Retronyms has announced updates to Tabletop, its virtual studio for iOS.
The updates include:
- Auto-routing – Drop a device on the table, and you’re good to go!
- Improved gestures – Swipe easily between devices
- New iPad – Retina display support!
Availability of the update is to be announced.
Tabletop features include:
- 27 unique devices
- Over 500 sounds (multisample instruments, loops, phrases)
- Record sequences, arrange into songs
- Adjustable quantization (pre- and post-record)
- Recordable parameter automation
- Overdub and replace record modes
- Trigger sequences and patterns live
- Multitouch instruments and devices
- Sampling (internal mic, line in)
- Adjustable tempo with optional swing
- Import your own sound library, save presets
- Support for imported .mid phrases
- Insert and send/return (master) effects
- Undo history
- 44Khz, studio-quality audio
- Share recordings directly to SoundCloud
- Sync 2 iPads running Tabletop or other apps with WIST
- Import sounds from dozens of apps with AudioPaste
This software is garbage and is little more than a ploy to get people to buy outrageously overpriced modules via in-app purchase.
Certainly, there are competing apps that offer equivalent functionality without IAP. That does not make this app garbage.
I don’t think Tabletop is “garbage” either. It seems to do what it does, well. But, I hate the nickle-and-diming in-app purchases scheme. Rhythm Studio is probably the closes thing in paradigm; quite affordable, sounds great and is complete.
Rhythm Studio is nice. I also like Xenon. And of course there are the usual suspects like NanoStudio and GarageBand. And I have also had nice results from the oft-maligned SynthStation and ReBirth.
But I just haven’t gotten into Tabletop because of its annoying business model – it just feels stingy that they don’t give you enough to start with and instead try to upsell you from the get-go.
I have really enjoyed the modular format of Tabletop and the fact that it can be extended with the additional modules.
Another upside to the system Retronyms has created, the app continues to be developed rather than sitting for months or years, abandoned.
Good point. What happened to half the apps introduced two years ago? Nothing!
It’s annoying to purchase what seems like a great app (noise.io pro I’m looking at you) only to have it broken forever by an OS update (iOS 5) that you need to fix problems with other apps, not to mention critical security vulnerabilities in the platform!
On the other hand, the same thing happens regularly with desktop PCs, so it’s not exactly a new problem. I wish eMagic/Apple hadn’t discontinued support for SoundDiver, for example…
Perhaps I should ask Apple for a refund on all of the apps that their iOS updates break…. 😉
i actually enjoy this program look forward to the update! it is what it is and is still cheap for what you pay. If i pay thousands i expect thousands. With this i turn of the lights put on my headphones
travel through space and can still afford a coffee the next day!
compared to bm2, nanostudio, or garageband this is a blind alley. hardly ever start it.
i dont dig the interface and find the inapp purchases to be a scam in this case.
happy to support good apps – not this one, sorry.
I would be ok with in app purchases if they weren’t for every little thing. I knew I would never buy this product when “low pass filter” was among the list of things you need to extra for.