Ribbons : Touch Instrument
| Category | Price | Seller | Device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music | $3.99 | Olympia Noise Co. | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
Inspired by early electronic instruments such as the Ondes Martenot and the Theremin, Ribbons (formerly "Ondes") emulates the fluid playing style of those classic instruments with an interface and synthesis engine firmly grounded in the present day.
Whether you’re gliding through melodies & chord changes or creating dense polyphonic sci-fi soundscapes, Ribbons is an instrument unlike any you’ve played before.
• 2014 Best iOS Instrument - Sonic Joy Awards •
• 9.0 / 10 - Apptronica Magazine Review •
Recommended for use with headphones or external speakers.
Ribbons is made by Olympia Noise Co., developer of Patterning and Chordion.
•••• Expressive Playing Surface ••••
Slide freely between notes, Ribbons doesn’t limit you to the keys on a keyboard.
Use 3D Touch on supported devices to control synthesis parameters.
Adjustable note snapping for ultimate flexibility in playing style and ease of use.
Use the hold function to sustain notes while you take an epic solo on top.
Vertical movement can be mapped to volume and synthesizer parameters, adding dynamic possibilities to your music.
More polyphony than you have fingers!
Adjustable keyboard range and size.
Guidelines help you play in key. Choose from common scale types in any key or create your own.
Alternate tuning systems let you explore the world of microtonal sound!
•••• Unique Synthesis Engine ••••
Morphing wavetable oscillator with five wavetable sets.
Swarm oscillators! Two extra oscillators can be detuned and lag behind to create new textures.
Wavetable modulation sources include Y-Axis, sine wave, noise, circle, and ADSR envelope.
Resonant low pass filter.
Filter modulation sources include ADSR envelope, sine wave, and Y-axis.
Amplifier section with master volume, Y-axis control, and ADSR envelope.
Y-axis can be mapped to control the rate and depth of wavetable and filter LFOs.
•••• Effects ••••
Large selection of reverb types with adjustable amount.
Delay effect adjustable level, feedback, time and filter.
•••• MIDI ••••
Use Ribbons as a MIDI controller to control your favorite software and hardware synths. Now supports MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) output or use "classic mode" to manually managed MIDI ports. Map each touch to a unique MIDI Port/ Channel for polyphonic pitch bend. Because of Ribbons' unique pitch bend capabilities, it isn’t like other controllers, so make sure to read the instructions to learn about how to get the best results.
•••• Inter-App Audio ••••
Record directly to Garageband and other audio apps on your iPad using Inter-App Audio or Audiobus.
Built-in Inter-App Audio transport allows you to control a host app’s play, record, and rewind buttons.
Supports Audiobus State Saving.
•••• Beautiful Design ••••
Visualization of synthesis parameters makes for fun and intuitive editing of parameters.
Clutter free screen lets you focus on making music.
••••
Built-in Manual makes it easy to dig in and learn about Ribbons’ features.
Reviews
Ribbons rules!
salamanderlabs
Best polyphonic ribbon controller ever...cool voices...excellent editing...so great...
Not worth the price
Kaiser1313
This app shouldn't cost more than a few dollars. There's not much to it, it's really just a glorified Theremin. There's nothing revolutionary going on here like the description leads you to believe. Very disappointed with this app and I wish I could get my money back.
Excellent app!
DebraGalactica
I really love this app, it's intuitive and easy to get started making a wide range of rich textures. It also has a depth that is especially pleasing to me as a long time synthesis artist and software engineer. The interface is one of my favorite features, it's easy to play and the number of ways one can add expressions to the performance is remarkable and inspiring. I love it! Highly recommended!
Good stuff!
aelliotr
Expressive, easy-to-use instrument that sounds and looks great. What's not to like? I'm sure my band will be using this for recording and live performance.
My new "secret weapon"
JLJ3
I have been searching for an app like this for a year and half. 3 minutes in and I'm in love. For people that are out off by the price, rest assured that if you want to quickly and easily create spaced out, retro sounding sci-fi tones, this is easily the best $8 you could ever spend.
It's a niche product, but a good one
HouseOfHomuth
I've felt conflicted about how I feel regarding Ondes. I didn't buy it immediately, but definitely kept my eye on it from Day One. Even now that I own it, I'm not exactly sure how to use it in my music. But if you watch some of the demos and like what you see and hear, I feel like it is a 5-star app with a unique interface and resulting sound. The "slider" interface is very attractive looking, but it's not really an "innovation" for this app. ThumbJam, Bebot, Figure, SynthX, and on and on have all used some variation of this control scheme, which works great on an iPad. Unfortunately, MIDI out control is not in the works at this time, but perhaps in the future. So the usefulness of Ondes will mostly depend on its unique internal sounds. I will say that the presets don't offer a huge array of variety, but there is a synthesis engine within your app, which is what differs it from something like ThumbJam, which is sample-based. So you make your own sounds. Really liked the slider controls and variation of "snap to" as you cross over note lines. You can have a meandering almost sci-fi sounding pitch, or snappier transitions that land on the exact note. It's a beautifully put-together app with some unique sounds, and I value it as much for its originality as the end "usefulness". I would not want this as my primary instrument app, but as an add-on for unique leads and cool atmospheric stuff, it's great.
Good Update with MIDI
polarpaul
Having different scales and being able to adjust the touches to snap to a scale or slide between notes while controlling volume and pitch wheel of another midi app is great. There are good instructions on how to use these new features as well as their limitations. Having most of the screen to control your playing is nice and it's easy to navigate to different octaves on the keyboard. Using Ondes with a couple of synths or effects in Audiobus enables you to get creative with sonic textures. You can saves presets which include Ondes settings and midi connections.
Couldn't be happier
JFQuackenbush
This is my favorite instrument app by far. The only competition it has in quality are Animoog, tc, and Orphion, and really anyone interested in using the iPad as a musical instrument should have all off them. I like them all, but find myself drawn more and more to the sound and simplicity of ondes as well as the intuitive controls over the excellent sounding filters and effects. This is what a mature ipad musical app should be and with the new update, swarm oscillators and midi functionality this is the yardstick of quality going forward.
