csGrain from Boulanger Labs (iOS)

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This looks like an app I have been waiting for. I have corresponded a few times with the dev so I will likely pull the trigger very soon. Anyone grab it yet and can add their thoughts. I am looking for a live effects rig for flute and this seems to be exactly what I am looking for (yet this supports mp3 mangling as well as live input).
Check it out.

http://www.kvraudio.com/news/boulanger- ... ipad-18618
Jason Schoepfer
Rocky Mountain Sounds
http://www.rockymountainsounds.com

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In the crowded field of iOS granular manglers this is my favorite. All controls on one page, straightforward UI, and stable. There even is latency setting for live input.

There is a spare audio editor that can truncate your recording, but unfortunately it doesn't loop.

The randomize / evolve setting for EVERY knob comes up if you hold the knob for 2 seconds. Fresh feature!

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This looks awesome, might have to grab it. :)

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I was expecting more for the money.
Its just your standard fx stuff nothing new.
Sound controls are usual two or three knobs boring.
Random on each dial is ok no midi sync.
Midi input is just note on off simple gate.
Live fx has latency.
Fx are not chained its just on off.

No compression, Eq, Distortion, Harmonics, etc.

May be fx chain or sidechain would be better.
Setting for each fx would be better selectable.
Midi sync is needed or a preset rate.

Most software fx are the same, vst, ipad what ever.

Boring!!

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I'm more interested in csTouch, which they appear to be doing next. Csound on iOS. Should be fun, especially if it has UI opcodes.

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mod4 wrote:I was expecting more for the money.
Its just your standard fx stuff nothing new.
Sound controls are usual two or three knobs boring.
Random on each dial is ok no midi sync.
Midi input is just note on off simple gate.
Live fx has latency.
Fx are not chained its just on off.

No compression, Eq, Distortion, Harmonics, etc.

May be fx chain or sidechain would be better.
Setting for each fx would be better selectable.
Midi sync is needed or a preset rate.

Most software fx are the same, vst, ipad what ever.

Boring!!
Wow- thanks for this review. I was very surprised on the live latency. How bad do you perceive it- as I would be playing flute and would be very sensitive to latencies larger than I experience with the regular guitar fx apps out there currently (which are great). My purchase button is on hold until I hear more. Also, I agree, compression, eq, distortion, harmonics- all great fx that I would like to see represented in there.

Thanks again for the review
Jason Schoepfer
Rocky Mountain Sounds
http://www.rockymountainsounds.com

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No keen on any iOS synths if they have fiddly little knobs - you can even see from the demo video how fiddly they are. Developers for iOS need to make interfaces that better suit the touchscreen and the less knobs the better.

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While I can certainly see where mod4 is coming from, I would like to throw in my 2¢, as I just purchased this a few days ago and have been messing around with it since

Firstly, on the surface it does appear to be "just another effects box," but after messing around with the app for a few minutes I was able to get some pretty interesting sounds from the sync grain module, which does real-time granular synthesis according to the devs' site, certainly not an effect you run across in every app. Also, the ring modulator is a lot of fun to play with and I was able to produce a fairly diverse range of sounds with it. But, then there are the more standard effects like delay, chorus, etc. So, I would say there is certainly a bit more than meets the eye here.

Also, not sure why mod4 mentions the effects being unchained, as I had all of the effects running at once in my first session with the app and was able to adjust each ones mix independently.

In regards to live latency, this can definitely be an issue with the app, as it can with any app that allows for live input. However, in the settings menu there is an option that lets you adjust the buffer size and when I was playing my guitar through the live input (with my Alesis IO Dock) I was able to find a lower buffer size setting that allowed me to play with no noticeable latency. It just takes some fiddling to find the sweet spot. Also, there is a compressor that can be applied when using live input.

Haven't experimented much with the MIDI capabilities yet, but there are assignable CCs, which can control knobs as well as effect on/off states, so again not sure what mod4 means when he says "Midi input is just note on off."

That's about all, I might post more thoughts after spending more time with it, but so far I think it's a pretty nice processing tool that I will definitely come back to frequently. Happy to have it in my arsenal!

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Is it worth the $10 in your opinion?
Jason Schoepfer
Rocky Mountain Sounds
http://www.rockymountainsounds.com

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Well, it's certainly an app that I have been coming back to a fair amount. I really enjoy randomizing as many knobs as I can and just listening to the app transform my samples. I have found myself leaving it running like this in the room while I answer emails and such.

So, I purchased it about 4 days ago and have used it at least a few hours each day since, haven't felt buyer's remorse yet.

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Bought this a couple of days ago. Absolutely love it. I'm into soundscape and drone stuff (Pan records one of my favourite labels) and this is perfect for these sort of sounds and textures. I love the way it looks as well. This has instantly become one of my favourite Apps. Love it.

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A lot of info on this at CDM.

http://createdigitalmusic.com/2012/04/c ... naissance/

Mentions csTouch (basically Csound for iOS) as well as some other self-contained apps. Interestingly the VSound source code for the apps will be made available too, so you could potentially customise them...
Coming soon (in a month)
Csound Touch - all of Csound on the iPad! Run any opcode, run any orchestra, run any composition. Run the entire Csound Book, Csound Catalog, Csound Manual. It all works and it's all there!
and the a few weeks after that….
More Csound Apps such as:
csSpectral - Realtime vocoding, convolution, and spectral processing.
csFuzz - a rack of guitar effects.
csVoice - a vocal synthesizer, harmonizer, processor.
csGen - algorithmic, probabilistic, and generative composition systems.
csModel - a collection of Physical and Physically Inspired Models.
csClassics - a collection of synths based on the classic techniques - FM/AM/RM/WaveShaping/Granular/Additive/Etc.

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Great app. But importing/exporting sounds from my computer to the ipad and vice versa is boring. Is there a vst doing basically the same stuff? I am particulary interested by changing the playback speed with a knob and recording the output. Any idea?

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