iOS has become one an important platform for synthesis, offering many innovative software synths and many synths that support MPE, a de facto standard for expressive control over MIDI.
But while the iPad offers great usability for editing and a powerful processor for synthesis, many users like to combine the iPad with a hardware controller for performance.
This video, via developer moForte, demonstrates using the MPE-capable Roger Linn LinnStrument as a controller for GeoShred.
GeoShred is an iPad app that combines an expressive performance interface with physical modeling synthesis and an effects chain.
To learn more about MPE, see our previous posts on Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression and this interview with MPE developer Geert Bevin.
Pricing and Availability
GeoShred is available in the App Store for US $24.99. The LinnStrument is available via Roger Linn Design, starting at about US $1,000.
The LinnStrument is cool and all, but I think GeoShread works better simply using the ipad’s surface. More responsive and less glitchy.
Linnstrument is awesome but Geoshred sounds awful
That sounds pretty amazing. It seems like the guitar sound is feeding back like a guitar in front of an amplifier. I know from reading about GeoShred that its a model. Can you move the position of the guitar relative to the amp to get different feedback tones?
Dario,
Yes that is correct its a model of the physics of a guitar. Because its a model there are unique expressive controls that are not typically found with sample based guitar sounds. Yes, the model supports changing the distance between the guitar and the amp. There are two controls that support this, Guitar/Feedback and Guitar/Amp Distance that are mapped to the 2D expression pad. You can totally lock into a feedback harmonic, and pop it with the Whammy. For more info about the model features, video here: https://youtu.be/T3PvtcytsHY
And BTW, we LOVE playing GeoShred with the LinnStrument!