A few years back I tried my hand at making my own custom VST instrument using Synthmaker. The result was this this noisy little synth 'SK0.0'. I used the SK0.0 in a few SKatterBrain tracks (which is what it was originally made for) but that's about it. I recently found the .dll file on my old hardrive but I'm not sure that I still have the actual Synthmaker project file. I posted a picture of it on Twitter and a few people asked my why I never got around to putting it online. I also recently got an email asking if it was possible to be shared so I thought I may as well put it on the website as a free download. I'll be honest with you, there are quite a few bugs in it but I know that it works in Ableton, so I can't really see anyone having any problems with it in any other DAW or VST host. Now, this was never a serious project and I never really planned on actually releasing it over the Internet but here it is.
NOTE: the name of the app has now changed to 'Sunrizer Synth' due to the original name conflicting with an existing VST plugin. Throughout this article I refer to the app with it's original name.
Just by looking at the GUI of this app you can tell that it's designed to be used as a no-nonsense tool for music production and sound design. There's no unessicerry gimics that are often found in most iOS music apps. It's a synthesizer designed to be used like a synthesizer.
If you're new to synthesizers then this is definitely a good place to start. The app is mostly based around the single interface and all the knobs and buttons are all layed out in a sensible manner. You'll be making high quality usable sounds in no time.
If you're like me and already know quite a lot about synthesizers then you will quicky see that this synth is a brilliant piece of software capable of a wide range of sounds. It's simple interface doesn't get in the way of your creativity and that hiding underneath that flashy interface there is a really powerful synth engine.
My favourite feature of Horizon has to be the onboard arpeggiator. It's more or less basically a sequencer capable of creating some really nice patterns. It's perfect for making melodic parts or even just for a basic up/down arpeggio. Tapping on the hold button with the arpeggiator on gives you the freedom of tweaking the perameters of the synth with out having to hold down any keys.
The sounds that this app can produce are phenomenal; there are some high class VST instruments that don't sound any where near as good as this. Most of the presets provided are suited more to electronic dance music and trance but it's pretty easy to create a vide verity of sounds to suit near enough any genre of music that you can imagine.
Horizon is a perfect example of what can be done with the iPad and it definitely shows that the iOS music apps are progressing in both quality and usability. A few years ago I would never have thought that I'd be using such high quality instruments on a multiple touch device. I really think this is a huge step forward both in technology and music creation.
the app itself is currenty on sale for an introductory price of £2.99 which is a steal considering that you get a high quality synthesizer capable of such amazing sounds. If your an iPad owner and share an intrest in synthesisers and music creation then I highly recommend buying a copy of this app. You can't really go wrong, it sounds amazing, it looks amazing and it's just a truly awesome piece of software to add to your line up.
Below is an audio demo from Horizon, tweaking the perameters in real time.
Those of you that have been following the news section on the main Dan303 website will know that I have recently brought an iPad2.
One of the coolest things about the iPad is the ability to connect USB midi devices to it using the Camera connection kit. On the official Apple site the camera connection kit costs £25 so I automatically began looking for a second hand one. Not that I’m a cheapskate or anything, I just can’t really justify spending £25 on something that I won’t use all the time.
While searching eBay I noticed quite a lot of unofficial camera connection kits (The ones with both USB and SD slot on the same adapter). I wondered if this unofficial kit would handle the midi devices as good as the Apple one. I had a quick search around Google and asked about it on the Korg Forums but there seemed to be little information about it. All the videos on YouTube seemed to use the official connector (or at least one that looked similar) so I couldn’t really be sure. I took the gamble and paid £5 for the unofficial one from eBay, if it didn’t work then I wouldn’t have lost much.
The kit came in the post today and as soon as I got the opportunity to try it out with my Korg NanoPad. The kit worked alright, it handled midi perfectly with zero latency.
However there were a few problems that I noticed. When I tried attaching my 25 key USB controller it gave me a warning that the device required too much power and the iPad couldn’t handle it (I got this message even when I has the controller connected to the mains). Another issue that I saw was that when I had the NanoPad connected it would occasionally show a message saying that the device was not recognised but when I clicked ok the NanoPad worked fine. The unit itself is a bit flimsy; it’s made out of cheap plastic and seems a bit stiff when connecting to the ipad.
Overall I saved £20 (which isn’t a bad thing in my eyes) but if you’re looking for something that’s tough and reliable for gigging with your iPad then I’d recommend getting the Apple kit. If you’re just looking for something to mess around with or to occasionally connect your iPad to your home studio then by all means buy the cheap one, You’ll save yourself £20 (to spend on apps or a few beers). If it breaks then you can always just buy a new one.
Anyway, below is a short video of me playing the new Horizon synthesizer for the ipad using my Korg nanopad. This synth sounds amazing; the supersaw waveforms (first found in the Roland JP-8000) give it really powerful and aggressive sound. Get it from the Appstore now while it’s half price. =]
Update: I just found that my Korg R3 synthesizer works fine as a midi controller for the iPad. It also works as a midi interface. I’ve currently got the iPad connected to the USB of the R3 which is then connected to my Focusrite Saffire 6 interface (midi in and out). This means that I can sequence and record instruments on my iPad using my laptop. It seems that the iPad will only recognise certain usb controllers. If you’re an iPad user that’s looking to buy a midi controller then I recommend that you do a bit of research and find out which controllers will work.
