2020
02/13
Bram Bos Mononoke
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Bram Bos Mononoke App

Mononoke is an unconventional synthesizer, designed to compose evolving soundscapes and musical textures.

Feedback routing

What sets Mononoke apart from other synths is that its voices (4 in each section) can be routed back into each other in multiple ways, creating all sorts of overtones and pulsating resonant frequencies. Sometimes harmonic, sometimes weirdly atonal. Sometimes clear and delicate as icicles, sometimes harsh as metallic blades, sometimes soft as fresh snow. This interaction between voices helps fuse all layers together into a coherent musical landscape.

A tale of two engines

The synthesizer engines (each of the two sections has its own independent engine) have relatively simple controls, which influence a complex system of many invisible, interconnected LFOs. But this is not your bread-and-butter general purpose synthesizer: think of Mononoke as one huge FM synthesizer where each voice is an independently playable operator. Together all operators contribute to a single soundscape.

Expressive pads

Complex soundscapes can be created live, using the 8 performance pads which let you modulate each voice independently in several dimensions. Your interactions with the pads will also be sent out as MPE/MIDI (when loaded as an AU plugin in a compatible host) so you can record and tweak your session. The onscreen pads can be latched individually so some voices can be used as drones, while others as can be added and removed as extra sonic layers. The pads are fully integrated in the Audio Unit plugin.

Connectivity

Mononoke is designed as an AUv3 plugin, with advanced Audio Unit features such as MPE input and output (!), a fully exposed array of AU parameters for automation and all the connectivity and scalability you can expect from modern plugins.

The standalone mode is basic (just meant for jamming and creating presets) and does not offer any connectivity, so if you want to use Mononoke in conjunction with other apps and effects you’ll need to load it into a host, such as Garageband, Audiobus, AUM or Cubasis.

Summary:

– Audio Unit (AUv3) plugin

– 8 voice polyphony, 2 independent engines with 4 voices each

– Compatible with MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) and MIDI

– MIDI Input and Output (only available when used as an Audio Unit plugin)

– Limited standalone mode for jamming (full screen, no connectivity)

– 8 independently tunable performance pads for expressive interaction

– Universal, fully scalable to any screen size, supports fullscreen mode in AU hosts

– Freely tunable voices, or quantized to semitones (with overall finetuning)

– iOS10 (MIDI/MPE output from the plugin requires iOS11) or higher

Also contains Mononoke Pads: an extra AUv3 MIDI controller plugin for playing MPE compatible synths using Mononoke’s pads. Note: this is a separate plugin which will be installed in your MIDI Plugin collection. Mononoke Pads requires iOS 11.

Get Mononoke HERE

2017
08/17
DM2 Update Adds Drone Machine
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DM2 is a synthesis-based drum machine with a dedicated graphic editor, for the creation and manipulation of sound. DM2 is fully MIDI-mappable with more than 130 assignable parameters that can be controlled by an external MIDI controller.

What’s New in Version 1.6
Introducing the “DRONE MACHINE”. With the brand new “Drone Machine” mode DM2 turns into an instant Ambient machine. All 9 tracks play continuously regardless of what the sequencer plays. Switch it on and drive a powerful Dream Machine at the tips of your fingers. Extremely versatile when used with a MIDI controller and MIDI Learn mode. Dark Ambient admirers, Space Rock lovers, Dream Music adorers, Minimal fetishist are welcome.

** AMENDED**
+ AUDIO ENGINE : Improved CPU management when idle in the background
+ Faster loading time

A BIG, BIG STEP SEQUENCER. 16 or 32 step patterns. Or why not 7 or 25 steps? Or even polymetric tracks (poly what? no worries, just a fancy word for complex rhythms, yet super easy to make). And while we are at it, steps can also be singles, duplets, triplets or quadruplets for even sophisticated rhythms. Again it is all about drawing funny objects to make funky beats.

THE DRUMS PAGE. Where the sonic magic happens. Six touchable graphs to create sounds. Oscillators, LFOs, filters, noise generators, all the usual suspects in a drawable interface. This may look a tiny bit daunting at first, but the beauty is that whatever you touch, you’re not going to break anything. So give everything a whirl, and get experimental. And if you need some inspiration, DM2 contains plenty of ready-made sounds too.

THE PADS PAGE. Maybe you prefer finger-drumming? Sure, go ahead. Press REC and record your rhythms. Of course, there is an automatic quantize function, so that you’ll never miss a beat again.

THE MIXER PAGE. Big and beautiful, it will transform your iPad into a professional mixing desk for the price of a magazine.

THE FX SECTION. A powerful Effect processor. Just switch everything on and see where it takes you.

THE SONG PAGE. Last but not least, put all your hard work in the previous pages together in a shiny song.

Get DM2

  • iPad Loops is an iOS music production blog dedicated to exposing the best iPad apps musicians, producers, and Djs. This is not a database of every app. It is, however, one of useful recommendations from someone with many years in music production. I try to update it on a daily basis (ok sometimes every two days) and I do my best to post useful apps only. My name is Jason Donnelly (Dj Puzzle). You might know me from my royalty free loop packs and sound design. Some of the apps that contain my sounds are Synth One, EG Segments, Hammerhead, Retronyms AudioCopy, Audio Evolution Mobile, LP-5, iPRO.DJSAMPLER, Looptastic. My work is published by Roland, Antares, Magix, Soundtrack Loops, Sample Logic, Acoustica, Loopmasters and many more. Subscribe to our RSS feed below to get updated when new apps are posted.
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