PPG WaveGenerator Submitted to Apple & Death of Digital Hardware Synths

Wolfgang Palm posted the following on his website (see my notes below)

"The first time I thought about an iPad project was last autumn. The more I got into it and the more information I collected, it sounded interesting to me.

I first did a pilot project on PC, just to check out the possibilities of a creative wavetable construction system, where you draw your waveforms and spectra and hear the result directly. This is especially challenging with the touch panel on the iPad.

When I had done this and convinced myself that it is a great tool and gives fantastic audio results, I bought a Mac and an iPad, and started programming for the real device. I inducted Cornel Hecht into the project, and he helped with the cool graphics and had many great ideas as well.

Later I invited some very experienced people like Peter Gorges and Jay de Miceli to help me with beta-testing and sound design. We also have 'nachtsmeer' and Kenneth Abildgaard in the team who have also contributed countless ideas.

I am also very thankful for the help of Russ Hughes who runs Sociatech, a specialist marketing and PR company, his expertise in helping get the message out has shown amazing results. If you have any kind of tech product you need to tell people about, then I recommend him to you.

So yesterday the WaveGenerator app was sent to Apple for approval, and we hope that it will be in the Apple App Store soon.

It is good to be back and to be able to share my creative ideas with the world in these new ways – I had a vision and here it is, it has the DNA of my first baby, but this grandchild has a 21st century personality.

Thank you for your support!"

It's great to see him back and it's great to see him embrace the iPad.

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On the Death of Digital Hardware Synths:
Traditional digital hardware synths that is. The iPad is hardware after all. (see Update2 below)

For a while I've been thinking the iPad will be the death of traditional digital hardware synthesizers for several reasons - lower cost, size, ability to morph into whatever you want it to be, and it acts and feels like real hardware because it is real hardware. It's just as much hardware as any other traditional hardware synth running digital synthesis software. The iPad should not be equated with running software emulations on the PC or Mac, it should be equated with hardware synths with touch interfaces like the Korg Kronos and Jupiter-80, or the PPG Realizer. All digital synths are software based. My lust for digital hardware diminished ever since I picked the first gen iPad and Sunrizer and compared it with my Roland JP-8000. I picked up the JP-8000 new for about $1100 back when it came out. I picked up Sunrizer when it was called Horizon Synth for $4.99. Think about that.  $4.99 for a full blown VA synth with a morphable touch interface and it sounds great. The cost of the iPad and Sunrizer was less than the JP-8000 and you have access to a plethora of other synths, sequencers and controllers. Hook it up to your MIDI keyboard of choice and with the likes of Animoog, NLogSynth Pro, Magellan, Cassini Synth, Peter Vogel CMI (a Fairlight for $50!!!), Korg's iMS20, SynthX, and now the PPG WaveGenerator and Waldorf & Tempo Rubato's upcoming synth, and you have a hardware synth. With the iPad in it's third generation, older models will only continue go down in price, so the ability to have multiple iPads for cheap isn't too far off. There is one concern I had lingering though. Battery life. Eventually I'm guessing the batteries in the iPad will die, but I say had, because with something like the Alesis iO dock this may not be an issue. You can power it and have all your IO available at the same time. I should note my first gen iPad battery is still going strong.

It will be interesting to see what hardware synth manufacturers do next. They will have to offer synthesis methods not available in apps for the iPad, and as time goes on those differences will only shrink. You can't replicate analog, so maybe we will see more of that including hybrid synths. As for full blown digital, I can see manufacture's having a flagship synth for the pro musician on the road, a flagship controller for the iPad, and apps to go along with it. I think there will always be an audience for each, but there is no denying the iPad has become a option for digital hardware synthesis.

Picked up on Synthtopia as well.

Update1 6/30/2014: And it happened with the iconic Akai MPC line.  Via @TomWhiwell of MusicThing modular shared via Twitter:

"The Akai MPC is dead; no more standalone hardware, just iOS apps and controllers: http://www.akaipro.com/category/mpc-series …"


Update2 6/30/2014: I wanted to expand on my initial commentary on the "death of digital hardware" above. If you read it, you might think I prefer the iPad to dedicated hardware synths when it comes to digital only. Far from it.  It was written from the perspective of the potential impact the iPad could have on the world of hardware synthesis.  It was a look into the possible future and not meant to be a look into the present or even the near future.  The thought was that if you had a portable hardware device capable of turning into any digital hardware synth you might need, at a fraction of the price of a full blown hardware equivalent, what would you do?  The answer?  It depends on your needs, preferences and funds.  Personally, I like the convenience and portability of the iPad but I love the feel and tactile relationship dedicated hardware instruments have to offer.  The iPad offers the engine, but lacks the body unless you're Synth-Project.  The new Akai MPC line tries to bridge some of that, but is it enough?