Moog Responds To Animoog Update Concerns

Moog Music‘s update last week to Animoog has caused problems for a lot of users – crashing on start and causing users to lose custom patches that they’ve created. The update also introduced a new feature, MIDI Out, that Moog is making available as an in-app purchase.

When we realized Synthtopia readers were having problems with the update, we reported on this and asked Moog to fix Animoog asap. We also asked them to keep MIDI free. Our view is that MIDI is an important standard to support, it’s a standard feature of both hardware and software synths and that keeping MIDI standard benefits both users and app developers.

Animoog Update On The Way

Moog realizes that the Animoog 1.1.0 release has been a rocky one and is working hard to get an Animoog fix available asap. We’ve been in contact with them and this is what they had to say about the Animoog update issue:

Prior to launching Animoog V1.1, we rigorously tested its functionality. Neither we nor Apple found any issue with it.

Once released in the App Store, a missing file created a communication error, which crash logs immediately reported. We have addressed the issue and are currently awaiting Apple’s approval of V1.1.1, which adds this missing file.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and are working with Apple to secure a safer upgrade path for all Animoog users in the future.

Moog also responded to our concern about charging for MIDI out in Animoog.

The Animoog MIDI Expansion Pack

Moog shared details on the apps new MIDI features and their reasoning for releasing these as an in-app purchase:

The MIDI Expansion Pack transforms Animoog into a MIDI controller as innovative and richly expressive as the Animoog sound engine itself.

The Animoog touch keyboard becomes a source for polyphonic MIDI notes with velocity and aftertouch, using Animoog’s custom note scales which are saved per preset. Poly-pressure translates the dynamic of each finger movement into MIDI data, while Channel pressure ensures compatibility with the widest range of existing synthesizers. Of course the on-screen Pitch and Mod strips send Pitch Wheel and Modulation messages as well.

The keyboard MIDI output also uses a special Polyphonic Legato message, created by Moog in order to accurately record the unique playing styles made possible by Animoog’s polyphonic, continuous ribbon-style keyboard. Polyphonic Legato allows you to record and play back Animoog performances while preserving expressive glides from note to note, with full polyphony. Since the performance is recorded as MIDI, you can keep tweaking the sound even after you’ve nailed the perfect expressive rendition of the notes.

MIDI Mapping is also expanded, with the ability to send any assignable MIDI CC messages from Animoog’s on-screen controls, including the X-Y Pad. This allows you to use all of Animoog as a control surface for your plugins or external hardware. In addition, you can record and play back MIDI knob tweaks in the same way as you can a keyboard performance.

We can understand Moog’s position on the Animoog MIDI Expansion Pack. They’ve obviously put a lot of thought into it. They’ve also had to push the limits of what is possible with MIDI in order to be able to capture full range of polyphonic expression that Animoog is capable of.

We still question handling MIDI Out as an in-app option, though. The biggest benefit of MIDI is interoperability and this depends on the ubiquity of the MIDI standard.

In the case of Animoog, its MIDI out implementation offers some unique and powerful capabilities. Ideally, you’d be able to use Animoog as a controller to play a variety of software synths – as expressively as you can play Animoog itself. This depends on other synth developers supporting Animoog’s unique MIDI implementation, though, and there’s less impetus for them to do this, when only a subset of Animoog users will have this feature.

Ultimately, Moog has to be able to support continued development on Animoog – and charging for the MIDI Expansion Pack is one way to do this. We’d like to see MIDI support stay standard and ubiquitous – but we’d rather pay for the feature than for it not be possible for Moog to make it available.

Animoog is available now in the App Store.

77 thoughts on “Moog Responds To Animoog Update Concerns

  1. I still call bullshit. MIDI is a standard, and no matter how fancy your app is at implementing it, it needs to be part of the base price of the device. This used to be the way companies differentiated themselves and attracted new customers. Now, thanks to micro-transactions, it seems to be the way companies punish customers. This approach only guarantees that your “premium” feature becomes insignificant because it can’t be relied upon as standard in the device, and so nobody uses it or develops for it.

    I also call bullshit because Moog charges premium prices for all it’s products across the board. They aren’t hurting for development money.

    1. Moog doesn’t make cheap products, but they aren’t overpriced for what you get. How many other companies even try to make beautiful and powerful analog gear, these days?

      1. The arent overpriced for what you get? You get the same shit as any other company, its not like theyre hand wired or the wood is exotic. On top of that theyre charging top dollar for an app written for a computer with processing power comparable to a decade ago on a platform thats just plain dick simple to code then come up with a cute sales pitch to try and sway the public to agree they need to charge for a STANDARD. Does Robert Moog still design or build these synths? OF COURSE NOT!!!! Its a team of office jerks and engineers like ANY OTHER COMPANY.

        Then theres the “Moog sound”. Thats just plain stupid. I remember when I got my Bass Station I went around the store comparing analogs and hybrids…As far as the Moog sound, if you MUST have that logo just get a damn Taurus and quit acting like because it says Moog and you paid $4K there is ANYTHING special about their build or engineering. There is not. You want great quality and great sound and pay a premium price, sure….buy Moog. If you want great sound and pay a reasonable price then buy a DSI, Doepfer, or just do what I did to get that “Moog sound”….pick up a Bass Station and laugh at suckers that paid $4K for a sound and being able to replicate with a DCO (that you wont have to tune) but still have a FAT VCF.

        Either way, I know that everyone thinks a lot of companies are special, individual snowflakes that can cure AIDS and send a man to the moon but the reality is theyre all the same type of development team and they all do the same thing: Churn out devices that really haven’t had many crazy innovations to whoever they can get to think it a great, unique product.

        In Short:
        You could buy a Lambo with all the bells for a quarter or half million and look like a douche…or you can buy an Evo or an STI with the same bells and gain entry to the douche smasher club.

        1. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Moog provided a straight forward method to work around the issue. Problem solved day one. Moog still makes some of the best stuff out there. Be a dick somewhere else, mobile music doesn’t need butt weazles like you!

          Long live Animoog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      2. Midi is only standard with keyboard controllers bearing a pitch wheel. As soon as every fingertip can bend notes independently, you have to extend the standard. I have written code for this on synth and controller end multiple times. There are many ways to approximate independent voices continuously doing timbre, pitch, and amplitude; and none of the ways you can do it are 100% correct, as you can trivially do by abandoning it for osc.

        Remember that pitch wheel bend size is limited and changes, while you have to put every note into its own channel to get voice independence. What this means to you is that midi out for animoog is necessarily a high maintenance and experimental feature. Very few synths can correctly deal with this complex form of midi.

    2. So are you saying Moog should just charge $50 instead of $.99 out of the gate? How many customers does that attract? It took them almost a year to release FREE MIDI IN and the MIDI expansion pack, so we can assume it took some effort. I understand if you don’t want to pay for the level of quality they produce, but bashing them for deciding what they want to charge for a product is just ignorant. This is America. If you don’t want to pay for something, buy something else. BTW, Moog designs and makes their hardware synths by hand in the US and like it or not, that costs money

      1. Its only ignorant if you dont know how the business works. Like the price of a Virus. I love the Virus, but its digital and the price is complete crackpipe. Id love to see what the actual cost of building a Virus or a Moog is, the markup has to be insane….crackpipe insane.

        My tenure as engineer at a boutique studio monitor manufacturer (which shall remain nameless) really showed me what it means to smoke crack and make prices….The final ship versions, hand built and tuned from scratch myself cost around $300 with parts and labor….street price $2500 each. Did they sound great? FUCK YEAH!!! $5000 great? FUCK NO!!! Fact is I tuned them to be perfectly neutral WITHIN 1db in a perfectly tuned room with the best Urie spectographs available…the $5K paid for Corvette my retarded boss drove and the SS Camaro the executive office manager drove, or the Navigator his girlfriend drove, or the 3 whatevers his girlfriends daughter drove….BUT, unlike Moog, I hand soldered those monitors and crossovers. The only thing I didnt do in the entire process was make the coils and baffle them.

        Believe you me, its not ignorant to knock what a company charges…its a travesty not to knock them. Its all based on getting their pocket fat… not music, business, or the integrity of the industry…just plain ol’ marketing for greed.

        By the way, Moog is not handmade. Moog is hand ASSEMBLED. HUGE difference and a Big whoop….the price just indicates they know nothing about cost saving effectively for the consumer.

    3. I agree and second that right on. If MIDI is an add-on, why offer Mod-wheel, Pitch-bend, Filters, Env/Mod, etc as standard features? You could charge $5 for each of those frills right? You could also charge to access the In-Store purchase feature right? Don’t contradict yourself. Your app seems only like a mine of plugins, sound libraries, features, add-ons just to milk money. CUBASIS is the BEST – it comes with everything and doesn’t nickel-n-dime the users for standard features. You want to market your product? Get a class in marketing first. You can develop your product later.

  2. They can take their midi out and stick it. I refuse to support the sale of midi in the form of a in-app purchase. Bad enough we gotta buy timbres. I don’t mind the patches because I have no need for those anyway. Really disappointed with this.

    Developers please let me know up front in your app description if your going to charge (IAP) for midi so I can just swipe past your app.

    Thank You

  3. Is it possible yet in iOS to do MIDI In/Out through the data cable into the host’s USB port? Last time I tried to use the iPad as a MIDI controller the lag was too high and too variable to do it wirelessly with any kind of real accuracy. I realize there are other (costly) wired options out there, but it would be so much easier just to use the data cable – and charge while you play.

    1. You can get really low latency if you set up an Ad Hoc network between the iPad and your computer. I use mine all the time with unnoticeable latency. On my regular WiFi network it’s pretty much unusable, but with Ad Hoc it’s great!

      1. I’m not sure who would vote you down, perhaps it was from someone that hasn’t tried your approach. I have, and it works great.

        My Mac Pro is connected to the same gigabit network as my wireless access point. I have very noticeable latency when I use my iPad to control my Mac through that access point. When I configure the iPad to connect directly to the Mac Pro’s wireless adapter, the latency almost completely disappears. There’s still some there, but it’s low enough that it doesn’t bother me for most applications.

        1. Sometimes I think people just go through and thumbs-down everything!

          I’m actually doing the opposite most of the time – I have a MIDI controller going into Ableton and then the MIDI is routed out to my ipad synths. With the adhoc network it’s very playable (although a better keyboardist might disagree).

  4. You people are cheap asses. $5 to get a badass midi controller that can do things that you can’t do with any other midi controller is nothing. You must be the same people that steal all of your software and expect everyone to give everything away for free because it is on a device with a CPU.

    Moog rocks. Animoog is wicked and is a bargain for everything that it can do. Keep up the good work!

    1. I totally agree with you. I find the argument that MIDI is a standard and shouldn’t be charged for to be a little odd. To me that’s like saying keys on a keyboard are standard and you shouldn’t charge for them. Yeah, you shouldn’t charge extra for conforming to the size/shape/spacing of the keys, but if somebody is going to effort to include them, charging for it isn’t a big deal.

      Also, by the way – welcome to fucking 2012 people. How many of you who are bitching about $5 paid 99 cents for the app to begin with? And how many of you have paid $99 or $199 or more for a VST synth that isn’t as good? That’s the cost/benfit to the “race to the bottom” pricing in the App Store – developers have to charge next to nothing to get their app placement on the charts in the first place, but then they have to make money somehow, which they will do through in-app purchases. Think of this as an ala carte model – they could have tacked the extra $5 onto the original purchase price and nobody would have blinked an eye. But now if you have no need for the MIDI out, you just saved 5 bucks – you should be thanking them.

  5. All this anger over $5 is absolutely fucking hilarious. Try and get some perspective here, your anger makes you look petty, at best.

    The new Midi Out is Light Years beyond what others are doing, and I’m really enjoying it using with other iOS apps that have crappy midi implementations and costed much more. Think about it!

    1. You dont think it petty they charge $5 for something rudimentary? Im glad they were able to sell it to you as a gift from the gods, but fact is you had the equivalent to walking into Burger King and being charged $2 for a cup of water.

      1. Read my above post. MIDI is standard for *keyboard* controllers, and any coder can implement that. It is a major pain to get it even approximately correct on touchscreen controllers, because the MIDI standard never envisioned a controller where every fingertip can bend completely independently and bend to any extent (ie: a 12700 cent bend from the lowest note.)

        Tom White, the guy that maintains the standard has said this… That MIDI was never designed a a frequency oriented protocol, and that it is not possible to do this completely correct in MIDI, while being impossible to solve every problem that arises with MIDI pitch representation.

        This is in fact a high maintenance feature that should be IAP to keep it from jacking up the price of the app as a whole.

        The guy that wrote Animoog is also on the Midi board as well, and wrote the firmware in their newer hardware devices. They know exactly what they are doing.

  6. Most folks got the app for a buck. Doing MIDI out that fully supports poly aftertouch isn’t exactly trivial stuff, so paying a little bit to support further development (including add-on Timbres) for less than the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks is fair. If you don’t like it, you are free to purchase something else (or download any on of the zillions of free apps that clog your iPad with ads and trackers.) Or just use it as it is. It’s a pretty great instrument even without the updates.

  7. Thinking I couldn’t publish the f word on my fave site made me far angrier than any in app purchase! Lol, but alas something else was going on with the nefarious net, and now everyone gets the joy of reading my sentiment three times 🙂

    1. F that!

      Looks like your browser might have been showing you a cached version of the page, which wouldn’t include your comment after you posted it. If that happens, usually refreshing the page will force your browser to get an updated copy of the page content.

      Fyi – we do have the comment system configured to send comments to moderation when certain words are used. We limit this for words that are only used in an offensive context and stuff that spammers hit Synthtopia hard with. Beyond that, the comment system has an ‘intelligent’ spam filter that tries to filter out spam based on the content.

  8. Nice follow up article. Yes Moog made a misstep with the update glitch but I wholeheartedly agree that a $5 update to add well thought out functionality is pretty much an ultimate bargain. When I added the Radias card to my M3 it cost me $299, when I upgrade my DAW it costs me over $100, same for my notation software. Since the iTunes App Store doesn’t support paid upgrades, I think doing it as an optional purchase through IAP is fine. And yeah, I can skip a Vente Latte for one day to add this great level of functionality.

    1. That’s the right attitude. “Its not a bug, its a feature” has a cousin in “Its not a disaster, its just a misstep.” IMO, buying their MIDI modification is a no-brainer. That’s an incredible accomplishment in several ways. Its not only potent, but sets a standard for others to meet or exceed. Hollering against it infers that you don’t really love your synth enough to feed it, aww, that’s so bogus, dood. I guess I’m “weird,” but I appreciate getting that much added power for a mere $5. If Bob was still living, easily half of those features would have been HIS ideas. The whole thing is very Moog-ly.

      1. “it sets a standard for others to meet”

        The question is – will any synth developers support Animoog’s custom version of the MIDI standard?

        It would be sweet to use Animoog to play Sunrizer and other iPad synths. But do you think developers are going to put effort into supporting a feature that’s only available to a fraction of the users of one synth?

        1. >>> “it sets a standard for others to meet”
          The question is – will any synth developers support Animoog’s custom version of the MIDI standard?

          That IS a fair question. My thumbnail-sketch answer: The whole ‘pad’ field is still so new, its having shakedown issues not unlike what MIDI underwent at its inception. If an iPad would run Logic AND several softsynths at once, I’d be a lot more keen on it, but that seems unreasonable to expect, this early on. Therefore, because things will undergo quite a few mods before settling into a more universal environment such as you describe, do this: Enjoy what you have in the Now and call it woodshedding for the time in 5 or 6 years when it gels at the next most stable level. You know it will; just look at the passion people have for it already. My first synth was a MiniMoog and the things I learned from it still inform me here in the DAW age.

  9. I call shenanigans! I thought apple did not allow charging for midi? Remember sound prism? They had to release a pro version cause apple wouldn’t let them have a midi IAP?

  10. Moog can charge whatever they want for whatever they make. If you don’t want to pay for something then don’t buy it. One of my favorite apps is Beatsurfing and it is a midi controller. Should it be free? According to the above logic it should be.

    Bottom line is that Moog have created an amazing instrument with Animoog and by expanding it with the ability to control other programs with the same precision and finese they are offering a fantastic product and should be able to sell it for whatever price they want to. If you want it for free then figure out how to write code, devolope the idea, get it working flawlessly, and write your own app to do it.

    $5 is a small price to pay for how damn convenient it is.

    1. You missed the point of the article entirely.

      The issue isn’t $5. The issue is that there’s no reason for any synth developer to support Moog’s proprietary MIDI implementation. Why would any other developer put effort into supporting what Moog is doing, when they won’t know if anybody’s buying the in-app add on?

      Making this an option that only a few users buy automatically handicaps its future utility with your other synths.

      You should think this through before you suggest that it’s about $5.

      And, even if it were about the $5, you should be smart enough to understand that other customers’ reluctance to pay $5 for MIDI out limits the value you’ll get for YOUR $5.

      I like Animoog, but Magellan just put it on notice.

      1. You missed the point too. I am saying that Moog developed it and they can sell it for whatever they want to. It is your decision to payfor it or not. You do not get to choose the price that someone puts on their product. To me $5 is a small price to pay for what you get. If $5 is too much to pay for an improvement upon an existing system then don’t buy it.

  11. whoa…after reading some of these comments I had to check the address bar to make sure I didn’t accidentally type in whinybitchtopia.com by mistake…

  12. I still wonder of all of this will be moot when Microsoft launches the Surface tablet that could run Cubase or Reaper and all of your VSTs that you already own?

    Suppose it depends on the price point.

    1. But there are zero multitouch instruments and MIDI controllers for Windows 8, and none of the desktop DAWs or VSTs were designed with multitouch in mind.

      So the surface will effectively be an expensive, underpowered laptop. Why bother?

  13. I don’t mind the $5 in-app MIDI capability. The fact that MIDI is “standardized” should not be confused with “standard” (as in, always included). Using the Animoog app as a self-contained instrument is a pretty different function than using that keyboard to control other stuff. I could see the value of being able to record a performance and tweak the sound as the performance is played by an external sequencer.

    I really can’t see anything unethical or problematic about charging for a large add-on to a program that requires development resources and support. I’m holding off on purchasing it until the moment I need it.

  14. The way I see it is that we all agree Animoog is amazing! Honestly I think It rivals some of of my favorite vst ‘s( TAL-U-NO_LX and OPX -PRO II are exempt. For me these two soft synths are amazing in a way that I don”t fully understand.) So Even if midi out is absent from Animoog its Otherworldly! Moog has every right to charge 5 dollars to allow that awesome buchla-esque touch interface to transmit MIDI. When Synthtopia first posted on the recent Animoog update I thought “YEY I get to be the first to comment that they are charging $4.99 for MIDI output.” then my conscience kicked in and I remembered when I first bought it on discount and thought WOW! I would pay five dollars to transmit midi with this keyboard.’ So I decided not to comment. If Moog owe us something it’s the ability for us to create our own wavetables for use as timbres, haha. Im joking about the “Moog owe us” part but I would really like to create my own timbres. I’m counting on you Amos. you answered my last prayer of CC implementation, so get to work!

    1. I agree that the ability to create our own timbres would be amazing. Maybe we should all email moog with that request. That would take Animoog into an entirely different realm.

      1. I haven’t looked into it closely yet, but in the process of this debacle word has spread of a lovely little free utility called iFunBox, which lets you manipulate the “filesystem” on an iOS device (okay, not completely, but work with me here, people). In the process of using iFunBox to bring my presets back to live, I noticed a lot of things that looked like they might be WAV files or some variant. When I get some freetime, I’m gonna pull some of those suckers down and take a close look at ’em.

        Oh — $4.99 for Animoog MIDI? I’ve spent more on less. Much, much more.

        As long as developers are selling synths apps like Animoog or Magellan or Sunrizer for $5 or $10, then it is as Paul Simon sang: “We live in an age of miracles and wonders”.

        (and yeah, I know the “list” price on Animoog is $29.99. But they lower the price frequently — I know a lot of people who own Animoog, but I don’t know anyone who’s paid $29.99 for it. If *you* did, well — you still got a helluva deal).

  15. If you bought Animoog without MIDI out because you liked it, great! If you bought it expecting this feature, sorry, you bought into vapor ware without thinking. Moog should be able to choose to charge whatever they want, at a given time, for the feature set they offer. If adding this well thought out feature would increase the price, I’m sure many would go for it. But not everybody would want it. Why not let people choose?

    I view this as a modular synthesizer. But the modules you want. Pay for what you need. If Moog comes out with an analog drum machine app, people could choose to buy it as a separate product or not. We cannot force Moog to add it as a part of Animoog. This is similar. It is a major feature added to the app that wasn’t a part of why we decided to buy it in the first place. Quit crying over less than the cost of your favorite combo meal, and make some music!

  16. Well, if you like playing the keyboard on an iPad. I for one, find it horrible and have plans to spend time with it. I would only prefer to use the iPad as a sound source, and not a pitch control surface. The keyboard idea looks ok, but it pales to the feel of a real keyboard with enough notes to play music. The size of the Animoog keyboard is just too small for use, in addition to the previously mentioned, lack of touch. Keep it and give me an AniMoog Slim. Investing in that faux keyboard is just like making an investment into another Moog Organ.

    Thanks,

    Mac

  17. I agree with Synthhead – marginalizing MIDI by making it an in-app purchase is a bad idea.

    MIDI should be a standard interconnect mechanism that is built into iOS music apps. If it’s a standard feature that you can count on, it enhances the entire iOS music ecosystem because of the network effect: each app makes every other app more valuable because you can connect them together.

    Part of my brain wants to boycott it in protest of this bad idea which is hopefully not a trend, but I can’t bring myself to give up on something that has polyphonic aftertouch.

  18. I think it’s perfectly ok to pay for such an expressive MIDI controller, IF it only WORKED as advertised. Can anyone post an example of how they got it to control a VST instrument with sliding across the keyboard, without getting stuck notes or strange behaviour? As for now it seems to send out MIDI messages that makes it useless a MIDI controller for any external instruments. I do hope I’m wrong but I haven’t heard anyone who got it to work yet.

    (And yes I’ve tried 2 hosts, several VST synths, and checked with other iPad MIDI controllers like Thumbjam and Soundprism PRO, that work as they should).

    1. Isn’t this exactly the point that this article raises?

      By charging for their non-standard MIDI out feature, Moog is making it worthless, because other no other developers are going to update their apps to be compatible. So you can buy MIDI out, but it won’t work fully with ANY other synth.

      For those of you that think this is a non-issue raised by cheapstakes and whiners – can anybody give an example of Animoog’s.polyphonic expression and legato working with any other synth?

      If it were free and available to all Animoog owners, other developers might actually support Moog’s custom MIDI implementation.

      1. The main point and controversy seems to be all about if you could charge for MIDI capabilities, at all. But very few people seem to have actually tested the functionality.
        If they claim “This allows you to use all of Animoog as a control surface for your plugins or external hardware” and nowhere say that it won’t work with any VST, then it’s false advertising. The feeling you get from the marketing is that you would be able to control your softsynths exactly like the Animmog (polypressure, polyphonic slides). Especially when you read in this article about their hard work and ‘pushing MIDI to the limits’ . I would happily pay for that. And I did, but it doesn’t work. That should be the real controversy.
        Plus – I’ve tried to record the MIDI output into Cubase, then playing it back into Animoog, and even that doesn’t work as advertised. “Polyphonic Legato allows you to record and play back Animoog performances while preserving expressive glides from note to note, with full polyphony. Since the performance is recorded as MIDI, you can keep tweaking the sound even after you’ve nailed the perfect expressive rendition of the notes.”
        It records the NRPN messages but when played back, polyphonic legato is lost. And there’s no documentation on this, the manual hasn’t been updated since november. I wonder if anyone have gotten ANY use out of the MIDI expansion pack?

  19. the polyphonic legato is an interesting toy. but it is normal for moog to charge for things most other manufacturers consider to be standard. (their software editors for hardware products being a prime example) this said, the animoog is extremely good value right off the shelf and is a more innovative synth experience than most other IOS toys!

  20. Well, if they implement MIDI in on Filtatron (along with a bunch of other suggestions I made to them) then all will be forgiven :o)

  21. This is great. Now Moog should work out some kind of deal with Thierry Frenkel to upgrade the Etherwave with his add on circuit board.

  22. When future developers start charging for midi I dont want to see no crying. Because letting moog get away with this opens the door for just that. I don’t care if their so called poly touch beamed midi notes to the future. Midi is Midi. Stand for nothing and fall for anything.

    Then the app isnt even universal so you have to buy everything twice. They come off like some real money hungry turds.

    1. Tour the Moog factory in Asheville, NC and you will see that they’re definitely not rich or money grubbing. One look at the beaters in the parking lot and the plywood walls lets you know no one is getting rich hand building analog synths in the Appalachian Mountains. If they wanted to get rich they’d build in China. Please Moog, don’t listen to this foolishness. Oh and btw, the guided tour was free.

    2. It’s called the “cartridge” culture. They offer a printer for free but make money on selling you proprietary toners. A shaver for free but sell you blade cartridges for the rest of your life. Essentially a “Subscription” model to milk money.

      Animoog is probably the ONLY app on the planet charging for MIDI as an add-on in a software app. How bad is that?

  23. I might (reluctantly) purchase the MIDI expansion as soon as they are able to restore the Richard Devine expansion that I lost in this update.

    the fact that I lost my previous purchases and they are charging for something that (IMHO) should be standard makes me suspect that Moog is trying to extort it’s loyal customers.
    my 2 cents.

  24. Come on folks you can’t even buy a Moog t shirt for five bucks.
    The animoog is the most useable synth on the iPad I have tried many of them and the animoog is only one I really use ,let’s support it.

    Also I totally concure with the poster above ,I have been to the Moog factory in Ashville NC
    And they are great down to earth people.

    1. Incorrect. Animoog is not the most usable DAW app – it’s not even a DAW app – it does not have the track editor… Oh wait… they would release a Track Editor add-on feature and charge $15 for it?

      Cubasis is the MOST usable and the real DAW app. Read up…

  25. With or without the inclusion of MIDI out as a standard with Animoog, there are performance issues that make this app a losing proposition. The first shock is losing all your former presets. If you let go of that and accept the argument that Moog has done a reasonable thing with this upgrade, you still face performance issues. I have experienced immediate loss of wifi connectivity when I select the midi mapping option in Animoog. The app then crashes and doesn’t remember where I left off with the patch I was working on. Moog’s statements about carefully testing the app, etc. rings hollow in the face of this. A product should be ready before it’s sold–a basic standard, wouldn’t you say? In the meantime, is Moog doing anything to fix the problems I’m experiencing???

  26. reading my earlier comment I came of as snotty and jaded and that’s not like me. In all honestly, I’d buy the midi out and I’d buy the RD expansion again. When it comes down to it, I got a Moog for $30 bux and that’s nothing compared to how much I spent on my access virus TI.

  27. As an app developer, I’ll take a lesson here and make sure I never charge money for a midi out expansion pack. But I don’t blame moot for doing it. In my experience, a very simple synth app costs about fourteen thousand dollars to make if you pay people to do the work for you or more than that if you calculate the hours you spend coding yourself, priced at the rate you charge customers for hourly work. After completing the app, you upload it to the app store but most people don’t find it unless you spend another several thousand dollars on advertising. The profit margins are not high, if you even made a profit at all. There’s a reason why moog charges thirty dollars for this app. If they could, other developers would do the same when they make something of really high quality like animoog.

    1. You are mistaken on 2 fronts. First, just because a controller costs some 14K does not mean your should charge 14K for a tablet software app. Just compare it with competing apps. Compare it with Cubasis.

      You don’t need to spend any money on marketing when you have listed your product for sale on the AppStore. That is the advantage of AppStore – it is similar to the Obama’s heath insurance Market Place where insurance companies are listed and appear in search results automatically without any spending. I work for an insurance company that started a new sister company covering 15 states from the scratch and listing it on the market place – within 2 months of launching the company, they have over 27,000 subscribers – but they do NOT appear even on the “40th page” when we search for health insurance on Google. If it was not for the Market Place, they would not have existed or had even less than a dozen subscribers. Apple takes care of listing your product in search results and all the marketing so you as a developer could focus on your development.

  28. By the way, has anyone figured out how to assign a cc number to the parameter that is controlled by the y coordinate of your touch location on the strips? I want to controll that from a midi controller.

  29. Goodness. It’s quite simple. I’ve no problem paying money that funds Moog and their ongoing development. That’s due to my great appreciation of Animoog, which I believe is a bargain at any price.
    To the individual who compared the price of raw materials for speakers with the retail price…you left out design, engineering, testing, warehousing, packaging, marketing and more. Using your logic we should charge nothing for software because 1’s and 0’s are essentially free.

  30. will someone please tell me where I can find the list of cc numbers I can imput in the x/y pad boxes so that I can sequence my screen gestures and swipes into my hardware sequencer ???

  31. moog e’ un altro di quei brand che fa sentire l’utente parte di una elite, e poi dato che pagano circa il doppio degli altri, son poco disposti ad ammetterne i difetti. tutto li il problema.

  32. I would love to see the timbres support external sounds. Wouldn’t it be great to assign sounds from other synths on the iPad as a timbre that you could then tweak with the x y pad? Imagine that. Please allow us to import our own timbres too.

  33. I can’t map the keyboard of animoog to control it with a midi pedalboard. I can map almost every knob but not the keyboard (notes). Is that possible?

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