Tabletop Q+A: The Human Boot Project

I'm sure it won't be a surprise that everyone at Retronyms HQ were sporting big smiles when we saw The Human Boot Project's video for "Delight." It is a great song and it was fantastic to see an artist using Tabletop the way we envisioned it. Not only was the music composed in the app, but the artist was using it to manipulate, perform, and remix the song for the video. This was definitely someone we wanted to talk to more. Exactly who is behind The Human Boot Project remains a bit of a mystery, but here's what we found out.

Tell us about yourself. Who are you and what's your background?
I started this Human Boot Project, and I do everything. I've been making several songs and remix music based on electronica. Most of my works are released from a record company in Europe (Red Robot).

How did you come to start Human Boot Project?
I’m interested in many kinds of music, and I’ve been thinking if I mix them together, it will be something fun and different. [That] idea made me start [The Human Boot Project].

What type of software do you predominately use?
I usually use Logic on my Mac. I also use some apps on the iPhone/iPad very regularly while I’m working on [music].

Obviously we were excited to see that you used Tabletop for the song and video of "Delight." How did you discover the app? 
Thank you for your interest [in] my video. I was very interested in the Tabletop since it was released, and it was one of the reasons why I bought an iPad.



What drew you to using it?
The flexibility is the best part of it. I can put the devices together easily, and it helps making my own music set.

Do you plan to use Tabletop in more songs?
Sure. I want to use it as DJ-style and make more music videos with it.

Have you encountered any limitations or things you wish you could do in the app?
I’d like to have Loop Sampler in the app. Touchpad Sampler is difficult to use with.

What do you think of the iPad as a musical device?
iPad is very interesting and unique to use as a musical device and controller. Touchpad is easy and convenient to use [with] music live, and I like [to] play using Touchpad set as a Tabletop. I can concentrate more playing music if I use it like that.

What's up next for you?
I’ll release [a] couple new remix[es] and collaborat[ions] within a few months, and my new original songs are also ready to go. Anyone who wants to join and support me is more than welcome!

The Human Boot Project's latest release, Picture Over Picture EP, is now available for download at Beatport. Follow this link. 

Tabletop 1.5

Over the last five updates we've added effects, synthesizers and drum machines. We've also added auto-routing and Retina display support for iPad 3. Tabletop 1.5 is a special release because it includes a deeper connection to the social network for sound creators, SoundCloud. We are calling this feature CloudSeeder.

CloudSeeder makes it easy to publish your songs to a music community and receive feedback. It's also the perfect place to find inspiration before diving into a new track. Your fans are waiting, so don't be shy and jump in! Publish a track, leave a comment, find listeners and collaborators.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of music is collaboration. When the right blend of instruments and musicians come together magic happens. Music doesn't work in a vacuum!  

There are other features and improvements in this release too. Along the lines of collaboration we have added AudioCopy so you can take a Tabletop loop or song into another app.

Finally, we have listened to our customers on Facebook and added a device bundle. This is a single purchase that allows you to buy all the devices you don't own at a discount.

Thanks.  I'll see you on SoundCloud!

Tabletop Q+A: Bomb DeLuise

Bomb DeLuise is Jesse Smiley. He is a producer from Indianapolis who we recently found through the Tabletop community on SoundCloud. He's the type of producer who really makes a case for the power of iPads as well as SoundCloud. As you'll read below, he not only publishes his music through SoundCloud, but actively uses the widespread community to promote himself as well discover new music. Everyone of his tracks has comments from his 9,000+ followers. After the launch of our SoundCloud integration, we started noticing more and more tracks by this one artist and they were all quality. Just last month, he released the Flowers EP through Bandcamp which uses many of his Tabletop-created tracks. Pick it up and support this great artist. We figured it was about time to get in touch and talk to him about his experiences.

Read more »

Welcome to Tabletop: Device Sale!

As we mentioned in last week's post about the XOX Drum Deranger, the Tabletop app is now free & we're very excited to have so many new users checking it out over the past few days! We really hope everyone is having a great time expressing themselves musically with Tabletop & as you come up with your first few cool tracks & beats, we're looking forward to seeing them on Facebook, Twitter & in our Tabletop group on SoundCloud!

We also wanted to make a special offer that applies to both new and old users of Tabletop, by dropping the price on our Ekko delay effect & the Overdose digital distortion effect to just $0.99 for a limited time! These two devices are pretty fundamental to many types of electronic music & so if you're starting to get more familiar with some of the 11 devices included with Tabletop, we encourage you to try routing some of these through the Ekko & Overdose filters to start getting a feel for some of the countless ways you can mix & match devices in the Tabletop environment!

And for those users who really want to dig into the massively customizable possibilities of Tabletop, just have a look at this video highlighting some of the sounds & features available in the RS4000 Synthesizer in Tabletop. With that many automatable parameters and the discounted effects, you should have no trouble coming up with thousands of new sounds to use in your songs!


Oh, and did we mention the Goblin MX4-FX mixer, with support for 2 send/return channels plus Aux in? Happy Tabletopping everybody!

Welcome to Tabletop: Meet the Drum Deranger

It's time for the second edition in our ongoing "Device Spotlight" blog series and this one comes in conjunction with a very special announcement: the Tabletop app itself is now FREE!!

With this change in price, we're hoping that lots of iPad owners who weren't totally sure if Tabletop was right for them will now have the opportunity to try it out and see first-hand what all the excitement is about! And to ensure that everyone has a good time playing with Tabletop from the first time they open the app, we're still including all the same devices that have always been included in the purchase price.

For users who are having a great time with the included devices and want to see what other possibilities Tabletop offers, we think a great place to start is with the XOX Drum Deranger, available for only $4.99 in the Tabletop Store. The Drum Deranger is a step-sequenced drum machine that creates eight track drum patterns. Probably the most exciting part of this, and what sets the XOX apart from many other Tabletop devices is that it's a step-sequenced machine, meaning that you simply create a pattern using the on-screen "step" buttons and it plays back in perfect rhythm. It's a great way to get started with songwriting, since you can quickly lay down a basic framework for your song, and then build on it by some of the more expressive devices effects available in Tabletop.

A few very important things to know about the XOX Drum Deranger like a pro!

1) There are eight buttons available to store different drum "patterns" and you can easily cut/paste between these in order to create many different variations of the same basic rhythm for use in different parts of your song.

2) There are dozens of different sample presets available from amazing artists like Oh No, Sasqwax, and +verb for you to explore by clicking the "Load" button. Try creating a pattern using one preset & then switch to another to see how it sounds. Note that you can also mix and match samples from different presets, or even import your own sounds from iTunes or AudioCopy by using the "Load Sample" button and then save your own 8-track preset using the "Save" button.

3) You can affect the way each drum sample sounds by modifying five different parameters (Distort, Length, Balance, Pitch and Level). These can be adjusted individually for each "step" in your pattern by swiping your finger up or down on the slider above each step button, or you can change them all at once by using the "Master Param" wheel.

4) Tracks 1–4 have dedicated outputs. If you have a particular drum sound that needs additional processing (e.g. Echo or Reverb) you can attach the necessary effects using these outputs. By default, all tracks are played through the XOX Drum Deranger’s Master output, but using any of the dedicated outputs removes that track from the Master output.

If you'd like to see the XOX in action, just check out the track "Buckle Up" which was used as the soundtrack to the Tabletop 1.3 launch video:

So now that you know a bit more about the XOX Drum Deranger, let's see what you can do with it. Post your Tabletop setups and tracks to the SoundCloud group, and let us know in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter what else you'd like to know about this device, or if you have a request for future editions of the Device Spotlight!

Tabletop 1.4 Available

It's been awhile since the last Tabletop update, and as regular blog readers know, we've been hard at work on a variety of projects in the meantime. But today we're proud to announce that Tabletop 1.4 is now available in the App Store and it's loaded with a bunch of cool new features that are included free for all existing users who upgrade to the latest version (or at the regular purchase price of $9.99 for new users).

The biggest new feature in Tabletop 1.4 is Auto-Routing - just drag a device to the tabletop surface and it routes up to the mixer. Spend less time hooking up cables and more on your music!  For anything that doesn't route exactly how you want it, the old routing controls are still in place to design the signal chain to your specs.

You can now also swipe between devices with a single gesture while writing or performing a song. Save precious seconds & never miss a beat!

Finally, if you have the new iPad 3, Tabletop's 1.4 release also includes support for the Retina display to make the app look even more sharp and crisp.

All these updates plus a handful of bug & performance fixes are included free in the Tabletop 1.4 update! Grab it today & stay tuned for more updates soon.

Synth for iPad: Breaking Records!

At the end of last week we decided to try an experiment with one of our oldest & most popular iPad apps, the polyphonic synthesizer app called... Synth! In the two years since Synth first appeared in the iPad App Store (on launch day of the original iPad!) a lot has changed in the world of iOS apps & music, but one thing that hasn't changed is that people love playing keyboard instruments on the iPad.

For $0.99, we thought Synth was already a pretty great value. There are plenty of more complicated and expensive synthesizer apps available on iPad these days, and most of them are worth every penny of their retail price. In the past year or so we've been devoting most of our time to Tabletop, but we've still taken time to make sure that apps like Synth, Dopplerpad & Recorder are updated to take advantage of all the iOS updates & new devices from Apple. By making Synth free now, we wanted to find out just how many people out there with iPads might be curious about trying out the app, but didn't want to spend a dollar on something that might not be exactly what they were looking for.

It turns out that the answer to that question is: "A lot!" In the few days since we made the change, Synth has rocketed to the top of the "Free iPad Music Apps" category in dozens of countries around the world. It's currently ranked #1 in almost 30 countries, including France, Germany, Ireland and Canada and is even the #1 app across *all* categories in several countries!

Needless to say, we're pleasantly surprised & really glad that so many people around the world are trying out Synth and expressing themselves musically with their iPad! If you haven't tried Synth yet, now is a great time to give it a shot, since in addition to being free we're also including a free skin pack to customize the look of your keyboard, and we've reduced the price for the patch editor that you can use to customize the sound of all the Synth presets to just $0.99.

And for those of you who *have* tried Synth, let us know what you think about it here in the comments or on our Facebook & Twitter pages. What's your favorite & least favorite part of the app? Have you recommended it to any of your friends with iPads? What new features would you like to see. Let us know & we'll keep on working to make the best music & audio apps on iPad even better!