Symphonix Evolution and the iPad Air

We've now had a chance to play with the new iPad Air and were very impressed with the new form factor and processing power.  Symphonix Evolution runs better than we've ever seen it before!

For those who are lucky enough to have an iPad Air, you will find that it is now possible to set the Virtual Synth in Symphonix Evolution as follows:

• Polyphony to 256 voices
• Reverb ON
• Chorus ON
• Full Instrument Mode ON

As a result of the increased polyphony the app's internal synth was able to handle any MIDI files we could throw at it including some rather intense orchestral pieces, without dropping any notes or stuttering (normally when the polyphony increases, the load on the CPU causes digital noise in the output due to the synth not keeping up with the sample rate).  This is the first time that we've been able to do this on the iPad.

Astonishingly, the average CPU load during our tests was about 30%.  This is truly an excellent result: Symphonix Evolution can now work as the keyboard or sound source for other apps without impacting performance.  The iPad is now approaching laptop performance levels.

(For those interested in a comparison, on the iPad 4 we were able to get the polyphony to 128 voices but still had to disable Reverb and Chorus effects for some songs).

The main limitation now is RAM where the iPad Air still only has 1GB of memory to work in.  This is the main thing stopping us from adding higher quality instrument samples, although we are working on some new functionality soon in this area.  It is going to be very interesting to see what happens in the next iPad generation!

Symphonix Evolution 2.1 for iOS 7

We're pleased to announce that version 2.1 of Symphonix Evolution is about to be released!  This update supports iOS 7 and the user interface has been changed to a "flat" look, while preserving the familiar layout of previous releases.  We think you'll find that the new interface is much cleaner and more modern-looking:

The old look is also retained when running under earlier versions of iOS, so if you haven't yet upgraded you won't see too many differences to the screen design.

Other changes in this release are:

• Added a new setting so that the Drum Percussion MIDI channel can be changed or completely disabled
• Added a new setting so that the mixer volume controls can be locked during playback so that a song cannot change the volume using MIDI messages.
• The Piano Roll now scrolls when a song is playing
• New Tempo Track function allows the user to select which track to use for tempo change events
• Tempo Changes can now be edited in the Piano Roll screen using the Controller lane
• It is now possible to connect two or more instances of Symphonix Evolution running on different iPads using the remote connection function

There are also some bug fixes:

• Resolved an issue with Audiobus initialization on iOS 7
• Fixed crash when saving a file that was last loaded using Dropbox
• Fixed incorrect note values when selecting chord inversions
• The Undo function was not working for ties and slurs
• General stability enhancements

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR EXISTING USERS:
In order to resolve an iOS 7 bug that affected Audiobus integration we needed to change the app's internal product name.  This means that you may have to delete the old version from your device and then reinstall it manually using the "Purchases" tab in the AppStore app.   DELETING THE APP WILL ALSO DELETE YOUR FILES so it is important to back them up before you update.  (We understand this is inconvenient - we made this change because our only other option would have been to require you to purchase a new app).

To back up your existing files you can use the iTunes "file sharing" method to copy them to your computer as explained in the Symphonix Evolution user manual, or you can use a tool such as the excellent iExplorer application from Macroplant.  Alternatively, saving the files to a Dropbox account will prevent them from being lost.

About Symphonix Evolution on iOS 7

We're aware of a number of issues with Symphonix Evolution on iOS 7.  In particular, users will see a message on startup about Audiobus initialization failing due to Apple's tighter sandbox rules and improved OS security (it's taken us a little while to find a solution that works reliably).  The good news is that these problems have now been resolved by our development team and we'll be submitting the update to Apple for review in the next day or two.

In the meantime if you've not updated to iOS 7 yet and are using Symphonix Evolution, you might want to wait until our Version 2.1 is released.

I'll update this blog soon with more information about our new version!

Symphonix Evolution news

I can't talk too much about it yet, but we're really excited about the work we're doing for iOS 7.  A major refresh of the user interface is coming soon!

iOS 7 raises a number of challenges because so many things have changed, and one of the more interesting aspects is the need to make the app look great on iOS6 while simultaneously embracing the new look.  We believe we've accomplished this by allowing the app able to dynamically change its graphical elements depending on which operating system version it is running on.  This means that you won't have to worry about having to purchase a separate "iOS 7" version of the app - we're absolutely committed to supporting our existing users as much as we can!

Unfortunately there are some changes that we can't avoid, and one of these is that the minimum iOS version required to run Symphonix Evolution will soon be iOS 6.0.  This means that the next major update will no longer support the iPad 1.  We'll be releasing one more minor update to the current version so that our iPad 1 users get the benefit of the latest bug fixes.

But now is a good time to tell you about some of the things we've got planned for the next few versions so I'm delighted to present the product roadmap.  These enhancements won't all happen at once but you will see them over the coming months:

• Major UI refresh for iOS 7
• More guitar functions including support for bass, capo, strum patterns and user-defined chords.  We're also looking at a way to zoom the fretboard.
• Digital audio enhancements such as the ability to bounce down MIDI tracks to audio and apply filter/processing effects
• Improved interoperability with other apps
• Improved track editing functions and notation entry
• Piano Roll improvements
• New sheet music editing and viewing modes
• Improved support for custom instrument presets

Symphonix Evolution continues to grow thanks to the great user support and feedback that we receive.  Keep the great emails and suggestions coming!

MIDI BreakOut Box 2.0 is Coming

We've been working on an updated version of our MIDI BreakOut Box app.  For those who aren't familiar with it, the MIDI BreakOut Box provides a way to monitor incoming MIDI messages and redirect them to one or more output channels.

For example, you can use the app to add a layering capability by taking a single channel's input and routing it to multiple outputs at the same time.  Each output can have its own separate instrument preset, pan and volume.  It's even possible to create keyboard split points so that the output switches seamlessly as you play a keyboard controller.  This is useful because it adds a feature that's often only found on high-end keyboards and makes it available to any MIDI device.

The app is also great for remapping channels: For example, some synths use a different channel for percussion when they are not in "General MIDI" mode but the BreakOut Box can be used to reroute incoming MIDI data to the correct channel.

Another useful function is the ability to transpose incoming data before routing it to the output.  When combined with the layering this makes all sorts of interesting effects possible such as "octave piano".

Version 2.0 of the app adds a number of features that have been requested by our existing users and these make the app much more useful:

• It's now a Universal App!  Previously available only for the iPad but it's now possible to use the app on an iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad.  This makes the app much more portable and useful.
• It's now possible to monitor and redirect multiple input channels at the same time.  This makes it possible to swap channels, for example to map channel 10 to channel 16 while at the same time mapping channel 16 to channel 10.
• On the iPad you can finally use the app in both Portrait and Landscape orientations so it "fits" into your studio setup.

Here's what the app looks like on the iPad (To those who already have version 1.0 you won't notice too much of a difference until you switch to Landscape mode):

On the iPhone we've tried hard to keep every feature, but obviously screen space made this challenging to do.  We ended up with a landscape design, and it's possible to scroll the output channel list to see all 16 channels.  The transpose and keyboard split points are still available too - just scroll the output panel horizontally to see them.

Updated: Version 2.0 hits the App Store this week and requires a Core MIDI compatible hardware adapter such as the iRig MIDI.  On the iPad you can also use a compatible MIDI adapter connected to the Apple USB Camera Control Kit.  We hope you'll find the app as useful as we do!

Symphonix Evolution will be discounted during WWDC 2013

Here's a "heads up" - Symphonix Evolution will be heavily discounted from Sunday 9th June through to Friday 14th June during Apple's WWDC event.  If you haven't yet purchased the app, take a look at our website or purchase the app directly from iTunes.

Symphonix Evolution is continually under development and we're already working on our next update (Version 2.0.2).  I'll post more info about this soon!

Symphonix Evolution 2.0.1 is Incoming

We're releasing a minor update to Symphonix Evolution soon that's a response to some of the feedback we've had after the massive 2.0 release.  These changes add some refinements to the app and address some small issues that have been raised.  As usual we can't thank our users enough for the wonderful feedback we get.  Thanks to you, we're working on some amazing new functionality over the next couple of months!

Here's the new features:

• It's now easier to add Repeat Bars. The app no longer requires the user to select the exact start and end of the measures where repeats will be applied and will automatically detect the start and end of the measure. Also added a Repeat option to the "Measure" button on the main toolbar so that the user can mark a selection and then press Repeat to quickly add Repeat Bars.
  
  This addresses one of the common support requests we get and makes it easier than ever to mark a section of music and mark it for repeating.
  
• New selection menu options for "Expand" and "Compress": Use the Expand option to increase the space between the notes in a selection. Use the Compress option to bring the notes closer together.  This is great when you're working on a track and would like to add some expression or detail - just mark a section and choose "Expand" to add some more room between the notes.
   
• We've also made some refinements to the app's external MIDI Command function.  Firstly we've added a new "Switch" setting to the MIDI Commands screen to assist with mapping pads with velocity to on/off commands. Use it by setting the controller value to "129" (the display will read "fader" for 128 and "switch" for 129). Once the "Switch" setting is active, non-zero inputs will be mapped to "127" and then only the first non-zero value will trigger the command so that the pad input is effectively converted to a momentary and then latched.  This is great for MIDI controllers that have lots of velocity-sensitive pads because you can now turn the pads into a bank of on/off switches for common functions.  A lot of "DJ Controllers" fit into this category, as does the forthcoming QuNexus controller from Keith McMillen Instruments.
  
• In addition to the "switch" function above, we've also added a new MIDI command "ARP+Hold Toggle". This works exactly like "ARP Toggle" except that the ARP Hold is automatically enabled when ARP is switched on.  So it's now possible to press a button on an external controller to both activate ARP and put it into "keyboard hold" mode automatically.
  
• We had a query about whether it was possible to unlink the app from Dropbox once you'd set it up, for example if your Dropbox account changed.  This update allows the user to unlink the app from Dropbox from the File Load/Save screen.  When viewing Dropbox files a red Unlink button will appear in the top right corner of the file browser. Press this button to remove the link to Dropbox.
  
• We've tidied up some of the screens, using rounded buttons and generally just doing some housekeeping to make them more consistent overall.  The Home screen icon has also changed to "Symphonix EV" so that the whole label is visible without the "..." in the middle.

This version also fixes a number of bugs that have been reported, including:

• The Controllers function now allows a System Exclusive from the Device Manager to be added to the score. This was a bug preventing the Select button from being visible, which made it impossible to use the SysEx Library in the Device Manager (doh!).
  
• Fixed a bug where the Device Manager and Controller screens did not handle long SysEx messages.  Previously these scrolled very strangely and sometimes were truncated as well, causing all sorts of other issues due to an incomplete SysEx message being sent by the app.  SysEx in general should be much more stable with this release.
  
• Fixed a bug when copying and pasting notes with ties, beams or slurs.  After pasting the links between the notes were broken.  If you were lucky, this manifested as a garbled display.  But this bug could also cause instability and crashes after using the copy/paste function.  It was particularly nasty because the crash could occur after you'd saved the song and tried to reload it later.
  
• Fixed a bug where slurs were not printed correctly.
  
• Improved stability of the Lyric Pad.  We had a number of reports of problems with the new Lyric Pad we introduced in Version 2.0.  This new version should be a lot more stable.

Version 2.0.1 will be available very soon, after we finish doing some final testing.  Over the next few weeks we'll let you know what else we're working on!

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 is here

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 is now available in the App Store.  It's a free upgrade for existing users, so don't forget to submit new App Store reviews if you like the new features!

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 supports the QuNexus

We're pleased to announce that Symphonix Evolution 2.0 will include "out of the box" support for the forthcoming QuNexus controller from Keith McMillen Instruments.

From Keith McMillen's website at www.keithmcmillen.com:

"QuNexus is a vividly illuminated keyboard controller that is fun for beginners and a must for professionals. 25 touch-sensitive keys detect finger pressure, velocity, and tilt, giving you an unprecedented degree of musical control. Blue and white LEDs with 16 levels of brightness give you valuable feedback. Use the toggle/hold feature to build chords and create your own step sequencer or arpeggiator with LED feedback."

Like Symphonix Evolution, the QuNexus is designed to be a great tool for beginners to learn music, while at the same time being a powerful and useful addition to the professional musician's toolkit.


You can access the QuNexus settings from the Profiles option on the Advanced Settings MIDI Controller screen.

Press the blue arrow button next to the Profile displayed at the top of the panel and you will see a drop-down list.  Choose "QuNexus" from the list:

Now you'll see that various controllers are automatically set up for the QuNexus so you can use it right away to make great music!

We're really excited about the new QuNexus controller and have been eagerly following its progress through KickStarter and the recent NAMM show.  We wish Keith McMillen Instruments all the best as they launch this fantastic new product!

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 is coming

It's been a long time coming, but we're finally approaching the next release of Symphonix Evolution!  Development of version 2.0 took a lot longer than usual because we have made a number of architectural changes that lay the foundation for future updates.  I'll try to describe these as I go through some of the more notable new features.

Audiobus

We're proud to officially announce that support for Audiobus is coming!

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 will work as an Audiobus input and can route its virtual MIDI synth output to any Audiobus compatible receiver.  This is extremely powerful, especially when combined with the existing Virtual MIDI capabilities of the app.  For example, it's possible to set up an external app to send MIDI commands to Symphonix Evolution that can be used to control playback and then have the digital sound routed back to the first app.  (Note that for best results you'll need to increase the Audiobus frame buffer to 512 samples, which you can do inside the Audiobus app settings).

Full Undo/Redo Support

The lack of a true Undo/Redo capability has been one of the most common issues raised in user feedback so we've spent considerable time in this release on building a new document engine that can provide this feature.

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 allows you to undo the last 50 actions, and it's even possible to Undo a real-time recording made to a track.

We've also moved the Undo button back to the main screen so it's easier to find, and you will also find both Undo and Redo in the slide out Action panel.

Lyric Arranger

The Lyric Arranger makes it easy to add Lyrics to a song.  It also updates while the song is playing so you can use it as a prompter.

The Lyric Arranger in Action (Click to Enlarge)

With the Lyric Arranger you can import a text file, export lyrics in a song back out to a file, enter new lyrics, and then link the lyrics to notes in the song.  There's a whole set of functions dedicated to lyric entry, and it's also possible to view the Lyric Arranger in Full Screen mode.

Use two-finger zoom to make the Lyrics larger or smaller.

You'll also notice that Symphonix Evolution now supports Unicode lyrics so it's possible to enter words in languages other than english.

Guitar

With Version 2.0, Symphonix Evolution now has two new views dedicated to guitar:  Introducing Tablature View and Fret View!

Tablature View can display Guitar Tablature Notation for the currently selected track, with the tab lined up under the music notation symbols in the top part of the screen.  When the song is played, the tablature scrolls along with the music making it possible to see the notes in real time.

Guitar Tablature view (click to enlarge)

One of the challenges for any MIDI-to-guitar tool is that the same notes can be voiced in many different places on the fret.  Symphonix Evolution tries to find the "best fit" based on the notes being used.

This initial release is currently limited to displaying the fret numbers only, and for standard tuning (EADBGE) but we're planning many more enhancements to this in future releases.

Fret View (click to enlarge)

The second new screen is Fret View.  Fret View displays a graphical view of the guitar fret and is great for learning how to play songs, since the fret updates as the music is playing.  You can also use the fret as a note entry tool by pressing the notes at the desired fret position, which works in step-time and real-time record. 

As the song is playing, Fret View also tries to detect chords and will display them above the guitar.  We also have many planned future enhancements for this screen.  Although it's a basic display now, in the future we're planning support for alternate tunings, 4-string bass, capo position, bends and slides, and many more to come.

Markers

Markers are a new feature that allows you to label different places in the song, then instantly jump to them in both edit mode and during playback!

For example, the song might be structured as Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Verse 3.  With Markers you can label each of these points in the song.  The new Marker View allows you to see a list of the markers, and pressing on any Marker will jump directly to that position.

Make Your Own Controller Panels

Last year we added the Synth Panel for easy access to RPN/NRPN parameters.  Version 2.0 extends this by allowing you to make your own panels and connecting faders, knobs and buttons to MIDI continuous controllers.

When you create a panel you can place controls wherever you like.  Symphonix Evolution also monitors incoming MIDI events and updates the controllers in real time as data is received.

Digital Audio Tracks

In addition to the 16 MIDI tracks, Symphonix Evolution 2.0 adds a further 8 Digital Audio tracks.  These allow vocals or other non-MIDI instruments to be recorded and played back in time with the MIDI tracks.  We see a lot of future potential for this feature.  For example in this release the tracks are really just accompanying the MIDI but in the future you can expect to see new options for "bouncing down" MIDI tracks into audio, freeing up MIDI and significantly extending the complexity of the tracks you can make in the app.

Other Changes

In addition to the above major features you'll also find a number of enhancements to existing functions, including:

• Better track summary display
• Ability to create custom time signatures
• Ability to record from a position anywhere in the song
• Improved Selection user interface
• New options when creating a new song for auto setup of common arrangements
• The ability to setup multiple profiles for external MIDI controllers
• Various bugfixes thanks to feedback we get from our support mailbox

Symphonix Evolution 2.0 will be released in mid-March 2013.

Our Symphonix Evolution Forum is now live!

Late last year we announced that we were putting together a Forum to allow our app users to get together and discuss all things relating to Symphonix Evolution.

I'm pleased to announce that the forum is now up and running at http://www.vinclaro.com.au/forum/

It's a place where we can all talk about features we like (or don't like) and share tips about things that we've learnt while using the app.

It's only just gone online so you won't find too much to look at yet, so feel free to register as a member and start posting!