Best App for Chiptune?

hwangman · July 2014

I'm working on a video game project for a friend and I think some old school chiptune and/or 8-bit style music would be perfect. I own Gadget, which has an 8-bit device in it, but I'm wondering if I should look at other apps with similar sounds. Any suggestions?

Seangarland · July 2014

Square Synth ($1.99) is always my recommendation. Classic sounds, plus has 4 separate midi out channels available.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squaresynth/id617848755?mt=8

StormJH1 · July 2014

@hwangman - I recently got Gadget, and the 8-bit gadget in there seemed kind of fun. However, the one that most people cited to me (but I haven't played with as much as I should) is SquareSynth:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squaresynth/id617848755?mt=8

SquareSynth definitely has an authentic 80's video game feel to it. My one complaint about it as a pretty novice synth user/programmer is that the presets nail a lot of the 8-bit effects noises (like race cars, crowd noises, and explosions), but I was hoping for some more melody presets to play actually rhythms with. They probably are there, and I'm sure you could program them, but it wasn't quickly apparent to me how to do it.

Caustic, like Gadget, has a machine for 8-bit sounds as well, plus a good stack of presets and some user-supported ones you can grab from their website. Both Gadget and Caustic are terrific all-around apps.

bixnood · July 2014

SquareSynth feels like a GameBoy, graphics and all. Also, Nanoloop.

hwangman · July 2014

Thanks! Both SquareSynth and Caustic seem really fun. I hadn't given Caustic much of a look since I already owned Gadget, but I like the interface a lot after watching a few demo videos.

I had Nanoloop on my iphone a while back. I liked the sounds, but isn't that one lacking a lot of the usual goodies (Audiobus/virtual MIDI)?

bixnood · July 2014

Nanoloop can't be "played", all you do is setting up the notes. And yes, no AB/IAA, mainly because it's a cross-platform app, with even a Game Boy cart version.

StormJH1 · July 2014

Now you guys got me looking at Nanoloop. D'oh!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nanoloop/id322700286?mt=8

Strange that it got an update just in March 2014, but still no AB. However, it looks like you can AudioCopy/Paste out .wav loops, which for any type sequencer or looped-based rhythm app is usually the primary way I export sound anyway.

Buska · July 2014

Nanoloop is fantastic if you get to grips with it, it's not that hard maybe 30mins or so?

Also Sidpad for commodore style sounds

hwangman · July 2014

Loving all the recommendations!

Storm - no AB seems ridiculous for any apps with recent updates, but like you, I also use audiocopy/paste for most of my song/loop transfers, so that should be ok.

bixnood · July 2014

If y'all want to get more experimental, there's Kymatica's secret "monster", BitWiz. Not easy to program but has a randomizer and a nice XY pad.

yaknepper · July 2014

+1 for SquareSynth and Sidpad. Both great apps with great sounds..

StormJH1 · July 2014

@hwangman said:

Loving all the recommendations!

Storm - no AB seems ridiculous for any apps with recent updates, but like you, I also use audiocopy/paste for most of my song/loop transfers, so that should be ok.

Thanks! Watched a recent 30min tutorial video on it, looks great. With all the effects apps out recently, I'm curious what these simple pattern apps may do if you run them through Caramel, etc.

hwangman · July 2014

Good point. I had been neglecting my ipad lately so this might be a good reason to jump back into writing some tunes.

Will · July 2014

+1 for squaresynth. +5 for nanoloop.

hacked_to_pieces · July 2014

Gheck out shapesynth it's my favorite for 8 bit madness.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shapesynth/id431097161?mt=8

thinds · July 2014

Or Sinusoid

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/sinusoid/id416624795?mt=8

Or PixiTracker 1Bit

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pixitracker-1bit/id548659499?mt=8

Will · July 2014

Pixitracker 1Bit is awfully fun; I need to dig that back out.

@hacked_to_pieces Oops! I actually meant shapesynth. I'm not even sure what squaresynth is. Shapesynth->Nils is goodness.

StormJH1 · July 2014

Actually, good point: +1 on both PixiTracker and PixiTracker 1-bit, which are from the same developer as SunVox. And if you're really cheap, or just like to try before you buy, note that all of their apps (including SunVox, which is like a modular synth, sequencer, sampler, and kinda-sorta DAW all in one) are FREE in their PC versions. Not only that, you can work in SunVox (or PixiTracker) and export loops via .wav file into DropBox. I probably should just buy one of the PixiTrackers for iOS since they are like 3 bucks, but I enjoy all their products.

http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/pixitracker/

Nanoloop - So, this was a pretty good suggestion! I'm never totally clear what qualifies as a "chiptune" - some people limit it to low resolution video game bleeps and blips, where as other people blend it into simple synthesizer stuff. Nanoloop acutally has an FM synthesizer with some different waveform options. The best part of it is just the simplicity of the interface - you can get a 16-step loop going and just mess around with notes all on one screen. It could do simple loops, but excels as a sketchpad.

However, I did give it a 4-star review b/c I just felt it had a few things missing, with no good reason as to why they aren't there:

AudioBus and/or IAA should be there - it's been updated well into the AudioBus era and plenty of unsophisticated developers have implemented that SDK.
I'm not a big sampler guy, but if you're going to include one, don't make it microphone only. It supports .wav files, so why no "open in" feature, or at least some presets to mess with?
Prone to crashes and hang ups. Actually, it happened in the tutorial video I watched, and the guy explained that he often has to close down the app and reload it to stop a perpetual loop.
Activating the microphone on iPad2 caused it to crash the device everytime you pick "sample". However, it works on iPhone 5s.
This is probably getting absurd with the suggestions now, but a MIDI out feature would actually be somewhat useful. It would be as good as Xynthesizr, but it actually has a lot of the same features that would allow you to sketch and then control better-sounding synths with it

Fun little app, though, I just burned 15 minutes in my car making some loops!

hwangman · July 2014

I've downloaded Shapesynth but the interface is pretty ridiculous. I'm going through the manual now. This should work with a MIDI keyboard, right? I have an M-Audio Keystation 32 plugged into my ipad but it's not recognized. I've relaunched the app several times and have selected all of the icons that appear during startup (there's a keyboard icon, a camera connection kit icon, etc). Nothing works except the in-app keyboard. Help?

StormJH1 · July 2014

I had the same thoughts about Shapesynth...what is going on there?! Then again, there's apps like SunVox that look absurdly inaccessible, but actually aren't that bad once you figure out how it works.

hwangman · July 2014

@StormJH1 said:

I had the same thoughts about Shapesynth...what is going on there?! Then again, there's apps like SunVox that look absurdly inaccessible, but actually aren't that bad once you figure out how it works.

It's my fault for not researching more before buying the app. I do like the sounds in it, but if i can't get it to recognize my MIDI keyboard, it's useless to me. I figured it had to be pretty great if so many people were recommending it. I've emailed the dev so hopefully I get an answer soon.

Thanks for the review of Nanoloop. It seems great but those items you mentioned are potentially deal breakers for me.

That said, I do have Sunvox on my PC and iPad, and I just downloaded Pixitracker 1bit, so I can mess w/those while I wait for an answer from the Shapesynth dev.

StormJH1 · July 2014

@hwangman said:

@StormJH1 said:

I had the same thoughts about Shapesynth...what is going on there?! Then again, there's apps like SunVox that look absurdly inaccessible, but actually aren't that bad once you figure out how it works.

It's my fault for not researching more before buying the app. I do like the sounds in it, but if i can't get it to recognize my MIDI keyboard, it's useless to me. I figured it had to be pretty great if so many people were recommending it. I've emailed the dev so hopefully I get an answer soon.

Thanks for the review of Nanoloop. It seems great but those items you mentioned are potentially deal breakers for me.

That said, I do have Sunvox on my PC and iPad, and I just downloaded Pixitracker 1bit, so I can mess w/those while I wait for an answer from the Shapesynth dev.

Oh, yeah, sorry I missed that about using a MIDI keyboard with it. Nanoloop, etc. wouldn't really fit that bill. SquareSynth, however, is the one that looks like an NES game, and says it is CoreMIDI compatible.

hwangman · July 2014

Turns out I just needed a couple additional reboots of the iPad to get my keyboard recognized in Shapesynth. In addition, the dev responded almost immediately and helped me clarify some parts of the app. Very cool.

I'll check out SquareSynth after I spend some time with Pixitracker, especially if it supports my MIDI keyboard.

Will · July 2014

I hardly ever understand what the fuck is going on in Shapesynth but that's part of the magic for me!

@StormJH1 Good news: you can paste audio into the sampler. Set the channel to sample (top left icon) and then hit paste (the little square to the right of the X).

I don't ever have those sorts of crashes in NanoLoop. It's always been super solid for me. iPad3/iPhone 4s (and 3gs before that). He definitely doesn't bill as a 'chiptune' app but that where its roots lay (was a Gameboy cartridge) and it still very much supports that sort of thing. But, as you discovered, it's actually a very capable little app! I really love all of the stuff you can adjust on the grid in a addition to note on/off. Plus the thoughtful copy/paste step shifting stuff is sweet. Definitely worth learning the hidden features. Great feature: you can tap on project names and it will load instantly. MIDI sync is super solid too. But, yeah, AB, pretty pretty please.

hwangman · July 2014

Good to know, @syrupcore. I'm on an iPad 4 so that gives me hope that Nanoloop would perform pretty well. I like what i saw on that tutorial video, and the fact that you CAN paste in audio is great news. May have to pick that up this week.

StormJH1 · July 2014

@syrupcore, that's great news regarding sample copy! However, I quickly ran to try it out with some bass drum kicks I had in AudioShare...I found the sample option and hit "paste", but the little sound went from "no sample" to "from clipboard", but didn't display any sound. This is the same screen that causes things to crash if I hit the record "circle" button (which should activate the microphone).

Wonder what I am doing wrong.

StormJH1 · July 2014

Update: found the answer. Nanoloop can only support very brief samples, or you can reduce the sample rate and they can be longer. Fortunately, AudioShare allows this, since AudioShare can do just about everything!

"Most apps deliver audio in 16-bit, 44.1 KHz, stereo. At this resolution, nanoloop can only hold samples of 1/2 second length. To paste longer samples, you may try to copy in 8-bit, mono and/or lower sampling rates, if supported by the source app.

Bit depths of 8 and 16 bit @ sample rates of 8, 22.05 and 44.1 KHz are supported. 48 KHz is not supported yet and will be interpreted as 44.1 KHz. 32bit / float is not supported yet and will load as empty sample."