Touchscreen Modular Synthesizer Control WIth An iPad

This video, via , demonstrates using an iPad as a touchscreen controller for his modular synthesizer.

Technical details:

Using an iPad, Touch OSC and Max/MSP to control a Make Noise DPO.

Signal path is DPO Final out –> A-132-3.

The “Fold” portion of the DPO’s timbre section is acting as a VCA for the module. The A-132-3 is acting as a panner, using two inverted outputs from the Dr. Octature to open its

VCAs in a mirrored pattern.

9 thoughts on “Touchscreen Modular Synthesizer Control WIth An iPad

    1. If you had a time machine maybe you could go back and encourage Moog to play the harmonica rather than invent the synthesizer. Inspiring.

    2. In all fairness the module he is controlling is made by company called “Make Noise”.
      I have yet to hear a sound out of any of these modular synthesizers that I would consider groundbreaking
      and not easily recreated in reaktor…guess I’m not synth-hipster material.

      1. Modular synths and soft synths are two different beasts entirely. They are not the same instruments, and though both make can produce a wide variety of electronic sounds, each has it’s own strong points. No soft synth will ever sound like a analog synth, though emulators come close. But that’s just it, they’re emulators. They try to recreate the sounds of other synths instead of utilizing the things that separate the digital domain from the physical like granular or wave table synthesis.

        Also, claiming to not be a hipster is basically admitting to being one. =]

  1. i respect the invention of sounds here. this comment is unrelated to this video – generally, the more modular videos i watch on this site, the happier i am that i didnt get sucked into the hobby of modular building. i am perfectly content with experimenting with sound on the computer.

  2. Before watching this video, I was thinking “Why on Earth would you want to control a modular synth from an iPad?” I mean, modulars are about as tactile and interactive as it gets–why put a touch screen between you and those knobs? But as I watched I realized that you can quickly change and control multiple parameters simultaneously with Touch Osc in a way that you can’t by turning knobs on a modular with 2 thumbs and 2 index fingers. And that is kind of cool, innit?

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