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SunVox [iPhone, Sound]

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SunVox is a modular sequencing application that has been ported to almost every platform under the sun (sorry, terrible pun). It’s especially targeted to mobile platforms – in addition to working on Windows, Mac and Linux, it also works on PalmOS, Windows Mobile, and now the iPhone. I spent a little time with the iPhone version and am pretty pleased with what I’ve seen so far.

The interface is split into 3 areas which can be resized more or less at will by tapping on the resizer bar. This is very important because SunVox packs a lot of features onto one screen. The top area features a Tracker style pattern editor. Users of Buzz, Psycle, Traktor, etc. will find themselves right at home. The bottom right features a module view where you can create and link up modules and the left area shows the settings for the selected module. Figuring out how stuff works is fairly easy and for the most part everything works as expected.  The tracker pattern area takes a little getting used to since you don’t move the cursor by direct tapping, but instead by dragging.  This setup makes sense  when you don’t want to obscure what you are tapping on.  Plus you can do the pinch/zoom gesture to zoom in and out.

Overall the GUI is very snappy and it doesn’t ever seem sluggish. I appreciate the nice big font in the tracker view and the overall look is nice, but could use a little more color in places to jazz it up. I also like that each pattern has it’s own user drawable icon – a nice creative touch that works great on the small screen. While the interface is good there are a few things that could be improved to really optimize the experience for the iPhone. For one – there’s no reason to display the iPhone status bar at the top. It’s very easy to hide and would free up valuable screen real estate. Second – while the resizing windows works well, I think the ‘one window’ approach would work better on the iPhone. I would have 3 icons to switch between the three windows and show each  screen full sized. Having to constantly resize your workspace depending on what you are working on is a waste of time.

My other critique has to do with the built in sound modules. While they are interesting and easy to play with, they don’t really offer much in the way of tweakable parameters. If you are looking for even a simple 1-Osc synth with an enveloped filter you may be disappointed. SunVox keeps the same modules across all platforms which is great, but I know the iPhone is capable of a little more than what’s offered. That said, the simple modules should let you hook up lots of stuff, and you can also use samples, so users should still find lots of creative alternatives. Having simpler modules also gives the app a signature gameboyish sound, which is cool.

Gripes aside, SunVox is a really nice platform for sketching out musical ideas. I had a little tune up and running within minutes.  I can see this app really appealing to fans of other hand-held sequencing platforms, like the Gameboy, PSP and DS, and anyone who’s longed for a handheld version of Buzz. The fact that you can hook up Generators and Effects however you like should allow for a lot of fun experimentation. This app is a lot deeper than most iPhone apps and is really worth exploring.

Platform: iPhone
Version: 1.4.5
Cost: $4.99
Developer: Alexander Zolotov
itunes

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  • http://www.didierlahely.com 10dier

    Nice one! Wonder how “complicated” it may be for a newbie like me…

  • http://www.creativeapplications.net Filip

    See also Nanoloop – http://www.creativeapplications.net/iphone/nano… — Might be less daunting ..

  • http://www.didierlahely.com 10dier

    Merci Filip! : ) I know about Nanoloop also… Aaaaarh… Too much apps now! Surprisely, the one I enjoy the most right now is ProLoop; more a DJ mix than creation but… Efficient to think you are Bob Sinclar!! Cheers!

  • Superterrificname

    Well in reply to both you and the review I would say that getting to first base on this is pretty damn easy (IF you take the time to educate yourself a little on the basics of tracker-style programs). The review says “they don’t really offer much in the way of tweakable parameters” which I really am not seeing. I mean I guess It lacks the screen full of showy knobs that I see in so many modern synths but what I do see is the most powerful essentials. I have worked in very complicated programs such as Puredata and Reaktor and I can say that SunVox is as powerful as most expensive difficult programs but takes you a fraction of the time to create amazing sounds and songs. It walks the line between simple and powerful quite beautifully… and fits in your pocket! :) ~Jeff Fairlight

  • Littlewoodg

    The tweakablity of synth here is actually the point…the multisynth module allows you to make your own synth of an apparently unlimIted array of modules including simple oscillators and fm and drawable and sample synth etc etc…dev has no intention of making VST a part of his application because he knows this thing does it all…

  • Littlewoodg

    The tweakablity of synth here is actually the point…the multisynth module allows you to make your own synth of an apparently unlimIted array of modules including simple oscillators and fm and drawable and sample synth etc etc…dev has no intention of making VST a part of his application because he knows this thing does it all…