We had hoped to publish TabMuse by the end of year, but over Thanksgiving weekend I sat down and watched the excellent synth documentary, I Dream of Wires. This was the four-hour hardcore edition and after seeing the history of the synthesizer (most of which I already knew) combined with a current view of the (unknown to me) robust modular synthesizer community that exists today, I knew a change to the focus of TabMuse needed to happen. (Expect a review of I Dream of Wires on the site soon.)
I now wanted my own modular synth, but some money saving would need to happen first. In the interim, I finally picked up Native Instruments excellent Reaktor software, which I was long overdue in embracing. It was recommended on a modular synthesis site as a good software-based substitute for those glorious modules and patch cables, so I figured that and Propellerhead’s Thor app for the iPad will tide me over. A whole community around Reaktor was also discovered.
Arturia’s iSEM app for the iPad. Expect of review of this in the short term. Screenshot by author.
This first batch of TabMuse articles is focused on music apps for the iOS and Android platforms, which was our original core subject matter for the site, but now expect to see more coverage of hardware synths and other aspects of today’s synth culture — tablet, hardware, software — whatever makes cool sounds and channels inspiring music. I am also hoping to publish an interview or two of interesting people on the fringes of this world. I pre-ordered a Moog Sub 37, one of the stars of the recent NAMM show, so expect some coverage of that as well. Fun stuff afoot.
Enjoy TabMuse and be sure to contact me if you have anything to say.
Thanks for reading,
Paul Williams
