Tim Webb takes a look at iDensity for iPad, a new granular synthesizer for iPad, and offers his thought on the app.
iDensity is designed for real-time asynchronous sound file granulation and can generate a wide range of effects:
- time/pitch shifting
- time/pitch jittering
- intricate textures
- grain fountain/pulverizer
- recording and manipulation of buffers
- complex scrub pad exploration
- dynamic envelope shape
See our intro post on iDensity for details. iDensity is available now in the App Store for $8.99.
Via Discchord.com
Seems like it’s just like Curtis
Curtis uses a single grain, i Densitiy uses multiple grains, a so called ‘grain cloud’, where jitter can be applied to grain parameters as density, length, position and pitch. This is great for making wonderful textures out of alomost any sound you feed it. If you care and if you know how to set the parameters… Tim Webb obviously hasn’t and does not really have a clue what this app is good for. Anyway, expect it to sound much better when used by somebody else.
I don’t think that’s entirely fair, Travelizer. I thought I got a fairly interesting texture out of it towards the end there. When I mention multiple layers of resampling, and start playing around with my hell wind/scream soundscape. I especially liked how the Latinish backmasking was coming through.
I will admit to some ignorance; my only previous experience with grain clouds are a few experimental apps and Reaktor ensembles. In my limited experience I get bored with my own experiments if I lose tonality, and then either scrap it or try to regain some playability. My chief complaint here was that it essentially begins and ends without a pitch control that can be played musically, which is why I added the caveat that this would be, “great for drones!”
I am very open to criticism! I want to get better at these reviews! I am still very new to this and want to be fair. If you have any suggestions or specific points on my failings, please let me know. I love to explore all of the various tools and toys that make music making possible, and have a keen passion to share that with others. But I know that sometimes my enthusiasm does not make up for my amateurish nature.