Syntheogen, new sequencer and synth for Android

[the_s_rabbit]

The vid has good content, but the pace is too fast for me. Maybe break it up into smaller video segments and slow the pace down. I barely have time to read the text in the captions that pop up. Mostly, it's because you are doing a lot of other stuff in the app, and as I'm trying to process and digest what's happening, a caption pops up and I have to mentally "change gears" to focus on it and read it. By the time I do that, the caption is gone and you're already moving on to the next thing.

So that's my recommendation. Break it down into smaller chunks and slow it down. Making instructional vids is a PITA, especially for apps that are so richly packed with features, like yours. Keep up the good work! I think it will really pay off.

[anthemion]

The vid has good content, but the pace is too fast for me. Maybe break it up into smaller video segments and slow the pace down. I barely have time to read the text in the captions that pop up. Mostly, it's because you are doing a lot of other stuff in the app, and as I'm trying to process and digest what's happening, a caption pops up and I have to mentally "change gears" to focus on it and read it. By the time I do that, the caption is gone and you're already moving on to the next thing.

So that's my recommendation. Break it down into smaller chunks and slow it down. Making instructional vids is a PITA, especially for apps that are so richly packed with features, like yours. Keep up the good work! I think it will really pay off.

Thank you, that's useful feedback. I really couldn't figure the right speed for the captions and pauses; I'll slow it down next time. You're totally right about breaking it up, too. I was stuck on the idea that this would be a short, simple video, so I didn't think of splitting it, even when it started to grow in length.

Thanks very much!

[SirKen]

Nice app. Fooled around with the demo for a while and then purchased it after I figured out how to change the scales and visibility of the tracks thanks to the instructional video.

Any chance of adding an option to disable the haptic feedback? I want to spend more time with it but cannot stand that vibration.

[anthemion]

Nice app.

Thank you!

Any chance of adding an option to disable the haptic feedback? I want to spend more time with it but cannot stand that vibration.

Oh, yeah I can do that. I'm releasing a minor update in two or three days; I'll add that to the release. You'll find it in the Setup dialog.

[SirKen]

Thanks for the update. I can disable that horrid haptic feedback now.

[anthemion]

Thanks for the update. I can disable that horrid haptic feedback now.

Excellent, I'm glad to help!

Also, for anyone who might be interested in creating sample packs for Syntheogen -- for their own use, or for sale, or whatever -- I've published a first draft of the Syntheogen 'sound manifest' standard:

http://www.syntheogen.com/support_samp_packs.html

The standard might look imposing, but the process is actually pretty easy, especially if your WAV files are ready and you already know the loop points, et cetera. By the way, crossfade looping is not supported yet, but I'm hoping to add that very soon.

For the time-being, this is the only way to add samples to Syntheogen. I might add a sample editor to the app some day, but there are many other features I'll be implementing before that.

[planeth]

Just tried your app today, anthemion. It feels like you put a lot of good work in it. The Graphics look excellent. The workflow is a bit confusing to me, but actually this doesn't means a lot, since everyone has his own imagination of the "perfect" workflow, or his own way of creating music.
Anyway, great work, keep it up

[anthemion]

The workflow is a bit confusing to me, but actually this doesn't means a lot, since everyone has his own imagination of the "perfect" workflow, or his own way of creating music.

Yes, and it's been especially challenging to design for phone-sized displays. I've been busy the last few weeks, but I'll be back on Syntheogen soon, and I hope to add a few more videos. If something seems particularly confusing, please let me know what it is, and I'll see what I can do.

Anyway, great work, keep it up

Right on, thanks!

[anthemion]

Just tried your app today, anthemion...

Oh wait... you're the developer of G-Stomper. I thought 'planeth' looked familiar, and then I saw it in my credit card statement just now.

That is a very impressive app. I just bought a copy recently, having been (ironically) too busy with Syntheogen to keep up with other developers' work. I was amazed when I saw how much functionality you had added since my last look. Like I was saying about Caustic, I'm really aiming at a different part of the market, but at the same time, I have to at least approach the functionality of the bigger apps, and that's going to be more difficult than I expected.

Anyway, I'm an EMX-1 user myself, so I look forward to using G-Stomper a bit more. It's been excellent so far.

[musical android]

Is it not crazy how much has been added the last couple of months!
It must be the cold weather.

[planeth]

Oh wait... you're the developer of G-Stomper. I thought 'planeth' looked familiar, and then I saw it in my credit card statement just now.

Yes, you're right;). Thanks a lot for your saying about G-Stomper.

What I can say is, that you did something much better from the beginning than I did with G-Stomper. Your Graphics design is just excellent and looks very professional. And I think, this is the first step to get a good piece of the market cake.
G-Stomper 1.0 was very ugly. I thought, if it sounds great, nobody would care about the look, lol, I was sowhat wrong. I changed a lot since then, and it definitely looks much better now, but it's still not what people call a 'highly polished interface'.

What I meant with the workflow:
I'm a Hardware lover since ages, and so I always preferred Grooveboxes, Synths or Drum Machines instead of using DAW's. so I don't like Menus very much. That's the reason why most features in G-Stomper are accessible without using Menus. But everyone has his own opinion or way of creating music. And there are definitely people, who find the G-Stomper layout confusing;)

I'm looking forward to see where Syntheogen goes next

[anthemion]

Is it not crazy how much has been added the last couple of months!
It must be the cold weather.

I was thinking that myself last week! It's much easier to concentrate when there's snow on the ground. And planeth is in Switzerland; that really gives him an unfair advantage.

Yes, you're right;). Thanks a lot for your saying about G-Stomper...

Thank you, though I'm still somewhat dissatisfied myself. I made some unusual choices when I designed the framework that supports the dialogs and controls, and it ended up taking a lot more time to implement something that in some ways is less flexible.

I don't remember what the earlier versions of G-Stomper looked like, but I think you're right: users have high expectations about an app's appearance these days, and mobile users seem to be especially obsessed with this. I'm not exactly bothered by that; I think our first job as developers is to get users excited about working with our software, and interesting designs are an obvious way to do that. Unfortunately, it is much harder to implement a nice-looking app than people realize.