The Strange Agency release their latest iPad app called Donut. Here's the details:
Donut™ lets you record loops in two dimensions.
You can use it like a phrase looper, by recording horizontally while using the step controls to step through vertical recording position. You can use it as a realtime processor by using ThruRecord mode. You can record and playback at completely differently speeds. You can even record backwards! You can record and playback diagonally across the Donut™ surface, creating glitchy staccato sounds. You can record and playback with multiple heads, recording or playing multiple positions at once. You can spread the heads vertically to access different portions of the Donut™, or you can spread them horizontally to create an echo effect.
The app is priced at $9.99 / £6.99.
iPads at the Apple Store
10 comments:
I tripped out on the YT video they posted. At one point I swore the donut turned into an eyeball and was looking deep into my soul :)
strange indeed
Great idea, but 10$ is definitely to much as for something that is experimental, not well demoed and explained. Waiting for price drop...
@giku
I totally hear what you're saying, and I apply that same price logic all the time to my app purchases, such as, "five dollars for another drum app with no ACP???", etc.
But I would argue that with the Strange Agency stuff, the reason it costs $10 is *because* it's very ambitious and experimental, and thus, doesn't have as large a potential audience as, say, an ambitious synthesizer app with deluxe MIDI and a uniquely amazing sound, like Horizon Synth.
So anyway, I sprung the $10 spot for Donut on day one knowing this, and I think for most people, you're either "into" sound art and design stuff, or you're not. I have Curtis for iPad and CP1919, as well from SA, and if Donut gets the same ACP file sharing system that Curtis was just updated with recently, I'll have another integrated tool on my iPad that will easily pay for itself the first time I use it in a song. :)
Until then, I am happy to support the efforts of a developer whom is doing some amazing stuff that literally *nobody* else is doing. Donut is a beautiful work of art and a delightful mind-blower with intriguing possibilities, and personally, I'm happy to vote +1 for things like this with my wallet.
i don't understand the adoo about programming acp,
if you have it working in 1 of your apps code it should be copy & paste to your other app (more or less), no?
i will pass this one, still crashing with curtis hd
ups, ado
Thanks @Robert, I don't think I could have put it better myself. If we were making yet another mass-market 808 clone or synths with digital wood on the screen, we might aim for a lower price. However, The Strange Agency is more of a boutique shop with a much smaller audience, and we price our apps accordingly. That said, is $9.99 so much to spend on an app that sounds like pretty much nothing out there?
A tuna sandwich at the cafe down the street from me costs $11. The Boss RC-3 Loop Station which is maybe more or less comparable to Donut in terms of features costs $199 at Musician's Friend. An overdrive pedal is $39! It's quite.. erm.. strange that iPad consumers have a problem with spending under 10 bucks for music apps, many of which offer a great deal more value than mere overdrive.
As for ACP @lala, it's not quite as simple as just copying some code, but you are quite right that it should be ported to our other apps, and it will be soon. When I have a few hours to sit down and write some code, I want to spend it developing software that makes sounds I have never heard, not implementing copy/paste. Of course I see the utility of ACP, but please let me have a little more time to explore new horizons :)
Maybe it's not a great business strategy, but I get really excited about these apps and try to get them into people's hands as early as possible. I could wait until I've added a bunch more features, but if I were the consumer, I would rather have a chance to start tweaking the Donut early, rather than waiting for us to add ACP, MIDI, OSC, etc., etc.
Anyway, maybe this isn't the appropriate forum for a real discussion, but I come across a lot of "for $X it should do Y" comments regarding apps in general and thought I would chime in. Thanks for keeping it strange! :)
@lucas
hm, i guess the argument about the cost of 0 & 1s vs hardware is pointless;
i've got an overdrive stompbox i bought 20 years ago for about 40€, it still works and i still use it;
can't say that about software i bought for the c64, i sampled the sid and i left it for the spiders in the attic years ago.
but i can understand your situation, coffee, cigarettes, pizza & rent isn't for free while your sitting in front of an display hacking code...
but your stuff has a unique selling point, so the trick is to find the right balance.
oh, maybe i should ad i'm not from the i want my 5$ software & it should rule the world fraction
1 more thought:
the low cost in apples appstore & itms is great for everyone, i never spend so much cash on software & music in years;
in fact i stopped pirating it !!!
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