Folks already familiar with the Dewanatron Swarmatron synthesizer will feel at home with this new synth for iPad called RS-08. The RS-08 is basically like 8 Swarmatrons in one. Ok so here is a little info about the Swarmatron. The Swarmatronwas created to produce eight tones tuned approximately to one note, each tone slightly different in pitch to produce a complex and natural choral effect. These eight oscillators can be played with a single ribbon controller (variable resistor) to move the pitch center up or down. The span control expands the sound of a swarm of eight notes spread just a few cents apart into a wide chord of equidistant pitches spread over the entire spectrum. The player can “taffy pull” the resulting chord by using the span control and pitch ribbon in tandem. Swarms of sine waves evoke swarms of angels congregating. Swarms of sawtooth waves evoke the swarming of bees. The sound of a host of voices, earthly or unearthly, has a unique character recognized by the ear even when they are folded together in unison.
(Swarmatron)
NOW enter the RS-08. RS-08 is a unusual synthesizer loosely inspired by the compositions of György Ligeti (and in my opinion the Swarmatron). It is an eight oscillator ribbon mono synth with fine tunable chord memory. The XYPad allows smooth pitch control and immediate jump to play back of 8 “Chord Slot” Chord Slots are the saved, fine or coarse oscillators pitches. RS-08 has 8 Chord Slots. The XYPad allows instant call back of a chord slot making RS-08 a great synth for playing one finger chords, or rich and dense cluster chords, or super saw like textures. The XYPad combined with careful setup of “Chord Slot” and glide control can yield an interesting micropolyphony performances. So essentially we have eight Swarmatrons (chord slots) here and a choice of three different waveforms PLUS ADSR filter and effects. So it’s like a Swarmatron on roids.
Some features I hope for in future updates:
MIDI
import your own wavetables
What’s New in Version 1.1.0
Audiobus 2 support (Requires iOS 8 or higher)
IAA support (Inter–App Audio)
Currently the features above are just a wish list sadly as this little app has some killer potential.
RS-08