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Synthecaster 2.0 Update!
Updated (on 05/18/2014) with several new features. Possibly my favorite Virtual MIDI controller, universal, and only 99 cents.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/synthecaster/id705067086?mt=8
Only logged in briefly, but the synth presets sounded pretty good! With motion control, this great app might have gotten even better!
What's New in Version 2.0:
Motion Modulation: you can now set any synth parameter controlled by a slider to be modulated by the device's orientation. See app description for instructions.
Now comes with 55 presets, including 7 motion presets
Updated UI to help differentiate rows and show note names by default
Row tuning can now be set to negative values
Improved detune slider range
Expanded draggable area for dismissing menus
Bug fixes
Comments
Tried it out on the iPad briefly yesterday, and really liking the tilt feature. This synth can produce some really gnarly & gritty bass sounds.
Only thing I'm kinda missing is the ability to remove all the keys that are not in the chosen scale. Unless I missed something, now it only highlights the keys in the chosen scale. And well, let's just say I'm no Jordan Rudess
But if you are, the option to respond to goatee wiggling is a godsend...
@ChrisG - I believe you are right that you can't remove the non-key notes. I can't really call it a design "flaw" per we because other apps (Jam Maestro) do a similar thing allowing you to play out-of-key notes if you want. But Synthecaster could do better than the subtle black outline on the "right" notes.
For example, Fiddlewax Blue highlights the notes in neon blue if they are in key. But this is a much better app with AudioBus and now some pretty legit on-board synth sounds to go with it!
Did anyone see if the x/y tilt controls work with MIDI parameters, or are they only for the internal synth?
Goatee wiggling, might become the de facto hands free midi control on iOS. Won't cost ya a single cent, just some time... Neh
I was thinking removing the notes completely (or make them non responsive) would allow you to drag your fingers all over a lot easier, without hitting a bunch of bum notes. But either way, this is a pretty feature rich and good sounding app for only a buck, so I'm not exactly complaining here
I agree ChrisG that's the only thing stopping me from buying this app, it'll be great if they implement that feature. I'm not saying it's not worth a buck cause it surely is, just that I really need that dead note feature, btw do you know of any similiar apps that allow this?
Every app with scale "blades" option, which is basically most synths out there by now. But apps with a similar layout as this one, nope.
Geo synth can do it.
really Geo synth? will have to check that out
Hi everyone, thanks for the feedback!
I just submitted the next update to the App Store, which adds the ability to show only scale notes. Expect to see it in about a week, based on past app review times.
As for future releases, the next thing I'll be working on is expanding the app's MIDI capabilities with the addition of continuous controllers, which of course can be motion modulated.
uh oh.. now I have to buy it
Thanks @synthecaster! @kobamoto yea, the thing is only 99c and is a really capable, versatile and good sounding synth IMO, and on top of that a really cool midi controller.
@synthecaster - That's great news! The 2.0 update was outstanding, and I end up using your app more that apps that cost 5 or 10 times as much! Haha.
Really looking forward to the option to remove "out of key" notes - that wasn't a big deal to me, necessarily, but it's a good feature that seemed to be a common suggestion from people I talked to. It's a great app as a simple MIDI controller, but the on-board synths became pretty respectable with that last update.
Keep up the good work!
There's a real good feature in the Human Being 1.0 firmware. It's called "learn to play in the keys"!!! Hahaha... I partially jest - I can understand the utility for beat-makers and EDM enthusiasts; the ability to program a scale and eliminate the "unneeded" notes can certainly shorten the amount of time one need spend on learning the traditional theories and guidelines of music and it can absolutely simplify the process of noodling around using an on-screen virtual instrument. That being said, in my world - there are exactly zero "unneeded" notes. To me, the 12-tone foundation represents near perfection; sometimes 12 isn't even enough, hence the need to pitch-bend (physically/mechanically or via wheel) to reach those in-between tones wherein dwell some extremely fleeting yet powerful means of emotional expression. If I remove notes, how am I supposed to keep things interesting by momentarily playing the ones that aren't in the scale? In that sandbox, tension & release ceases to exist... and you can forget much melodic inflection. What you'll usually get is the sound of sterile automation (wonderful side-effect if you're into chip-tunes). I've seen some guys spend so much time trying to simplify their music-making, that had they instead invested the same amount of time in practicing their instrument, they could have learned to play proficiently in all keys/modes three times over!! My chatty condition being the result of dinner and drinks with friends - I suddenly realize that my post reeks of the condescending sarcasm of a Theory/Tone-Snob!!! Please accept my sincere apologies for any interpretations as such... Even though I've spent countless thousands of hours studying theory, refining muscle-memory, earning academic music "degrees", and gigging: I honestly loathe theory-snobs and think they do nothing but hinder advancement in music creation and innovation. The real touchy ones take pride and comfort in their belief in a definable difference between "musicians" and "non-musicians", and the closing of the perceived "gap" that technology provides makes them extremely uncomfortable.
Technology has given us soooo many wonderful toys. My honest opinion is that there can never be too many tools for someone to express themselves. These programs which make possible the ability to program scales (essentially creating new instruments) are making it viable to actually perform using a small touch-screen, and are giving musical voices and outlets to many people who otherwise would never have gotten ideas out of their heads and into existence. This in itself transcends value. Music purists and "theory snobs" were born when the pinnacle of music technology was the ability to transpose a keyboard!! There immediately arose a group of players who used this feature to transpose everything to the key of "C", or whatever key they were most comfortable in, and the term "cheater" and "hack" were born at the same time. If only the theory/technique snobs knew the abilities of the technology that would follow the notorious "transpose" button... they would likely have held their tongues, because transposing everything to a key a player is comfortable playing in now seems like a relatively minor "infraction" compared to the ability to "dummy-proof" the instrument by having it generate only the notes of the scale selected by the player! The Tone Police would have absolutely lost their minds over the very existence of such blasphemous musical witchcraft.
Honestly, why cast judgement on someone just because they don't learn to play music on instruments which were designed hundreds of years ago? Those instruments are all part of the advancement of technology - and at one point in time, each of them was brand-new and represented state-of-the-art design.
Throughout history, the human race has been steadily innovating and inventing simpler / more-efficient means of creating music. With that in mind, I now believe "theory snobs" may have actually been in existence much longer than I previously suggested: do you think players rolled their eyes when the fret was invented, and called early adopters of fretted instruments "cheaters" or "hacks" (or the era equivalent) because playing a fretted stringed instrument no longer required the intonation needed to play fretless? You can bet your ass that they did! Can you imagine the uproar in the musical community when the first mainstream key instruments (harpsichord and later, pianoforte) were appearing? I guarantee the early adopters were looked upon as techie musical "cheaters" - spoon-fed the tonal range of an entire orchestra on a silver platter - with each note laid-out right in front of them and even color-coded for convenience! With each forward leap in technology, the definitions of "purist" and "hack" evolve in tandem; suffice to say: with the technological evolution of music creation over the last 500-600 years as an guideline, it is not unreasonable to assume that in the (perhaps) not-too-distant future, people will be able to compose simply by thinking about it... Invariably, there will be a contingent of "purists" who observe with disapproval, and make comments about how they can recall days in which making music actually required moving a finger around on the touchscreen of an electronic device...
Everybody is a musician, only the opinions vary and paradigms shift.
Very nicely put @ActualProof! Ha I agree with you 100% and really enjoyed this unexpected post!
Great post, ActualProof. When I first start tooling around with all these apps that have become so readily and cheaply available, I'm often reminded of the interviews in this excellent video:
View from 1:36 to 3:57. Continue to 5:29 for extra analog goodness.
@ActualProof said:
....well somebody had to quote it
Apologies for the rambling! Writing that novel last night allowed me to escape some forced, awkwardly-superficial conversation with random, post-gig folks. Don't get me wrong - very nice people, but sometimes you just don't feel like going through the motions and maintaining fake interest... babbling incessantly to you guys is much more enjoyable
Surprisingly, hangover is only about a 3.2 (on the 10-point scale)!
Sitars have moveable frets. Before playing they are adjusted so that only notes that are in the rag are available. Thought I'd throw that in...