Way Out Ware SynthX At NAMM 2011

Jim Heinz of Way Out Ware was at the 2011 NAMM Show and HarmonyCentral caught this quick demo of his new iPad app, SynthX.

Way Out Ware is the company behind several respected software synths, including TimewARP 2600 and KikAXXE, and Heinz has also helped Roger Linn with his AdrenaLinn app.

SynthX is currently in beta, but coming soon.

Check it out and let us know what you think of SynthX!

33 thoughts on “Way Out Ware SynthX At NAMM 2011”

  1. Well. Er.

    The guy is waxing poetic about the awesomeness, but I'll betcha dollars to donuts that MIDI implementation ends up as half-assed as 99.9% of all the other synth and drum machine apps.

    Which is to say that MIDI receive will be there, MIDI out will probably not, and clock sync is a term that is utterly lost on these developers and won't be there, lol.

    Which is to say it's one more in a long line of apps that promises to change the world, but remains simple something to fiddle with whilst taking a dump.

    Next?

  3. At the :26 mark. He says "This iPad app will CHANGE THE WORLD".

    Anyhoo….

    I'm going to keep harping on this issue until at least ONE more app besides Molten actually implements clock sync, lol.

  4. As you well should. I agree the situation is getting kind of ridiculous regarding clock sync. It's hardly a difficult thing to implement a 27 year old standard. In most cases it's the developer's touting how professional their apps are, and in many cases it's true as far as sound quality but not MIDI functions.

  5. How do you propose implementing polyphonic legato with MIDI? That is one thing I have been trying to work out… I guess it will have to send each touch on a separate MIDI channel… Other than that, midi send should work pretty well. MIDI Clock is a must.

  6. This video, as many others, highlights one problem with the iPad regarding demonstrating music software, which is that even in really quiet surroundings, the internal speaker is almost inaudible. I noticed it on my friend's one. While demonstrating something in public looks cool, what's the point if you can't hear it? C'mon guys, bite the bullet and do your demos with a decent amplifier or mixed sound to the camera.

    Meanwhile, I'm impressed that Mr Zebra can deduce what won't be implemented from this short demo. You're probably right, Mr Zebra, but you're sounding like a tabloid journalist predicting the end of the world when the Large Hadron Collider is switched on.

  7. Exactly. I mean how the f#%k can Jordan Rudess shill his MorphWiz with a straight face, when the friggin thing contains NO midi functionality at all, lol.

    How can KORG of all people have such an amazing app as the iMS-20, and only offer MIDI receive? How can they NOT offer any MIDI functionality for the iElectribe?

    Oh my.

  8. The guys at GearWire had a little better camera setup than Craig was carrying with him when he shot this video. The took a separate feed from the iPad that shows a bit better what it sounds like.

    Check it out at: http://www.gearwire.com/way-out-ware-synthx-ipad-…

    As for MIDI support… Apple only released the spec in November… We are planning full support including send/receive and MTC, but it is somewhat unreasonable to expect full support from all apps when the specification has only been available for such a short time.

    2. I don't think it's unreasonable at all. At least YOU seem to recognize the importance of MIDI implementation, whereas other developers I've spoken with are completely clueless as to why I was even asking.

      I just don't get it. Look, only you know your work schedule and what you can and cannot do in any given timeframe. But I've been told by several developers that adding FULL MIDI functionality to their apps wouldn't be that difficult or time consuming at all, lol. That, compared to the other coding challenges they faced, it was a drop in the bucket.

      They. Simply. Don't. Do. It.

      You guys are out there creating apps that you want to be taken seriously. I could go on and on, but I'll make a simple statement to sum this all up:

      If this were a piece of hardware you were introducing, there would be absolutely NO QUESTION that it would have full MIDI capability. Why should this be any different?

  9. I hope to include CoreMIDI support upon release. It is in our plans to have SynthX support MIDI in a comprehensive manner. Some features will take more work, so we will include some of these features in updates.

  10. I'm not sounding like a tabloid journalist.

    I'm sounding like someone that has watched the release of instruments apps very closely since the launch of the iPad, and…as of this hour….only ONE app offers MIDI sync.

    That's not prediction. That's precedent.

  11. And here I am again…actually trying to convince yet another app developer to add full MIDI functionality and explain why it's important to those of us who would like to use them in serious studio and performance situations.

    Jesus Wept.

  13. Hi loopstationzebra,

    I just thought I would update you on the MIDI aspects of SynthX. I have added a pretty complete implementation for midi receive including note messages with velocity, aftertouch, including poly aftertouch, patch change and I am still working on MIDI Beat clock and pre-mapped controllers,. It also is capable of sending MIDI performances. It currently sends note messages and velocity. I should have aftertouch sending shortly as well. Check out the new video of Jordan Rudess giving it a workout at MacWorld Expo.
    <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6dT9kPp4I&quot; frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

  14. Hi loopstationzebra,

    I just thought I would update you on the MIDI aspects of SynthX. I have added a pretty complete implementation for midi receive including note messages with velocity, aftertouch, including poly aftertouch, patch change and I am still working on MIDI Beat clock and pre-mapped controllers,. It also is capable of sending MIDI performances. It currently sends note messages and velocity. I should have aftertouch sending shortly as well. Check out the new video of Jordan Rudess giving it a workout at MacWorld Expo.
    <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6dT9kPp4I&quot; frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

  15. Hi loopstationzebra,

    I just thought I would update you on the MIDI aspects of SynthX. I have added a pretty complete implementation for midi receive including note messages with velocity, aftertouch, including poly aftertouch, patch change and I am still working on MIDI Beat clock and pre-mapped controllers,. It also is capable of sending MIDI performances. It currently sends note messages and velocity. I should have aftertouch sending shortly as well. Check out the new video of Jordan Rudess giving it a workout at MacWorld Expo.
    <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6dT9kPp4I&quot; frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

  16. Hi loopstationzebra,

    I just thought I would update you on the MIDI aspects of SynthX. I have added a pretty complete implementation for midi receive including note messages with velocity, aftertouch, including poly aftertouch, patch change and I am still working on MIDI Beat clock and pre-mapped controllers,. It also is capable of sending MIDI performances. It currently sends note messages and velocity. I should have aftertouch sending shortly as well. Check out the new video of Jordan Rudess giving it a workout at MacWorld Expo.
    <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6dT9kPp4I&quot; frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

  17. Hi loopstationzebra,

    I just thought I would update you on the MIDI aspects of SynthX. I have added a pretty complete implementation for midi receive including note messages with velocity, aftertouch, including poly aftertouch, patch change and I am still working on MIDI Beat clock and pre-mapped controllers,. It also is capable of sending MIDI performances. It currently sends note messages and velocity. I should have aftertouch sending shortly as well. Check out the new video of Jordan Rudess giving it a workout at MacWorld Expo.
    <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6dT9kPp4I&quot; frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

  18. Hi loopstationzebra,

    I just thought I would update you on the MIDI aspects of SynthX. I have added a pretty complete implementation for midi receive including note messages with velocity, aftertouch, including poly aftertouch, patch change and I am still working on MIDI Beat clock and pre-mapped controllers,. It also is capable of sending MIDI performances. It currently sends note messages and velocity. I should have aftertouch sending shortly as well. Check out the new video of Jordan Rudess giving it a workout at MacWorld Expo.
    <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RE6dT9kPp4I&quot; frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

  19. Hi synthhead, I just water to let you know that I have submitted SynthX to Apple, and it supports CoreMIDI in a pretty thorough way. It even syncs LFOs with MIDI beat clock.

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