Beatsurfing is a new app for the iPad that lets your draw your own MIDI controllers.
Beatsurfing lets you draw a 3-dimensional controller and use it in two different and complementary ways:
- You can tap it like you would with your regular MPC or any other beatmaking device; and
- You can ‘surf’ your fingers along routes, colliding with objects, triggering samples or effects.
According to the developers, Beatsurfing is “all about movement, and bringing back this intuitive way to make music’.
Beatsurfing can control any MIDI-enabled device (Software, Hardware, or selected iPad apps through Virtual MIDI). It features an intuitive in-app editing system and integrates with any existing Studio or Live setup.
Objects Behaviours can be set to link objects together and multiply the available commands on the surface of the iPad.
Here’s an intro video for Beatsurfing:
This second video demonstrates editing in Beatsurfing:
Beatsurfing is available now for US $11.99 in the App Store.
Looks great…but i wish there were more videos on to setup the whole thing.
I cant imgine the effort required to wire up each sounds and all the midi channels.
How does it all work together ?
Will wait for some user videos first…..
The iPad is such an amazing canvas. The tools and instruments it enables us to create is mind blowing. I’d say it transcends even what visionaries like Ted Nelson, Douglas Engelbart and other early members of the Hypermedia community were envisioning.
From The looks of it, it seems to use general midi as at least one of the methods of setup. I love my lemur, but it is a biotch to make really cool controllers with physics.
I got beatsurfing a week or so ago…in that time it has totally intergrated itself into my rig. The first few days were kind of rough learning how to set things up but it wasn’t too horrible. In fact, I found it easier and more intuitive than the Genome app. I use beatsurfing to control other apps, softsynths, au’s….it is great. Deep and powerfull.
So I’ve been using this since about three days after it launched. Once you start learning how it works you will love it. It can be intimidating to get into but the options are nearly limitless…in fact, running things on my Mac it is brilliant. Running iPad apps it does an amazing job and I found that the limitations are from the iPad hardware….if only I could run more than 4 or 5 apps without it glitching.
I give thanks to the developers. They realized people were having trouble with understanding functions so they have been anwwering questions on the site and working on a manual. The more I learn about this the more I find myself using it. I can see beatsurfing helping electronic musicians have a lot more freedom while performing. My main project involves a lot of hard synths and minimal programming but I can see myself getting on stage at some point with nothing but this and a macbook and playing a set full of my usual improvised explorations.
Buy it. Mess with it. If you have questions ask the developers on their forums. Love it.