Mobile Music Meetup this Monday!

Retronyms is having another free Mobile Music Meetup at Pork Store Cafe San Francisco on November 5th.  This month we're featuring iPad Live looping by ANI,  iPad DJing and VJing by Starpause and a third set by Extent of the Jam.  We'll also have an open mic for any local talent with iPads who would like to come down and share their music.

The bar is open all night with food and beer.  Come chill out at our lounge style event and enjoy the music.  Doors open at 7pm and the evening ends at 10 pm.  Bring your friends!

Mobile Music Meetup

Monday, November 5th,  7-10 pm

Pork Store Cafe San Francisco

3122 16th Street

San Francisco, 94103

Tel: 415-626 5523

http://www.moraclounge.com/

Facebook Event Page

http://www.facebook.com/events/365987653488538/

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. 

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!

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!

StudioTrack 1.5 Update Save $9.99 on StudioTrack and $4.99 on FourTrack

Big news from our friends at Sonoma WireWorks as they've just announced the release of a new version of StudioTrack, the highly acclaimed multitrack recording app for iPad, developed in partnership with Retronyms!

The new version includes:

• GuitarTone Amps & Effects: Interpretations of essential vintage and custom amps and pedals. GuitarTone includes three free amps ('60 Slant, Custom and Tweed Blues) and three free effects (UltraPhase, Drive+ and Va-Room), with additional tones available for $9.99 per 12-pack. Amp and effect packs purchased in the GuitarTone app are activated in FourTrack and StudioTrack. GuitarJack activates $19.98 worth of GuitarTone amps and effects while connected.
• Free High Visibility Tuner: Fast, accurate tuning.
• GuitarJack Control Panel - Adjust the input settings and modes for Sonoma's GuitarJack high quality interface that connects a wide range of instruments, microphones, and other audio hardware to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Select 1/4-inch line in, stereo 1/8-inch line in for mono or stereo recording, or use both inputs for simultaneous voice and instrument recording onto two tracks at once. GuitarJack's 1/8-inch stereo line/headphone output offers increased drive for headphones. GuitarJack features Lo-Z and Hi-Z modes, 60 dB of continuous level control, a 12 dB pad for 72 dB of adjustment, a 24-bit AD/DA converter, and the highest quality sound when compared to alternative accessories.

To celebrate, StudioTrack and FourTrack are half off for a limited time. Save $9.99 on StudioTrack (was $19.99) and save $4.99 on FourTrack (was $9.99).

SXSW Announcement: New Features Coming Soon to Tabletop

Long-time users of Tabletop know that with each new release of Tabletop, we've been working not only to make new devices and effects available for in-app purchase, but also to include lots of new content and functionality free of charge to all users who install the new version.

Past updates have added the ability to post songs effortlessly to SoundCloud, support for swing and expanded tempo range, 3-band equalization and *lots* of new samples & presets for the M8RX, Gridlok and other included devices. Today we're excited to tell you about a few more new features that will be appearing on a Tabletop near you very soon!

• Auto-routing - Drop a device on the table, and you're good to go!


• Improved gestures - Swipe easily between devices


• New iPad - Retina display support!

But of course a new Tabletop release wouldn't be complete without a couple new devices and effects, and we've got a couple of really cool ones planned for the next few updates as well. Over the next two days on the Retroblog we'll be going into more detail on some of these new devices, so be sure to check back every day, and follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook or subscribe to our email newsletter to make sure you're the first to know about all the latest Retro-news!

SXSW Announcement: Retronyms Miselu Partnership

Retronyms is thrilled to announce our partnership with Miselu, in support of the Miselu “neiro”, the first net-enabled social musical instrument with wide-touch display. The "neiro" combines best-in-class components from a number of industry partners and a custom-built distribution of the Android OS, tailored specifically for the needs of music & other media-centric apps.

Retronyms will be contributing a full suite of music creation & performance apps to the "neiro", some of which will be familiar to users of Tabletop and others which take advantage of some of the unique capabilities of the Miselu device.



Miselu will be at South by Southwest this week to show the prototype publicly for the first time & you can drop by to check it out and meet with both Miselu and Retronyms at the SoundCloud Open House during the SXSW Interactive festival, or at the Music Gear Expo (Booth #304) during the Music portion of SXSW.

For more info, check out our Press Release about the Miselu partnership.

Retronyms 2012 - Full Speed Ahead!

We know the blog's been quiet for the past few days, but it's not for lack of things going on here at Retronyms HQ! After making the return trip from last week's Debacle 2012 in Santa Cruz, we've been plunged directly into preparations for the upcoming South by Southwest festival this coming weekend in Austin. Even though it's been a hectic week we're actually really glad that SXSW is coming up so soon because it means we'll get to share some of the "super-sekret" projects that we stayed up all night working on at the Debacle with you very soon!

To make sure you're up to date on the big announcements, just head over to our brand-new SXSW page and check back each day as we reveal more of the exciting stuff we'll be working on this year. Some of it will be stuff you might be expecting, and the rest... well, you'll just have to wait and see. One thing we can tell you right now is that we weren't waiting for Apple's presentation this morning before we started creating "Retina" versions of all the Tabletop devices, so if you haven't put in your pre-order for "the new iPad" yet, don't hold off on our account... =)

As always, if you want to stay on top of *all* the latest Retronyms news, make sure that you've subscribed to our email newsletter, followed us on Twitter and liked us on Facebook.

Tabletop Device Spotlight: Goblin MX4-FX

Since launching Tabletop, we've heard from quite a few people looking for more info on all the different devices, what they do and how you can use them together to make your tracks sound cooler and more professional. In order to start answering some of these questions, we're starting a new feature on the blog called "Device Spotlight" that will go into more detail on one device at a time, pointing out some its advanced features and showing off how they've been used in Tabletop demo songs, as well as tracks from top DJs and producers.

We're starting it off with a fairly simple device, but one that's at the center of many Tabletop setups, the Goblin MX4-FX mixer, and as part of the Device Spotlight feature, the MX4-FX is now on sale for only $6.99, marked down from it's regular price of $9.99 for a limited time!



The MX4-FX may only have half as many channels as the MX8 mixer that's included with the Tabletop app, but it's the "FX" part that really makes it stand out. By routing audio out from either of the two "Send" channels on the left side of the mixer, through as many effects as you want, and then back into the matching "Return" channel, you can now control how that effect chain is applied to each channel on the MX4-FX by adjusting the "Send A" and "Send B" knobs on the mixer itself.

Additionally, each MX4-FX you place on the Tabletop surface can actually accept *five* channels of input, the fifth one via the "Aux" input on the right side of the device. However, this channel isn't the same as the other four, in that you can't adjust any of the Send/Pan/Level stuff that you can with the four main channels. It's up to you to decide how you want to use the "Aux" channel in your Tabletop sessions, but one thing that a lot of people have been using it for is routing pre-mixed audio from other mixers. More specifically, you may want to consider dropping two MX4-FX devices right next to each other and routing the output from one in to the "Aux" channel for the other to create you own *eight* channel mixer, before sending that output out to the Mr. O output device or the Recorder M2.



You can check out more example setups like this in the Tabletop demo sessions from Salva, Exilon and others, or check out the Tabletop group on SoundCloud, where many Tabletop users have been sharing screenshots of the setups they've used in their own compositions.



In Exilon's track, the MX4-FX send channels are adjusted throughout the track, gradually rolling entire effect chains on and off with a single knob twist. This works great for live setups where you don't want to be constantly jumping back and forth between several different devices on multiple screens, or by using Tabletop's built in automation features along with the T-101 Triggerator, you can capture these adjustments as part of your finished song composition.

So now that you know a bit more about the MX4-FX, let's see what you can do with it. Post your Tabletop setups & tracks to the SoundCloud group, and let us know in the comments or on Facebook & 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 $0.99 Sale Ending Soon!

They say all good things must come to an end, and the long-running $0.99 sale on the Tabletop app bundle, including the Gridlok Sampler, M8RX Tone Matrix, RS3 Keyboard, Goblin 8-Channel Mixer and 7 other cool devices, is no exception! So if you've been holding off on making a purchase, or know any new iPad users who you think would enjoy writing & playing music with Tabletop, make sure you tell them to act now to get this special price as the sale will be ending tonight at midnight, Pacific time.



And for those of you who *have* already been using Tabletop over the past few weeks and months, don't forget that you can join our Tabletop group on SoundCloud and share all the great tracks you've written with other Tabletop users!

Debacle 2012 - Santa Cruz

Early each year since 2008, Retronyms & Dokogeo have organized a company outing that has come to be known as "The Debacle". While the name has its roots in a leaky-roofed cabin outside Bolinas, the events of subsequent years have proven it to be a pretty accurate name for what happens when a group of software developers & designers get outside the comfort zone of their homes and offices, and try to spend a week working productively in a new and unfamilar environment.



Despite (or perhaps because of) the challenges of dealing with spotty internet connections and having to forage through strange new supermarkets for food & supplies, some really amazing stuff has come out of past Debacles, including our award-winning geo-games, Dokobots and Seek 'n Spell, as well as the earliest incarnation of our current iPad music app, Tabletop!

This year, The Debacle is taking place in beautiful seaside Santa Cruz, home of the UCSC Banana Slugs, and all kinds of interesting shops & attractions. Having learned a thing or two from previous years, we decided to stop off on our way into town to pick up a few essentials, namely beer and coffee!

The brew-masters at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing helped us put together an awesome sampler of IPA, Amber Ale and even a Coffee Porter from their wide selection of beers. After the first evening's meal however, supplies are already starting to dwindle, so we may have to pay them another visit before too long. Fueled by bacon-infused cheeseburgers and the caffeinated beer, we stayed up late working on Tabletop, Dokobots and several other projects which you'll hear more about in the coming months.

Once everyone finally crawled out of their beds and futons and sleeping bags this morning, we enjoyed some amazing coffee from Verve Coffee Roasters, another Santa Cruz favorite. We got to spend a little time looking at their brand new roastery yesterday afternoon when we stopped to pick up the beans and as you can see from this clip it's looking super-impressive!



So, with our basic needs met (and exceeded!) we're already hard at work on our first full day of Debacle excitement. And, as you may have guessed from this blog, as well as our posts on Facebook & Twitter, the internet situation here at Debacle House is actually pretty stable, so we'll be checking in periodically over the next seven days to share some of the exciting new stuff we'll be working on, as well as more of the cool people, places and things that we come across as we explore Santa Cruz and beyond. Anyplace in particular you think we should check out? Let us know in the comments!

SF MusicTech Summit on Monday

If any RetroBlog readers are attending the SF MusicTech Summit this coming Monday, make sure you check out Retronyms' own Dan Walton, who will be taking part in a panel on "Music Collaboration in a Connected World" along with Michael Calore (Wired.com), Henrik Lenberg (SoundCloud), Bob Brown (Avid), Ean Golden (DJ Tech Tools) and Jeannie Yang (Smule) at 9:20 AM.

For those who won't be at the summit, feel free to post some questions or potential discussion topics in the comments here and we'll do our best to bring them up during the panel!

Retronyms demo of MPC Fly App at NAMM

This past weekend, Retronyms joined Akai to demo the MPC Fly app at NAMM in Anaheim. We got to show it off to a lot of producers and users.

Here's Dan Walton and Zach Saul showing off the app to a crowd:




Check out this great video interview with John-Paul Walton:

NAMM 2012: AKAI MPC Fly from ICON on Vimeo.

More exciting information about the new MPC app will be forthcoming soon. Watch this space!

Retronyms software powers Akai's MPC Fly

Check out the new MPC Fly just announced by Akai, featuring brand new software from Retronyms!

Meet the Retronyms

This week(end) is the annual NAMM show in LA and Retronyms will be there in full force to meet up with all our friends & colleagues from around the industry. We'd love to make some new friends too though, so if you're reading this and want to say "Hi" feel free to stop by the Marriott Pool at the Anaheim Marriott Hotel between 5 & 6 PM on Thursday evening for an informal "iOS Developer Meetup" with us and some friends. It's followed directly afterwards by the Blue Microphones / Gobbler / SoundCloud meetup at 6PM, so we'll be sticking around for that too. Hope to see you there!

UPDATE: We'll also be on the show floor hanging out at the AKAI booth throughout the NAMM show. We'll have some cool new software to demo, so come check it out!

Cross-platform fun from Zipline Games (and Retronyms!)

Congratulations to our friends at Zipline Games who just shipped their first cross-platform game, Wolf Toss, using their own moai game development platform. Retronyms is proud to be a part of the moai project by contributing the new UNTZ open-source audio library.

You can play Wolf Toss for free on iOS, Android or in your browser by clicking the image above. If you'd like to learn more about developing your own games using moai & UNTZ, just check out the the moai and Zipline Games pages for all the latest info.

Liar & Demokracy vs. Dopplerpad

Demokracy's Double Star EP for Robox Neotech is a 7 song extravaganza of beats and wild and soaring synths, like a hip-hop interpretation of Star Wars. Space fighters careen around songs like "Deadhead" and "Zone," with bass cannons in place of laser batteries and crushing drums chugging away in the engine room. The gentle intro of "Voight Kampff" belies the epic battle that awaits on this and "Zeroth Law," a song which asks the question: "Can a robot write a symphony?" While there are other artists working in the same style as Demokracy, this duo have the unique ability to craft songs that are at once tough as nails but with melodies that float above the fray like your favorite outer space adventure's theme.

When asked by Sonic Router about their background, the elusive producers only had this to offer: "We are Stas (aka Hmot) and Albert (aka Damscray). We write tunes together and live in the middle of nowhere." Perhaps it's that isolation that leads them to reach out and collaborate sometimes. Most recently they collaborated with Romanian producer and singer Liar on his forthcoming Lichborn EP. The EP will be out November 11 on Stas' own Gimme5 label, which has been responsible for fantastic release from Moa Pillar, Nocow, Damscray, Maguett over the past year. Happily, the collaboration with Liar led to Stas using Dopplerpad to lay down part of the track's production. The result is "Upjohn," which can be streamed below for the first time anywhere.

Liar feat. Demokracy - Upjohn by retronyms

Read on to find out their thoughts science fiction, studio processes, the digital music industry and Dopplerpad.

Read more »

Synth 2.21 in the App Store

The latest Synth update was just released - no new features - but the Skins Pack is now free!  It was previously $4.99 and comes with four additional skins and 20 new sounds, so hurry up and nab it.  (Pics after the jump).

Read more »

ReBirth 1.2 Released, Adds WIST Support

The latest version of ReBirth - 1.2  - is now in the App Store!  Both the iPhone and iPad apps have been updated, and the newest feature of this release is WIST support.

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