Developer Chadwick Wood has announced updates to Coffeeshopped Patch Base (iOS version 3.17 and Mac version 1.11) that introduce an editor/librarian for the Yamaha Reface DX.
Hee’s what Wood has to say about it:
“Released in 2015, the Reface DX is an updated take on Yamaha’s classic 4-op FM synthesizers. People seem to most often compare it to the DX100, which is true in terms of its form and number of operators. But the Reface’s updated feedback options give it sonic flexibility closer to that of the TX81z, with its multiple waveform options, or the DX21 and DX11 with their pitch envelopes. And in today’s vintage synth market, you can get the Reface DX at about half the price of the DX100, which makes it a very attractive portable, high-quality FM synthesizer.
The Reface DX has 12 different algorithm options (whereas the classics only had 8), and as I mentioned, each operator’s feedback setting means the waveform can be shaped to a Sawtooth, Sine, or Square wave, or anywhere in between. The sound quality is also incredibly clean and smooth, as opposed to the DX100’s grittiness (which itself is a quality, of course!).
The other notable addition on the Reface DX is the two effects slots, each of which can be set to Distortion, Auto-Wah, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Delay, and Reverb. The added effects allow for much richer sounds directly out of the unit.
Patch Editor
The patch editor shows all of the parameters on a single screen, with the usual Patch Base FM visualizer to let you see the structure of your patches. You can also copy/paste envelopes, or complete operators to make patching easier.
And the bank editor lets you organize the 32 sounds stored on your synth, making it easy to swap out a collection of sounds, and create different banks as needed.”
Pricing and Availability
Patch Base is available now as a free download. Unlocking individual editors is $29.99.
Most of the reviews in the appstore find the price he’s asking a bit steep and giving it 1 star reviews. I think people would download his editors way more if he dropped the price and offers at least 1 workable demo within the app.
He would make more money and get better reviews. I hope he understands that at some point.
$30 doesn’t seem that high to me, given the capabilities that these editors unlock.
But I agree that they’d probably see a lot more uptake if they could make the editors cheaper.
These types of editors used to be hundreds of dollars in desktop versions.
I think the issue is that these are very time-consuming to develop. I’d love to see something like this for the K2500 and would gladly pay $30 – maybe a crowdsourcing model might work?
$29 is too steep? Depends on how much you’re into the instrument. There have been some poor editors, but most are godsends, in my view. By diving into a few, I got a lot more from them than I would have discovered bent over a stingy little LCD. A $30 “surcharge” on a $300 synth that makes it at least 50% more useful is a bargain. I don’t understand many of the usual complaints when you can buy an Oberheim 8-Voice emu for under $200. We’re all too spoiled by the riches! 😀
BTW, that’s a rather plain GUI, but it suits the synth perfectly well. Its got just the right mad scientist feel while still being practical. Smart.