CatSynth video: Alesis Photon and iPhone

Synth jam with Alesis Photon, iPhone, and cat 😻. From victimasdelspleen on Instagram.

CatSynth video: Cat, Alesis and iPod

From William Potter, victimasdelspleen on Instagram.

CatSynth video: shadow cat (modular synth)

From Ebotronix on YouTube, via matrixsynth. Quite the modular synth collection in this recording, plus one cool cat.

4ms Peg, QCD /Expander² ,QPLFO, RCD, VCA Matrix
Analogue Systems RS 100², RS110²², RS 360²
Bananalogue Serge VCS
Cyndustries Zeroscillator²
Doepfer R2m, A101-2, A114, A118,A134²², A143-2,A151²²
A152, A175²²,A185-2, A138abc, A192-1( 4Vox midi CC )
Flame 4 Vox ,Chord Machine², FX 16, Talking Synth Module²
flight of harmony choices
Make Noise Brains ,PP²,Maths²,Moddemix²²,QMMG,
Optomix, Wogglebug²
Malekko Anti²², Unkle²²,Jag
Moog FreqBox²², MP201
Roland SVC-350 Vocoder, System 104 Sequencer
SSL Modulation Orgy
Tip Top Audio Z8000 manual voltage source
Toppobrillo Quantimator²(min pentatonic),Sportmodulator,TWF
Logic masterclock to Kenton Pro 2000
Rocktron Rack Interface²
FX : Alesis 3630,Philtre,Boss VF-1,Lexicon PCM 80
Line 6 Echopro ,Red Federation BPM FX Pro
TC M one XL, M3000
mackie the mixer²
drums Ultrabeat
vid # 1284

Battle of the iPad Docks at NAMM. Behringer iStudio and Alesis iO Dock

iPad docks seem to be a theme this year at NAMM. Basically, these are high-end iPad shells that provide audio and MIDI I/O functionality. Consider the iStudio from Behringer.

The iPad fits into the dock and serves both as the computer and screen. The dock provides several controls one would find in a small portable studio and then a host of standards I/O ports on the back, including XLR, 1/4″ audio, video and MIDI.

But no sooner had I encountered the Behringer model than I came across a very similar one from Alesis:

Here, the Alesis iO Dock is controlling the Korg iMS-20 iPad Synth. Like the Behringer, it has XLR, MIDI, unbalanced audio and video. They even both have footswitch inputs.

So which one is better? It’s not really something I can say. They seem more focused on people who want to use their iPad as a workstation rather than as a live instrument the way I do, which requires being able to move it freely (and switch to portrait mode) and lift it show to the audience. But now that several companies are coming out with docks, maybe we will see more variations.

CatSynth pic: Gravitarium 2.

Via matrixsynth:

This one in via Silent Strike who composed the tracks for the app with a Clavia Nord Modular 1, Micron Alesis, Jomox Mbase, Reason 4 Propellerheads, M-audio Axiom 25, Elektron Drumachine (pic at the bottom of this post). The app does not allow you to manipulate sound, but I thought it was interesting to acknowledge some of the gear used to create the audio for this app. The Waldorf Blofeld and Yamaha AN200 pictured however were not used.

Looks like Silent Strike had a studio supervisor involved.

There is also info on the app itself.

Gravitarium 2 combines music, art and science in one relaxing experience. Use all your fingers to guide the star flow. You can create 10 different animations depending on the number of fingers touching the screen:

1 – Rocket, 2 – Sparkle, 3 – Energy flow, 4 – Atomic, 5 – 3D freeze, 6 – Circularium, 7 – Fish, 8 – Vortex, 9 – Lasers, 10 – Lightning.

Use different options to create spectacular drawings made of stars. You can load the “Drawing” preset from the “Options” screen.

I will be taking a look at this app. The idea of creativity and relaxation does appeals to me, but the game-play part is a bit less exciting – though it is the trend in the mobile-app space.