Figure by Propellerhead iOS app review

Propellerhead's new iPhone app Figure has just found its way into the Apple AppStore. Figure is based on the Reason sound engine so you know its going to sound awesome. Imagine that, Thor and Kong sitting just in your pocket, waiting for that moment of inspiration to strike.

Figure provides you with a three instrument loop sequencer; one part drums (powered by Kong) , one part bass (powered by Thor) and one part lead (also powered by Thor).

The app itself is separated into four different sections that will aid you on your way to creating some awesome beats and loops.

The 'Pattern' section allows you to select your sound and play in a part (drums, bass and lead). This is the main window that you're going to be working with when you're making beats in Figure. When working with the synths in the Patteren window you are presented with three basic controls and an X/Y pad for performance and recording your loops. The controls allow you to select the rhythm pattern of the part, the range of the notes on the X/Y pad and how many notes that you can play in a certain scale. The role of the X/Y pad is pretty obvious, it lets you to play in the notes and make your loops.

When your working with drums in the Pattern section it's slightly different, in place of these controls you are provided with four smaller X/Y pads that control the variation of each drum. You are also given a rhythm control the same as the synth parts.

Moving onto the 'Tweaks' section, this section allows you to sculpt your sound using various preset perimeters such as filter, delay, chorus distortion, etc. You are given another X/Y pad here but this time it's multi touch. Just turn on the parameters you want and tweak away. The Tweak section really helps expand the range of sounds that you can use within Figure. It takes advantage of the Reason synth engine and alows you to take that preset and mould it into something of your own.

The 'Song' section gives you the option to change things like tempo, key and shuffle. it's pretty self explanatory really, change how fast your loop is, change the scale or mood of the loop and adda bit of shuffle to give it a little funk.

Finally the 'Mix' section provides you with a three track mixer and a side chain compressor (which uses the same engine as the Master Compressor in Reason). The mixer is also based on the Reason mixer but to be honest it's just a mixer, it sets the levels of each part. The pump control on the mixer page lets you dial in the amount of sidechain. There's not really much more to the mixer page so I'll leave it at that.



This is a really nice app the GUI looks nice and the workflow is really straight-forward which makes the app extremely easy to use. Propellerhead have done an amazing job on this app, you'll be up and making beats in seconds.

But with that all said the app is not perfect, there are tonnes of features missing in Figure that we expect as standard from most music apps.

There's no way of exporting your creation as audio when you're done, not unless you're willing to hook up your iPhone to an external recording device. This should be in all music apps that offer you sequencing capabilities. It's just common sense.

The most annoying flaw in Figure is that you can't save your project. Say you've made this awesome loop and you're really proud of it, it's finished and you want to move on to a fresh creation. You cant start a fresh beat without clearing the old one. There's no save feature.

It's also not a universal app so if you have an iPad then you can only run Figure in that ugly x2 mode. I've gone into this many times before so I won't bore you with it again. There's no reason (no pun intended) that this cant be a universal app.

Another thing that annoys me is that there's no pan section on the mixer, I suppose it's not a nessesity but I'd like the option to separate the sounds a little and give the mix that little extra room.

Other little addition that need to be considered for this app are wifi sync (WIST maybe?), core midi would be a nice addition too and maybe the ability for Reason owners to export the loop as a Reason project file.

But then again even though Figure's missing out on some vital features it's still a blast to play around with and for 69p in the AppStore I'm going to stop complaining, shut up and enjoy that awesome little loop sequencer that Propellerhead has given us.

All in all I'm going to give this app maybe an eight out of ten. If figure had audio export and a save feature then it would most definitely get a full ten.

Get Figure from the Apple AppStore for just 69p!

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Moog Animoog iPad app Demo

Here's the video of me messing around with the Moog Animoog iPad app. this video was supposed to be uploaded alongside the review that I did last week. I couldn't upload it because of internet connection problems (the estimated upload time was approx. 1900 mins). My connection speed increased earlier so I thought I'd upload it while I had the chance.

So here it is.

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Animoog iPad app

As soon as I started playing about with this app I fell in love with it. Fair enough, a digital synth is not something that I would have expected from Moog Music Inc. but in my eyes the Animoog definitely deserves to wear the Moog logo.

The app appeared in the app store in the early hours of Oct 17th for an introductory price of 69p (GBP)! A Moog synthesiser for 69p! I couldn't believe it. Well, it's going to stay at 69p for about a month until the price will shoot up to roughly £20.

£20 is a bit high for an iPad synth but to be honest when I first brought my iPad I instantly installed the Korg iMS20 app which is currently priced at £22.99.

Moog are marketing this app as 'the first professional synthesizer designed for the iPad'. That's a pretty huge claim. I'm sure there have been other professional synths on the iPad before. There are loads of iOS developers out there that are already producing fine instruments for the iPad. Look at the BleepStreet Sunrizer synth for example.

Let's get into the app then and have a look at what it can do. The Animoog is powered by what Moog are calling their new Anisotropic Synthesis Engine. Which to be honest has a really nice sound to it, there's still that warm Moog flavour but with a bit of a twist. Some of the sounds that I've managed to make with this thing are pretty insane and harsh. It still does the good old retro Moog leads and bass as well but to be honest, I'm glad that they didn't just port the Arturia Minimoog V to the iPad.

But it's not just all about the sounds. The interface is beautifully designed and the playability is superb. This is an instrument not just a fancy noise maker with the Moog badge slapped on it. The sounds are controlled and morphed using the x/y pad along with the keys, which are capable of polyphonic pitch bending and modulation.

There are lots of options for sound creation and design in the Animoog app. The timbre page has to be one of my favourite features of this synth. Here you can arrange sounds in the x/y controller, Moog says the sounds are NOT simply just samples but are actually software emulations of vintage and modern synthesisers and pedals.

It also features the staple Moog ladder filter with band pass, high pass and low pass. The filter is pretty much self explanatory and I have to admit I love the sound of a good Moog ladder filter.

The Thick module is also a pretty cool feature; it has a bit crusher, drive and unison with detune. This is the module that is going to help you completely tear shreds out of your sounds and create some filthy patches.

All of these features and more add up to a truly enjoyable playing experience. I think Moog have just raised the bar with this one.

Introducing Animoog from Moog Music on Vimeo.

Update: I've uploaded a video demo of the Animoog synth here.

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Tenori-On iPad app review

Back in 2007 Yamaha launched their popular Tenori-On tone matrix instrument. The original hardware instrument boasted a 16x16 LED step sequencer that gave it a futuristic look and quite a unique way of sequencing music.

The instrument experienced instant success with big name artists such as Bjork, Little Boots and even British comedian Bill Bailey, who used it on his 2009-2010 world tour.

Although the original Tenori on experienced instant success it had quite a high price tag which ment that it's unique charm could only be enjoyed by a cirtain few.

Over the following years we've seen numerous software reincarnations of the tone matrix style of sequencing (especially on the iPhone/iPad) and it was only a matter of time before we saw an official software version of the Yamaha Tenori-On.

The official Tenori on iOS app entered the app store the other week but at £12 I was a little hesitant to buy it. After a little thought and a bit of googling I decided it was indeed worth the price.

The cheapest hardware Tenori-On (the TNR-O) is roughly £500 where as the current price of the iPad 2 is £499 (cheapest wifi only model) so considering that both the devices are pretty much exactly the same price (and I already own an iPad) it makes sence to get the iOS version.

Fair enough, you don't get the same feel as the hardware version and it's nice to have a dedicated instrument for live use but if your just looking to experience the Tenori-On style of sequencing or you're just looking to use some of the sounds included then the iPad version is definitely the way to go.

The iPad is the perfect platform for the TNR-i software. The 9.7 inch touchscreen display really is the perfect way to experience the hands on approach to sequencing that the original Tenori-On offers.

The software version also includes all of the original sounds that are found in the original Tenori-On. Which gives you a wide choice of cool sounds to choose from (127 in total), so you're not stuck with those boring sine wave or basic piano sounds that are overused in most of the other tone matrix sequencers that are floating around the app store.

What's more, the TNR-i features midi in/out via the iPad camera connection kit. This means that if you get a bit tired of using the built in sounds then you can connect it to an external synthesizer or DAW using a midi/USB cable. It also means that you can play the sounds in a more traditional way the sounds using and external midi keyboard.

Another cool feature is that when you connect TNR-i to an external sequencer or a midi keyboard can can edit some of the perameters with CC messages. These include control of the filter cutoff and resonance as well as the attack and release of the amp envolope. You can also control the vibrato depth with the mod wheel and pitch bend with the pitch wheel. These are some pretty basic controls but if you can access them then it turns the app into a really expressive sound modual.

In fact the iPad version of the Tenori-On is pretty much exactly the same as the hardware version. All the sequencing modes are there and the usability is pretty much straight forward (when you get used to the L&R buttons).

At £12 the Yamaha TNR-i app is a really useful (and fun) piece of software, it comes with 127 high quality sounds and some really inspiring ways of sequencing. Couple it with an external midi device and you can get some really creative sounds out of it.

The app is also universal, so I can also have it on my iPhone (at no extra cost) and use it on the go. But for a £10 app I would expect it to be universally compatible anyway (I'm looking at you Korg). The iPhone version is a little small but the zoom feature helps a lot with the tiny size of the LED grid. Even with the small screen on the iPhone it's still very playable and easy to use. But to be honest, the bigger screen on the iPad is better and makes a lot more sence.

The ability to join live collaborations using Apple Game Centre seemed a bit strange to me at first but after thinking about it it does seem like a pretty cool idea. The TNR-i is the ultimate collaberation instrument mostly because if you stick to the in-built scales then you can't really go wrong. Collaborations can often be frustrating if you're working with someone that has absolutely no experience or knolage of music theory. Stick with the scales and they can be as creative as they want without having to worry about staying in the same key as each other.

Look at the original Tenori-On, your getting all of that sequencing power and innovation for a fraction of the price, £12 (rather than £500). It's a steal but you have to wonder how this is going to effect the market for the original Tenori-On.

Pros:
Way cheaper than the real thing
Quality sounds
Fun sequencing
Core midi
Apple Game Centre collaboration

Cons:
The lights don't seem to be bright enough (background should be darker)
L&R buttons can be awquard at first
A bit small on the iPhone

Below is a YouTube video of me showing off some of the performance setting in the Tenori- On app.



Update: just to clarify, the TNR-i app does support both midi in and out. it can send and receive midi messages on 16 midi channels (1 for each of it's layers). This means that it can be a very powerful sequencer for your hardware gear.

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Sunrizer synth (Previously called Horizon synth) for iPad review

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.

Horizon synth test by Dan303-iPad

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