Various Odds And Ends...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
As you can see, DronestationX, the iPad iteration of Dronestation, is coming along nicely. I decided to make the UI a PNG-free zone; it is entirely done with CoreGraphics drawing commands, even the logo. This proved to be a somewhat nonsensical decision on my part, but (a) it will result in an incredibly small binary, which makes me happy, and (b) it was a valuable learning experience. This will make porting difficult if I decide to do an Android or WinTablet version, of course, but making things easy on myself has never been one of my strong suits.
Anyhow, give me a week or two and it should be ready for app store submission. I’ve cropped part of that image, as the UI isn’t finished yet. When I’ve got it totally done, you’ll get the whole thing. It is orientation-agnostic, which is causing some annoyance but isn’t a deal breaker.
Also too, I swapped out my Stereo Memory Man w/ Hazarai for an Eventide TimeFactor. No offense to ElectroHarmonix, as they’re making some pretty cool shit these days, but this TimeFactor is an order of magnitude more better. I know that I’ve got an H8000 and all, and all these programs are in the new H8000 OS, but it’s really not the same at all. The pedal is much more immediate, and it’s much, much easier to tweak a preset while you’re playing on this than on the H8000. I’ll put up a full review next week, once I’ve spent some quality time with it, but for now, as @jamescigler pointed out on Twitter, any Digital Solution For Streamlining My Workflow is a good option.
And finally, it seems Goldbaby has a new product out. I _just_ whacked the download button, so I can’t say WTF about it at all, but given Hugo’s track record, I’d just go ahead and assume it’s awesome. ’Tis here.
10 comments
Looking pretty cool. Will happily load that up on my iPad.
Cooool.
You selling that Memory Man? I like me some Hazarai.
Already sold and sent. (Puffer grabbed it.) It funded the TimeFactor purchase.
It's a great pedal, no mistake. One thing that bothered me about it, though, was that the stomp switches require a really firm click (like all EH gear.) As a result, using it as a looping pedal was an exercise in frustration, because I couldn't ever get it looped just right. The TimeFactor, aside from having MIDI sync, has soft switches, so it's much, much easier to get nice loop points. I was able to get it rocking just right on my first try.
If I had to choose between the two, and money was no object, I'd definitely choose the TimeFactor. Much more capable device, although the Memory Man has a certain mojo to its sound that the TimeFactor lacks; also, it is quite a bit more complex, which might not be handy in a live situation.
-CR
Aaargh, just bought the very good "driven machine drums" and now this comes along. The demos sound yummy.
Never gonna not love "also too."
My eyes now register it as grammatically correct.
Dronestationx looks cool! I want an iPad now.
I know. You're shocked, positively shocked.
- c
I hope this is the first of many iPad apps!
Chris, I wonder if you've explored the dev build of iPhone OS 4...or if it's even available....because I'm curious if multitasking will allow you to record virtual instruments to an onboard recording app. I have been fantasizing about using the iPad as a portable electonic music studio...
I have OS4 installed on my iPhone. Most apps aren't aware that multi-tasking is available, so they just go in to "I'm done" mode when you minimize them. The exception is some of the built-in apps.
I'm sure this will all change eventually, and there may be a way to interconnect apps via the usual CoreAudio bindings, but for now it doesn't exist best I can tell, and if it did, nobody could do anything with it as OS4 apps wouldn't get approved for app store distro.
All that said, you have to keep in mind that the iPhone and iPad have a fairly anaemic processor, and even running one synth is a bit of a burden. Running more than one simultaneously is what desktops and laptops are for, not your phone.
-CR
Maybe I oughta get one of those little Boss or Tascam miniature 4-tracks...
Interested to hear your in-depth take on Memory Man w/Hazarai v. Time Factor. I have the Memory Man (I use it on my analog synths) and like it, but it generally stays in delay+chorus mode, and lacks fine tweaking abilities. But it does sound nice...
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