PPG WaveGenerator Update Now Available

Wolfgang Palm has updated PPG WaveGenerator – his ‘next generation synthesizer’ for the iPad.

Here’s what’s new:

  • Audio recorder, up to 10 min. at 44.1 stereo
  • Audio Copy to the pasteboard
  • File Sharing via iTunes
  • Keyboard octave shifting
  • More routing possibilitys – enabling ringmod and more
  • Updated factory presets
  • Bug fixes

PPG WaveGenerator is available now for $19.99.

If you’ve used the new version, let us now what you think of it!

64 thoughts on “PPG WaveGenerator Update Now Available”

  3. New version crashes for me as well, but if I kill off all other MIDI apps, it will open and run. :-/. I hope they get virtual MIDI sorted out shortly (and background audio going too).

  4. No problems with the new version for me so far.

    I do wish those options to the right of the keyboard could be tucked away in a pop out menu so we have all that space for keys and then the option to bring those up.

    Anyway, appreciate the quick update!

    1. It’s the last item in the keyboard mode menu (where you select legato, poly, etc)
      Select it, then sweep the keyboard left or right until you get to the proper octave, then switch back to your original keyboard mode.
      Could have been simpler šŸ˜‰

    1. Recording works, but there isn’t any file management for the recordings. I’m still waiting to hear if all the recordings remain in the app or if they get replaced each time you record. If anyone has used iTunes to transfer recordings could you let me know. Another problem I find is that the quality setting is reset to lowest quality every time you close the app, so you have to keep resetting to 44.1 to audio copy successfully. I wish we could get more responses from their Facebook page.
      It sounds like they are also restricting some users from their Facebook page too, so they can’t even ask for help.

  7. My update crashes easily too. There is no virtual MIDI and the keyboard isn’t very easy to play.
    There are actually quite a lot of bugs and missing features in this version. I listed the bugs I found on the PPG Facebook page, but have now discovered they erased my comments and all the comments I’ve made in the past. Most of my comments were very positive, so I’m a bit shocked that their marketing team have done this. Now I can’t even comment on issues or get feedback for problems.
    So far I still think Animoog offers greater sounds and has greater modulation posibilities anyway.

    1. Okay well I won’t be getting the PPG then. Interference with customer feedback is basically a death knell for an internet based company in my view. It is dishonest. At $20 people have a right to expect that their feedback will not be censored. This is most especially true in the case of a bug list.

        1. They have no customer support, just a bug reporting section that even tells you that you won’t get a reply. It has just been power marketing, then they go quiet when things go wrong. I’m looking forward to the new Waldorf synth which has the assurance of quality and support because Nlog has a long proven track record in the iOS world.

          1. It’s not just Nlog & Animoog that are more impressive. There’s Magellan, Addictive, Sunrizer, … Well let’s just say there are a lot of high quality synth apps out there with just as impressive results and they are solid, with customer support!

          2. I’m sorry you feel that way John, although I’m at a loss as to how you arrive at your conclusions.

            Less than a week after launch Wolfgang created new version in response to the first user feedback for features and bug fixes. This is not a huge operation just Wolfgang on his own. He is now on vacation and will address all the new stuff that has been posted on our page and via feedback since version 1.0.1

            Secondly there is a support page which is being updated on a regular basis as well as a PDF manual and videos created by Wolfgang.

            The form actually says ‘we cannot reply’ as we can’t promise to reply to every email. If that is being read by you as ‘we won’t reply’ then we will get that phrase changed to remove any ambiguity, or misinterpretation of Wolfgang’s intentions.

            The form is not there as an alternative to open discussion, that all continues, as you can see on our page.

      2. Hi Max
        The PPG page, both on the wall and in messages, is covered with user feedback with bug reports and requests for updates and fixes. It would be pointless for us to remove them (even if we wanted to, which we don’t) the internet allows plenty of outlets for people to feedback and express their grievances elsewhere and simply deleting a post because we don’t like it is like sitting on the beach and telling the sea to stay back.

        We have also created a feedback form for people to post bug reports so we can collate them and see if there are any common issues or causes. http://www.facebook.com/PPGWavegenerator?ref=stream&sk=app_141149985924076

        We continue to encourage users to feedback anything they think is helpful in making the app better, the community is a vibrant one, we continue to do all we can to cherish and nurture it.

        1. I also noticed a detailed bug report post had been removed because I read it on the day. I went back and there does seem to to evidence of another person replying to a post that isn’t there. It’s in the new update post on the PPG site, I think there is a reference to Mick but no posts by him, have a look for yourself.

          1. A correction. It’s Nick not Mick that has gone missing, and the reply is 11 comments down the list. There is a reply to Scott & Nick. I can only see Scott’s post though.
            Can you explain that to us Russ?

    2. It sounds like they’ve restricted your access to their Facebook page Nick.
      Don’t they realise that you can’t do that to their customers!

  8. I have to say that overall I have been really underwhelmed with this app. The structure and layout is hideous amd not user friendly at all. Visually it’s nasty looking. The controls are finicky and not intuitive. The whole keyboard octave thing was one of my first indications that something was off. The fact that you were stuck in one set area! Editing anything in the app is a practice in frustration. I let my anticipation get the better of me and bought it as soon as it was launched instead of waiting to see reviews and now I am out $20. This app isn’t worth $1.99.

    Compared to Animoog, Sunrizer, Addictive, Magellan, Cassini, Crystal xt, Grain Science, etc etc this app is nothing special at all. It has a few new ideas but the control scheme and playablity kill it for me. This has been one of the biggest disappointments for me lately…especially since it was so expensive for an app.

  9. People who complain about the app not being user friendly, just don’t know their stuff. It’s fairly easy to learn if you understand synths. I’ve pretty much ditched every synth app for ppg. It’s got way more sonic potential than animoog. This thing is exceptional, 20 bucks is well worth it.

      1. I agree, the design is terrible. I think people are making this particular additive wave table synth into something far greater than it really is. There are other apps that let you create your own waves, and animoog offers incredible possibilities for evolving waves, you can even now create your own timbres. I still think the combinations that Addictive synth offers are incredible, and that can use 6 oscillators. The marketing team have conned a lot of people. This might eventually become one of the great synths, but I have more faith in the new Waldorf synth that’s coming. PPG need to re think their aggressive marketing approach, and deleting their users comments is hard to forgive, I actually noticed the comments disappear too. You can see a response from another user explaining something to Nick, but Nick’s initial post isn’t there. Have a look at the update post on their site, the one with 25 comments. I think they have some explaining to do!

  10. Having known Wolfgang since the early 1980’s and having worked with PPG’s since then on many hit records, I was looking forward to this app arriving. I have to say that the response to any reported issues that have arisen have been sorted out very quickly, and actually the delay in the release of 1.01 was down to Apple and not Wolfgang (he was right on the ball with the fixes).

    To my knowledge he had a vision of bringing wavetable synthesis to the iPad so went out and got an iMac and iPad and did it himself, he is not a large corporation and doesnā€™t have a marketing company either, he just has a friend helping him out with the marketing.?
    For $20 you have in your hands a synth that would of cost you thousands a while ago and as for comment censorship …. why?, people just go elsewhere to hurl abuse as this seems to be a sport now!
    Facebook mark stuff as spam all the time, even for legitimate users, so perhaps the person should be asked if he had been sending lots of unsolicited messages via Facebook, because that could cause this … and maybe we only know half the story!

    What you should be doing is looking at your iPad settings and making sure that it is not the cause of your problems.

    Give the guy a break, he has given you a synth like no other for $20

    1. He has given us a synth that is a jumbled mess amd charged us $20 for it. He is not some great benefactor. There are many many better synths for far less. He rode upon the fame of his name to charge a premium price for an app that a normal developer would have charged at most $5 for. I am chalking this up to my own stupid impulsivity. I should have wait and watched like I did with the Fairlight app. That’s right! This is just as bad, of not worse, than the fairlight app.

      1. You’ve bought a reasonably priced software synth that you don’t like.

        Say you don’t like it, but don’t suggest that Palm’s trying to rip you or anybody else off!

        Your biggest complaint seems to be that you don’t like the UI, which is something you can get a pretty good look at before you buy. Palm also provided multiple in-depth tutorial videos showing how the app works, before it was released. All developers should do that!

        He’s also quickly updating the app, which too few developers do.

        Your ineffectual ranting is making you weak. You would be wise to keep your comments to yourself until you learn how to complain effectively.

        You should consider offering more constructive feedback than “He rode upon the fame of his name to charge a premium price”. Explain what you don’t like about the UI or what you’d like to see Palm change. Then he, and the rest of us, would be more inclined to listen to you.

        1. You have to admit he did use his name to sell this app to us all. The weeks before it’s release we were shown a detailed history of his work. This app has a lot of things missing from it and I think we have the right to expect a lot from this app. This price for a synth app really requires it to be of a certain standard. There are great features but it has a long way to go before it matches the others. People do seem to get caught up with the latest lease, not to mention brand names, but eventually you realize that this is just another part of the puzzle, and in many ways it isn’t that unique at all, except for the missing features and bugs.

      2. I don’t think this app is all that special either. The design is possibly the worst I’ve come accross, and it isn’t very easy to get around. It should have started at a lower price and increased as it got more features. Some better presets would have helped and virtual midi is a necessity for an app with such a poor keyboard. Too much hype, not enough quaity for me.

    2. I think the timing of this guy getting blocked is the real issue here. Marketing departments should be more careful with their customers. This all seemed to happen at the same time that a separate bug reporting form was created. It seemed to me that they didn’t want people sharing their own issues on their page. I thought the process over the weekend of people bringing up bugs was very helpful, people were able to help each other with some issues. I’m sure Wolfgang will quickly fix these bugs, and hopefully add some more requested features, but it would also be good to get some feedback.
      For me, there was too much marketing hype without delivering a superior synth.
      It is unique, but so are many of the other great virtual synths, this certainly doesn’t replace the rest.

  11. I agree with Nigel, I would like to know the other side of this story, why did this Nick guy get spam blocked on the Facebook page – they don’t do it for nothing – if anyone has questions to answer it is the one who got a spam block – and if you look his comments are there now after the spam filter was removed so how could they have been deleted?

    1. Why would they need to put a spam block up, I haven’t seen any advertising material appear on their site. The timing of the comment disappearing is the disturbing part. I don’t know what to think of the spam blocking answer, it still seems like controlling comments to me.
      I do like the PPG, even with the bugs, but marketing does sometimes go too far.
      I don’t think any of this has been aimed at Wolfgang, just at those who are running the show!

  12. As Nigel pointed out, PPG is not a big corporation trying to get rich off the whole iPad app market. Itā€™s a single entity (who happens to be an incredibly cool guy) that decided to make available a vision as he did many years ago with the original PPG system. This time he did it with the mindset of making it more accessible to the average audience and for the fun of it. I can tell you first hand that Wolfgang is on top of his game and is listening to feedback and incorporating fixes. (At the moment he is on a well deserved Holliday) Youā€™ve got to remember heā€™s one guy and doesnā€™t have a staffed QA lab running a battery of tests on every build. Many of us original users of the PPG Wave and Waveterm spent thousands of dollars on our rigs and spent countless hours delving in to learn our complex systems inside and out. So itā€™s kinda ridiculous to sit back and see everyone get worked up in a lather over a $20 app. Much like any tool of technology, learn its strengths and weaknesses and use it accordingly. No tool does everything everybody wants. Especially a tool for 20 bucks! šŸ™‚

  13. On the internet, we always end up with people complaining. I hope wolfgang is not bothered by this. The app is awesome. Regular updating and bugfixes should they arise will keep this ahead of most other synth apps if not all.
    Not for everyone? What is? For me it is very valuable.

    1. I think it’s important for people to be able to express their point of view. I’m sure Wolfgang has done all right with his sales and I’m sure he doesn’t need looking after. There was a huge build up to this app and people have the right to expect a lot in return. We don’t actually get to own these apps, they are really just rented from Apple. If you change your itunes account or move to another country, you loose all your apps. There is a big difference between hardware and apps in this respect, that’s why the hardware costs so much, it’s actually yours for life!

  14. It feels to me like I was blocked for no reason. I waited all weekend, like everyone else, for a response to some of the issues that occurred with the update. We had been given information every day until this point and then suddenly when there were problems we got no response. My posts disappeared at exactly the same time the first official response was posted. After waiting all weekend, I did find this strange. I wrote a message explaining this using the new bug report system because I was blocked from commenting, but I didn’t get any response.
    I am now able to comment and my posts have re-appeared, but it’s a shame it took so much to fix this.
    I have a lot of respect for Wolfgang and since he is on holiday, it seems like it was a marketing decision. I noticed Russ refers to Wolfgang as a new client on his own Facebook page, so I’m not sure if I believe it is just a friend helping out another friend.
    There are issues with this synth at the moment, but I’m sure things will improve in the future.
    Thank you to those who helped get this issue sorted out, it’s not a nice feeling to get blocked from a site. If the bug reports were looked at this would have been fixed earlier.

    1. I would always believe another user over a marketing guy. I know I would have taken it hard if I was blocked from a site while waiting for a response. I agree that the timing of it was very suspicious and I found the sudden bug reporting form a bit strange at the time. I was waiting for some answers too and all the bugs seemed to have been reported. I still don’t understand why this was the first weekend they took off, it really was an every day thing before the latest release. This Russ guy should do his job and be there for the customers, I felt abandoned, I can’t imagine being blocked as well.

    1. It’s the marketing that I think people have issue with. I think people are overjoyed that Wolfgang has come to iOS, I certainly am. There was a very big build up to this release, so it’s understandable that it may have not reached it’s expectations. I’m looking forward to the future of the PPG, but it is a bit frustrating at the moment.

  17. It’s not 1984 anymore and this isn’t hardware. We’ve had many quality synths for the iPad already, so the level of expectation is going to be very high. I do think this will become the best, but these things won’t get better without some critisism. I have great respect for Wolfgang and I hope he creates more great stuff for us.

    1. I think this is a great synth and we are lucky to have it on the iPad. I also found the lack of replies after this update a bit strange. We did have constant contact until this point. I saw the first PPG response and did notice a post disappear around the same time. I was hoping some of those posts would get answered, we were all waiting I’m sure. I’ve lost some faith in this product when I saw a post disappear, and I don’t trust the PR guy either, we need to be able to voice our issues.

  18. I’m actually one of the disappointed ones. I don’t like it’s design and the missing features make this just a toy. I do think this will be good one day, but I would have preferred to wait until it was better. $20 may not be much money for some, but to me it is money I could have spent on one of the other apps I’ve been wanting. It sounds like more updates are promised but the developers gone on holiday.

  19. Is it just me or does it seem like there are two or three fanboys downvoting all the criticism?

    I made valid obseervations about the playability, control, and editing capabilities of the app and have a ton of dislikes because I am not frothing over how great this pos is. Another person comments on the obvious lack of customer support and is basically called a liar. We point out that the only reason this app fetchs the price it does is because of the name attached to it and the fanboys swarm. I don’t care if it was Wolfgang or Bob Moog or whoever that made this app because the design is flawed! It is overpriced! And it really brings very little to a synth app market that has many great options that work and sound better at lower price points.

    Awaiting the huge influx of dislikes.

  20. I have been looking at all the comments and they all seem to stem from Nick, so the question I would like to ask Nick is ā€œif you were only sending bug reportsā€ then why would you be the only person ā€œblockedā€ it seems to me that everyone elseā€™s comments have remained negative or not and some of them were worse than yours.

    Are you suggesting is that they arbitrarily choose one name at random to block, whilst leaving even worse comments on the site – that theory makes no sense”

    Even if Nick isn’t telling the whole story, I know that the truth has a nasty way of coming out ..

    So Nick were you spamming Wolfgang for some reason other than bug reports?

  21. My issue of being blocked has been taken care of now. I actually didn’t send bug reports, this was before the bug report section happened. I was actually expecting to see more comments disappear, but I did write to PPG through the bug report form as soon as I realised my posts disappeared, so maybe this stopped more action. They could have checked to see if their action removed any posts, I would have been happy for their contact. I’d like to know why I was considered spam myself, but luckily I’m not anymore. I’m actually very happy that this synth has appeared, don’t blame the negative comments on me. I made my remark because I want to be part of this synths future and help with comments if I can.

  22. It’s all about the quality of the synth for me and it hasn’t come up to the standard I was expecting.
    The lack of replies to the bugs is also disappointing. But it also seems strange to see the developers friends stepping in and blaming this and that. I just want a good synth that doesn’t crash and a bit of support. I just want the developer to give some more help.

  23. I want to add that I feel like a got a lesser quality app to. You can get a lot for 20 bucks in the app store and this one has promise but it needs better design and better capabilities. There was a lot being expected with this app and it’s not as good as I was hoping.

  24. I’m sick of hearing about how expensive it was back in the 80s. These apps have been a certain price for some time now and performance is a big part. I’m annoyed with the bugs in this update and I hope they fix them soon. We should expect good quality for this price. I bought a synth, not a history.

  26. I haven’t got this synth yet but I’m interested to hear they had to put a spam block up after an update, that does seem to be the timing. There must have been a lot of complaints. I almost bought it too, but I think I’ll wait a bit longer now. I had a feeling it was sounding too good. I’ve probably got too many now anyway šŸ™‚

  27. Wow! Entitletard, paranoid, cheapskate whiners. $20 is nothing, if that amount is signficant to you then you should have done your homework before purchasing. There is no shortage of demo videos which show exactly what it looks like.

    And we have only one person’s word about this alleged censorship, we don’t know what he wrote, if it was full of other people’s product names then it may well have looked like spam, or it may been offensive.

    1. $20 isn’t much but their are a lot of great apps to choose from. I’m glad I got this one but it is hard not to want everything out there. PPG does have too many bugs at the moment but this will change. I was hoping for more full screen playing control and I was expecting the basics like virtual midi and background audio. I’m sure all these features will eventually appear, but I agree with the part about forgoing other apps by getting this one. There are many very stable fully featured apps available, which all have their strengths, and this one has some great features but missing many necessary ones. There was a big promo effort with this one, so that is probably causing disappointment more than anything else. I do like this app but not more than the other great synths.

  28. I really like the posibilities of this synth but am disappointed with it’s current state. I hope they get it working better soon and hopefully give it a better UI. The history part is a joke really, we all learn from history but the real challenge is to make something better for the future. There is too much importance on recreating things. I’d like to see this synth push more boundries, but that might be a job for someone new. I’m hoping Rolf from Nlog will do that for us with his wave table synth.

  29. http://apps4idevices.com/read/wavegenerator.html
    “WaveGenerator is the latest development from the inventor of wavetable synthesis, Wolfgang Palm. It comes with 3 oscillators with independent control of pitch and waveform (Each oscillator has its own glide). You can create your own wavetables. (A way allows you to transform a picture into a wavetable. You can load photos from your album or even shoot a picture with the camera). You can also create a custom keyboard and control most of all parameters via midi. See all the other feature at the end of this post. My conclusion: i really love the generated sound, really really great, the UI too… You can record your performances and share them via the General Pasteboard. WaveGenerator is a Killer App!”

    Here’s my first PPG music:
    http://soundcloud.com/amld/wave1

  30. I notice they still haven’t responded to the bug or issue posts on their site. I would really like to see some answers or at least some direction from PPG. I agree with all the posts in the new update post on their FB page, a lot of ground was covered. I wish they didn’t add the bug report form because I found it helpful to see other peoples problems and sometimes answers. Open customer support helps more than just one person and I’m sure we all want to get the most out of this synth. I think they did give us all very high expectations before the release, just a bit too much promo pushing. Without the big promo push I think there would have been greater satisfaction. The promise of lots of updates was probably too much too, knowing Wolfgang was going on a holiday. What do we do now, just wait!

    1. “What do we do now, just wait!”
      I didn’t realise that there are people out there with only one synth: this PPG Wavegenerator. And because of one or more bugs they are unable to make music now?

      Anyway, I myself haven’t encountered any bugs. I would like Midi Output, but for the moment it doesn’t stop me from playing and recording the PPG on a daily basis.

      Good support doesn’t mean they have to be available for you 24/7.

  31. I think this app is kind of meh. Maybe it will get updated and repaired soon. I think it isn’t worth what it cost as it is but the dev can charge whatever he chooses. Until it’s improved I’ll just stick to the already great synth apps. It seems to me Wolfgangs pr and marketing teams are hurting him more than helping him. Many of their replies seem kind of rude for people helping a small company deal with the public.

  32. I am disappointed. There is a load of “emperor’s new clothes” commentary around this. I got swept up in the hype and bought the app. Then got the update to make the app useful to me (audiocopy). Then played about with the app. The UI is horrible, and I think the sounds it makes are harsh and unpleasant too. Whenever people come out and say this they are told by the fanboy mafia that it is because they are not clever enough to make it work properly, but whether we are synth experts or not we all know an intuitive UI when we use one, and the sound…. well, maybe it’s an aquired taste.

  33. I’m also very disappointed in this app and agree with PoD above. I just went to their FB page and noticed that Russ the promo guy was having a go at the person who said they should work 24/7. I’ve been following this discussion while waiting for the update that is slow to be worked on. It looked to me that they were working 24/7 until there were problems with the app, then they went on holiday. Please, just a bit of respect to the users and enough of the gushing love of Wolfgang, this synth still needs a lot of work!

  34. I agree as well, this is a very disappointing app after all the initial hype. Way too much worshiping and not enough critical analysis. This synth has a very poor interface and is full of bugs, and still doesn’t offer virtual midi. I think Russ should look after the users instead of making jokes about us. We are still waiting for your holiday to end, this synth needs a lot of work, it doesn’t come close to the other quality apps that are available. Wolfgang may have historic relevance, but at the moment he has only created a poor imitation of a synth. Enough gloating PPG, it’s time to get back to work, please!

  35. huh. dunno, but i think this is a pretty great synth that gets some sounds that i can’t out of other ipad synths.

    does it have some bugs? yeah. does it have some features i’d still like to see? yeah.

    i think it’s a pretty deep synth and expect the bugs to be worked out and things to get better and for more features to added to it.

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