iPod with OS 3.0 - mixed emotions!

A couple of things to report on since upgrading my iPod Touch to OS 3.0

Firstly I can now have a whole 11 pages of icons. Whoopie do :o( Still got to have loads of my apps uninstalled or hidden from view.

Secondly quite a few of my music apps have issues and updates are not yet out (or even announced in some cases). Noise.io makes no noise.io. Wivi Band glitches horribly. MixDex doesn't work. A few other apps have pops and crackles.

Thirdly, and this is a Good Thing (TM), my external microphone (Macally iVoice Pro 3) now has proper volume control when it is in use. Prior to OS 3.0 if the mic was plugged in, the volume control of the iPod (when you double-click the home button) had no effect and the volume was fixed (and too low). Now it works as it should so apps like Wivi Band, Ocarina, Vocoder SV5 etc all have a decent volume that I can control. Yayyyyyy!

Music for Knee Play - aka my "pocket" studio

Whilst I'd need rather large pockets to carry everything, here is what my "sitting in bed studio" currently looks like.  I'm rather pleased with the board I created to put everything on, as I was getting fed up with balancing things on my knee and noticing they gradually disappeared or rotated to unusable angles!! It's a piece of what I think Americans call "foam core" with some black microfibre glued on using spray mount. I then chopped up some neoprene strips and stuck velcro to the back of them so they can be positioned anywhere on the board to keep the devices in place. It's very comfortable and seems to do a great job.

Here's what's in the picture:

1: Belkin Rockstar. This acts as a passive mixer, allowing for multiple inputs and duplicate outputs. I used to use my hand-made passive mixer, but this is so much more impressive in terms of results, if not aesthetics. The duplicate outputs are useful for apps like MeTeoR that don't allow monitoring of input when recording - I can attach earphones too.

2. Apple iPod Touch. Weapon of choice for "playing" instruments. I've got this thing loaded to the brim (well, as much as Apple's stupid UI will allow) with virtual instruments, sequencers and midi/OSC controllers. I've spent a fortune on them and just can't seem to resist buying more! Highlights have to include iShred, Bebot, Nlog, Vocoder SV-5, Digidrummer, Noise.io, Beatmaker and Cowbell Plus. Not shown is the Macally iVoicePro 3 microphone/speaker/stereo line in.

3. Nintendo DS Lite. So much "homebrew" for this it makes your eyes water. I absolutely love GlitchDS, CellDS, ProteinDS and soon Korg DS-10 will grace its cartridge slot once I find it at a sensible price.

4. Boss Micro BR. Most recent addition, used for analog audio recording and occasional rhythm duties. Adds stunning effects to the audio (live and recorded) and the microphone is pretty decent for vocals. I have an external mic I can plug in but I haven't really bothered yet. Also gets a lot of work acting as my guitar effects box. Cool feature is the ability to plug it in to the Loox (see below) via USB and its recordings become available for copying into MeTeoR.

5. Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox 720. Getting on a bit now, but a lovely VGA Pocket PC. Sadly doesn't run WM5/6 so some newer apps are unavailable to it and battery drain would mean a loss of data. However it does have USB host and, as you can see, gets connected to the Micro BR for digital transfers of recordings! Musically it is exclusively used to run the fabulous MeTeoR these days for multi-tracking, although it also runs VNC for controlling my server and occasional full-screen web browsing using VNC. Oh, also does a brilliant job of playing game emulators courtesy of the fast processor and ability to plug in a USB game pad!

6. ETEN Glofiish X500. My current "phone" that also happens to be running Griff (awesome, despite its age and lack of updates!), Pocket StompBox and a few other older bits of Pocket PC sound software (e.g. Clanger!). Used to be my main pocket device for web/email/PDA stuff until the iPod Touch took over. Have a bunch of trackers on there, but I've never fully regained my interest in trackers since the Amiga days when that was pretty much all we had. Some of the newer apps are interesting but the interface feels so clunky and unresponsive now compared to the iPod, and pricing seems unrealistic. I suspect in a couple of years, now turn-by-turn GPS is available, I will replace both with a version of the iPhone. It hurts to type that.

In search of the perfect App keyboard

Mobile music is cool, but you've got to be able to get what's in your head into your device. Whilst there are loads of "funky" new paradigms courtesy of the iPhone's touch screen and accelerometer, in the main we're looking at piano keys or guitar strings. For this post I'm looking at piano keys. 

When the iPhone was announced I was excited at the prospect of multi-touch for one reason - chords! Although I love my Glofiish's pinpoint stylus accuracy, and my DS's ability to detect touch pressure, neither of them allowed me to play chords on a virtual keyboard. 

There have been many different approaches to the virtual keyboard on the iPhone, so I'm going to go through some of the good practice and pitfalls I have encountered along the way, in search of the best possible solution (that no-one has as-yet implemented).

1. Noise.IO uses a split row design, giving good width keys and access to two octaves. Key length obviously suffers here, but that's unavoidable. Changing octaves requires a trip to a separate screen, which isn't ideal but it does work. There's also a very handy modulation slider area to the side, along with a volume slider. Horizontal slides along the keyboard trigger the next note (I think that is technically called a Glissando). Initial vertical key position affects (I think) "key pressure" and can be modified afterwards with a vertical slide. Overall an excellent solution. In addition Noise.IO

 makes good use of the accelerometer for configurable modulation of just about every parameter when you move the device around.

2. Nlog Synth has a single row of keys with configurable key width, giving from 13 to 22 keys on screen (not sure why they stopped short of two full octaves). Configuration is a key (ho ho) requirement I think - everyone plays in a different way, and I personally have broad fingers. Nlog could easily fit in a second row of keys though, for a performance mode, giving access to 44 keys. To get around the octave issue, Nlog allows you to smoothly slide the keyboard left/right as you play it. Very impressive, but means you cannot slide up and down the keys, as the keyboard moves with you. So close to

 perfection! Nlog also has vertical key position mapped to key pressure, and allows a vertical key slide to control a configurable modulation. This is incredibly expressive. It is "sort of" polyphonic when modulating, but triggering a new key seems to reset the modulation for the held key.

3. Vocoder SV5 takes an interesting approach to the octave issue. In normal play, a horiontal

 slide triggers the next note. If you hold down the octave button though, the horizontal slides scroll the keyboard. Very useful. Also well worth a note is the sprung pitch wheel. I love it! There are other UI innovations I've writen about in a previous post, such as "sticky" rotary controllers. No controllable modulation is a minus, but there is a full-screen dual row keyboard option, which has some useful spare space for, for example, a future mod wheel.

4. iSyn offers a highly playable full-screen

 two-octave keyboard with switchable Legato and multiple scales. Changing octaves is via octave up/down buttons, which I'm not a big fan of. Vertical key modulation works brilliantly although it's tied to the same modulation as the Y axis of the XY pad - I'd like to see an independent option. Interestingly, sliding up and down the keyboard doesn't retrigger the next note, it slides the pitch smoothly even across the width of a single key, which is great for leads and "finger wobble" pitch modulation, and reminds me a lot of Bebot. It would be good to have this optional like it is in Bebot (when set to "Snap" mode). The current note display is a nice touch. By default the keyboard has "virtual wide" black keys. This means you cannot trigger a white key from the black key area (scale dependent), which I personally like.  Wavesynth also has this, but it is optional.

5. Speaking of Wavesynth then, it also features a lovely big sprung pitch bend wheel and a whole heap of configurable options (along with the black key mentioned above): pitch bend range, single or double layer keyboard, "shake to modulate" (which I find a little gimmicky), configurable portamento and switchable mono mode. The only missing option here is configurable retrigger/don't retrigger envelope (Legato). A great little synth but a bit overlooked (presumably because it is touted as a general midi rompler).

6. Megasynth. Keyboard is very basic, and lacks a lot of the features mentioned in this article, but it is worth noting the slidable octave display that lets you see and choose your keyboard range.

7. Pianofly. A new App, and a great sound engine, but what I really want to mention here is the keyboard. Switchable to full screen is nothing new, but I absolutely love the novel approach to the octave issue. Playing the keyboard is similar to Nlog - silky smooth scrolling left/right - but you can "hold" the keyboard still with another finger (either on a key or on the black scroll area at the bottom) and now your other fingers are free to slide up and down the notes. Genius.

8. Grand Pro. An honourable mention to this app for offering optional 1, 2 and 4 octaves on screen at once! Also has optional note names on each key, which is a useful feature.

Ok, there's loads of apps I've not mentioned, and I may have made a few mistakes for which I

 apologise but hope you can correct me.

So what would make the perfect keyboard for me then? Hmm let's see:

• Configurable key width
• Configurable split/single key row
• Pianofly's scroll lock
• Optional note names (Grand Pro and makes a brief appearance on Wavesynth)
• Initial vertical position configurable to a parameter (would generally choose pressure, but options are nice)
• Vertical slide configurable to a parameter (Nlog)
• On screen pitch wheel with configurable range (Wavesynth and Vocoder SV5)
• On screen mod area (Noise.IO)
• Optional "virtual wide" black keys (Wavesynth and iSyn)
• Optional smooth slide portamento (I don't know what to call this as it doesn't exist on a real keyboard, but on a fretless bass or trombone! - iSyn and Bebot). It is different to normal keyboard portamento as it is controlled by the player, not a predefined time.
• Configurable Legato (iSyn)
• Configurable scales (iSyn and Bebot!)
• Optional mono/poly (Wavesynth)
• Configurable portamento (Wavesynth)

Maybe I'll mock-up a few screenshots of a keyboard and settings screens?

Leave me breathless!

For many years I've looked longingly at breath controllers, such as the WX range from Yamaha, and dreamed of owning one. I don't truly know why, because I can't play any instruments with any degree of competence, but just the very idea of getting "more of me" into a sound is quite exciting to me. When Yamaha released a software version of their VL physical modelling (Sondius XG or something - SYXG100 rings a bell) the idea became even more appealing. I wondered how I could somehow fudge together something with a microphone and volume analysis to control the midi breath parameter.

Then along came the Nintendo DS, with a built-in mic. Some apps appeared (e.g. toys in Warioware) that used the strength of your blowing to increase the volume of a sound or similar. Thoughts of virtual harmonicas and flutes filled my head, but as yet remain less than fulfilled.

Next up was the iPod Touch/iPhone. Now developers really became interested in using our breath for things other than breathing! Initial gimmicks (blow out the candle, steam up a window) gave way to basic sample-based instruments with volume controlled by blowing into the mic. Bugle, Trumpet and Ocarina spring to mind, the latter being phenomenally successful (and rightly so - it sounds fantastic and is fun to play).  

Then earlier this week an app I had glossed over, due to its description not sounding appealing, leapt back onto my radar courtesy of a video of Jordan Rudess demonstrating it. The app, called Wivi Band uses some form of physical modelling to recreate wind instruments with an amazing sense of realism for a device as simple as the iPhone. The microphone uses your breath to modulate the sound, but I'm not 100% sure what it is doing. It certainly modifies the volume, and may modify other parameters (attack?) but the result is pretty cool as you'll hear from Jordan's demo video. So two boxes (physical modelling, breath control) ticked meant a quick trip to the app store for me, and a few hours of very chilled out flute and clarinet playing!

Hopefully other devs will add breath control to their apps, in addition to using the mic to, you know, record or capture sounds! Breath control into Noise.io could be quite spectacular.

Vocoder SV-5

I'm am extremely excited about this. Over at the App Store you can now pick up Vocoder SV-5 for the iPhone and iPod. I did, and it's great. Really, really, great. Even better, it works just fine with my external microphone on a 1st gen iPod Touch. Yipee!!!

I am a robot.

It's also a fabulous-sounding virtual analog synth with some genuinely innovative interface ideas. Examples are the virtual knobs, which normally cause usability problems for touch-screen apps as you can't see what you are doing. Also if a knob is near the edge of the screen you can't rotate it accurately. In SV-5, however, you can "toggle" a knob to make it "hold" and then any movement on the interface just affects that knob's values. Very clever and very useful. Not perfect (you can only move 1 knob at a time), but then what is? Also the pitch bend wheel is fairly unique, along with a keyboard that can be scrolled sideways if you hold down a button - this latter option allows for sliding your finger across the keys when playing, but still quickly getting up or down a few octaves. Lastly, a quick stab of a (rather hidden) logo takes you into a full screen double keyboard. All very well thought out. Definitely a "keeper".

I'm so happy with all the music apps coming out for my iPod. We really are spoilt for choice, or flat broke if we can't resist buying everything that looks good! Wonder who will be first with a modular synth, complete with virtual patch cables? A Yamaha FM synth emulator (TX81z please!). Virtual VL1? A Minimoog? A fully featured stompbox unit (think iShred with external input)?

What is needed, however, is a central storage location for these apps to write to and read from, so patches, samples, recordings etc. can by synced with other devices and shared between apps.

Anyway, I'm off to play!

App limit - grrr.

So my iPod touch is my current favourite music toy. I've got dozens of music and sound related apps on it, as well as a whole load of other apps (serious, work, toys, games, networking, communication etc.) In fact, in total I regularly use about 180 apps, which has been trimmed down from many more. 

Now many of you will know that on the iPod and iPhone you cannot normally organise your apps into folders, just a maximum of 129 (I think) 3rd party apps spread over 9 pages with 16 icons on each page. Talk about unfriendly! Other apps are still there, you just can't launch them until you delete another one.

Bring on Categories. This is an app you an only install if you jailbreak your device. Once installed you can put apps into folders and in fact I managed to get down to just one screen on my iPod, with 6 folders full of nicely organised apps. Categories and SBSettings were the two main reasons I kept my iPod jailbroken.

So now I've updated to OS 2.2.1 and decided not to jailbreak it, as I don't like going through the steps and somehow being made to feel like a criminal by Apple for daring to want to organise my apps. This means I've got to do without over 50 of my apps, just because Apple made an absolute pig's ear of app icon organisation. I'm sure Apple advocates regularly mocked Bill Gates for the "640k" limit of early DOS...

Excited. Microphone and line-in for my iPOD Touch

Apparently it is easier to get sound into my 1st gen iPOD Touch than I realised. I came across this forum on the iPod touch fans website. So now I've got to get my hands on one of these microphones from Macally. It isn't exactly beautiful, but it will hopefully open up my iPOD Touch to more music apps from the Appstore such as multi-track recorders and sound effects programs like RJDJ.