LAST OF THE YEAR GEAR : 2015
Traveling with Electronics : Last of the Year Gear : 2015
.....what a time to be a sonic renegade
For my final Traveling with Electronics post of 2015 (November/December), I'll be pulling your tail on some of the last offerings of the year. If anything else drops before 2016 I will update this post, so you might want to check back in over the holidays.
*****UPDATE 12/1/15 - iOS 9 HEADS UP - WAIT!?!*****
I've been seeing allot of chatter on the AudioBus Forum about problems with iOS 9.1, so if it ain't broke - don't fix it! Apple continues to play louder-faster-more with their absurd yearly operating system slave to fashion make-over. You best BEWARE.
Unless you are having problems with a specific app, I would also suggest holding off on updating any apps you already use that have been recently updated for iOS 9.
*****UPDATE 12/20/15 - Here is a perfect example of the HPN (huge pointless nightmare) Apple has created for all of us with their planned obsolescence policy.
Many of us with older ipads (ipad 2), have kept them on 7.1.2 (the same thing you do with older computers as newer operating systems can severely slow down older hardware). Audiobus had to post this on their most recent update - "Important for users still on iOS 7: Do not update to this version of Audiobus" - of course, if you haven't already "turned off automatic updates" - you are now totaly screwed.
For the iPad : since 2012 I've closed my laptop for performance situations
The Drum Machine has been with us for quite some time now, but PATTERNING by Olympia Noise Co. has liberated drum machine logic in a delightful and refreshing way - was it really the arrival of the touch screen that allowed the "circle" to hopefully supersede the "grid" as a method for the representation of rhythmic interaction?
Arriving just a day apart are two very interesting takes on sequencing
Alexander Randon created a very flexible "multi-playhead" piano roll sequencer
Art Kerns (FunkBox) created an equally flexible "four track" step sequencer
Following in the footsteps of iDensity and Borderlands : real time processing
Sound Warp Field Recorder and Real Time Scape Constructor by Igor Vasiliev
***UPDATE #1 (11/20) : 5 looping envelopes for processing live sound : KUVERT
***UPDATE #2 (11/25) : essential sound shaper : 32 band stereo equalizer : SILQ
***UPDATE #3 (12/3) : a much anticipated upgrade for this iOS DAW : AURIA PRO
***UPDATE #4 (12/14) : a per channel "send" just added to this useful tool : MIMIX
***UPDATE #5 (12/19) : Ableton introduces wireless sync for iOS devices : LINK
***UPDATE #6 (12/23) : physical modeling - guitar with feedback : GEOSHRED
VirSyn has been creating software for laptops and iPads for some time now
Here is a great review of the computer version of POSEIDON (from 2007) to give you an idea of what this (now available for iOS), very powerful synthesizer can produce. The closest comparison that I can make is to NAVE by Waldorf.
For the Computer :
since moving to colorado I've been a member
Tuesday 11/10/15 the meetup got an in-depth look at Ableton Live 9.5 and PUSH 2
Even though I rarely perform on laptop since moving to iPads in 2012, I have been an Ableton Live user since 2002 (V1.5) and continue to use it when I'm in the studio.
To be completely honest here, I continue to have mixed feelings about Ableton and the vast influence it has had on music and music creation, but that is for another discussion and another time. Suffice it to say that with this latest update, Ableton continues to evolve their original trajectory (9.5) and provide some much needed relief (Push 2) from the petty tyrannies of the mouse. Pretty Powerful Tools!
HARDWARE : (I know they weren't released in 2015, but check it)
As a pedal-board back-up for touring or as a sonic swiss army knife on your existing pedalboard - if you still haven't tried either of these ZOOM pedals you really should, as there still is nothing out there that can deliver this much sonic bang for the buck.
I'll Say it again.....what a time it is to be a sonic renegade!
happy holidays.....safe travels.....until january then.....dino
