Bit Shape has released an update to TC-11, it’s unique software synthesizer for the iPad.
Here’s what’s new in TC-11 1.4:
New Features:
- new effect: phaser
- new effect: reverb
- 25 new controllers, including:
- distance to point starting position
- distance to group center
- angle to group center
- rotation around group center
- average distances to touches, center, group center
- random values when touches began / ended / moved
- 4 new color sets
- downsampler, waveshaper, and phaser can be used together
- new ‘General’ settings tab
- order patches by date or name
Improvements:
- optimized LFO module
- navigation bar hides with performance touch
- colors show outline display style when selected
- rotation controllers now have sensitivity adjustment
- rotation speed controllers sensitivity improved
Bug Fixes:
- crash with out of range sequencer values fixed
- fixed French translation bug
- rotation drawing oddities fixed
TC-11 is $29.99 in the App Store. If you’ve used TC-11, let us know what you think of it!
Sure looks cool but I doubt it’s worth $30
We are kind of spoiled by some great apps that are in the $1-10 range. The iPad’s big user base was supposed to help knock down prices of such things. Still, $30 is not entirely unreasonable, especially if it translates into a quickly evolving and well-refined product. But that isn’t always the case.
Sometimes we see a leap forward in terms of the ways that sound is generated. For me, the most musically interesting and useful technology was physical modelling– which makes “real-like” sounds that feel expressive and non-synthetic. But I digress.
In this case, it seems that the developer is trying to capitalize on what makes the iPad unique– i.e., all the components for realtime expression. At some point, perhaps we will see people who have mastered this type of control and make sounds that are on a par with actual acoustic instruments. For now, it seems we will be hearing “Yeeeooowwwwwllllyyy” and “Beeeyyow.” for the next decade or so.
why should we want to “make sounds that are on a par with actual acoustic instruments”? don’t you want to move forward and try to discover new sounds? come on 700 years of guitar strumming is long enough for me, thank you!
the combo of this app and the ability to be as expressive on a piece of glass as you can be on a guitar is amazing and we get to be present to see new modes of music and sound being born. maybe as exciting as someone coming up with the idea of smacking strings with a hammer connected to a keyboard…
It is cool, and very flexible. It can be a challenge getting exactly what you want from a patch. I’ve lost hours just tweaking.
If you are losing hours tweaking, you need to seek help.
Time flies when you’re having fun. 🙂
This app is real impressive. It’s a really deep program on par with even desktop synthesizers. Well worth the asking price.
This is a great synth, well worth $30. It exploits the iPad touch surface in an exceptional way. Really, I don’t think there are currently any other apps that allow the level of control over touch and movement that this does. I will say TC-11 is probably more appropriate for folks who are into “experimental” music. That being said, this has been about the only synth use (in my array of iOS apps) since buying it around the beginning of the year.
An added plus is that the developer is very committed to his work. This is the third or fourth substantive update this year!
Just wanted to comment how great I think this app is. I’d almost call it an interactive “instrument designer” rather than a synth. One of my faves because not only is it a flexible synth, but it also makes great use of the touch screen. I have much more fun recording my TC-11 performances than step-sequencing VSTs in my DAW’s piano-roll editor. Plus, it can go beyond a traditional MIDI keyboard interface in terms of expression.