- Moog have been building hardware synthesizers since the early '60s, and they're still putting them out today, with a range that includes the Little Phatty, the Voyager, Theremins and even a guitar synth. Moog's logo and knob design are icons in themselves, and both are prominently featured on Animoog, their new iPad app. Animoog is their first synth app, although not the first Moog app—that honour belongs to the very fun Filtatron sampler/effects tool/toy.
Animoog is described by Moog as an Anisotropic Synth. I had to look that up in case sneaky ol' Moog had just invented a new word, but nope, it means "directionally dependent," so in the case of this app it means that a signal moving in one direction will make a different sound than if it had gone in another direction. Animoog uses an 8x16 grid, with automated "paths" and "orbits," so as you play a note, it morphs between analog waveforms derived from classic Moog hardware.
It's a polyphonic synth, capable of playing up to four voices simultaneously, although it also has a monophonic mode, which doesn't affect the morphing capability, in case you're wondering. On top of the core synth features, you'll also find a sound-on-sound loop recorder, a bit cruncher/distortion, a delay and a traditional Moog-style filter with low, high and band-pass settings, the mysterious Path and Orbit controls, MIDI input and tap tempo.
The function of the X/Y pad at the top of the screen might not be clear immediately, but below that is a keyboard, which should be more familiar. As well as triggering the actual notes, the keys can be configured to modulate the sound according to the position of your finger on the key. Each key lights when touched and stays lit until the note it triggered has fully faded. The keyboard is zoom-able, so you can see as many or as few keys as you want, and to the right of it are knobs for volume, key pitch correction and glide.
Straight away, this synth sounds good, and while you listen to the presets you'll also get to see how the anisotropy works: as you play a note, the signal follows a green-lit on-screen path, across the X/Y pad. This path determines how the audio transforms between different tones, or timbres, as they're called here. There's another level to this, though, in the shape of an orbit—as the signal progresses a second pattern rotates around that, introducing more changes to the sound. Both the path and orbit are editable in real-time, making for a dynamic performance feature. What's more, the entire path can be dragged around the screen to offset the position of the whole thing. Somewhere in the manual they call it a "dynamic waveform animator," which is a pretty good description. In some ways, all of this isn't a million miles away from using an LFO, or envelope automation in your favourite DAW, or anything else that changes synth parameters over a given period of time.
Aside from the X/Y pad, there are four other pages that go deeper: use the KB Scale page for keyboard settings, including choosing or editing a scale, and setting monophonic or polyphonic modes; the Env/Mod page contains Amp, Filter and Mod envelopes as well as LFO setup and modulation routings; the Timbres page is the most important for sound design, this is where synth tones are selected for each of the eight vertical zones in the grid. Finally, the Setup page deals with MIDI (for example you could use the Alesis IO Dock, which we reviewed here recently, to connect a keyboard), display options and preset management—performed via iTunes.
The right of the screen is occupied by the more performance-friendly controls: there's the filter, as I already mentioned, and controls to set the important Orbit and Path parameters, which are helpfully reflected visually in the XY pad while you trigger notes. Next to those are controls for a delay, and the "Thick" panel, containing a bit-crusher, drive, and detune/unison; and a record section (iOS audio copy and paste is supported).
In terms of negative aspects here, Animoog was prone to crashing on my first-generation iPad, losing my work-in-progress a couple of times in the process. Menu behaviour is inconsistent—some menus stay open when tapped, others need to be held to view the listed items. The tap tempo button is too small and it flashes constantly, which is distracting. The green graphics used through the edit pages are charmingly retro, but there's seemingly no purpose to them being green, and it makes it harder to read the text. Knobs on touchscreen apps aren't good at the best of times, and the smaller Moog-style ones used here are horrible.
Moog are doing the right thing, though—trying to move forward while preserving their heritage. Does Animoog sound like a Moog? Yeah, mostly, though the interface might lead you in a different direction than a straightforward keyboard. Animoog is a strong synth for sound design or live performance. If you're serious about the iPad as an instrument, you owe it to yourself to check this out, especially as it's selling for only 69p until the end of November. After that the price goes up to a much more controversial $29.99. Is it worth 69p? Definitely. Is it worth $29.99? Um...ah...I like that Moog have the guts to ask a "pro" price for what they're calling a "pro" synth, but it'll be interesting to see how it sells after the introductory offer expires. Either way, this is an interesting synth, if not the revolutionary product that Moog want us to think it is.
Ratings
Cost: 2/5
Sound: 5/5
Versatility: 3/5
Ease of use: 3/5