Percussive Synth is a software synthesizer intended to be your percussion, jamming companion, or just a fancy Moog-inspired kind of a metronome.
Percussive synth will accompany you while you jam, be your groove experimentation space, or be your source of recording material you may export and mix in a DAW.
Fine control over many virtual analog synth parameters allows for vast sonic experimentation potential.
And unique sequencer implementation equipped with such potential creates an exceptional user experience.
The app consists of the sequencer and the synths engine:
SEQUENCER
A rhythm or a melody can be created using the sequencer. Tap notes into one of the four tracks, one track for each voice of the synthesizer. Set note's pitch and velocity using knobs. Or don't, and rely on a global track's pitch setting.
Each synthesizer voice has a completely independent set of parameter values, so you get four different synths playing polyphony.
One of the cool features of the sequencer is the ability to switch between straight and odd subdivisions - a note can be one-fourth of the bar, but also one-sixth, and one-tenth. Also, notes can overlap and re-trigger after overlap ends, which allows for creating weird rhythms when used with odd subdivisions. And if you're into drone music - BPM can go over 9000.
SYNTHS
The basis of each voice is two oscillators and a white noise generator. Each oscillator can produce a square, saw, triangle, or sine wave shape.
The second oscillator's frequency can be discretely shifted from -2 to +2 octaves, or smoothly offset using the "osc2 freq" knob.
Oscillators' frequency can glide to a higher or a lower value - "decay time" will set the duration of this glide, and "decay amt" the frequency destination - it's quantized to octaves and fifths.
A mix of these sound sources goes into the low-pass filter.
The filter's cut-off frequency can be dynamically controlled by ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) module.
The amount and direction of this control are set by the "env" knob.
The second ADSR module controls the volume envelope.
OTHER FEATURES
- Sequencer and synths modules have separate preset managers and undo histories
- Audio can be recorded and exported as .wav files from the app
- Recording's start and end time can be quantized to the sequencer transport's start and stop
- Synth can be used as separate AudioUnit
- Ableton Link support
- MIDI io, CC mapping
- Export preset files
- Toggle between quadratic and linear ADSR
- Toggle velocity sensitivity in knobs
Some of the amazing feedback from our precious users:
"I can’t stop playing with the app and love using Record in stand-alone for doing quick exports with live tweaks"
"Really Good work man, different from my habitual drums seq plays, and this is good"
"Definitely some lovely sound coming out of this"
"The sequencer looks very unique and interesting for odd and glitchy tunes"
"I have only scratched the surface of it. Going to be awesome for sure. Wow high praise indeed. Can hardly wait to play some more. Enjoy!"
"The sequencer in the standalone is really interesting and fun to play"
"Still diving in. Lots of fun. The flexible simplicity of the sequencer with wide range of bpm is really cool. So far the sounds make me believe i am existing in an apocalyptic 80s film"
"Recently purchased your app and i love it so so much. I do all my jams in AUM and have been looking for an interesting sequencer, found yours and i love it! "
This great, the interface took a moment but then ita off to creating. Very glad its a perc synth and not samples there is alot u can do. 4 au lines are sick too. Hails!
Developer Response
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the experience!
A pleasant surprise. Very versatile.
Eriptron
I just purchased Percussive Synth for iOS and in minutes I was making some strange sounds! The UI is good for the iPhone, a real treat these days! I love making soundscapes and Drones. The BPM setting is a droner’s dream. Font is fairly easy to read on the iPhone. Good contrast (not the ridiculous shades of gray color schemes the Corp World adopted) and acceptable font label size. I can see that I’m going to be up late tonight! LOL. It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited by an Apple app! Good manual (another item that developers have been reticent to make). The touch controls are excellent! I’m not distracted futzing with them with getting a control’s setting right and the two different undo’s is a nice touch. And as another reviewer said, thanks for not making it sample based but the more versatile percussion synth.
Developer Response
Hey, man, thank you for your review. That means a lot! One of the main driving forces to create this app was a desire to have a phone app I could use to jam on the guitar with. Something like an advanced metronome, for starters. Simple but robust rhythm builder. With all the beauty and tweak-ability of an analogue synth. I know it didn't end up looking simple, but I hoped that the manual and the practical UI would balance it out.Your review mentions a lot of things I myself see as the unique value of this app, so, right on point. Thanks again! You've made my day.
Percussion Synth GEM
NoUserErrorHere!
Great app and great developer who’s been implementing new features quickly. More than just a drum machine this is something of an experimental rhythmic four voice synth which has enough parameter control to create tuned percussion and beyond. The sequencer is unique and expressive and the learning curve is quick. Can’t put it down here!
Developer Response
Thank you, dear user!Reviews like that give me some powerful motivation to work on the app further.Have a good one!
Amazing stand alone app almost useless as an AUV
i.am.York
I bought this to use in AUM but turns out the app is extremely limited when not used as a stand alone app sadly… I rarely use stand alone apps for music so if I knew that beforehand I definitely wouldn’t have purchased…
Developer Response
I'm sorry you found it limiting in the AudioUnit mode. Indeed, compared to the standalone app, AU versions (synth and sequencer as two separate units) have less functionality, but all the main features are there. Also, I think that the app description is clear with regard to the differences between the standalone and AU versions of the app. In any case, I'm sorry it disappointed you and I hope you'll have better impressions if you'll give it a chance to be employed in your creative process.
This bugfix release includes:
* Returned the "lost" Perc Synth Sequencer AudioUnit.
* Ensured the app's default MIDI in/out works as expected.
Some helpful information:
Using AUM as an example, this is how you can find Perc Synth AU plugins:
Perc Synth Plugin - audio channel -> inserts/effects (middle "+" button) -> Audio Unit Extension.
Perc Synth Sequencer Plugin - MIDI channel -> Audio Unit MIDI Processor.
If you exchange MIDI within one device, say, in AUM, it's very straightforward, just create a route between your plugins and the Perc Synth standalone.
But when you want to send MIDI over to your Mac or another remote device, select "Network Session" as MIDI Input/Output in the app's "midi io" section. On Mac, open MIDI Studio, enable a Network Session and route network MIDI traffic to the IAC Driver device. Using the IAC Driver is helpful because some apps won't provide the "Network session" option.
If you encounter any issues with the app or plugins, feel free to reach out to me at vadimrostok@gmail.com
Version 1.4.2
The developer, Vadym Rostok, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Seller
Vadym Rostok
Size
98.3 MB
Category
Music
Compatibility
Requires iOS 12 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 12 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 12 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 12 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
