproducer

Shockwave is a cool app. I'm a fan of the design choices, and I like how Kai maintains a uniform design in his products.

Is a manual needed? Depends. Manuals were designed back in the day when a product would be fixed. Intended for the user to pick up a device, and review what it's about.

But software isn't fixed. It's dynamic. What could be a feature could be completely revamped, or removed. Thus, there's a maintenance cost to update the manual immediately.

Should every developer have to make a manual? Also depends. In my opinion, I'd rather the app is visually straight forward, and easily understandable. A manual, to me, is an additional resource for diving further into apps. Video demonstrations, help sections, introductory screens, support sections in a developer's website, and more can also be used. It really depends on the app developer preference, and their intended audience

I'm saying this as I'm writing a 100 page manual that is due in a few hours. Manuals are great to read...not as much fun to write.

[Deleted User]

@gusgranite said:
Maybe offer to pay an IAP towards the manual or something? It might be a development time/cost thing. Especially if the initial sales didn’t meet expectation to put more work into it.

I agree with @Gavinski on this. I would pay IAP for patches, new features (provided the ones existing work) and even buy a version 2 if that would be the case.

@espiegel123 said:
I find the implication that the lack of a manual for shockwave renders shockwave useless or worthless pretty hyperbolic.

I agree with you in that "useless" is hyperbolic regarding the manual. However, "useless" was meant to cover all the other aspects I was mentioning in a general way (not only regarding Shockwave).

I've stated above what I mean the manual (or lack of) mean for me. I won't repeat it.

The synth is pretty straightforward.

I don't agree with this. It is not the normal synth and some of the components require a bit of learning.

Do you have particular questions?

Thanks for asking.

Now that the question to this thread (Is there a manual for Shockwave?) is answered (No) and knowing that there will be nice people here who know the synth I will check the app again and will try to come with clear and concise questions.

NeuM

@seonnthaproducer said:
Shockwave is a cool app. I'm a fan of the design choices, and I like how Kai maintains a uniform design in his products.

Is a manual needed? Depends. Manuals were designed back in the day when a product would be fixed. Intended for the user to pick up a device, and review what it's about.

But software isn't fixed. It's dynamic. What could be a feature could be completely revamped, or removed. Thus, there's a maintenance cost to update the manual immediately.

Should every developer have to make a manual? Also depends. In my opinion, I'd rather the app is visually straight forward, and easily understandable. A manual, to me, is an additional resource for diving further into apps. Video demonstrations, help sections, introductory screens, support sections in a developer's website, and more can also be used. It really depends on the app developer preference, and their intended audience

I'm saying this as I'm writing a 100 page manual that is due in a few hours. Manuals are great to read...not as much fun to write.

As a person who used to be responsible for creating detailed product instruction sheets, I agree. Clarity is essential to good instruction... and it’s not easy!

Emanresu

in any case synth is not an airplane, using it at least you can't go wrong critically

Philandering_Bastard

@Emanresu said:
in any case synth is not an airplane, using it at least you can't go wrong critically

This documentary will teach you otherwise:

Emanresu

@Philandering_Bastard said:

@Emanresu said:
in any case synth is not an airplane, using it at least you can't go wrong critically

This documentary will teach you otherwise:

🧐🤯

robosardine

I like manuals as well. I’ve had some severely voluminous ones in the past. I’m just thinking - posting one of them would cost about the same price as many of the apps that are around.
I remember picking some of them up and feeling quite giddy at the thought of going all the way to the end of them.
I only did it fully once 😄.... MC505 It was.... good times.

NeuM

@Philandering_Bastard said:

@Emanresu said:
in any case synth is not an airplane, using it at least you can't go wrong critically

This documentary will teach you otherwise:

Just saw that for the first time not long ago. LOL.

mlau

my biggest problem with this synth is : turning the knobs ...