After 3 years with no activity at all WerkBench 3 has surfaced with a massive bunch of new features to bolster any creative sampling workflow. Back in its day WerkBench was a great app for working with sound, but in version 3 this has become an altogether more powerful sampling tool. So let’s get a quick run through of what’s new.
The obligatory essential updates and hygiene factors
This version adds support for iOS11, which is of course nice to see, and we would all have been annoyed if it wasn’t there. There’s also Audiobus 3 (Audio receiver and sender, MIDI receiver), which is a nice combination of AB features.
Version 3 adds More effects
There’s a new Reverb (decay, color, and mix), independent sends for each sample, and also a Bit crusher and high-pass filter in instrument controls.
There are more step-editing/automation parameters
WerkBench now sports Attack, Reverb sends, Bit crusher down-sampling per step and Low-pass filter too. Personally I think that the increased automation on its own is a huge step forward for the app.
New interactions
In version 3 all step-automation parameters can be recorded in real time. Additionally, all step-automation parameters can be randomized, which is always both fun and useful creatively for experimentation and generating new ideas. Also step-automation can be preserved when sampling (letting you pre-program melodies, etc. before sampling).
New file format
This might seem a little dry, but it is in fact very important. The new format allows for easy sharing and importing between devices. Now .werk files can be made by zipping a folder of wavs and renaming the extension, and vice versa, you can unzip .werk files on your computer to get the .wav files that were recorded in Werkbench.
Audio Engine improvements
Now you can use longer sample times, apparently 2x as long as in the previous version. The pitch range is now wider (up to 8 octave range per sample). There’s 64 note max polyphony, which is configurable, and finally the tempo goes up to 999 BPM if that’s what you really need.
So I think you’ll agree it is a massive update, and one that adds to this app’s creative potential.
WerkBench is on the app store now and costs just $9.99: