via Cornel Hecht on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge
"We left the best news until last - there's been a lot of questions about the pricing of an app created and crafted by the Father of the PPG Wave.
We were clear that this was never going to be a toy, but a serious product, as close to a synth that used to cost thousands of dollars, but now on the iPad. However Wolfgang wanted to share his baby with as many people as possible.
So we're not going to do any silly 'buy it for X for 7 days' kind of promos ever, it's simply going to be $19.99! Outstanding value for an amazing pro synth on the iPad."
A full blown synth from the creator of PPG for just $19.99. Truly amazing. I can't help but think of the PPG Realizer (don't miss this post) and how much it would have cost at the time due to the hardware. No, PPG WaveGenerator is not the re-incarnation of the PPG realizer, but it was a hardware device hosting various synthesis engines. With the iPad, the cost of hardware development is gone. The same could be said for soft synths on the PC, but the iPad is hardware synthesis, no different than the PPG Realizer. It really is a new age for digital hardware synthesis as I went into in this post and others, actually starting back in my New World of Synthesis post just before the iPad was announced. If anyone out there still doubts the iPad as a serious piece of musical equipment, I'd love to hear why. Also see my post on Thoughts on the iPad as a Synth and Controller. Note, the device doesn't have to be the iPad of course. It can be any tablet including Android and the upcoming Windows 8 tablets. The key of course is the usability/interface for the app and the apps available for the device. The iPad just currently has the lead. It also supports MIDI. If you pick up a Windows 8 tablet and want MIDI, be sure to pick up one with the Pro version of the OS (see this post).
$19.99 for the next PPG!!! Thank you Wolfgang Palm!
Now here's a crazy thought for hardware manufacturers out there. Imagine a Waldorf AFB16 iPad cradle to add analog filters with full IO like the Alesis iO dock. OK, the price would probably be insane, but.. :) Update: I should note my intent is not to imply analog filters sound any better, the point is the obvious next step for devices like the iPad - integration with external forms of synthesis. I'm thinking along the lines of mixing something like the MiniBrute with the iPad. What sort of things can hardware synthesizer manufacturers create to fully integrate with the iPad as a synthesis engine within their hardware engine. Yes, probably a bit far fetched, but Waldorf did attempt it with the AFB16.
iPads on eBay
Friday, August 24, 2012
4 comments:
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MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH
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What about the latency, DAC quality, THD and all the audio-related technical data on the iPad in comparison to hardware synths? Still haven't seen a decent comparison about that.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question. Apparently it's good enough for Wolfgang Palm. See this post. And Moog, and Korg, and others. And if it's not up to your standard then in time I'm guessing there will be additional hardware support for it like the Alesis iO Dock with better DACs if needed. I haven't noticed an issue with latency. The quality of the synth code does matter of course. The iPad is just another piece of digital hardware. But the cost of ownership and the cost of synths that follow is what makes it so compelling. You also have to ask yourself what other digital hardware synth you are comparing it to. There are quite a few out there.
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited about the advantages of an iPad as a synthesizer, but it does have disadvantages. Touchscreen knobs and sliders aren't as good as physical ones for me. Connecting a separate device (like the iPad) to my controller keyboard is not as convenient as having the synthesizer physically *in* the controller keyboard. Also, when the iPad is replaced by something newer and better that's not backward compatable, it will be the same experience as playing a DX7 until someone invents a Solaris. For me, these make the iPad a nice addition to the currently available hardware, not a replacement for all that hardware.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with this. I will never give up my digital hardware synths. I will however re-assess what I get moving forward. Once you have an iPad, synths for it are so much cheaper. Until you have tried an iPad don't dismiss the controllers. There are a ton of coveted digital synths out there like the FS1R and TX81Z that have extremely limited interfaces. Trying to edit them is like trying to paint through a keyhole, but with an iPad they open up. My point wasn't so much about is one better than the other, it was about the realization of what a digital synthesizer is. In the end it is a software synthesizer existing as code and running on hardware. That hardware can be anything, a dedicated keyboard synth, a rack or desktop synth or the iPad. Dedicated hardware will cost you $500+ while the most expensive synth currently on an iPad is the CMI at $49. Once you already have a digital hardware synth or two, you will have to consider what makes the most sense in getting next. Do you spend another grand or do you spend twenty bucks and get a PPG? The next question then, is if you are purchasing your first digital synth do you get a brand new one or do you get a used one for much less, or do you get an iPad and controller? I don't think we will see the death of digital hardware synths immediately, but in time I do think you will see the market change. The funny thing about the iPad is a ton people still see it as software synths running on a computer. People haven't gotten that it is the equivalent of hardware yet. Again think of all the hardware rack synths out there. The TX81Z, the Emu Morpheus, the Matrix-1000 and so on. Would you prefer that as your digital hardware synth or would you prefer the iPad with a touch interface and multiple screens? If you answer the latter, you are just doing so out of ego imo. Forger the iPad. Strip Apple and the label and the hype from it. Think of a blind "taste test" and just think of the hardware and the interface. The iPad trumps most if not all digital rack synths and many hardware keyboard synths for that matter. The reason why the PPG WaveGenerator is a tipping point is because of the history of PPG, the PPG Realizer and because the man behind such respected synths decided that the iPad was indeed good enough. The PPG WaveGenerator is not the first professional synth for the iPad but it is a major acknowledgment of it as a dedicated hardware synthesizer. Unless of course Wolfgang Palm is just playing with us. And if he is, it doesn't matter. There are currently some really nice synths available for it and more will come. Sunvox is a great synth I missed mentioning in my original post.
ReplyDelete