ID700

would be very useful to be able to hide the on-screen keyboard, the graphics could be bigger and more readable in that case, or perhaps even the original multi-timbrality could be brought back…

Brilliant synth! A delightful program! Special thanks for the excellent instruction manual. However, in my inexperienced opinion (I am familiar with the ID700 for only a couple of hours and have not read half of the User's Manual yet), there are inconvenient elements in the program interface. First, for the sake of design and beauty, the display of the algorithm is not very clear. It is extremely difficult to trace the signal path on it. It seems to me that it would be better to display the nodes with a horizontal offset relative to each other, but it would be clearer to show the lines connecting them. Secondly, when shaping the transfer function curve using harmonics, I would very much like to see a numerical display of the height of each bar. Or at least the current one, which is currently being configured. Thirdly (and this is probably one of the most important elements), it is extremely useful for meaningful sound design to see the shape of the curve (oscillogram) of the resulting (output signal) and its line spectrum. Fourthly, the interface of the program is very beautiful, but not bright and contrasting enough for people with not very good eyesight and therefore difficult to perceive on screens less than 10 inches.

This is a really fantastic synth app, I have come to rely on it more and more for it’s unique sounds and textures, but I like to use program change as much as possible to save using too many instances of the same AUv3 synth app, but I struggled to achieve this with ID700, the onboard manual gives no mention of this process. So I tapped on the App Support, selected ID700 and download the ID700 v1.18 Manual into my Adobe Reader, this contains Program Change information not available in the onboard manual. I have listed below some examples of Bank & Prog numbers that I successfully use in Cubasis3. The following Bank/CC32 and Program numbers are used in Cubasis3. ADAGIO (01), Preset “armOne” = Bank#0, CC32#0, Prg Number #1. (Prg #0 is De Fault). Moving forward to - SOUND DESIGN (11), Preset “700 Waves” = Bank#0, CC32#0, Prg #127. The following factory presets (next in line) now use CC32#1: SOUND DESIGN (11), Preset “amp7e&r1n6” = Bank#0, CC32#1, Prg #0, The last factory preset is: Timbre (14) “WSBZ 700” = Bank#0, CC32#1, Prg #94. Hope this information is useful to someone 😉

This synth is actually not all that hard to understand, provided you have eyes and some idea how additive synthesis, frequency modulation and subtractive filtering work. Oh, and amplitude. Don’t forget volume. Basically, there are a load of multi stage envelopes for everything besides the waveforms, so once you understand how they work and how they will effect things, take it from there… Only real sad thing is no traditional fx, but if you need them, you can add them in anyway. That’s what I like about soft synths.

Worth investing some time with the manual to understand the concepts but so many modulation possibilities. I’m thinking I’ll spend a long time with this and keep on finding new sounds, love it 👌 Works a treat with a touch screen on iPad too

…off to Don Buchla and Jonathan Schatz. This thing is simply astounding and the fact that this enormous power can be bought for so little makes me feel somewhat guilty. Be prepared for pure unmitigated sonic joy. Whatever your area of aural interest.

Update 20/21/21: The best just got better - the addition of a randomisation feature makes developing and tweaking new presets simple. A fantastic app! So-called ‘West Coast’ sound synthesis, forever synonymous with legendary synth designer Don Buchla is associated with the wilder, experimental end of electronic music and soundscaping. Now, one of Buchla’s last-ever designs, of which only 14 real life units were apparently ever made, (a nugget gleaned from the excellent accompanying manual) is available as an app from a dev who worked on some of the real Buchla designs. And it is awesome, unique. Moving away from analog and toward the digital timbres later associated with Synclaviers, Fairlights, and DX style FM, it is hugely deep, but *very* amenable to random knob-stabbing, and it sounds like nothing else. Massively long envelopes mean you can easily create slowly evolving minutes-long soundscapes that might just make you think you’ve got stuck notes... ;) Just watch your levels, as these can also build to damaging levels if left unattended! The very responsive dev has promised to add in a limiter and a way to limit evolution times in a forthcoming update to address these possible downsides, but as-is this is a genuinely exciting and very different synth app that stands head and shoulders above and apart from the crowd of samey analog wannabees. Anyone into soundscaping and experimental composition will love this - but you don’t have to be a rocket scientist just to have fun with it. :)

Can’t leave this one alone just awesome sound design capabilities. Everything from lush ambience to nasty bass and any crazy sounds you can imagine in between.

Don Buchla’s creations are still enshrouded in mystery (even to this day) due to their inherent complexity to tame (compared to vanilla subtractive) and subsequent broad and diverse sonic characteristics (which are unique to his individual approach) and the ID700 brings this beautiful slice of technological history into the year 2021 (and it sounds astounding)! It’s so much fun to explore, and there’s so many possibilities for generating unique sonic textures, colours and forms that evolve, slide and glide that naturally I fell in love with it immediately! I really like the GUI and design too, as it’s very unique, logical and intuitive. If you love synthesis you basically owe it to yourself to dive into this rabbit hole (follow the white rabbit) and learn it’s weirding ways ASAP!

This thing is mad, in a good way. The option to visually tweak (if that makes sense) the index settings on the fly is particularly hypnotic, and there are some magical sounds to be had from that.