For anyone else out there like me, whose other interest is music and electronic musical instruments, Moog Music released "Animoog" today.
It's quite remarkable - based on Moog's new anisotropic synthesis engine. Touted as a "professional" synth for iPad (and it really is) it is incredible played either standalone or combined with your other MIDI-controlled synths in tracking mode. Truly incredible output.
If you have an iPad - and are even remotely interested in synthetic electronic music, GET IT!!! For 30 days it is only 99c from the App Store, before it goes up to the 30 dollar mark.
ASHEVILLE, NC – October 17, 2011-- Moog Music today announced the release of Animoog, the World’s first professional polyphonic synthesizer designed for Apple’s iPad. For a 30-day, limited-time price of only $.99, professional musicians, hobbyists and music fans alike can have access to Moog’s newest, groundbreaking synthesizer technology. Regular price $29.99
The heart of Animoog is Moog’s Anisotropic Synthesis Engine (ASE), a technology that has been in development at Moog for nearly six years. Animoog captures the vast sonic vocabulary of Moog synthesizers and applies it to the modern touch surface paradigm, enabling any user to quickly sculpt incredibly fluid and dynamic sounds that live, breathe, and evolve as they play them.Whether users are new to synthesizers or are professional musicians, Animoog’s unique user interface gives them the ultimate tool for total creative expression.
“Animoog is an amazingly entertaining instrument,” said Mike Adams, president of Moog Music. “It is fun and educational. There will be people who discover the joy of making music using a synthesizer through Animoog who might not have otherwise. It is truly an entertaining experience for anyone.” Adams explains, “ASE was originally designed for Moog’s hardware synthesizers, but the technology is so incredible that we decided to make it available to everyone. With Animoog, we’re taking the fear out of buying a professional music application, and giving people a nearly-free opportunity to explore a truly inspirational creative tool.”
Animoog removes the boundaries of conventional instruments and brings an exciting array of creative tools to users’ fingertips. Its graphical user interface is dynamic and immersive. Much more than a simple app, Animoog takes full advantage of the iPad’s multi-touch surface. It gives artists the creative freedom to create and intimately control an entire sonic universe.
Ayad Al Adhamy, of the band Passion Pit, says, “While there are other iPad synthesizer apps (trust me - I might have all of them) what makes Animoog different is that it is not an app but an instrument. Moog has filled in the gap that other apps haven't - it is simple to use and it sounds great!"
Animoog launches today, just ahead of MoogFest (http://www.moogfest.com/), a three-day, multi-venue festival in Asheville, North Carolina, that brings together renowned musicians from around the world to honor the legacy of the company’s founder, Bob Moog. This year’s lineup is headlined by Passion Pit, Moby, TV On The Radio, The Flaming Lips and more.
Animoog is the second iOS app from Moog Music. In 2010, the company released Filtatron, a real-time audio effects engine and powerful studio tool for the iPhone/iPod and iPad. It is also on sale for $.99 for the next 30 days only.
Key Features:
· Anisotropic Synth Engine (ASE) - An exciting new Moog technology that allows the user to move dynamically through an X/Y space of unique timbres to create an expressive and constantly evolving soundscape.
· Timbre page – Assemble unique sounds in the X/Y space from timbres of a wide variety of vintage and modern Moog synthesizers and pedals Note: this is NOT simple sample playback.
· Polyphonic Modulation– Users simply slide their fingers to control multiple modulation parameters in Animoog right from the keys.
· Polyphonic Pitch Shifting – Users easily manipulate the exact pitch of each note in a chord by rotating or sliding their fingers.
· Delay Module - A classic analog style ping pong delay.
· Thick Module - From bit crushing to unison voice detuning and drive, this module adds depth, edge and character to Animoog’s already massive sound palette.
· Moog Filter - The classic four-pole Moog ladder filter with High Pass, Low Pass and Band Pass modes.
· Record Module – Users can record a performance and overdub new layers, or play along live. Transfer recordings between Animoog and any other apps which support AudioCopy/AudioPaste
· Path Module - Direct ASE through Animoog’s XY space to create new expressive and shifting sounds.
· Orbit Module – Users control the rate of orbit in the XY space around the path they created for subtle to insane voice manipulation.
· Flexible Modulation Matrix - Amp, Filter and Mod Envelopes,LFO with infinitely variable wave shapes and sync, andfour super flexible and assignable modulation slots.
· MIDI in/out - Use a Little Phatty or any other MIDI controller to control Animoog.
It's got to be a good thing getting more tactile control over VSTs, mixing, etc. Looks like a pretty amazing bit of software. Will be cool when iPads have velocity sensitive touchscreens and someone writes an MPC clone?
(for all I know someone has )
Meanwhile, some of us sit and play acoustic instruments and record to 16trk 1" tape through a 24 channel desk
Then run one more channel on the desk! I have enough trouble managing my eight channels, thanks very much.
I hear you, as I've played acoustic (piano, flute, trumpet) since 1970. I'm enjoying a renaissance with electronica - and it's a revelation. There'll always be room for traditional instruments.
Just tried animoog and filtertron on my iPad and they are freaking awesome, but GarageBand is the ducks guts. I can't believe how this is all possible after many years building analog synths,it's insane. Despite my hatred of apple for being the only company capable of producing software that hard resets my PC,is at times blindingly unintuitive, and has by far the least helpful info on serious miss haps, I must say if I keep the iPhone and ipd well away from my PC , apps such as these are an absolute marvel
How do I assign each block a sound of its own? Or, is that not how it works?
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Good on you Humayun - it's another top iDevice music app. Did you get standard or pro?
The "boxes" you're speaking of are factory pre-configured modulation settings - in reference to the available poly or arp presets you're playing at the time. They are designed by Camel Audio to be moved between, from box to box, with each transition appearing as a natural and pleasant translation from one soundscape to the next. Very clever. You can't reconfigure them and store an alternative as such. Make sure you slide slowly between boxes and don't tap them - otherwise transitions are too sharp (unless that's what you wish to hear).
Download the sampled sound banks - they're huge (several hundred megabytes each), so do it via wifi. At $5.49 each I've downloaded all of them - especially fond of the "Arp Dimensions", but also now have "BigTone" and "Cinematic". Excellent synth for live baselines.
I just got Alchemy Synth Mobile. Can't remember how much it was. Was cheap, though.
I take it you can only choose from the drop down list the starting synth (and beat), and, then moving between the other banks, you phase through the transitions?
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I have enough trouble managing my eight channels, thanks very much. 
