Novation today introduced a new sub-brand, Blocs, focusing on app development and a new beatmaking app for iOS, Blocs Wave.
Blocs Wave is a music creation app designed for touchscreen beatmaking. Here’s a performance demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=013c0VDDXUE
Features:
- Start new music – Quickly tap sounds to combine and make new original musical ideas.
- Tweak sounds using touchable waveforms.
- Record new sounds – capture your own sounds, vocals and instruments.
- Explore and combine sounds from a huge library
Advanced Features:
- Real-time stretch – Change bpm while playing, and blocs will adapt.
- Record with Low-Latency
- Export & Import – Bring in your own sounds from other apps, or export to them.
- Key aware – All library sounds are ‘key aware’ and can stay in-key.
- Works well with others – Audiobus, AudioCopy, AudioShare, and hardware input and outputs supported.
Here is a set of video tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlCHZrOV38s&list=PL4JRkkjGRjoL4LCIQ2zCXCjQgEYJU8MQ_
Novation also shared some background on the new Blocs sub-brand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2V1yg95NcU
Compatible with iPad 2, iPad (3rd Generation), iPad (4th Generation), iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Pro. Supports iOS 8 and iOS 9.
Blocs Wave is available for US $4.99 in the App Store.
If you’ve used Blocs Wave, share your experience with it in the comments!
C’mon Novation, announce a new Nova already and stop fannying about with apps 😉
That reminds me, I need to stock up on caikote…
They might have thought to include sampling on the circuit if they thought it was an important beat-making tool. Seems like a deliberately hamstrung product now.
I wish they would make it sync’able to external clock. So far I can’t seem to find a sampling app that can be driven externally by clock. I use my Roland SBX-1 sync box because I want to run these in sync with my my modular and external synth gear.
ableton link and midi to link/link to midi sync
Absolutely terrible promo video. That said, from what little we can see of the app itself it looks like they are borrowing a lot from Samplr.
Novation seems to really be moving into the hobbyist consumer realm lately.
Why not? That’s where the money is.
When you get too big you have to.. you have to go where the money is (low retail pricing, prosumer, higher margin products). It’s a fact really, happens to all companies when they get to a certain point. We will probably never see another ‘real’ synth from them ever again.
The nova synth engine is far from consumer. Ultranova, mini nova & citcuit(with software) are real deal synths with professional results if you know what you’re doing.
iOS devices have very powerful processors now. I don’t think that using powerful processors that you already own for music applications makes one a ”hobbyist consumer.’
Samplr for me is a lot more usefull. Blocks isn’t. Accidentely bought it. Not my type of workflow.
Same here, But:
If only the Samplr separated pitch and tempo! And could trim the samples.
I bought this for being able to transpose the audio, and there it beats Sampler.
If only the Blocs could do something, anything with the “samples”(just a looper at the moment).
You can get a refund on the AppStore, no questions asked, google it
An 8 man team to produce an underspecced loop player for sound pack consumption ?
This makes me all the more appreciative of the real IOS instuments & their often lone developer’s hard work , & the advancements they have made for IOS music & musicianship .
“anyone can make music , quickly throwing together a few ( soundpack ) loops…”. aaaargghh!
Novation …remember your name .
I love the way people chip in with comments even though they haven’t bought and tried Blocs. I actually bought a week or so ago and a House expansion pack and I was very pleasantly surprised by the results. I don’t think the promo video actually does it justice. My primary DAW is Logic but there is no way I can throw down some loops and get the vibe flowing that Blocs does. It reminds me a little of FIGURE but is actually different enough to warrant the purchase. You can make dozens of song ideas in no time then via audioshare I got them over into logic where I reprogrammed them with other synths and sound sources. The result is tremendous. Match this with Hookpad and you’ve got something.