If you have almost any moderately recent Apple device, here’s one you don’t want to miss. Moog’s full line of apps is free in celebration of Bob Moog’s birthday on Sunday.
And I do mean almost anything. The Filtatron app that started it all goes all the way back to iOS 9.0 iPhone/iPad touch. And that doesn’t mean these have collected dust – Filtatron for instance has the latest Audiobus library and supports Ableton Link for synchronized jamming, meaning you could even use it to break out a bit on some track when you’re feeling stuck on your computer.
Oh, plus – you can tag your creations if you make something, sayeth Moog Twitter:
So if you’ve got an iPhone, you want to get:
Filtatron, Model D, Model 15, and Animoog for iPhone [it got its own version, which was a smarter move than trying to cram the iPad version]
iPad users, grab:
Model D, Filtatron, Model 15, and Animoog (plus the Theremini editor if you’ve got the hardware)
(Double-check, too. I realized I had Animoog for iPad but never grabbed the iPhone version, so I’m looking forward to checking it out.)
Mac users can also check out the Model 15 if you’ve got an M1 Mac or an Intel Mac running Big Sur. It’s not really comparable to the experience on the iPad, but it’s usable enough to have fun with – and if you do have an iPad or iPhone, it makes it really nice to integrate patches you made on the go. (See story below.)
In-app purchases are still paid, but you don’t really need them with any of these – they’re just for added sound content, basically.
Need more inspiration? Here’s none other than Suzanne Ciani playing the Model 15 iPad app, even if that makes all the rest of us chant we’re not worthy.
I love that the Animoog is really not an emulation of anything else, and has taken its place among the great synths that bear the name Moog. Here it is in a beautiful Buchla+iPad+Moog combo:
Model 15 is really my favorite out of these – a complete modular environment that also teaches you modular synthesis. But the Model D sounds great. And Animoog has long had a special place in synthesists’ hearts as a distinctive standalone instrument made natively for touch.
Tom at Synth Anatomy was on this quicker than me (as usual) and has some other nice reflections helping you navigate this catalog:
Moog haven’t said yet how long this lasts, so go grab it. And then kick back and celebrate Bob’s birthday on Sunday, and yourself, you synthesist, you!
Previously: