It’s a really nicely done app. I installed it yesterday. I’m intrigued by the MIDI keyboard option. Are there recommendations for a good one that works with iPhones?
There are a ton of excellent MIDI keyboards available these days and most work well with iPhones. It really depends on how many keys you want, their size and other features.
Most require that you use Apple’s USB to Lightning adapter, but a few come with a lightning connector in the box.
Unless the maker specifically says that it can be powered by an iPhone, though, be sure that the MIDI keyboard you get has its own power source (an adapter and/or batteries).
The sounds bleed you can hear keyboard track on drum track loop. Why didnt you make sure there wasnt any bleeding on each track? Whats up with using the most damaged discs for sound samples. I hear so many pops and crackles. Is there a iOptiganHD version that has clean hifi sounds?
It’s virtually impossible to completely avoid crosstalk on an Optigan®, especially with certain discs which are modulated more heavily than others, and thus don’t really have an “optimal” setting with zero crosstalk. So we do our best. We used only the cleanest copies available for this project, which in many cases was literally mint, unplayed copies. They were recorded at very high quality, which means that the surface noise was also recorded at very high quality. There are no plans to do a version of the app with sounds from the studio master tapes.
I know this may not be the place for a tech support question, but I’ll just try anyway. 🙂 I did pick up a M-Audio 49ES keyboard for cheap and it works amazingly well. The one thing I noticed is that there are several buttons that got reasonably repurposed – there was a record, play and stop button that became three of the toggle switches on the Optigan. Next to that is a directional keypad that does nothing and I’d like for two of those to become the other two toggles.
Numerically the three buttons that work are three midi notes near the high octave and the directional buttons are still higher. Is it possible somehow to configure the app so that you can pick what buttons you wane to use? Failing that, if I provide the particulars, do you have a ’49ES’ configuration of some sort that’s tweakable? I can imagine a config screen where you select an app function and press the key to control it. In your video you’re using an iPad which doesn’t need these buttons, but I have a phone.
Thanks again for the cool app. It really does sound (and now feel) like a cheesy 70s toy organ.
Comments 6
November 1, 2017 at 9:49 pm
It’s a really nicely done app. I installed it yesterday. I’m intrigued by the MIDI keyboard option. Are there recommendations for a good one that works with iPhones?
November 2, 2017 at 5:00 am
Howard
There are a ton of excellent MIDI keyboards available these days and most work well with iPhones. It really depends on how many keys you want, their size and other features.
Most require that you use Apple’s USB to Lightning adapter, but a few come with a lightning connector in the box.
Unless the maker specifically says that it can be powered by an iPhone, though, be sure that the MIDI keyboard you get has its own power source (an adapter and/or batteries).
November 2, 2017 at 8:59 pm
What about the post-bankrupcy disc pack?? The 16 discs from 2010 and up?
November 12, 2017 at 6:21 pm
The sounds bleed you can hear keyboard track on drum track loop. Why didnt you make sure there wasnt any bleeding on each track? Whats up with using the most damaged discs for sound samples. I hear so many pops and crackles. Is there a iOptiganHD version that has clean hifi sounds?
November 12, 2017 at 8:59 pm
It’s virtually impossible to completely avoid crosstalk on an Optigan®, especially with certain discs which are modulated more heavily than others, and thus don’t really have an “optimal” setting with zero crosstalk. So we do our best. We used only the cleanest copies available for this project, which in many cases was literally mint, unplayed copies. They were recorded at very high quality, which means that the surface noise was also recorded at very high quality. There are no plans to do a version of the app with sounds from the studio master tapes.
December 6, 2017 at 3:09 pm
I know this may not be the place for a tech support question, but I’ll just try anyway. 🙂 I did pick up a M-Audio 49ES keyboard for cheap and it works amazingly well. The one thing I noticed is that there are several buttons that got reasonably repurposed – there was a record, play and stop button that became three of the toggle switches on the Optigan. Next to that is a directional keypad that does nothing and I’d like for two of those to become the other two toggles.
Numerically the three buttons that work are three midi notes near the high octave and the directional buttons are still higher. Is it possible somehow to configure the app so that you can pick what buttons you wane to use? Failing that, if I provide the particulars, do you have a ’49ES’ configuration of some sort that’s tweakable? I can imagine a config screen where you select an app function and press the key to control it. In your video you’re using an iPad which doesn’t need these buttons, but I have a phone.
Thanks again for the cool app. It really does sound (and now feel) like a cheesy 70s toy organ.