Super 606 Synth Drum Machine For iOS, Mac


AudioKit Pro’s Super 606 is an iOS drum machine built around synthesized drum sounds, 606-style sequencing, MIDI pattern import, per-track polyrhythmic controls, effects, and AUv3 multi-output support.

Super 606 is a drum machine for iPhone and iPad that uses a new drum synthesis engine, rather than sampled drum sounds.

Its workflow is inspired by classic 606-style drum programming and includes pattern recording from drum pads, accents and dull/ghost notes, ratchets, flams, variable gates, per-track last-step settings, and multiple rhythmic grid modes.

The app can import user-created MIDI patterns from Roland Cloud TR-606 workflows, including flams and substeps, and also provides MIDI controller support, AUv3 operation, Ableton Link, MIDI Clock synchronization, and internal clocking.

Features:

  • Synth-generated drum sounds using a dedicated drum synthesis engine
  • Open-source synthesis code for the XL kick, snare, analog toms, clap, and metallic hi-hats
  • Drum-pad pattern recording
  • Per-step normal, ghost/dull, and accent levels
  • Dedicated accent controls
  • Ratchets with 2x, 3x, and 4x substeps
  • Nine 606-style flam types plus an ahead-of-the-beat flam mode
  • MIDI import for user-created Roland Cloud TR-606 patterns, including flams and substeps
  • Analog control for variations including start position and pitch drift
  • Magic Pattern Generator for creating drum patterns
  • Magic Preset Maker for generating combined sound, effects, groove, and tempo settings
  • Smart Fills function based on the current pattern
  • Per-track Last Step control for creating evolving patterns and polyrhythms
  • Per-channel swing
  • Linn-style swing control
  • Four rhythmic grid modes including 16th notes, 32nd notes, 8th-note triplets, and 16th-note triplets
  • Mixed 16th- and 32nd-note programming within the same pattern view
  • Eight chainable A–H patterns per sequence
  • XL Kick mode
  • MIDI controller support
  • MIDI Learn
  • Bundled MIDI map using the same default CC assignments as Roland Cloud TR-606
  • MIDI Clock synchronization
  • Ableton Link synchronization
  • AUv3 host synchronization
  • Filter effect
  • Crusher effect with low-end bypass
  • Standalone WAV recording
  • MIDI import from a DAW
  • AUv3 plugin operation with host transport synchronization and state recall
  • Stereo main output
  • Eight individual drum outputs in AUv3 mode
  • MIDI export for the current pattern or complete A–H sequence
  • Stem export
  • Universal purchase covering iPhone, iPad, and iOS AUv3 versions
  • No ads, subscriptions, or in-app purchases

Super 606 is available now for $4.99 (normally $19.99).

Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave OS 2.0a Adds New Options + Effects


Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave OS Version 2.0a is now available as a free update, adding new synthesis and effects options.

Key features of the update include a new way to make waves and a flexible Shimmer reverb.

“The 3rd Wave has come a long way since it first came out, capable of things we never dreamed of at launch,” said Andrew Silverman, co-founder of Groove Synthesis.

A Brand New Shimmer Reverb

The first highlight of this release is a new effect: Shimmer Verb, living in effect slot 2 right after Super Plate. The Shimmer will give you the ability to shift the pitch in fractions of a semitone across a full two-octave range, from one octave down to one octave up, which means you’re not limited to complete octave or semitone shifts.

“I was surprised by how it makes even the most simple patch sound immense,” said Bob Coover, co-founder and DSP engineer at Groove Synthesis. “The effect is really wide. Route a single sustained note through it and just let it spread the sound out and up at the same time.”

The Filter Cutoff parameter lets you shape the reverb’s tone from dark and filtered to bright and open. There are also several other useful controls in the “Extra” section.

What makes the effect especially cool is that Rev Time, Pitch Amount, and LP/HP Cutoff are all available as destinations in the mod matrix.

A Smarter, More Capable Way to Make Waves

OS 2.0a also brings real improvements to Make Waves, the 3rd Wave’s built-in wavetable creation tool. If you’ve tried turning your own audio into wavetables, you’ll notice the results are more consistent right away with the existing modes.

The big addition is a third mode: Spectral. Make Waves has always given you two ways to turn audio into a wavetable. Pitch On is built for sources with a clear, stable pitch, and does its best to detect that pitch and lock the resulting waveforms to it. Pitch Off skips pitch detection entirely and instead finds the best splice points to carve unpitched material, like drums or found sounds, into a clean set of waveforms.

Spectral mode takes a different approach from both. Instead of tracking pitch or hunting for splice points in the waveform itself, it analyzes the audio in the frequency domain to find the best slices across the entire file. That makes it the mode to reach for on sources that might not have worked for the other two. Chorused sounds, ambient recordings, anything with a pitch that wanders or never quite settles should do well with the Spectral mode. Where Pitch On would fight to lock onto a moving target, and Pitch Off would just slice without regards to pitch, Spectral mode is built to make sense of exactly that kind of material. Feed it something strange and Make Waves will find the wavetable hiding inside it.

Here’s an in-depth look at the Shimmer reverb and the new Wave Maker algorithm by The Midlife Synthesist:

Everything Else in 2.0a

Beyond the two headline features, this update carries a few other noteworthy improvements: expanded MIDI CC mappings for the 24M and 8M desktop modules, new MIDI SysEx features including wavetable and sample import/export, a new envelope retrigger option with a quick reset, and various bug fixes worth checking out in the release notes on the support page.

OS 2.0a is available now as a free download for all 3rd Wave 24K, 24M, and 8M owners.

Free Korg DW-8000 MIDI Editor & Librarian


Synthesist and sound designer Ian Dixon – in his latest video – introduces his free Web MIDI editor and librarian for the Korg DW-8000, built to make it easier to manage patches, audition sounds, edit parameters in real time and keep a larger library of DW-8000 sounds ready to use.

This browser-based editor lets you enable MIDI, read the programs from the synth, load SysEx banks, remove duplicates, build a large patch library, send sounds to the DW-8000, tweak filters and waveforms, view envelopes visually and save your own libraries without installing anything.

Topics Covered:

00:00 DW-8000 editor-librarian intro

00:13 Why I built the editor

00:42 Browser-based Web MIDI setup

00:53 Choosing MIDI ports

00:59 Reading programs from the DW-8000

01:12 Selecting patches and sending to the edit buffer

01:25 Real-time editing

01:38 Filter, waveform and envelope controls

02:02 Viewing real-time parameter changes

02:13 Loading SysEx banks

02:42 Auditioning imported sounds

02:52 Removing duplicates and building a library

03:16 Working like a modern patch browser

03:25 Saving and loading libraries

03:44 Free browser-based tool

04:05 More editors planned and feature requests

The Korg DW-8000 MIDI Editor & Librarian is available now.

Korg DW-8000 Image: Joshua Schnable