Welcome to the latest edition of the TabMuse Synth News Digest, where we take a look at a few intriguing new stories and products from the music technology world. If you are interested in the previous digest, simply click on the following link. Hopefully, you find something to inspire your own musical efforts!
Fortamento is an app for Quickly Generating Musical Ideas
Fortamento is an iOS app for the fast generation of musical ideas. Designed for the iPhone, the app features a simple interface, making it easy to create new chord progressions and melodies. A few finger taps is all that it takes!
Fortamento for iOS in action. Screenshot by author.
You control tempo and key; the app lets you edit the chords and melody after the idea is generated for additional depth. I’d like to see the ability to create your own chord progression (or lock a generated one) and regenerate only the melodies. An internal synth provides different patches for the melody and chord tones.
Fortamento sends MIDI output to other iOS apps or external synths over Bluetooth. Marking cool musical ideas as favorites and exporting the generated MIDI is also possible. Of course, I want the ability to use different time signatures and vary the number of chords in a progression – a typical need for any recovering prog weirdo.
Adding support for the AUv3 MIDI standard is another feature worth considering. Nonetheless, Fortamento stays true to its design concept. It truly makes it easy to generate musical parts on the iOS platform. Pick it up at the App Store for $4.99.
Eventide and Newfangled Audio introduce New Mastering Bundle
You DIY mastering engineers out there need to check out a new bundle from the folks at Eventide and Newfangled Audio. Called Elevate, it offers a host of useful features for finishing mixes. Artificial Intelligence routines help to make the mastering process easier, without the sacrificing of any control.
Elevate analyzes each filter band, while making adjustments to gain, speed, and transients in real time. Saturate, the Spectral Clipper plugin, lets you brickwall your mixes in a kinder and gentler version fashion. A host of metering options helps you keep an eye on every aspect of the audio output. EQuivocate, a 26-band human ear-optimized equalizer, and Punctuate, a transient band modulator, round out the bundle.
This mastering package supports nearly all DAWs on the Windows and Mac platforms, with plugins in the AAX, AU, and VST formats. Many of the top mastering engineers created their own presets to help you get started. Elevate is currently available through Eventide at a discount price of $139.
Mode Machines introduces SEQ12 Hardware MIDI Sequencer
Gazing upon an old school hardware step sequencer simply sets my heart a-flutter. Doesn’t that happen for everyone? Well, the folks at Mode Machines offer a new take on the sequencer, suitable for MIDI studios. Let’s take a look at the SEQ12.
The SEQ12 looks to be a great solution for running live MIDI rigs without a computer. The sequencer supports up to 12 tracks, with each one capable of either drum, chord-based, or monophonic data. Each track contains up to 16 different patterns; switchable in real-time while in Jam Mode. Song Mode lets you string individual patterns together into a larger composition. The robust amount of features includes ratchet mode, a separate shuffle pattern for each pattern, controller data tracks, clock dividers, and more.
The unit includes a matrix display and a ton of LED buttons used for the editing of MIDI data or pattern/track selection. The SEQ12 fits into a standard 19-inch rack, with a price of 999 Euros. If your muse focuses on huge MIDI productions, put it on your shortlist.
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